kaswing

Hi! I'm applying to programs in I/O psychology and in Cognitive Science (and a few stray other departments-- looking for HCI I wonder if there's anyone else here applying in Cog Sci, and what, if anything, you are doing differently with your application? Where are you applying, and how did you choose it? I don't see any rankings or anything like that, so I wonder what you're doing to narrow it down. I'm currently working in a Cog Sci department, so perhaps I can help answer other's questions about the lab, too. Good luck!

eshaw, sadly, in my case, there is no such thing. I wrote only one paper in an academic style about anything remotely research-related during my time there, and even if I could find it now, it doesn't reflect my current skills (College was a while ago for me.) Edit to add: I think you're right that that's the best option for most people though; thanks for your response!

Hi! I hope I'm not the only one here who's applying in 2015 without a supervised thesis or original research paper to submit as a writing sample. I don't believe I have the time, resources, or training to produce an original research paper before the 2015 deadlines. I'm considering writing a literature review in a field other than my areas of interest. The reason for this is that I am already personally invested in and familiar with the relatively little literature there is out there, and can offer a compelling research question which could offer treatment for a condition where none currently exists (or rule one option out). My areas of interest are more actively studied, and it would take a substantial amount more work to discover what's been asked, and when I arrive at a research question to suggest, it will be narrow and not as interesting (not to mention probably already studied or ruled out by the community, unbeknownst to me How does a literature review in a different field as a writing sample strike you? What are you submitting for a writing sample? Thanks for your help!

Relatedly, do you think it's too late for someone who doesn't have a psych undergrad background (I took a course, but it was 5+ years ago) to study for and take this exam? Most of my programs have it optional or not required, but it would be nice to apply to the one or two I'm interested in otherwise, but eliminated because of the test.

Thanks to both of you! HarrisonFjord, great stuff to know! SJSU is a great choice, I hear! But they don't have a PhD program, do they? HCC at Georgia Tech looked really great, but it made me nervous that it's in the computer science department, partly because i don't have the background for a CS-heavy course load, and also because I have other psych/cog sci-related interests. Thanks for your thoughts! Best of luck to you!

Bren 2014-- thanks! That's reassuring.

Hi! I've finally made a tentative short-list of places to apply, and (after google started taking "UI" as a cue to autofill "uiuc cognitive science admissions requirements phd") I decided to start a BRAND NEW, Phase 2 spreadsheet. The goal is, since I'm applying a few places, I can consolidate the information I need to tailor my SOPs, prepare for my applications, and confirm the schools as good fits before I waste an application fee. Because I know many of you are also applying to graduate school and some of you may be as excited about spreadsheets as I am, it might be helpful for you, too. I'd be happy to hear about any methods you use to achieve the same goals, or how you think I can improve it. It's just an image, because I wanted to show you how the tabs for different schools worked, and the "Notes about" can be for your research interests, things that are most interesting to you in a school (location, for example) or, in my case, sections of my SOP. I hope it helps

This is all great advice-- I am so happy to see someone ask a question like this and have so many people step in to help! I wish I had expertise to offer. All I can say is "awesome GPA!" Good for you My (random) opinion is that if your recommenders can say compelling things about your ability to work in research and the quality of your work, you're going to be in a good place. If you have a chance to attach your paper draft(s) to your application in addition, they will be able to see the quality of your work (and they have a good sense of how it compares to other applicants) and that will matter a lot more than the timing of publication and all that. I have a question for the rest of the folks in this thread. When you all say "rock the GRE," what are you aiming for? I have research experience (1 yr + in more than one lab), but no publications; a mediocre UG GPA (3.4?); a masters in a sort-of-related field (MBA-- not academic. 3.6?); some relevant work experience; and solid GRE scores (170V 161Q). Do you think I am overreaching to hope that the GRE scores will help offset my weaknesses? I think the GRE is a bit of an unfair, arbitrary, and irrelevant measure, but since it's the strength on my application, I'm selfishly hoping the adcom doesn't see it that way! I am working toward publishable material, but I think it's a stretch to think it will be done by October.

Glad you asked this-- I was wondering the same thing!

Nice to meet you! Harrison Fjord! (Your sn makes me laugh-- good one Sounds like you're in a great place with your Master's! I have an MBA, which is all but useless, except maybe in IO? Thanks for the info on the GRE-- GRE is actually one of the strong points on my application, despite my expectations, so it'll be a bit of a pity for my app if they're only used once as a filter! (I can't complain-- I know they're inherently unfair in a lot of ways.) Thanks especially for the APA link! Guess I'm heading to the library I really liked what I saw of UCF also! I am a little hesitant to go to Florida, frankly, but looking all (literally all) of the IO psych programs I've found that publish a lot in HF are in the south (Florida, Virginia, and North Carolina). I noticed that your location is Florida-- am I being too harsh? Do you like it there? I'm also looking at cogsci programs, though, and they are in places I'd feel more at home in. Maybe it's not fair to discount them before I visit. I keep starting to learn to code, but it's so much to learn alone and so abstract in the early stages. I started with Python, but now I'm thinking i'll learn while building something (an app for example) that I can show. It's a bit intimidating though. Do you mind my asking how you're approaching the task? FWIW, here's the current lists of programs I've found that do work along these lines: in IO Psych: USF, UCF, George Mason University, Old Dominion, George Washington University, UNC, & NCSU. in CogSci: UCSD, Stanford, UMaryland College Park. Am I missing anything awesome? My approach to finding these is a little more scattershot than I'm comfortable with

