Cog-Neuro Guy

I was curious to see if anyone knows anything about this program in terms of rigor, competition, admissions employability (industry, government and academia).

I saw a thread that was created for clinical psychology Ph.D. program applicants, I thought I would start a thread for those who have opted to go the Psy.D. route, whether it be for counseling, school or clinical psychology. I have applied to Nova Southeastern University's program (both the Ph.D. and Psy.D.).

Yes, Dr. Sven Kroener at The University of Texas at Dallas. Look him up, he is in the School of Behavior and Brain Sciences. If this is something you like, look into their M.S. in Applied Cognition and Neuroscience or the Ph.D. in Cognition and Neuroscience.

You should check out The University of Texas at Dallas, they have some great stuff going on there with music production, audio engineering, gaming, etc.

Overall...what is the acceptance rate (generally) for DrPH as well as a Ph.D. in public health? I know in clinical/counseling psychology they typically take on somewhere between 2-16% of applicants with most getting in with a 3.5-3.9 GPA and a 1100+ GRE.

I was a professional classical musician for 15 years, taught, played for several orchestras here in the US (Boston Ballet, Lyric Opera, Harvard, MIT, among others), I was a high achiever in music, got several fellowships to attend and perform at music festivals (academia's equivalent to a conference, but 10X more intense and longer). I had good letters of recommendation, I wrote a good statement of purpose, I showed a nice linear progression in my grades in undergrad.

I have several other factors that allowed me to be competitive enough to get into the M.S. program, but my GRE scores I posted are the correct ones in percentile format. From a lot of the posts I have read, getting into an MPH program won't be an issue, however the DrPH or Ph.D. is what I worry about. I would most likely focus in the behavioral health concentration in public health.

I have a dilemma that I wanted to reach out to this nice diverse forum about. I am currently a graduate student (M.S.) in cognitive neuroscience at a local state university (starting my second/ last year). Prior to this I obtained my B.A. in sociology with a minor in psychology from a decent state university here in Texas. I have been a graduate research assistance at a collaborating medical university for over a year with 3 posters as second author at some very well known national conferences in clinical neuropsychology, I have a manuscript I am second author on that is currently being submitted to a well read journal in clinical neuropsychology with additional posters and an additional manuscript in production. All the while I am also a psychometrist at the same university medical center I had been a GRA at. My research interests are pretty broad, but if I had to narrow it down, it would involve both sociological, psychological and the cognitive neuroscience of LGBT population and psychopathology. The research I have been assisting with has been interesting, but nothing I would get too excited about, often times I have to force myself to do something with a general lack in enthusiasm about the subject matter. However, the skills I am learning and the experience I am developing are invaluable, which is why I continue to do it. Ok...so, here is the kicker: a doctorate is my ultimate goal, I have considered several Ph.D. options in many disciplines that align with what I have discussed thus far (psychological anthropology, cognitive neuroscience, biological sociology, public health). I am finding that my interests really do align well within public health, especially the pursuit of a focused area such as the LGBT population and the sociological, biological and psychological aspects in schemata development and neuro-psychopathology. Would my interests here fit well with public health, if so, could I enter a Ph.D. or DrPH with my current M.S.? Would you recommend the MPH before hand or go straight for the doctorate? My stats: CGPA: 3.24 Major GPA: 3.77 Minor GPA: 3.66 Last 2 year: 3.75 Graduate GPA: 3.5 (and increasing with two more semester/ 18 more hours left) GRE: V: 16% Q: 3% AW: 80% I realize most people will encourage retaking the GRE, which is obvious, but for argument's sake, let's say it is a fixed variable at the moment and will not change. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

I am a second year master's student in cognitive neuroscience, I have spent my first year researching and doing psychometrics at another university medical school. With that being said, within my first year, I was able to get on as second author on three posters for NAN (National Academy of Neuropsychology) as well as second author on a manuscript that will be (hopefully) accepted in the Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology with another manuscript and posters currently in production. My first year as a master's student has been pretty productive, but I have no real direction in terms of what programs in non-clinical/counseling psychology I would want to apply to. Thus far, the research I have conducted has mainly been that for my mentor, on topics I have no really enthusiasm to research intensely, but do it for the experience and CV building. I want to apply to Ph.D. programs in psychology or cognitive neuroscience with an emphasis in neuropsychology-based research or social/personality cognitive neuroscience. Beyond that, I have interests in looking at the social cognition of LGBT people, especially personality schemata development of LGBT people, I also would like to study the cognitive neuroscience behind this as well. Alternatively, I would like to study psychopathology amongst LGBT people and the cognitive neuroscience of this as well. I feel a bit lost in terms of, how does one target applying to programs that may or may not have a professor who focuses on LGBT research in this capacity? Are my ideas too all over the place? If so, what is the recommended path to remedy this? At this point, I feel like I hate research many times because I am researching stuff I have no real interest in...it's nice to know, but not something I would see myself spending 5 years of my life immersing myself in.

