Jay's Brain

No problems with that, as long as it is a term that is well-known or there's a reason for you to include it to your funding application.

It's been awhile since I've chimed in, but here's some insight since I have colleague who I met here on GradCafe who was in a similar situation as you (Canadian in the UK). Your CV is stellar and you have substantial experience that will make prospective supervisors very interested, particularly if you want to pursue the same line of work/research that you are currently devoting your time on. GPA-wise, you should determine whether your current transcripts meet the cutoffs. For most Canadian schools, we are looking at A- in the last two years. If you did well in your last year of undergrad, you may already meet this cutoff. Admissions with a Masters may also change the way each program determines your eligibility. Two other questions for you to ponder: 1) Where do you want to practice? Each country has their own judicial system for their psychologists and mental health professionals. You're right that terminal Master clinicians are far and few between in Canada (though there is that current debate about what psychologist refers to, especially in Ontario). If you're Canadian, you may also be thinking about returning home after studying and working abroad. If you're set on clinical practice, completing a program in the UK may not give you the same abilities to practice in Canada and will be a huge time commitment if you choose to return to Canada for a MA/PhD after a more advanced program in the UK. 2) Will you be able to access the same type of research or line of work in Canada? Are there programs/clinical researchers that you know you would apply to here in Canada? It sounds like you're quite passionate about the area of focus you are in, so you may want to do a little bit of research to see if this is something you can continue pursuing in any of the accredited clinical programs in Canada.

I'm no longer in first year, but I found maintaining work-life balance to be a challenge and I'm constantly refining this as I get older in PhD years. That's why my first bit of advice that I give to incoming students is to build that balance into your routine so it becomes a habit! As grad students we face the conflicts of "What is good, is bad; what is bad, is good" syndrome (the less talked about cousin to Imposter Syndrome) where we can feel guilt and shame for not focusing on our research productivity and, instead, think that working many hours is a good thing (it's not. You'll feel burnt out and STILL feel bad). But grad school is a lifestyle and lifestyle habits would benefit the most from consistency. So practice self-care and build that into your routine. Try to set your schedule so you have time that is fixed AWAY from work and school and more on yourself and the close people by your side. Also, remove push notifications on your phone so that you don't get bombarded by emails and feel the urge to reply right away. There's nothing worst than having a good day and then seeing the dreaded email from supervisors asking you about your progress! In grad school, you get A LOT of emails already!

It could be program-dependent but I heard back during the last week of March in 2017. Regardless, both doctoral and masters-level decisions should be released soon!!

I agree with previous responses that with a non-clinical, experimental program it is still possible to get into a PhD Clinical Psychology program (with caveats). The Masters will help you generate some research traction, perhaps allow you to publish or present at conferences, and that is important for your development when pursuing a PhD later on. With that being said, there is a strong likelihood that you will need to supplement your training with clinical courses either way. Anecdotally, I have a colleague who completed her counselling Masters at TC and had to complete the full MA/PhD in Clinical Psychology in the program that I am currently in. I had another colleague who completed a different Masters outside of Psychology and entered at the PhD level. Unless its a direct-entry PhD program with no Masters, most programs that are MA/PhD are lengthier because there are a lot of clinical requirements that are needed during the 2 years of the Masters. The difference between my two colleagues is that the latter's Masters research was more relevant to the clinical lab that he was accepted into. Both of them still had to take the introductory clinical courses regardless of the level that they entered at. Either program you choose, a recommendation is to get as much research experience as possible out of it. If you did go to UBC for the research methods program, you should try to merge your clinical interests (what populations are you interested in working with?) with that Masters to show that you have the relevant skills to pursue a PhD in clinical psychology. Likely you will have to take additional courses to supplement anyway, and, possibly, another Masters. If that's the case, maybe the most cost-effective program will be more useful.

I think you might mean "psychometrist" here. Psychometrists administer assessments under the supervision of a licensed practitioner while a "psychometrician" creates and studies the validity of tests and measures. It seems like Anita's experiences may be better served for a psychometrist role initially until she decides if she wants to pursue further education to practice as a clinical psychologist in North America

I have a colleague who completed his doctorate at Adler, completed several accredited practicum placements in well-recognized hospital settings, and currently has a position at one of these hospitals. I would say that this is a rare outcome for a PsyD graduate, but not impossible. You may want to connect with the program and ask them where recent graduates have found employment to see what historical information they can provide.

Echoing those above, having a MSc with relevant research is sometimes sufficient to receive a direct-entry into PhD. I've had several colleagues do this. With that being said, look at the programs you are applying to and what is expected or required at the MA and PhD levels. Often students with a previous Masters assume that it'll cut their time in the program to apply into PhD. In reality, you will likely have to catch up all of the MA clinical courses and complete all of the clinical requirements in the first two years of the program WHILE trying to juggle external practicum applications, dissertation proposals, and other PhD-level requirements at the same time. A lot of the Canadian programs are MA/PhD because they are packed with degree requirements. You may find that you are not really shaving that much time off by foregoing the Masters.

Come back as a veteran in a year or two and prove those five schools wrong. Best of luck @higaisha!

I've heard of a few offers and some rejections for the NP area. Might be good to reach out to your POIs now so you can hear about the decision instead of anticlimatically finding out on MyFIle. Best of luck to you @Neurophilic and to everyone else!!

It is habitual. 4 years later...I'm still here (periodically). It is also intrinsically motivating to help out fellow Canadian applicants!