Thanks for you your thoughts, KW58D! I certainly need some perspective-- I'm the only person I know doing this at the moment, as I'm sure most of us are, and it's really great to get a sense of what other people are doing. You make a very good point about letter writers. I definitely don't want to waste their time! About how many are you planning to apply to? I've heard that contacting professors is very helpful. Hard to know if the people who told me that are right, but there you go I didn't add easier-to-get-into programs because I don't know what they are! It's not a field I've spent much time in directly, and so the only indications I have of a programs quality are that SIOP list and the schools GRE ranges, which haven't been very helpful. Not all of them publish ranges, and half the time they are just minimums, which don't really indicate what a competitive score really is. If you've found any gems that do HF, even if they are ones you've thrown out, I'd be much obliged. (Or, if you've learned something about a program that seems good on the surface! PM me if you'd rather not publicly malign anyone : ) I agree: it was scary to watch the app:acceptance rates in the last thread! I'm not as worried for a couple reasons: 1) I will be applying in other fields, too. 2) Although I won't be published, I will have about 2 years of experience in two kind of labs with a lot of different data, software, and responsibilities (at least one very enthusiastic recommender and one influential recommender) 3) I have a Master's, although it's super relevant 4) my GRE scores are on the high side (170 V 161 Q) Although, again, so many of the published scores are arbitrary minimums, I have found that the frequency of my freaking out and googling GRE averages has reduced after making a spreadsheet, which I'm happy to share if you PM me All that said, I don't really have a year to wait to reapply. It's difficult to balance [i want to make sure I get into at least one!] and [i don't want to apply to schools that I wouldn't really consider going to.] My goals are to get paid for a few years to research under a professor who will teach me something and to have the best chances for R1 TT when I graduate. Not that I know how to achieve that, but there you go : ) Thanks again for the thoughts!

KW58D, sounds like we have similar interests! I've developed a scatter-shot, brute-force googling approach that has rendered a list of schools I'll consider applying to that is totally out of context and probably incomplete I wonder if the list could be helpful to you at all, or, more likely, if you could give me your thoughts about it, seeing as you've been in the field for a while (my background is much broader, so I am missing all of the very important institutional and culture knowledge that would help me see if I'm missing some great schools.) Also, these are in the order I encountered them, since I don't have enough information to list them by any other metric. Here's the list I have of I/O programs that have faculty or labs researching HCI/Human Factors/usability: USF UCF GMU GWU UNC NCSU Old Dominion If it helps at all, here are some Cog Sci programs I'm considering because I love the Cog Sci approach, and I have some background in it: UCSD Stanford UW UMD College Park I need more schools to apply to, since I'm very reticent to live in the American South. (Looks like I'll have to give VA a pass, though, or I'd be totally out of schools in IO!) I also could use, once I have a sense of how competitive the schools are, some schools that I think I could get into more easily. I think I'm a competitive candidate, but I know there are lots of people with publications and who've been preparing for this since they were in undergrad. I'm definitely considering industry-- I have an MBA so that will be an easy story to tell and an easier route for me than for some people. I mean R1 TT would be Plan A, of course, but I would accept the additional tens of thousands of dollars and ability to choose where I live as a consolation prize

Hi! There was some interest in another thread for a 2015 I/O thread, so I thought I'd get it started with this nice article I found on reddit. It's got more recent rankings for I/O programs, and they are listed by a variety of relevant metrics around publications. I'm not familiar with the field enough to know if this reflects the attractiveness of these schools graduates for hiring in academia or industry, so if anyone has any thoughts about that, I'd love to hear them! Otherwise, I was hoping to find some folks to chat with and commiserate with As for a profile, I'm 27, my research interests are Human factors/HCI/usability, creativity, problem solving, decision-making, collaboration, and language, and I'm also applying to cognitive science and cognitive psych programs. How and who are you?

TO reply to myself, I found this on /r/IOpsychology-- Haven't checked it out, but it sounds helpful! http://www.siop.org/tip/jan14/513tip/513/

Any interest in starting a Fall 2015 thread? I'll be applying to 6-8 I/O programs and would love to have some folks to talk with Texassooner, I agree with Munashi about the research experience! I'm doing a similar thing, and, at my grad student friend's recommendation, have started a list with all of the things I have been doing and (most importantly) what I am learning. did I work with a new scale or software? did I work with a new population? Did I contribute something to the protocol in lab meeting? did I edit the IRB proposal or grant? It should help with preparing your recommenders for their LORs and you for writing your SOP. Good luck! ETA, while I'm here, I read people referring to "recent" rankings for I/O psych programs, and I am totally missing them if they are online. Everything I found from SOIP is around 10 years old. Did anyone have a satisfactory way to find a list of the, say, first and second tier programs to start with?

