Is anybody here working towards a PhD? Does anybody have a PhD?

[erinwithane]

I ask because I am trying to decide if I want to go for mine. I have a 4.0 and my GRE score was 1265 which is good enough for most schools. I have professor recommendations and even one from my employer.

The school I go to now does not have a PhD program in Industrial Psyc, Organizational Psyc, or Organization Behavior, so I am going to have to go to a different school. After doing some research I found that the acceptance rate at most schools for this program is about 3 out of several hundred and sometimes several thousand applicants every year.

What can I do to be one of those 3?

How do they select who gets to be in the program and who doesn’t. This is weird to me because for my under grad and graduate degree I didn’t have to deal with this stuff. It’s like they will let anybody willing to do the work have a BA and a Masters, but all of a sudden they get all particular about who they allow into a PhD program. University administrators who were all supportive during grad school are now all of a sudden intellectual snobs.

How does all this work? Is there anything anybody can tell me to help me?


Why are they so selective of PhD students? Why isn’t GPA, recommendations, and GRE scores good enough? What else do I need to be good enough?

Can anybody tell me what the process is like going into a PhD program?

[automorphism]

I don't have my PhD but I'm planning on starting my masters next year and PhD year after. So with that disclaimer:

How do they select who gets to be in the program and who doesn’t. This is weird to me because for my under grad and graduate degree I didn’t have to deal with this stuff. It’s like they will let anybody willing to do the work have a BA and a Masters, but all of a sudden they get all particular about who they allow into a PhD program. University administrators who were all supportive during grad school are now all of a sudden intellectual snobs.

Perhaps one reason why they let so few people in is because there aren't that many supervisors, or that very few people actually want to accept a PhD student. Regardless, probably the best way to find out what they're looking for is to find potential supervisors and contact them. Send emails (and if you're in the area), ask to meet with them. Send them a resume and look at their research interests for some ideas, and explain things like (a) your talents in the area and what have you done with them, and (b) past accomplishments, especially those that are somewhat tangential to your field, as it shows a broad skillset. Make the email brief (couple of paragraphs).

The way grad applications (both for masters/phd) work here is that you fill one out, and it includes a field for your research area and your publications/brief summary of past experience. Based on that research area it is looked at by the potential supervisors/professors in that field and you are compared to all the other applications. If you contact them beforehand your application will stand out.

You will probably be expected to show a good direction of where you want to go in your research, and some programs require a masters degee before. That means a specifc area of research as a subtopic of __Psychology/Org. Behavior.

[dulcinea]

I'm finishing my master's now, and I'm not planning on a PhD but I have some friends who are. What I understand about PhD programs is that you will pretty much always be given a fellowship or an assistantship of some kind so you won't have to pay for your school, and that's part of why they're harder to get into--not only are they accepting you but they're also almost certainly investing a bunch of money and several years' worth of time in you too.

I know the trend for my friends has been to apply literally everywhere, since the acceptance rate is so small. One of my friends was in clinical psych, and his advisor (adviser? I always mangle that word) recommended he apply to a minimum of 15 schools.

You may want to talk to your advisor about what you can do. Also talk to the graduate schools you'd be applying to, see what they're looking for. The important thing, from what I understand, is making yourself stand out, especially in terms of research--have you published anything? Attended or especially presented at professional conferences? Belong to professional organizations? make sure all that stuff is clearly present on your application.

good luck :D

[Nurseman]

A few thoughts on PhD: (None of which will help Erin. Sorry.)

-PhD = Pointy Headed Doctor. (Funny as hell when I was 15)

-Bill Cosby earned his Ed.D, in part, by appearing on "The Electric Company". (A children's show om PBS)

-I once had a roommate named Ruben Jones, who was a Doctoral candidate. When he DID earn his PhD I kidded him saying, "You're not going to make ME call you 'Dr Jones', are you?" He replied, "Mark, after sweating this shit for 9 years, my MOTHER is going to have to call me 'Doctor Jones".

-BTW after seeing ALL of the 'Indiana Jones' movies, I cannot say the words "Doctor Jones" without a badly done German accent.

[erinwithane]

have you published anything? Attended or especially presented at professional conferences? Belong to professional organizations? make sure all that stuff is clearly present on your application.



I have not published anything or presented at any professional level confrences. I do belong to a few pProfessional Organizations but no the kid that you are probably talking about. I belong to KCCBA (Kansas City Comp and Benefits assoc.) and World at Work. Both very important for my job, but not something that i think would be helpful.

Do you have to publish Something?

[The Original Taco]

-BTW after seeing ALL of the 'Indiana Jones' movies, I cannot say the words "Doctor Jones" without a badly done German accent.

That's funny, because I can't say the words "Doctor Jones" without a badly done Asian boy's accent.