Area of psych you do undergrad research in matter?

[sab002]

I’m currently an undergrad that’s about to transfer from a Community College to (maybe) the university of Illinois. While scrolling through the research labs, they seem to be focused on infant/child development or social psychology, meanwhile I hope to get a phd in clinical. I’m wondering if doing research in something like child psychology will hurt my chances of getting into a PhD program, and if I should reconsider where I attend? Also, how beneficial is doing independent research/writing a bachelors thesis? Sorry for infiltrating this grad forum but I couldn’t think of a better place to get an honest answer, thanks!

[PsychedSloth]

Depending on what your research interests are, you could still find opportunities at Illinois. The neuroscience labs might be a better option for going into clinical psychology if you can't get into any of the clinical psychology labs as an undergraduate; however, the important thing is that you have research experience and understand research methods. Independent research with a thesis will give you an advantage over quite a few applicants, especially if you happen to get your thesis published under a graduate student's manuscript. Feel free to PM me with any questions! I'm about to graduate from Illinois.

[SarahTonin]

In my undergrad, I did animal research, and I just got into a Clinical Ph.D. program where I will be doing neuroimaging in humans. I think my situation is somewhat exceptional though. If I could go back in time, I would do research in a neuroimaging lab in undergrad because it would have made my application process much more straightforward. I don't think it needs to be a perfect fit, but if you're interested in working with a certain population or method, I'd try to start off by working in a lab that does at least a little bit of that. And if your interests shift and change, switch into a new lab and explore those new interests. Definitely consider neuroscience labs as well as there is so much interdisciplinary work being done these days. The lab you choose to do research in as an undergrad isn't going to make or break anything, but clinical applications are all about "fit" so the better your entire application can "fit" into labs that you can someday see yourself doing graduate work in, the easier your application process will be and the better you will do. Feel free to message me if you have any more questions about choosing labs or anything else like that!

[SarahTonin]

5 minutes ago, SarahTonin said:

In my undergrad, I did animal research, and I just got into a Clinical Ph.D. program where I will be doing neuroimaging in humans. I think my situation is somewhat exceptional though. If I could go back in time, I would do research in a neuroimaging lab in undergrad because it would have made my application process much more straightforward. I don't think it needs to be a perfect fit, but if you're interested in working with a certain population or method, I'd try to start off by working in a lab that does at least a little bit of that. And if your interests shift and change, switch into a new lab and explore those new interests. Definitely consider neuroscience labs as well as there is so much interdisciplinary work being done these days. The lab you choose to do research in as an undergrad isn't going to make or break anything, but clinical applications are all about "fit" so the better your entire application can "fit" into labs that you can someday see yourself doing graduate work in, the easier your application process will be and the better you will do. Feel free to message me if you have any more questions about choosing labs or anything else like that!

Oh and to quickly add - independent research is very beneficial (if not critical) for admission. I didn't do a thesis because I published a paper, but most people that were at the interviews with me had either a thesis or a paper, so definitely a good idea as well! 

[sab002]

9 hours ago, SarahTonin said:

Oh and to quickly add - independent research is very beneficial (if not critical) for admission. I didn't do a thesis because I published a paper, but most people that were at the interviews with me had either a thesis or a paper, so definitely a good idea as well! 

Thank you both for the advice, it’s really helpful! I feel a lot more comfortable with going to UIUC now haha. Does research need to be ~revolutionary~ or seriously significant or is the main objective to show that you understand the research process and think like a psychologist? I do pretty well when it comes to gpa and obviously haven’t taken my GRE but will start reviewing soon (thankfully standardized testing has never been too much of a struggle for me). How did you gauge which schools you should apply to and which weren’t worth the effort because they were reaches?

[SarahTonin]

2 hours ago, sab002 said:

Thank you both for the advice, it’s really helpful! I feel a lot more comfortable with going to UIUC now haha. Does research need to be ~revolutionary~ or seriously significant or is the main objective to show that you understand the research process and think like a psychologist? I do pretty well when it comes to gpa and obviously haven’t taken my GRE but will start reviewing soon (thankfully standardized testing has never been too much of a struggle for me). How did you gauge which schools you should apply to and which weren’t worth the effort because they were reaches?

Oh it probably won’t be revolutionary, so don’t worry about that haha  research experience basically serves to reassure the people you are asking to do a PhD with that you understand what a research career is like and can handle and enjoy the work. Also, if you pick up some useful skills before grad school, there’s less they have to teach you and you can bring some new or useful skills in to the lab. 

So basically, I used this book called “The Insider’s Guide to graduate programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology,” which is a good starting guide to all PhD programs in those fields. From there, I used their scale of more or less research oriented to narrow to the more research oriented programs. And after that, I went on the website of each program and looked at their data on average admitted student GPA/GRE, and if they had faculty there that were doing work I was interested in. 

[PsychedSloth]

4 hours ago, sab002 said:

Thank you both for the advice, it’s really helpful! I feel a lot more comfortable with going to UIUC now haha. Does research need to be ~revolutionary~ or seriously significant or is the main objective to show that you understand the research process and think like a psychologist? I do pretty well when it comes to gpa and obviously haven’t taken my GRE but will start reviewing soon (thankfully standardized testing has never been too much of a struggle for me). How did you gauge which schools you should apply to and which weren’t worth the effort because they were reaches?

