Importance of grades in grad school?

[PsychStudent]

I'm a first-year clinical psych PhD student in a well-respected program, and right now my class and research load is killing me. I think it's probably most prudent to focus more on my research (still learning as much as I can in my classes, but not breaking my back to get straight-As), right? I wouldn't be in danger of getting Cs, more like Bs.

What is the importance of grades in grad school anyway? I heard they are only important for grants like NRSA, and probably only a small factor in that. Thanks in advance for your help!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[PublicHealth]

B=PhD. Research is what matters if you want an academic career. Put it this way, if the choice is between (1) publishing 5 articles in respected journals and getting a "B" in each of your courses, or (2) publishing 0 articles and getting an "A" in each of your courses, you should go with number 1. Academic jobs for clinical psychologits are VERY competitive. Many applicants have federal funding, dozens of publications, and an established reputation in the field. And these are job applicants!

That said, when you have to write papers for your classes, write them on something related to your own research. This could serve as the foundation for your Master's thesis and/or dissertation. Two birds, one stone. I would also recommend that you find a research area(s) that interests you, and pursue as much research, publish and present as many papers, and get as involved as you can in that field. Specialization seems to be key for academic and clinical jobs. You have to show that you're passionate about this work -- research, clinical, teaching , etc.

For the record, I'm an MSII at an osteopathic medical school who was accepted to several PhD programs in clinical psychology. The aforementioned advice is from established academic and clinical psychologists and neuropsychologists in the New England area.

 

[LM02]

When I was in grad school, the mantra that we always repeated to ourselves was, "grades don't matter..." Of course, we were all on the OCPD/perfectionistic spectrum, so we all busted our arses for the A anyway.

But really, as PublicHealth stated, research is the priority in graduate school, and if your grades are lower than you're used to, I wouldn't be too worried. However, I have two caveats:

1. If your grades are consistently low, it may indicate that you are performing below expectations for your program. This may create concern among the faculty (whose impressions do matter), and may arise as an issue. After all, you will have to do things like pass comps before you can advance to candidacy.

2. As stated above, research is the priority. Yet if you are getting lower grades and not producing research, clearly it isn't the research that is getting in the way. Again, this may raise a red flag for the faculty.

I'm not saying all of this to scare you - as I started out, I really think you're doing just fine. These are just things to keep in the back of your mind as you progress through school - Best of luck to you!

Edited to add: You're right about the NRSA. I've had both predoc and postdoc NRSAs, and for both applications my reviewers commented on my grades.

 

[twiggers]

Paen:

COuld you elaborate on your comment? Toast....meaning kicked out, not good, etc.

I've heard from people in PhD programs (not psych) and the only option for them was all As. A "C" in a class was not an option for them.
Don't know if that holds true for psych.

 

[lazure]

Getting a C+ will have a big impact on outside funding. Don't get C's period. But it's true that publishing is very important. Summertime is a good time for writing papers so that you can focus on courses/practicums during the fall and winter. However, I feel that with a strong work ethic and minimal panic, A's are not that hard to achieve in grad school. Remember that only two percent of the population have PhDs so you already are in a highly select group. At the same time, your clients in ten years will not give a damn about your statistics marks...