LebaneseKafta

Good Luck everyone, I also am already attending and found the forums helpful when I was applying 3 years ago. I came back to see what was up cause some of my friends are applying now. I go to uOttawa Clinical if anyone wants to PM for anything about the program feel free

Sigh got in, not offered. good luck everyone!

haha the site crashed is anyone getting an unexpected error when they try to login?

Yes each school assesses the application you submitted to them separately, it's not a general application. I think it says April 1st on mine cause I'm an internal applicant since I'm already in a program (joint MA-PhD) and cause I didn't get sshrc last year I can still get it next year which is technically considered MA level. Fingers crossed!

Got this email yesterday afternoon but it was in my junk folder so I didn't see it until today!: Funding Opportunity: Canada Graduate Scholarships-Master’s Program La version française suit. This is an automated email message. Please do not reply. The status of your application has changed. As of April 1, consult the Application Overview page in the Research Portal to view the results.

Got the email but can't check status until April 1st

Canada and USA have very different cultures surrounding university when it comes to reputation more generally but even specifically in clinical psych. It really comes down to, at least in my opinion, what you want to do with your degree. I can't speak for USA, but from my understanding reputation of the school matters in clinical practice as well as research/academia. From my experience, in Canada, reputation of the school means very little in terms of clinical practice, almost all schools are pretty good and equal at getting their students licensed in the province they are in. In terms of jobs in clinical practice the school you went to doesn't make a difference (I've worked at 4 private practices and referencing the schools reputation or even school in general a psychologist went to even during the hiring process never came up once), rather your experiences and skill set derived from externals matter much more. However, if your goal is to work in research and remain in academia, yes the school you went to and it's reputation matters, but to be honest what I have seen is that it's rather the opportunities/funding available for research at higher rep schools in comparison to lower ones actually make the difference not the actual reputation itself. What I mean by that is that higher rep school have more funding available and other opportunities (collaboration, more well known researchers etc.) to do more research in the sense that you come out on top with pubs/conferences etc. However, lower rep schools give that too just have to be more rigorous and go out of your way a little more in going down that path. Also if you do go to USA and intend to come back to Canada (I know you didn't say you would just making sure you realize this) theres no automatic licensing available and you have to go through a the process just like anyone else from an international country to get relisenced in Canada/province you want to work in since they stopped APA accreditation.. So sometimes it doesn't match up with the requirements and you need to do extra supervision, courses, testing. Just something to think about.

I've known many people who resubmit the same proposal etc. after first or second time not getting it and getting it on their second or third try without changing much. It depends on who's reading your application and it's too much of a subjective process as almost all of us are more then qualified to get it so if the person reading it thinks it's deserving of money then you'll get it however the same proposal read by someone else might not get the same outcome.

It's a very hard balance to achieve. If you break it down a Clinical Psych PhD is essentially two programs mushed into one. You have the research aspect which is the exact same as what someone in the Experimental Psych Phd program would be doing - dissertation, lab work - conferences, pubs, collaborations, undergrads etc. etc. , but then you also have the clinical side of the program which can be compared to a PsyD (I'm not that familiar with PsyD programs since there are only 1 or 2 programs in Canada, but from my understanding it's a focus on the clinical aspect of the program and not much research) which not only entails many hundreds of hours of practicum experience it also entails coursework as well. So regardless, it's hard and everyone struggles with the balance. however... what I noticed in most students is they generally lean towards one end or the other of a choice ... and that's deciding at the end of the day, what do you want out of the program? if your intention is to try to become a researcher/academic ect. then you would focus a lot on the research aspect all the while plowing through the clinical side. On the other hand if your intention after the program is to primarily work in clinical settings then you can focus more on gaining more clinical hours and skills etc. while still having to achieve all the research milestones expected but won't be as 'into it' if you will as someone else would be.. ie. not as many conferences, pubs etc. In my experience, supervisors whether they are primarily researchers or clinicians in an academic setting focus on the research aspect of the program - because that's their role and responsibility towards you which is to supervise your research throughout the program... They do understand and obviously know how much work it entails because they been through it but, will attempt to ensure that you don't fall behind in the research as things get busy very quickly with many deadlines but the research is just a thing that is continually ongoing so hard to keep track of it as concretely.

