Mickey26

Try someone here: https://www.oise.utoronto.ca/aphd/Home/COVID-19_Update.html I believe its this person (assuming its CCP?? so many acronyms LOL): CP and CCP MA, MEd, and PhD: Todd Will

Just a heads-up: USask Clinical Psych is not accepting admissions for 2021-2022 (aka the upcoming application cycle). "Due to the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the clinical psychology program is not able to accept a new cohort of students for the 2021-2022 academic year. Thus, the program will not be accepting applications for the program in the fall of 2020. We anticipate resuming our normal admissions process in the following year (i.e., accepting applications in the fall of 2021 for those wanting to begin the program in the fall of 2022)." Source: https://artsandscience.usask.ca/psychology/programs/clinical-psychology.php#AdmissionsandApplications

Academics are never on break haha Quite frankly its their job to mentor students/trainees. So ask around and see who's willing to help! But be cognizant that some faculty might have limited capacity at the moment due to childcare, online courses, what have you.

Cute avatar haha Definitely try and get as much research experience as possible. I don't think faculty/committee members would care that you paid for a research experience, as long as its research experience. And yeah, you aren't expected to just churn out a first author research paper from the get-go. Ask your current/former lab/faculty members if there's a pub you can help on with and get co-authorship for (2nd, 3rd author, etc). That way, you can gain some experience navigating HOW to write a manuscript first, before attempting your own. You'll also probably have a lot of hand-holding on your first paper and that's totally fine-- see if there's a grad student who's able to teach you the ropes So goal for you right now is to keep up your good work, see if there are some conferences you can present at (virtual ones count too!!), and publish peer-reviewed papers if you can! Sounds like you're on the right track. Best of luck

You're actually the type of student my supervisor would LOVE to have haha We want a Comp Sci trained student since you can do so much more stuff (eg., mhealth etc) than what we're capable of in terms of research. So I wouldn't count yourself out even if your experiences are different As my colleagues above have stated, ensure you have the psych course requirements stated. Sometimes (and this is based off of the Canadian system since I'm more familiar with that), even if you don't have the stated course requirements, you might be able to make up for these courses when you're in graduate school. Ideally, have some research experience under your belt. I'd also be very mindful of how you pose your personal statement: you're going to have to convince the committee that you want to do psych and WHY you know you want to do psych now. But also don't discount the fact that you have a plethora of unique experiences that you should highlight and make you stand out as an applicant Best of luck!

Yeah tbh I also heard they don't care about the writing portion, although to me, that seems like the section you SHOULD care about the most?? LOL Who knows how admissions works LOL Better clarification on the admissions process, including how they're factoring GRE scores if they do take them but aren't required, would be fantabulous and I can sit back and say my work here is done /endrant

Absolutely agree 110%. Myself and other graduate students are currently advocating for "not accepting scores at all." But my institution hasn't even made a decision yet! *fingers crossed* There is still hope!

UGuelph "IMPORTANT: The GRE will not be accepted for Fall 2021 applications." https://www.uoguelph.ca/psychology/graduate/ccap/admissions (Finally updated their website LOL) **of note, all of UGuelph's psych programs are not accepting GRE scores this application. UTSC Clinical "***UPDATE July 2020***: Applicants applying in the 2021-22 admissions cycle will not be required to submit GRE scores (general or subject tests scores) when applying to the MA or PhD program." https://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/psych/admissions-how-apply

UCalgary Clinical Psych will not require GRE scores this cycle. Source: I am in contact with the faculty there. Official announcement to follow. Will update if there's a link.

Link: https://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/psych/admissions-how-apply

GRE is optional for Clinical Psych and Applied Social Psychology at UWindsor (email sent to current students/faculty). Website being updated soon to reflect this change.

This is great thank you! Currently preparing a pres to my Department on removing the GRE. If any folx come across studies/literature/stats, pls DM me. Would greatly appreciate it!

This is true and I have lots of hopeful applicants ask me how programs will factor in the GRE if not everyone submits scores. Truth be told, as grad students, we don't know. I HIGHLY doubt departments/faculty have figured it out either ? I'm all for removing the GRE completely. Currently working with various grad students across Canada to remove the GRE, ideally completely. Seriously, us grad students want to get rid of it almost as much as applicants do! ?

