Currently obtaining my M.S., want my PhD.

[prangella]

I am currently in an M.S. Clinical Psychology program and am hoping to go onto a PhD program. I applied to PhD programs during undergrad, but did not even get an interview. I am hoping my experiences during my M.S. program will help me become a better applicant for for a PhD program.

Has anyone else done this? How did it go?

I have heard that getting an M.S. first may be pointless, as some PhD programs would make someone re-do most of the courses. Does anyone know of a list of schools that accepts those with an M.S. AND allows them to transfer most of that credit? I doubt a list like this exists, but figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Thanks all.

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[Lisa44201]

I received my MS in May, and am now in a PhD program. I had one interview the first time I applied. I am now attending a program that rejected my application when I originally applied.

The biggest thing that will help you is a Thesis, and applied research experiences.

A list as you describe would not be as helpful as you might think, as you need to be a good research fit with a specific person at each institution to which you apply. For what it's worth, I had two interviews this time around, one of which was at an institution that would have accepted all the credits I earned in my Master's program, and put me straight into the PhD track. I turned it down. The program in which I am enrolled currently accepted nine credit hours from my Master's program; I got to pick which classes I wanted transferred, but this does mean I am working on a second Master's degree. This program is a better fit for me.

 

[prangella]

Thanks so much for your response! Yes, I do understand the importance of goodness of fit with research interests. I plan to do a thesis while I'm in my current program. I just don't want to have to re-do everything and feel that this time/money has gone to waste (okay, maybe not to waste, but I'm sure you know what I mean).

Congrats to you for getting into a PhD program (and also having options!)

 

[erg923]

I also got an MS prior to my ph.d program. Do an empirical thesis and use time to refine interests. Clinical exposure will be helpful but probably wont contribute much at all to how competitive you are for ph.d programs.

 

[prangella]

Thanks for your response!