Ya the way they are doing OGS and CGS-M is so silly... OGS is announced first in which most of the those who get awarded it also will probably get awarded CGS-M but that gets announced a month later...??? meaning they'll turn down OGS... meanwhile all those who got waitlisted for OGS are hoping all those who got OGS also get CGS-M so that we might have a shot at some funding! (or obviously hoping to get awarded CGS-M also)... just so stressful agh.

Ok thanks! I thought it gets updated to 'forwarded' or something before rejected or otherwise, but guess not.

Hey, Has anyone heard about their CGS-Masters application yet? Mine still says 'received by administrator' not sure if thats a good or bad sign.

Ottawa has started to send out first round of offers, so everyone should hear back by end of next week about acceptance, waitlist, or rejections. Good luck!

I'm a clinical student at uOttawa, just FYI they processed apps late this year so most POIs only STARTING to send out invites/looking at apps for formal interviews around this time so makes sense that automatic decline based on GPA cuttoffs would also start being updated around this time as well. If anyone has any qs about the program or specific POIs let me know! Good luck!

Ya basically, but I think mainly it really comes down to being a good match with a supervisor who knows you because you were adamant in meeting/calling/skyping with them, I mean SOMETIMES they pick randoms they didn't really get to know but in my experience that is the exception rather than the rule.. being memorable does wonders, also as a given that you meet all the other screening out requirements. But, believe me a lot of it is simply luck sometimes... just because they had to pick someone out of their final 2 or 3, they picked you or you were waitlisted and their first pick went somewhere else, I mean really it's just pure luck for some people because most of us are more than qualified anyways.

You'd be surprise how much leniency supervisors give when they see you are passionate about a specific topic, as long as it 'fits' in even the most loose sense within their general scope of research they are generally okay with it. You can contact a supervisor who's umbrella research is in the general area of your interests.... it doesn't have to be so specific because then you will rule out a lot of potentials. Likewise, you don't have to outline any concrete or specific research that you want to conduct again as long as it's relevant to what they are doing generally they would be happy to have you (so long as you meet the requirements and you know what your'e talking about and you aren't just saying 'everything' when they ask what your research interests are etc. etc.). I mean of course there are exceptions but in my experience it hasn't been the case... I'm in a cohort of 9 and 6 of them (including myself) are doing things something very different than our supervisors research however, it's within the scope very generally.. one girl is researching terrorism and her supervisor studies sexual offenders, another is researching evolutionary psychology in cognition and her supervisor studies sexual dysfunctions in couples another is researching moral development and supervisor studies learning disabilities and adhd.. I myself am interested in studying the radicalization process and my supervisor studies trauma therapy in immigrants.. I'm just saying don't box yourself in just because it doesn't map on perfectly or even mostly to what you are specifically interested in.. supervisors like it when students have flexibility but not so much that they have no interests at all but not too little that you are stubborn.

Aw! well good luck, you might want to consider expanding your school choices to include less competitive schools as well or have a backup plan just incase!

As Jay said, if you want to be registered as a psychologist in your province of interest avoid any programs that are not accredited by CPA otherwise to be honest they are all pretty much the same across the board of course vary in terms of research expertise and etc. etc. If you are in a accredited program you have pretty much the same chances of getting accredited generally whichever program you are in so I would focus mainly on finding a supervisor who does research in an area that you want to pursue. And really, from the psychologists I've talked to, what school you went for PhD means very very little once you become registered. However, if your interest is to remain in academia in some capacity then rank of that program means a bit more.

