Research Psychologist

[Radix]

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I'm interested in becoming a psychologist not as a therapist but as a researcher or even an educator in the field of psychology. I'm specifically interested in Cognitive Psychology (largely because I am also interested in Computer Science).

My question is considering the competitive nature of Psychology graduate school, will being a research/educator give me an advantage considering so many people want a PhD to be therapists? Will Cognitive Psychology set me apart from others wanting to become Psychologists? Or maybe I would be better off in a field like anthropology or sociology?

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

MOD NOTE: I moved your thread to the Psy.D. / Ph.D. forum because I think you'd get more replies in this forum. -t4c

 

[erg923]

I;m not sure I understand the question, but if your asking if cognitive psych is less competitive than clincial psych, then the answer is yes. You still need a 3.5 or so, good GREs,and good research experience, but overall, its less competitive since there are less applicants to the experimental branches of psych (such as cognitive) in comparison to those applying to clinical.

By the way, anthropology and sociology focus on totally different things than cognitive psych does. Also, I am in a clincial psych Ph.D. and have no desire to be a "therapist." Psychotherapy is just one part of clincial psych and clincial training. Assessment and diagnostic issues, program evaluation, personality assessment, and cognitive assessment (i.e., Intelligence, memory, attention, etc) jsut to name a few others. Keep in mind that clinical Ph.D are researchers as well. In fact, many (most) clinical programs are geared for grooming academics, even though clincial training is part of the degree. Clinical is defiantly the more versatile degree. Although you would have to see patients during your training, you can choose to pursue resesrch after this and never see another patient if you so choose.

 

[KillerDiller]

If you decide to apply for a Ph.D program in cognitive psychology (which, with your career goals, it sounds like you would need) then, yes, you will be separate from those applying for Ph.Ds in clinical psychology. Separate application process, separate faculty mentors, separate classes, etc. You cannot practice therapy with a degree in cognitive psychology, so nobody applying to the same programs as you should have this as a goal. The only way you would be applying together would be if you decided to opt for a Masters program in general psych., or something similar below the doctoral level.