kara.spinney

I just finished applying to graduate programs in clinical psychology, so I'm not an expert on what graduate schools look for in Religious Studies applicants, but I also had to discuss my research interests in my SOP so I will try to help. It is okay to write broad topics as your research interests; graduate schools understand that, as an incoming student, you're not going to be 100% certain on what narrow/specific thing to study. It is more important that your general research interests fit well with those of the faculty in that program. When I wrote my SOPs, I took a little time to briefly read an article or two written by the current faculty. In my SOP, I mentioned something specific from their research article that I found interesting. I don't think that you need to quote their work, but I think that it's a good idea to discuss what specifically interests you about the publication and why you would be a good fit to work with that person based on their current research. As far as writing about your research interests, just briefly write about your broad interests and areas that you would like to get into.

I had the opposite problem. Most of my schools wanted a 500 word SOP so I tailored my statements to be short, and then one of my schools wanted a 1500 word SOP and I struggled to add all this extra stuff.

I don't know if applicants from Canada have a better chance at acceptance into American schools. I think that your GRE scores are competitive, but your overall GPA 3.3 is low for clinical psychology programs. It will probably help that your last two years of school have been 3.9, and that you're at a 3.7 in your psychology major. Do you have research experience? Research experience is also really important. Good luck! Also, I want to add that my knowledge of what clinical psych graduate programs look for is only based on programs in the United States, I haven't researched any programs in Canada.

1. If you have a competitive GPA, excellent GRE scores, and plenty of undergraduate research experience, it is better to go straight into a Ph.D. program; however, I would suggest applying to both Master's and Ph.D. programs to increase your chances of acceptance. 2. Either clinical psychology or clinical neuropsychology would be your best bet in terms of meeting your interests of research and practice. 3. I would suggest just doing some Google searches of your interests. I don't know where you plan to apply, but if you're looking at schools in the United States or Canada there is a great book called "The Insider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology". This book lists probably a hundred programs, along with all of the areas of research available at these programs. You could search for neuropsychology in the book and it will list all the programs offering this area of study...the only thing is that the book only lists programs in Canada and the US, so if you're not planning on applying to schools in those countries then it won't help you.

I just finished applying to Ph.D. programs in clinical psychology, and I applied to a couple Master's programs as well. I decided to apply to Master's programs in counseling psychology, and I found that the majority of those programs have a lot of research opportunities. I think that if you wind up in a clinical/counseling psychology Master's program, that you will still have a good chance of getting into a purely research-oriented Ph.D. program as long as you conducted research as a Master's student. I don't think that the program will focus as much on the type of Master's program that you came from as much as they will pay attention to what you actually did in the program (poster presentations, publications, lab work...etc...).