Law and Psych

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ExploringOptions

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I am looking at some options for PhD programs, and John Jay is on my list for various reasons, one of which is particular faculty mentors I'd love to work with. Because it is not a clinical program there is no APA admissions data to be had. Does anyone know how competitive it is? And also any feedback on the school/program itself. I am not super eager to move to NY, but I would if the program is great and I could work with a particular advisor.

I am also looking at social psych and experimental programs, as there are few pure law and psych programs that are not clinical or include a J.D. component. I have no desire to be an attorney.
Any feedback on the following schools or suggestions of other ones I should consider? I am not considering schools in the deep south. I would not like living there at all. Any feedback is much appreciated!

University of Wyoming - Law and Psych
U of CA, Irvine - Psychology
ASU - Law and Psych
ASU - Social Psych
Central Michigan University - Applied Experimental
Ohio University - Experimental
University of Oregon - Social/Personality
Lehigh - Cognitive, Developmental, and Social
Penn State - Social
Pitt - Social
McGill University (Canada) - Experimental
U of Ottawa - Experimental
U of Regina (Canada) - Experimental and Applied Psych

Edit: removed some options off my list

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John Jay has a clinical forensic program and a non-clinical Psych and Law program. I know the clinical program is very competitive. I would imagine the non-clinical is also very competitive because A. programs in the NYC area are all competitive for the most part and B. John Jay is pretty well known for its forensic psych program.
 
UNL law-psych has phd/jd and phd/mls which is 30 credit master of legal studies, in the clinical program. They also have social psych so you might be able to collaborate with law psych faculty??

What are your career goals if you don’t want to do clinical but want to study psych/law?
 
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UNL law-psych has phd/jd and phd/mls which is 30 credit master of legal studies, in the clinical program. They also have social psych so you might be able to collaborate with law psych faculty??

What are your career goals if you don’t want to do clinical but want to study psych/law?
I’d like to mainly do research and teach. I love research.
 
John Jay has a clinical forensic program and a non-clinical Psych and Law program. I know the clinical program is very competitive. I would imagine the non-clinical is also very competitive because A. programs in the NYC area are all competitive for the most part and B. John Jay is pretty well known for its forensic psych program.
Thanks for the feedback! It’s funny that the reason it’s so popular is the reason I hesitate. I don’t want to live in NY.
 
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University of North Dakota has a pretty solid forensic program, with many of the faculty serving as advisers for students within the Experimental PhD program
 
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University of North Dakota has a pretty solid forensic program, with many of the faculty serving as advisers for students within the Experimental PhD program
Very cool! Didn’t know that. Admit I hadn’t even thought of ND at all.
 
Here's the American Psychology-Law Society's document w/ stats and background on various programs (includes clinical and non-clinical): http://ap-ls.wildapricot.org/resources/Documents/GuidetoGraduateProgramsinForensicPsych.pdf

Relatedly, the program for next month's APLS conference is up on their site. You might be able to get some leads by seeing other programs like John Jay that are well represented there in areas that interest you.
I’ll be at APLS (current master’s student). I hope to meet some potential mentors.
 
The academic job market tends to be much better for clinical/counseling/school psych PhDs than for non-licensable psych subfields, fwiw.
Interesting! I hadn’t heard that before. I will definitely do more research into that. I know I don’t want to do a clinical program, so it may mean reassessing my goals. Thanks for the input!
 
You need to think more about research topic area and less about program. There are many people who study issues of psych and the law who are in experimental/social types of programs (potentially cognitive as well, if you think about eyewitness testimony kinds of things). If you love research, then you should have an idea of the kinds of things you find fascinating--read those and figure out where those people and similar people are working, then apply to those programs!!!
 
You need to think more about research topic area and less about program. There are many people who study issues of psych and the law who are in experimental/social types of programs (potentially cognitive as well, if you think about eyewitness testimony kinds of things). If you love research, then you should have an idea of the kinds of things you find fascinating--read those and figure out where those people and similar people are working, then apply to those programs!!!
Good point. I do have specific research in mind and stuff I am currently working on. I just kept it vague as to keep some measure of anonymity. I guess I need to figure out a good way to determine who may be studying what I want to study that isn’t necessarily on my radar already. Thanks!!
 
Do you consider Texas to be deep South? Sam Houston has a great program.
 
Do you consider Texas to be deep South? Sam Houston has a great program.
In all honesty, I think I would loathe living in Texas. The politics would not sit well with me. I’ve also heard, not sure if this is true, that they strongly prefer Texas residents for their universities. Do you know if there’s any truth to that? I haven’t even looked at schools in TX so far. I’m pretty open location-wise, but a few places feel like a hard no to me: Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Arkansas, South Carolina.
I am from and live in a very liberal urban area and I was miserable the few years I spent living somewhere much more conservative. While the school is super important, so is my quality of life, so I am trying to find schools that strike a good balance. That being said, I may expand to Texas if it seems a great fit, but I don’t feel that’s likely for me.
 
Good point. I do have specific research in mind and stuff I am currently working on. I just kept it vague as to keep some measure of anonymity. I guess I need to figure out a good way to determine who may be studying what I want to study that isn’t necessarily on my radar already. Thanks!!

Glad to hear you're going to APLS, and this is why I point it out. I recommend scoping out the program and noting faculty or programs that are doing work related to your interests.
 
In all honesty, I think I would loathe living in Texas. The politics would not sit well with me. I’ve also heard, not sure if this is true, that they strongly prefer Texas residents for their universities. Do you know if there’s any truth to that? I haven’t even looked at schools in TX so far. I’m pretty open location-wise, but a few places feel like a hard no to me: Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Arkansas, South Carolina.
I am from and live in a very liberal urban area and I was miserable the few years I spent living somewhere much more conservative. While the school is super important, so is my quality of life, so I am trying to find schools that strike a good balance. That being said, I may expand to Texas if it seems a great fit, but I don’t feel that’s likely for me.

Austin is very different than the rest of Texas. I'd say the same for Fayetteville, Arkansas (which is where the flagship U of Arkansas campus is). Point being, excluding an entire state may not be to your advantage...both Austin and Fayetteville are pretty liberal places (though obviously one is more urban than the other).
 
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Austin is very different than the rest of Texas. I'd say the same for Fayetteville, Arkansas (which is where the flagship U of Arkansas campus is). Point being, excluding an entire state may not be to your advantage...both Austin and Fayetteville are pretty liberal places (though obviously one is more urban than the other).
Thanks. Definitely will keep that in mind, though since I will have my children with me, I need to consider their environment too.
 
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