Research Experience

[Chelsea B]

I graduated with my undergraduate in Psychology 2 years ago and am looking to apply for graduate school for the next fall 2016. Looking at graduate applications it looks like research experience is a pretty big component for PhD programs; does anyone have advice for getting research experience in Psychology? Can I find paid research experience as well?

[velua]

I'm a little curious about this as well (but CS Master's, not Psych PhD). I didn't major in CS so I need to take another class in the fall before applying (non-degree status). I'm planning on emailing professors with similar interests to me, explaining my situation, and asking if they have anything available, or at least some pointers on where to look for research opportunities.

[EMGagne]

Getting research experience in psych is pretty easy if you live in a city with a few good universities.  Most labs will take on volunteers with minimal qualifications (generally smart people with psych degrees or current undergrads that have an interest in what the PI is researching).  Getting a paid RA position is going to be difficult without previous research experience.  Most of the RA positions I've looked at want at least 1 year of lab experience + a BA in psych/cognitive science.

 

Also, a PhD is a research degree.  Why do you want one?  If the answer is anything besides continuing on in research it might be better for you to look at other degrees.  If you're interested in being a therapist/psychologist then go for a PsyD - you don't need the research experience to get into these programs and they are specialized doctoral degrees in psychology that only take 3 years (because you don't have to do all the research).