Check out this list for updated Canadian schools for Psych Progs. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1f6ZyVGn-opa_ijRyntHxfJJkaSNya4h-bwEDeDGInv4/edit?ts=5ef923a8#gid=1109387584

UGuelph just announced they no longer require either GRE (General, Psych) for upcoming admissions cycle.

Last yr, I emailed in May, which is pretty early. I did get positive responses, and some did mention to email again early Sept due to funding. You can email now, but rmb that given COVID, many individuals might not know about funding. The benefit of emailing early is that at least your name is on their radar, as opposed to the dozens of ppl who email late summer/early fall. It may also demonstrate your enthusiasm/initiative.

Most ppl do 10-12 honestly, where you'll get 2-3 interviews and 1-2 offers. However it does depend on how strong your application is/your fit with supervisors!

I can't answer all questions but here you go: 2. Ensure its CPA accredited AND you need to make sure you take the required courses for licensing. For example, I'm in a ClinPsych program in Nova Scotia, but ultimately, will seek licensing in Alberta. So I go to the AB Psychologists Assoc, check their licensing requirements, and note down which courses are needed. The program you're doing your training in will ultimately set you up for licensing in that specific province, as such, you need to be proactive and ensure you have the req courses for licensure in a diff province (some course differences). 3. I've heard that your GRE scores might be the first step in the application process. Ie if your GRE scores are too low (Quant score below 50th percentile), your application is automatically in the reject pile. This may not be the case for all institutions, but just aim to get over 50th percentile on the Quant portion to be safe. 4. Most ppl will not have clinical exp b/c they just finished undergrad/took a yr off to work as lab coordinator, etc. Clinical exp is a BONUS, not a necessity. For example, I personally had no clinical exp prior (I do have extensive research exp) whereas two members of my cohort had clinical exp. There's a greater emphasis on research exp than clinical exp, bc clinical exp is what you acquire in ClinPsych grad schools programs 5. You can check admissions stats from previous yrs (listed on each institution's site) for number of applicants vs number of offers. It's also about research match, and the pool of applicants applying. To an extent, there is luck involved. But off the top of my head, I know UBC and McGill consistently get lots of applicants (see: reputation of institution). 6. For Tri-Council funding, so CGS-M, yes it was changed to only 3 schools. I was torn between two fields of research (for example, trauma vs autism). So I picked the one I was slightly more interested in (trauma) and indicated the 3 schools that I planned to do trauma work. For me, that included my top school, and a safety school in my CGS-M application. Hope this helps!

Check if their housed in the same department/school. For example, I considered applying for school psych and counselling psych, however for this one institution, they were both housed in the same Department (Education). And the SAME coordinator processed applications for BOTH programs. I was informed not to apply for both in this case b/c it appears that you haven't fully figured out what you wanted to do, and thus, most likely would have been rejected from the get-go. Good luck!

Yes forgot to mention that labs seem to be opening up over the summer (at least that's what is anticipated at my uni). So perhaps its related to lab/research work?

I'd check with your department re: if classes are 100% online. Given clin psyh cohorts are usually small, I've aware that at least 2 unis are trying to make those classes in-person (but in a large lecture hall to meet social distancing measures). I'm heading into my 2nd year and I will be relocating across Canada to be at my institution. 3 hr timezone diff is a bit too much in terms of 830am/530am classes as well as scheduling meetings.

It appears you have extensive research experience (RA, etc), but I'm curious if you have any research OUTPUT activities? Think: publications, poster presentations at conferences, etc. ClinPsych programs tend to prioritize research output/experience over say, teaching activities (which are still very impressive in its own right!) If you haven't already, it might be worth submitting your honours/masters thesis to a journal. Even "manuscript submitted" looks better than nothing at all. (Also congrats on graduating this month! Not a small feat right now!)

I'm aware of a few profs in Canada. If you're interested in knowing, let me know!

I emailed around June, but lots of supervisors don't know if they're taking students that early on (b/c funding, etc). So good practice would be mid-August to sometime in Sept. If you can refrain from emailing the first week of classes (so it won't get buried in the new semester rush), that would be optimal!

If anyone has questions for a current clin psych Canadian student, pls feel free to reach out Good luck ya'll!