Hello fellow forum people, I am seeking those who were accepted, will be attending or have been attending the Ph.D. program in Cognition and Neuroscience. I am actually in the master's program and wanted to connect with those who will/have/had been in the program.

Bump: Anyone going into the Cognition and Neuroscience Ph.D. program?

Psy.D. student do research. Your dissertation or doctoral project (depends on the program) will require you to be savvy in SPSS and constructing a research project whether it be original or meta-analysis. Also, several programs do provide and encourage students do independent research. The same could be said about several Ph.D. programs that are relaxed in their research component.

I would have to say I would disagree with some of the posters in here in regards to viewing the Psy.D. in such a poor manner. With a caveat, the better Psy.D. programs typically are housed within a university whether it be part of a department or its own "school" within the university. The most important factors to consider are APA-internship match rates, licensure rates and attrition rates (after factoring the cost, most range between $21-41,000 a year, it just depends). Cost is something to consider, however, after that variable is considered, if you want to pay for your degree to practice, make sure your money is spent wisely on a reputable Psy.D. program and not one that just produces mediocre graduates. Some programs you may consider are Baylor, Rutgers, Loyola University of Maryland, Nova Southeastern University, Widener University just to name a few. Their stats are pretty good and their placements of employment are nice. To provide some "evidence" or "professional opinion" which comes from my mentor whom is the past president for APA Div. 40 (Clinical Neuropsychology), the Psy.D. is a great fit for those who really do seek to be a clinician, practice within a hospital, clinic or private practice. You should also consider your patient populations you want to work with as these are also important when considering a Ph.D. or Psy.D. program. Nova Southeastern University is the main public psychiatric provider for the greater Ft. Lauderdale/ Miami area. They have at least 60 internship sites that allows you to gain experience with virtually ANY population you seek to test out and treat. Again, while it is expensive, you are paying for a good product so to speak. I will be applying to 4-5 Psy.D. clinical psychology programs, 3-4 Ph.D. counseling psychology programs and 1 Ph.D. clinical psychology program. Also, a topic that most people don't discuss; if you have less than stellar GRE's or a lower GPA, Psy.D. programs are more "accepting" of these variables due to the fact that you are paying for the education and they know the animosity that is thrown towards Psy.D.'s in general. Basic economics. If you can't see yourself doing substantial amount of research, 5 years will be rough. Another factor to consider is the National Health Service Corp. (http://nhsc.hrsa.gov/loanrepayment/). Roughly, 4500 spots are given to primary health care clinicians a year. (dental, mental, physician, nurse pract.). Roughly, you are paid $50,000 a year in salary and an additional $30,000 is paid to your federal or private student loan lender(s) for every year of service. So, that is roughly a net value of $80,000 in pay, ($50,000 to take home, $30,000 is applied to your loans by the government). If you do this for 9 years, $200,000 in loans are paid off. Again, lots of people jump to conclusions about the costs associated with it (which is important), but not many people are mentioning or recognizing the potentials and support provided for those who want to provide psychological care via a Psy.D.

I think this is a good idea. I would email a lot of psychology Ph.D. programs essentially trying gauge them about the GRE and my background, and for the most part, most of them gave you a typical, bland response that is generic, only a small percent actually said "you seem like a great fit, I am looking for someone like you."

I had mentioned I wasn't looking for top programs. It's interesting, I exclusively research neuropsychometric properties in how they can better account for brain-behavior relationships. With that being said, I know that these standardized tests really do not provide (by itself) the best predictor for someone's success in college. It's main purpose is to cluster large samples into anticipated quartiles to make an inference, etc. However, when considering other aspects such as the dedicated 15 years as a professional musician whom played for several major orchestras, studied at one of the leading conservatories of music and switched career paths to the social and behavioral sciences...the GRE cannot account for these specific variances as demonstrated in my background. The ACT/SAT along with the GRE are measures of how one is going perform in their first year of graduate school. There have been plenty of courses and subjects within a course (like cognitive psychology) that I cannot stand nor would want to come across again, but I did persevere and made A's. So, the idea that the GRE is gauging someone's ability to overcome adversity is also not well represented in that perspective. Not to get this thread into a "GRE is unfair" debate, I am simply saying, given the evidence I have provided with the intentions of applying to schools that are NOT "top" programs, would I have a decent chance for a program? Surely the statement of purpose and my references have to account for a good chunk of the application, which is where they will find plenty of examples of hardships endured and overcome, diversity, innovative thinking processes, etc.