I'm not a psychologist but I worked for one for 6 years in her private practice as well as personally with her kids. Firstly, since the licensing and approval of the college of registered psychotherapists of Ontario, clinical psychologists in private practice are finding it very hard to keep clients since psychotherapists can provide therapy as licensed healthcare professionals for a fraction of the price albeit with a lot less training in therapy and far less understanding of more complex issues. That is not to say psychotherapists aren't qualified to provide therapy, obviously many are but the additional training of psychologists and having approved programs across canada with specific requirements for licensure that are the same across the board ensures that psychologists are more so competent to provide therapy. Regardless, psychologists in private practice are losing their clients to psychotherapists so many of psychologists are moving from private practice back to the public because of this, in Ontario at least. So you definitely have come at a right time if that's what you want to do. Also, since hospitals etc. are not hiring that many psychologists it leaves them being pushed into domains that are not involved much in therapy. The psychologist I worked for works in an area where psychotherapists have not yet been able to infiltrate and is now getting a slew of psychologists wanting to get supervised by her so that they can move from private therapy to this area (I'm leaving it out because its quite specific and only very few people work in this area in Ontario as I don't want her identity revealed). In terms of what you want to do, an MA to do therapy you will easily find work as now therapy in the private sphere will be dominated by those with MA degrees in many things such as counselling, psychotherapy, etc etc etc who then become registered psychotherapists (since their is no specific licensing requirements and no 'approval' of specific school programs). In terms of where CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGISTS will now fit into the mental health field they will most likely become more and more involved in assessment and diagnosis since psychotherapists cannot do that and less involved in therapy as this will most likely become the domain of psychotherapists unless it is complex cases which in that instance they will become involved as again since psychotherapists have less training they will be unable to deal with these cases. This is just my opinion based on my experiences and what I've been hearing lately from students, psychologists, profs, etc.

Hey I was accepted into the MEd at uOttawa (which I declined). Have a 93% GPA, but they usually accept people who have about 80s. I have experience working with children in group homes as well as in hospital settings and working in NGOs. In my statement I outlined what I learned in my degree and how thats important for me in the program, how my experienced helped me be ready for the program, why I want to get into the program and my future goals if I complete the program. Resume was pretty basic - education, research experience, work experience, volunteer experience, publications etc. Hope this helps good luck next year!

Hi everyone, So since the CRPO is now a college where people calling themselves psychotherapists now need to be registered to provide psychotherapy in Ontario and are approved by government to do so I'm wondering where that will leave clinical psychologists since psychotherapists are cheaper to hire at clinics and hospitals etc. to provide therapy (only need an MA to become registered with fewer internship hours than a clinical psychologist who applies to be a registered clinican). They were generally not being hired before since they were not regulated with any specific educational and practical standards, but now they are. I've heard the argument that clinical psychologists will be doing most of the assessment and diagnosis but so do psychiatrists. If psychiatrists are doing doing the assessment and diagnosis and psychotherapists will be taking up the therapy jobs since they are cheaper where does that leave clinical psychologists in Ontario in terms of job prospects?

Realized I should have posted this in The Bank section instead! Oh well any info would be great.

Hello, I'm curious if its possible to receive OSAP while also receiving funding for PhD from department and/or SSHRC? Since you're technically getting a scholarship would that make you ineligible for OSAP or does it entirely depend on how much you receive? If anyone has any experience with this I would really appreciate some feedback as I'm not sure if I'll get anything from OSAP and need to plan accordingly, I'm asking because I will be receiving funding but it will not be enough I did not receive OGS but an alternate for SSHRC and am high on the list. Thanks!

Oh wow congrats thats really amazing! Not to mention getting accepted at Ryerson for clinical the competition to get in there is truly something.

You have to read the regulations at your school, but *guaranteed* your tuition is paid for if you hold external scholarship. For eg. at uOttawa if you received external funding they give you an alternate funding/scholarship that covers your tuition and then some but its different then the funding offered by the dept.