Nice!! best of luck! Through weird coincidence, I've worked with the fMRIs at UCSD-- what I've heard from the RAs there is that you should decide whether to get certified on the machines very carefully. Those who did got obligated to lots of extra work! But I guess if it's your primary research interest, you should probably do it Honestly, lots of my friends have tried to teach me to surf (I've been here for 12 years) and I just plain suck at it. I got the board when my friend moved out of town, hoping it might be easier with a foam board that has the approximate dimensions of a sidewalk. We'll see

Hahaha, so glad you like my town! I have to say, the food is getting better, and the BEER is SO GOOD. Honestly (besides of course my lovely friends and family), craft beer is what would make it hardest to leave. I am applying at UCSD! Who's your POI? I'm volunteering at a lab there, and really loving it. I might be able to get a sense of what it's like to work for different professors, especially in my lab (dCog/HCI). Everyone I've talked to about questions have been fantastic so far, although when one of my lab mates presented at our larger lab meeting, the questions from the faculty were borderline terrifying. My understanding is that's a big part of any grad program, though, so I'll have to get used to it

Hi, Gonzophd! I'm in San Diego, and have attended SDSU and UCSD for my BS and Master's, respectively. SDSU shouldn't have stand-alone PhD programs-- is it a joint program? That sounds like a great opportunity-- the faculty at SDSU are super helpful. I've worked with some labs at UCSD, but not in your areas of interest. Anyway, if you need to know about housing or other general things about SDSU & UCSD, let me know! I'm sitting in UCSD grad student housing right now. There was a cloud in the sky earlier, but it's gone now. I think it's hiding behind my surfboard on the balcony. But, you know, do what you want. I'm sure the other cities are lovely, too.

Thanks! Good to know this far in advance that I'll need a portfolio if I want an industry job. Sounds like my MBA won't be useless after all.

Hi! reading this thread has got me all excited about applying and it seems so far away! I'm interested in HCI/Human Factors/Ergonomics from a cognitive perspective primarily, and also decision-making, creativity, problem-solving, and collaboration. I'm focusing on Cognitive Science departments, largely because I'm volunteering in a cogsci lab that I really like and I'm a little familiar with it, but I'm interested to hear anything you all know about similar programs in Cog Psych, I/O, or whatever else I am sure I'm missing Having a similar problem to bcaitlin, I guess In case anyone is as hungry for information and conversation about this field as I am, here are the programs I'm considering for cognitive science (this is in no order other than the two tiers (which are based mostly on rumors and estimated GRE ranges!), and is just generally for cognitive science, not based on my research interests yet.) I would LOVE to hear anyone's thoughts about this list, especially the tiers and which fantastic schools I am missing! Tier 1: MIT UCSD Duke Brown Berkeley Northwestern Tier 2: RPI UMD College Park Johns Hopkins Rochester Also, my GRE scores are fine, but I don't remember my GPA (probably not great) and I don't have any publications or anything. Perhaps I should also be looking at some schools that are easier to get into. If you know of any safe(r!) schools with a particularly good professor, placement record, or anything, I'd love to know! Best of luck to all of you!

Hi! I wanted to see if there are some people to chat with! Although I guess it's a bit early, I am trying to narrow down my list of places to apply, and I wondered if you've encountered some of the same problems! I'm interested in a PhD that takes a cognitive science or psychology perspective on usability (rather than engineering or computer science). My other research interests are decision-making, creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving. I am currently focusing on cognitive science programs, but I know there are others. I don't see any useful rankings, lots of programs don't disclose GRE ranges so I have no idea whether I'm competitive, and the programs are in a variety of different departments (Psych, Business, and Cog Sci, probably others I'm missing) Anyone else having a similar problem? I feel like there's some kind of common knowledge that I'm missing. Anyway, what are you up to in your preparation? Encounter any problems? Know where you're applying? I am hoping to find some people to commiserate with, and learn alongside if I can manage it Doing that information-starved, research-spiral thing today. If there's anything I can help with in your journey, I'd love to! I can share info I've found so far. As far as my current plan, I am volunteering at two labs at UCSD (in cog sci and psychiatry) as a credible signal that I want to do research (and because OHMYGOSH its so fun!), I'm practicing teaching with a test prep company (I don't know how useful it is to adcoms, but I sure as hell needed it!), and I've gotten at least the first round of GREs out of the way with a mostly satisfactory score. Plan now is find places to apply, write SOPs, and scrounge the internet for any hint of stats or ways I can marginally improve my chances Thinking about learning to code or trying to write a research paper on my own (since my labs are more long-term oriented). Best of luck out there! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!