Finding Research Experience Post-Bachelors for Impressing PhD Selection Committees

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Hi I graduated with a BA in Psych 2 years ago and since then I've been working in clinical settings. I've decided a PhD in Clinical Psychology is the right path for me but I didn't establish the strong research background back in my undergrad days. I earned a 3.85 GPA and my GRE scores are 167/162/4 (I'm going to take them again to improve my writing score).

Overall my question is how do I establish my research chops? I wrote some papers and completed research courses but it seems impossible to break in after graduation. I'd greatly appreciate any tips or pointers.

I'm in the US if that changes things. Let me know if there's any more info required to give a full answer. Also sorry if this isn't the right section I've never posted on this forum before

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[deleted343839]

Hi I graduated with a BA in Psych 2 years ago and since then I've been working in clinical settings. I've decided a PhD in Clinical Psychology is the right path for me but I didn't establish the strong research background back in my undergrad days. I earned a 3.85 GPA and my GRE scores are 167/162/4 (I'm going to take them again to improve my writing score).

Overall my question is how do I establish my research chops? I wrote some papers and completed research courses but it seems impossible to break in after graduation. I'd greatly appreciate any tips or pointers.

I'm in the US if that changes things. Let me know if there's any more info required to give a full answer. Also sorry if this isn't the right section I've never posted on this forum before

A paid RA position is probably your best bet. Look for jobs at academic medical centers, universities, think tanks/policy research centers, government agencies, and the like.

It’s really less about impressing the admissions committee (although that opportunity exists at times), and more about demonstrating that you understand what the research process entails, you can talk about research in a productive and intelligible way, and your work habits are a good fit for doctoral study.

 

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Thanks for the advice! And yeah that was a poor choice of phrasing.