I went to the local community college and only applied to three colleges when I transferred. Ultimately it came down to whether or not I wanted to spend the extra 10k to move and I chose not to.  When registered for one of the other universities, I was set to be a double major in microbiology and neuroscience; however, since I decided not to spend the extra money  to move, I ended up going to UIUC to study psychology - behavioral neuroscience. Psychology is a phenomenal program at UIUC and I fell in love with the department. The only drawback I experienced was that my primary research interests are not studied at UIUC, so I pursued my secondary interests and it has shaped my research interests for graduate school. If you can get the chance to go to Illinois, don't pass it up. 

[sab002]

1 hour ago, PsychedSloth said:

I went to the local community college and only applied to three colleges when I transferred. Ultimately it came down to whether or not I wanted to spend the extra 10k to move and I chose not to.  When registered for one of the other universities, I was set to be a double major in microbiology and neuroscience; however, since I decided not to spend the extra money  to move, I ended up going to UIUC to study psychology - behavioral neuroscience. Psychology is a phenomenal program at UIUC and I fell in love with the department. The only drawback I experienced was that my primary research interests are not studied at UIUC, so I pursued my secondary interests and it has shaped my research interests for graduate school. If you can get the chance to go to Illinois, don't pass it up. 

Oh since you were a cc transfer as well, do you know if they combine your gpas from both institutions or focus primarily on the UIUC GPA? And I’ll definitely stay committed to UIUC you’ve sold me haha, I’m sure I’ll love the department as much as you ⭐️

[sab002]

3 hours ago, SarahTonin said:

Oh it probably won’t be revolutionary, so don’t worry about that haha  research experience basically serves to reassure the people you are asking to do a PhD with that you understand what a research career is like and can handle and enjoy the work. Also, if you pick up some useful skills before grad school, there’s less they have to teach you and you can bring some new or useful skills in to the lab. 

So basically, I used this book called “The Insider’s Guide to graduate programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology,” which is a good starting guide to all PhD programs in those fields. From there, I used their scale of more or less research oriented to narrow to the more research oriented programs. And after that, I went on the website of each program and looked at their data on average admitted student GPA/GRE, and if they had faculty there that were doing work I was interested in. I

I’ll definitely check that book out, thank you!

[naturevnurture]

Although you definitely don't need to have research experience in the field you want to go into, there will be other applicants who have tons of research in that field, and that is who you are competing with. This absolutely doesn't mean it can't be done, but you will have to fight somewhat of an uphill battle to weave your experiences into a cohesive story about how your experiences prepared you for what you want to study. For example if you are doing developmental research, you may be more competitive for labs that have a child focus than labs, and not so competitive for other labs. If you know what you want to study in grad school, I would recommend trying to find a lab that studies something similar, or at least that is open to you having an independent project that is related to your interests. Advisors will definitely look at research potential and the whole of your application, which can usually override having less direct experience in the field, but it absolutely helps to know a lot about the field you want to be in!

[PsychedSloth]

16 minutes ago, sab002 said:

Oh since you were a cc transfer as well, do you know if they combine your gpas from both institutions or focus primarily on the UIUC GPA? And I’ll definitely stay committed to UIUC you’ve sold me haha, I’m sure I’ll love the department as much as you ⭐️

So, they're a little complicated with their GPA. You will start fresh at UIUC and have a UIUC GPA, but you will still have a cumulative GPA which is combined with your other institution and it will also show you your transfer GPA. This does, however, make it easier when applying to graduate schools because if they ask for your last 60 hours, it'll just be your UIUC GPA. I'd also make the recommendation of talking to some of the clinical/community (they're lumped together for undergrad) faculty and seeing if they have any opportunities for undergrads. Stay persistent about this! They will notice. I was accepted into my first choice lab at the end of my first semester because I stayed persistent, despite not looking the best on paper. 

[healthpsych]

I don’t think anyone else has mentioned it, but there’s also the possibility of getting experience in a more relevenant lab after undergrad. Most applicants end up taking at least a year or two off to gain more experience, and this could be a good option for you. 

[psykick]

On 3/14/2018 at 12:05 AM, naturevnurture said:

Although you definitely don't need to have research experience in the field you want to go into, there will be other applicants who have tons of research in that field, and that is who you are competing with. This absolutely doesn't mean it can't be done, but you will have to fight somewhat of an uphill battle to weave your experiences into a cohesive story about how your experiences prepared you for what you want to study. For example if you are doing developmental research, you may be more competitive for labs that have a child focus than labs, and not so competitive for other labs. If you know what you want to study in grad school, I would recommend trying to find a lab that studies something similar, or at least that is open to you having an independent project that is related to your interests. Advisors will definitely look at research potential and the whole of your application, which can usually override having less direct experience in the field, but it absolutely helps to know a lot about the field you want to be in!

I'd agree with this as well! While I was fortunate to work in a couple clinical labs in undergrad, it took a lot of conversations with mentors and workshopping of my personal statements to have a cohesive way to explain my journey to the research topics I wanted to study for my clinical PhD. If you have no inclination about working with kids/social psych topics there, it may be worth finding another institution but 1. it's possible to apply for a dual program (i.e. I have a friend enrolling into a Clinical-Social PhD program this year) and 2. It could help hone your interests. Overall,  gaining foundational experience in research at all can be useful to affirm (or modify) your interest in a clinical PhD program at all and if UIUC has other resources/opportunities for you to flourish in a research sense (i.e. thesis, poster presentations, etc.) it'll be worth it!