By: Emma Kandel

Fall is here, which means graduate school application season is right around the corner! It’s been a while since PIA talked through the graduate admissions process, so we thought we’d revisit it! If you’re considering applying to psychology PhD programs this year, here’s what you should know, from figuring out whether a PhD is right for you, to finding programs and potential advisors, to putting together an application that highlights your passion for research. If you are an undergraduate student interested in pursuing a PhD in psychology, you may be starting to think about where to apply, what programs are looking for, and whether a PhD is even the right next step for you.

All current graduate students can attest to how overwhelming this process can feel. There are so many programs, faculty, application requirements, and acronyms to keep track of that it can be difficult to know where to start. As current psychology PhD students, we’ve put together some of the things we think are most important to consider before you start submitting applications. The most important thing to remember is that applying to a PhD program is not just about asking, “Will they accept me?” It is also about asking, “Is this program a good fit for me?”

1. First, ask yourself: Do I actually want a PhD?

Before making a spreadsheet of 30 programs, take some time to think about why you want to pursue a PhD. A PhD is a major commitment! Depending on the program and field, you could spend five or more years in graduate school. During that time, you will spend a significant amount of your life reading research papers, designing studies, collecting and analyzing data, writing, presenting your work, and working through research questions that often do not have straightforward answers.

So, ask yourself the following 10 questions:

• Am I genuinely excited by research?
• Do I have research experience that can guide my interests?
• Do I enjoy asking questions and figuring out why something happens?
• Do I like reading scientific papers?
• Do I enjoy analyzing data and interpreting results?
• Am I comfortable with research sometimes failing or not producing the results I expected?
• Do I enjoy writing and feel comfortable defending my work, responding to critiques, and engaging in science communication?
• Do I want to teach or mentor students?
• Can I see myself spending several years becoming an expert in a particular area?
• Do I know what kinds of careers I could pursue with a PhD, and do those careers appeal to me?

You do not need to have your entire career figured out before applying. Your research interests will almost certainly evolve during graduate school. But you should have a genuine interest in the process of doing research and not just the idea of having a PhD.

2. Think about what kind of psychology PhD you want

“Psychology PhD” can mean very different things depending on the program. For example, clinical psychology PhD programs typically combine research training with clinical training. Students may conduct research while also completing clinical practica and other requirements to prepare for careers involving clinical practice, research, teaching, or some combination of these.

Research-focused psychology PhDs, on the other hand, may focus more heavily on conducting research within a particular area, such as cognitive psychology, social psychology, developmental psychology, neuroscience, or other subfields. However, research is often interdisciplinary, so you’re not necessarily limited to just one area.

Neither path is inherently better. They simply prepare you for different kinds of careers and involve different training experiences. Before applying, ask yourself what you actually want your graduate training to look like. Do you want to provide clinical care? Do you want to primarily conduct research? Do you want to teach? Do you want some combination of these? Knowing the answer will help you identify the kinds of programs you should be looking at in the first place.

3. Figure out what you are excited about researching

You do not need to know exactly what your dissertation will be before you apply. In fact, you probably shouldn’t! Instead, think about the questions that genuinely interest you. Maybe you worked in a developmental psychology lab and became interested in how children learn. Maybe you studied memory and became fascinated by why we remember some information and forget other information. Maybe you took a social psychology class and became interested in how people make decisions.

Your interests can, and probably will, change. You don’t need to have one perfectly defined research question. But having a clear sense of your research direction will make the rest of the application process much easier. It is also important to remember that you won’t be figuring this out entirely on your own, your advisor will help you develop your research plan and determine how to successfully execute it.

4. Start building your list of programs

Once you have a sense of what you want to study, start looking for programs where people are doing that work. This is especially important for psychology PhD programs where admission is closely tied to a particular faculty member. In these programs, you are often applying not just to a department, but to work with a specific potential advisor.

For each program, ask: Who is doing research that interests me and are they accepting students during this application cycle?

Look at faculty websites, recent publications, and current graduate students. Read some of their recent papers. You don’t need to understand every detail, but you should be able to explain what their research is about and why it interests you.

Then ask: Would I actually want to work with this person?

Your potential advisor is going to be an extremely important part of your graduate experience. Think about their research interests, mentoring style, current students, and the kinds of projects their lab works on. It is highly encouraged to reach out to faculty and/or graduate students in a lab to see if the lab is accepting students, determine whether you’re a good fit, and get answers to any questions you may have. And trust us, current graduate students love hearing from potential students!

And don’t stop at the faculty member. Consider the program as a whole:

• Does the department have other faculty whose work interests you?
• Are there courses and research opportunities that fit your interests?
• What resources are available?
• What is the graduate student community like?
• How large is the program?
• What is the typical time to degree?
• Is the program funded?
• What does the stipend look like relative to the cost of living?
• Could you realistically see yourself living in that location for several years?

As much as the research interests matter, location matters too. You are not just choosing a university, but rather you are choosing where you are going to live for a significant portion of your life!

