Non-Psych Major Clinical Psychology Applicant, seeking any advice offered

[california_bears]

Hello all,

I will try to keep my post brief, but there are many variables involved and brevity is not one of my strong suits.

I am a senior in my final year of a top ranked public university in California majoring in Rhetoric. My GPA is currently around 3.5, and I anticipate graduating with a 3.6 (hopefully). I did transfer from a community college in my sophomore year, but had a similar GPA.

Although previous to this year I had my eye on a career in the legal field, I recently discovered that Clinical Psychology was a much better fit for my interests and personality. Given that I have no research experience in psychology and have only taken 3 courses in psychology, how should I make myself competitive for a PHD program in psychology?

Through reading the forums and books on the subject, I have a basic plan for now but am open to any suggestions or improvements to this plan. After graduating in 2020, I would apply for a one year terminal masters in General Psychology which gives me the opportunity to write a thesis and get research experience. I am also currently applying for an RA positions available that would accept a remote researcher (if that is even possible, but given COVID I thought I might as well try). I would then apply for a PHD in California as well as across the nation.

Thank you for any advice or encouragement you have to offer me. Hope everyone is doing well in this crazy time!

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[AbnormalPsych]

I know several people who got into great programs, including in my cohort, who did not major in psych. What I would recommend, and what they did, was commit to full time research in psych labs in their area of interest (e.g., autism, ptsd, etc) for a few years after undergrad. I would think the masters could help, but wouldn't be 100% necessary and might take away time from the lab and also nailing the GRE and Psych GRE. And don't do it in General Psych. That won't be that helpful if you are going clinical. I would really focus your efforts on research - get 3 great letters of rec, get on several posters, a paper if at all possible. Do research where you have some face to face interaction with specific clinical populations if you are able. Be open to learning and develop the skills that will help in grad school so you can jump right in if offered.

Apply to research labs nationally.
Apply to fully funded academic based programs nationally.
You don't have the luxury of being picky with a geographic location as is right now.

 

[california_bears]

I will definitely reconsider the masters program. I will also hunt down some research ASAP. Thank you so much!

 

[conky124]

Just to reiterate the above, hope I'm not too redundant. There are plenty of people who pursue PhD's in psychology who have all kinds of different majors. This is even common in med schools too. I've met art majors who decided to pursue MDs and got in. For the PhD in psychology you really just need to make sure you have whatever pre-reqs the programs require and have acquired solid research experience. Nailing the GRE and psych GRE may even substitute that for some programs (not the research part). Also a masters degree is a solid option if it gives you the pre-reqs and research opportunity, but be on the lookout for a paid RA position if you can find one. That plus taking the pre-req classes on the side could be a cheaper option than a masters program. If you can successfully avoid the master's program it may save time and money, but it definitely wouldn't be a waste for you to complete one.

 

[summerbabe]

I did not take anything beyond Psych101 and started considering psychology during my 5 years working after graduating. I had high GRE scores and was able to get into a university-based MS program that required an original thesis and participation in a research lab alongside PhD students in that program. This made me competitive for PhD programs 2 years later but also solidified this educational and career path.

I would also recommend looking at a 2 year MS program that is licensure eligible (e.g, LPC, LPMHC) so that if you decide against pursing a PhD, you'll have the option of working as a MS level therapist (whereas an MA in psych would not be).

A lot can change in grad school and I've seen folks who started in the MS program and swore they didn't want any more schooling end up continuing to finish PhDs while others who started in a PhD program terminate after 2 years to work as MS level therapists.

 

[bookwormpsych]

I would also recommend looking at a 2 year MS program that is licensure eligible (e.g, LPC, LPMHC) so that if you decide against pursing a PhD, you'll have the option of working as a MS level therapist (whereas an MA in psych would not be).

Not sure if this is true for all states. I have an MA and can work as a therapist. My program was a "dual licensure" program where we had the options of licensing as a Licensed Psychological Associate (LPA) or a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC).

I'm not entirely sure the different between an MS or an MA, though.

I do agree that if you do choose to go for a Masters rather than a PhD/PsyD, do make sure it is licensure eligible. Otherwise there will have been almost no point in doing the program.

 

[Psych15]

Just wanted to echo what others have said that it is totally possible to get into a Clinical Psych PhD program without having an undergraduate degree in psychology. I was actually a biology major and decided to pursue a Clinical PhD after graduating, though I spent three years in between as a Research Assistant to get more experience. I agree with others that I'd highly recommend seeking out a paid Research Assistant position for a couple years, as that may prepare you best to have a competitive application. Many funded PhD programs will be looking for applicants with significant research experience who have published in peer-reviewed journals and/or have presented at academic conferences, which you may or may not have the opportunity to do in a Masters program.

 

[TCP]

Are you interested in a research-oriented PHD program or a practice-oriented PHD program? That can determine what you need to do in best prepare for your grad school application. Generally, schools look how much alignment between your interests/experiences with their program/professor of interest. I would advise you to look thoroughly the programs you are interested in and the professors you'd like to work under. See what they are doing and see if there are any relevant experiences you can do. If practice-oriented, I would see if you can volunteer somewhere where skills are applicable like call centers, nursing homes, homeless shelters, women's clinics, etc. If research-oriented, it is highly recommended you seek a research assistantship. I also agree with some of the other people, I would maybe stray away from a general psychology master's and look into master's programs that will help you reach licensure should you not pursue a doctoral program. You can still conduct research and/or write a thesis in these programs.

 

[EmotRegulation]

Echoing what others have said, it is certainly possible to get into PhD program in psychology without a psych masters. I did that, albeit many years ago at this point, by getting research experience and taking courses post-bacc, both of which were possible for me because at the time I worked as staff at a university so I was able to do those extra courses for free. Now I'm faculty in a clinical psych PhD program, and I can say that when I look at applications, I don't care what a person's major was, but I *do* care that they can demonstrate some basic psychological knowledge, can write well, and have enough experience with research that I feel confident they know what they are getting into for a research-focused doctoral program. Knowledge could be learned from books or taking the Psych GRE. Writing isn't specific to psych and a Rhetoric major should have writing experience! The research piece is key, though, and should not be understated--research interests and experience are main thing I'm looking at in applications.