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Currently, 30%+ of our students go on to graduate school.
The vast majority attend 2-year applied Master's programs. Applying to graduate
school takes a lot of time, energy and money. Students should start planning
during their junior year (if not earlier!). There is a lot of useful information
below. Be sure to read it before seeing your advisor.
Graduate school links
GRE Information
What are the characteristics sought by
graduate programs?
Steps involved in applying
for graduate school
Graduate school preparation timeline
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One of the best sites lets you search by subject and by school
name: gradschools.com.
A former student created the following helpful chart that makes
gradschools.com easy for psych majors to use. Each field
listed below is a link to its corresponding web page on
gradschools.com.
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Excellent
site from
UW Green Bay
on Graduate School in Counseling and Related Fields.
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Don't forget to visit the websites of the universities you are interested in
as part of your search. Here is a site that indexes colleges and
universities, an easy way to explore the schools in which you are
interested:
http://www.clas.ufl.edu/CLAS/american-universities.html
It may save you time to use the search engine for the specific university’s
site after you access its homepage.
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Peterson’s
(http://petersons.com)
allows you to search for graduate schools and also has good general
information regarding graduate work.
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Check
out the graduate student groups associated with APA (APAGS) & APS (APSSC)
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Don’t forget more career-specific sites such as the National Association of
Social Workers homepage (http://www.naswdc.org/)
or the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (http://www.aamft.org//).
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Testing information is also available for the GRE at (http://www.gre.org).
You can register online to take this computer-based test at a site near you.
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ETS website has practice/sample questions and students can
request/download study materials and practice tests
http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare
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We recommend taking practice tests and several of the preparation books have
CD-ROMs included. In addition, although you need to register,
Princeton Review has a free full-length practice test online:
www.princetonreview.com.
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Miller’s
Analogy Test
Graduate schools are
looking for strong students with the initiative and ability to
do graduate work. In particular, they need to know that YOU know
why you want that particular degree. Internship and/or research
experience is valued because it signals a graduate school that
you have a clue about your future endeavors. Strong grades and
strong evaluations also play a major role. Strong GREs can
secure a spot; however, poor GREs (if offset by other
strong records) will not usually harm a student.
-Calculating your GPA? Online calculator that allows for
our grading scale (A = 4 AB =
3.5 B = 3 BC = 2.5 C = 2 CD = 1.5 D = 1 F = 0)
http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~xiyang/gpacalc.html.
THERE ARE FIVE MAJOR STEPS INVOLVED IN
APPLYING TO GRADUATE SCHOOL.
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Decide
whether graduate school in psychology is right for you.
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Define
the area of concentration and degree that you will pursue.
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Research schools and programs and choose a range of places to which you want
to apply.
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Complete the applications to these programs.
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Attend
interviews (if applicable) and make a final decision regarding which program
you will attend.
GRADUATE SCHOOL
PREPARATION TIMELINE
RESEARCH INDICATES THAT EARLY PLANNING BENEFITS APPLICANTS!
SOPHOMORE YEAR:
- Pursue extensive
career exploration.
- Take statistics
and research design courses.
- Volunteer at an
organization of interest to you.
JUNIOR YEAR:
- Do an internship.
- Go to the Psych
Department's Graduate School Night.
- If you qualify,
think about doing the Honors program.
- If possible, get
involved in faculty research.
- Join the
Psychology Club or Psi Chi.
- Investigate
graduate programs. The Psychology Department, Murphy Library, and Career
Services all have resources to help with this. APA provides a complete list of
programs. Books such as "Peterson's Guide" gives rankings of programs as well as
information about acceptance rates, etc.
- Send for
information and applications using the phone numbers and/or addresses found in
the resources discussed above.
- Start to
plan and study for the GREs, making sure to take practice tests. You may want to
take the GREs during your junior year. See
Career
Services or the Counseling Center for
information and applications. They also have practice GREs on computer that you
can take for a small fee.
SENIOR YEAR:
- Visit
Career Services to polish
your resume and interviewing skills.
- Take the GREs in
early fall (or before).
- Double check that
you have the applications for all the schools in which you are interested.
Organize them by application deadline, keeping in mind that financial aid
applications are usually due earlier than the program's deadline.
- Double check that
you have the finances secured for the application process.
- CAST A WIDE WEB!
Apply to as many schools as possible (unless you would not go there if
accepted). Geographic difference will help your application. Apply to some
schools below your ideal as potential "Plan B" schools.
- Give your faculty
members all your recommendation forms at once (if possible) and give them lots
of time.
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