FYI some offers have begun to trickle out from York across both the C and CD areas

One way is to be formal and concise - thank them for their offer but you have chosen to accept another offer. It may seem blunt, but it's also polite and you are not under any obligations to give more than that. Depending on how you felt about the program/POI, you can choose to explain a little bit more. Perhaps the decision was swayed by competitiveness of funding package, location, research interests, etc. Either way, just as you may have received offers and rejections, the POIs also have and it won't be the end of the world for either of you. I have done both, choosing the former for a program that was ranked lower on my personal list and the latter for a program that was ranked higher in my decisions. Both were collegial and there was no concern.

It may be helpful to connect with your POI and let he or she know that you've received OGS

From experience, most of the candidates that are invited to the Open House will be the ones that the POIs and adcomm will choose from when giving out offers. There have been cases where applicants who are not invited to the Open House end up interviewing afterwards. I would say be on the lookout unless your application is updated to unsuccessful

The department is going through a lot of job talks over the next two months (about 15-16!?) so there's a chance that a lot of the faculty members are preoccupied with that. The Open House for Clinical/Clinical-Developmental is slated for Feb 15 so there's still time!

I've had that experience before and the POI had invited their small pool of candidates to have dinner with him and his lab. I suspect it was to see the type of people each applicant was and how well we mingled with the lab. Needless to say, it made me quite anxious and it was hard not to judge myself with other students. If this is a similar set-up to your situation or even by yourself, the best advice I can give is to hold your nerves for the duration of the dinner and just be your regular self. You've made it this far because of merit but also because you are more than capable of presenting yourself the right way. Just treat it as a conversation (and that goes with the actual interview), and be your best self that night. Good luck!

Mac's RCT program atm is a lot like the CLEX program at UofT that was an alternative way for students to get licensure outside of a PsyD or traditional CPsych program. That program, of course, ended with the start of UTSC's program. It will likely take a bit of time (and maybe some restructuring) for it to be a full-fledged clinical program. That's probably why it isn't as well-advertised currently

To chime in, I think there's pros and cons whether your program is in a larger or smaller city. Smaller cities may makes practicum choices more limited but it could also means that the program may cater to this and make sure students get a breadth of experience that suits with the available opportunities. In a larger city (let's use Toronto), you are situated in a region where there are quite a few major hospitals/practicum sites to choose from (yay!). Keep in mind, however, there is also A LOT more competition (UTSC, York, Ryerson, OISE, even McMaster now) (boo!). Toronto programs follow a similar protocol to APPIC internship for practicum applications each year. That means there is a ranking system for all applicants by the clinical settings each application cycle. I know cases where some out-of-town applicants have also applied to Toronto as well. That's why wherever you apply and interview at, make sure you ask questions to learn more about your fit with the program and also the intangibles that can help sway your decision!

Hey friend! Is the research coordinator position in anyway related to some of the areas of research you're interested in? Furthermore, are you in a position to find your name as a co-author or first author on poster presentations and publications? That is more important towards your research experience than a position that is in research. If there is a clear demarcation of your position from the opportunities available, than having some advanced skills as a psychometrist may be useful. When applying to practicum positions during your program, having those skills will be relevant. In neuropsychology, especially, the background and familiarity with tests and reasons to use them will come in handy even at the early stages of your graduate training.

From personal experience, three is fine. If you can find three potential supervisors it means that your experiences and interests match well with the program's general research areas (assuming you're not just forcing some of the fits). Thinking long term, if you do get into the program and you end up needing to switch supervisors (for many different reasons), you have more than one faculty member who is aware of your interest (or know you) and you can choose what to do then. Having two to three is optimal!

Don't feel bounded by the number of hours that you think you should take to write your SOI. Instead, make sure it's well-written regardless of how many hours it takes. Not to mention, you will likely give it to mentors or other people to review and will then have to incorporate their suggestions and feedback.

Hi, you cannot as you found out pick and choose between sections. It's all or none for the test you choose. With that being said, I also encountered the same dilemma you did. My quantitative went down the second (and third) time I took the GRE, while my verbal went up (my AWA was my highest section and remained consistent). In the end, with advice from my undergraduate supervisor, I opted to use my original set of scores. Small blips in your GRE are not going to be detrimental to the impression you'll give to the admission committee, and, more often than not, the GRE plays a secondary or tertiary role at Canadian institutions. Fit, references, statement of interest and even academic performance are more important. Unless your GRE scores were very low, don't be boggled down by small deviations. They happen, especially when you retake the test!

Hi everyone! Long-time poster and glad to see that all the Canadian applicants are still bustling with energy and vigour! It definitely is a stressful experience, so wishing you all the best! For those who haven't already, take a look at this link as it tells you the allocations for the CGS-M award for each Canadian university across the three areas. Could be helpful in deciding what to do moving forward. Best of luck!

First, make sure you are aware of which Tri-council research focus you're interested in pursuing - CIHR is for health research and SSHRC is social science-focused. Whichever one you choose can drastically alter the type of research you propose and the wording/content. If you have done an thesis or research project during your undergraduate studies, you can think about using that as a starting step. What can you pursue that adds to the body of research you tried to accomplish through that project? Given that you have 1-2 years (depending on your Masters) to accomplish this project, what further advances can you think of? If you haven't done a project before, think about the area of research you intend to pursue in graduate school. From there, look at recent literature and find gaps in the field that you want to address. Often, papers will include limitations and future directions when they write up a research study into a publication. Use those as references to come up with a novel experiment that answers those questions that remain unanswered. And no, you are more than likely not going to be conducting the same project in graduate school. In fact, the project you propose may end up being in an area that is different from the one your graduate research will be in!