5. Pay attention to funding

This one is extremely important: look into funding before applying. Many psychology PhD programs provide funding through some combination of fellowships, research assistantships, teaching assistantships, or other forms of support. But funding structures vary considerably between programs.

Find out:

• Is the PhD fully funded?
• For how many years?
• What is the stipend?
• Is tuition covered?
• Are students expected to TA?
• Are there summer funding opportunities?
• What happens if your advisor’s grant funding changes?

A program can look amazing on paper, but if the funding situation does not allow you to realistically support yourself, that is important information to know before applying!

6. If the program is PI-specific, reach out to faculty

If you are applying to a program where admission depends heavily on individual faculty members, reaching out to potential advisors can be an important part of the process. Late summer and early fall, often around August and September, can be a good time to start reaching out.

The key word here is personalized. Don’t send one generic email to 25 professors. Instead, identify the faculty members whose work genuinely interests you and explain why.

A good email might briefly include:

• Who you are and where you are currently studying
• Your research experience
• What research questions interest you
• Why their work specifically caught your attention and how your background aligns with their interests
• Whether they anticipate accepting a graduate student

You don’t need to write a novel. Faculty are busy! A short, thoughtful email is much more effective than a lengthy autobiography. And importantly, check whether they are actually accepting students. Faculty may not take a student every year. They may be going on leave, have a full lab, or have other reasons for not accepting students. Check the department website and lab website, and if the information isn’t clear, ask.

7. Make a list, but don’t just rank programs by prestige

Once you start researching, you will probably end up with a spreadsheet. We recommend tracking things like program title, faculty of interest, strength of fit, funding, location, application deadline, whether or not you contacted the faculty, etc. But don’t make your list solely based on rankings or name recognition. A highly ranked program where nobody is doing research that interests you may be a much worse fit than a lower ranked program where you would have an incredible mentor and strong research opportunities. When you’re going to spend five or more years somewhere, fit matters.

8. Your application should tell a story

When it comes time to write your personal statement or statement of purpose, don’t just turn your CV into paragraphs. Instead of: “I worked in Professor X’s lab. I conducted Experiment 1. I analyzed data using R. I presented at a conference.” Think about: What did I learn from this experience, and how did it shape the questions I want to study next?

Your application should help the committee understand:

• What are you interested in?
• Why are you interested in it?
• What experiences led you there?
• What skills have you developed?
• What questions do you want to investigate next?
• Why is this particular program or advisor a good fit for those goals?

Research experience is valuable, but what matters is more than simply having research on your CV. Be prepared to talk about what you actually did, what you learned, and how those experiences shaped your interests. If you have experience with programming, statistics, experimental design, participant recruitment, data collection, qualitative methods, neuroscience techniques, or other research skills, explain how those experiences have prepared you to contribute to a research lab.

9. Ask for recommendation letters early

Your recommendation letters can be one of the most important parts of your application, so don’t wait until the last minute. Think about professors or research mentors who know you well and can speak specifically about your abilities as a researcher. A strong letter doesn’t just say: “____ earned an A in my class and was a great student.” Ideally, your recommenders can talk about your research abilities, intellectual curiosity, independence, writing, persistence, analytical skills, and potential as a graduate student. Give your recommenders plenty of time, Send them your CV, personal statement draft, list of programs, deadlines, and anything else that will help them write a detailed letter. Finally, don’t forget to follow up! Faculty are very busy and may forget.

10. A few more things wish we had known

You don’t need to have everything figured out. You do not need to know exactly what your dissertation will be. You don’t even need to know exactly what your career will look like ten years from now.

You need to demonstrate that you are curious, motivated, prepared to do research, and excited about learning. Your research interests can change. Your undergraduate research experience does not lock you into one topic forever. You might enter graduate school interested in one question and discover an entirely different question that excites you. That’s okay. That’s part of becoming a researcher.

Fit is incredibly important. When looking at programs, don’t just ask, “Would they accept me?” Ask, “Would I be happy here?” Would you want to work with this advisor? Would you enjoy the research? Do you like the graduate students in the lab? Can you afford to live there? Does the program provide the training and resources you need?

Don’t underestimate the importance of your potential advisor. For many research-focused PhD programs, your advisor will have a huge influence on your graduate experience. Look beyond their publication record. Talk to their current students if you can. Learn about their mentoring style. Find out how often they meet with students and what their expectations are.

Rejection is not necessarily a reflection of your ability. PhD admissions can be incredibly unpredictable. A faculty member might not be accepting students that year. Funding might change. A program might receive an unusually large number of applications. You can be a fantastic researcher and still receive rejections.

Try to focus on finding the places where your interests and the program’s needs align, not on getting into the “best” program. 

Finally: remember that you’re choosing a PhD, too. It is easy to think about graduate school as an application where professors and admissions committees decide whether they want you. But you are also deciding whether you want them. Remember that you are smart, capable, and will end up exactly where you need to be. Good luck!