PhD or Master degree first? (Immigrant, working mom, career shift)

[Miiit]

Hello everyone, 

I'm an immigrant career shift who is planning to go back to school for a degree in Counseling/Clinical Psychology. I've been reading thegradcafe and learned a lot about the application process. However, I can't decide if I should apply for PhD or MA first then PhD since my case is a little unique. Any advice is greatly appreciated. 

My BA was in Korean Studies back in Vietnam (gpa 3.1). After graduation I've been working as a Junior Journalist and Copywriter as well as a freelance translator for 2 years before I started my MA in Public Relations and Advertising in South Korea (fully funded). At communication school, I started to learn more about psychology and pretty much fell in love with the field. I finished coursework for the MA program (93.3/100 or 3.7 gpa) and passed the comprehensive exam in 2016 but haven't finished my thesis because I was pregnant and moved to America with my husband. My study interests are multicultural/cultural psychology and social identity. It's also almost impossible for me to relocate because I have a 16 month old and my husband is a public school teacher in New Jersey so my top choice schools are Rutgers, NYU, Columbia Teacher College, Fordham and 2 other local schools. 

My strengths: communication skills, being trilingual (Vietnamese-Korean-English), supervised research experience, teaching experience for US government (Department of State) and Korean government (Department of International Affairs) , RA for an Anthropologist on studies about cross-cultural issues, 1 year experience of teaching multicultural kids, great recommendation letters from supervisor professor

My weaknesses: lack of experience in the field, weak undergraduate GPA, my GRE score will not be so impressive, no publications. 

On one hand, if I get an MA in Psychology I will have more time adjust to school system here, network, get publication and gain more knowledge in the field which will make me a stronger candidate. On the other hand, another MA may be confusing and unnecessary when I already know what I want to study. 

I'm sorry for the novel and thank you for your time. Any thoughts on this are highly appreciated. 

[PsyDuck90]

One of the biggest factors is research experience with products (posters and publications). You could try and see if you can get either a paid RA position at a college in your area, or even volunteer if that's feasible. Also, look at the pre-reqs that the PhD programs require. Since none of your degrees are in psychology, you may not have the pre-req courses. You don't need an MA, so look to see if you can get the research and required coursework in other ways. 

Also, be mindful that you are looking at schools in a highly competitive and coveted area, which may make the process more difficult. 

[JoePianist]

Hi Miiit, congratulations on your decision to pursue a PhD in Clinical or Counseling Psychology. It's certainly a rewarding career path, though earning admission into a high quality PhD Clinical/Counseling Psychology program is quite the challenge.

My first question is this: what Psychology classes have you already taken in college? Before you can apply, you'll need to have already taken a few classes like Research Design in Psychology, Introduction to Statistics for Research, Abnormal Psychology, Developmental Psychology, etc. 

My second question is: do you have any experience working in a Psychology lab? In order to be a competitive applicant, you'll need to have worked or volunteered in a Psychology lab for at least 1-2 years. Ideally, you'll need to have worked in a lab that specifically focused on your interests in cultural & social identity issues in Psychology.

If you're lacking in Psychology courses and research, then I'd recommend pursuing an MA in Psychology.

However, if you've already taken all the basic undergraduate Psychology courses and you just need research experience, you don't necessarily need to pursue an MA in Psychology. Rather, you can volunteer as a Research Assistant in a Psychology lab at a nearby university, which is a cheaper option. You can also try to apply for paid Research Assistant positions in a Psychology lab if you can find openings, but those paid research jobs are very challenging to obtain without a MA in Psychology (or a related Social Science like Sociology). 

Edited April 24, 2018 by JoePianist

[Miiit]

2 hours ago, JoePianist said:

Hi Miiit, congratulations on your decision to pursue a PhD in Clinical or Counseling Psychology. It's certainly a rewarding career path, though earning admission into a high quality PhD Clinical/Counseling Psychology program is quite the challenge.

My first question is this: what Psychology classes have you already taken in college? 

My second question is: do you have any experience working in a Psychology lab?

2 hours ago, JoePianist said:

 

@Hk328 @JoePianist Thank you for your prompt and insightful responses.

I've taken Social Science Research Methodology, Statistics in Social Science, Consumer Psychology, Persuasive Communication and Consumer Behavior for my MA. Those are all Social Psychology related, not Clinical, and I'm totally lack of clinical experience. I've never worked in a psychology lab before. I can see that I definitely need to take more psychology courses also. My husband makes enough so I don't have to worry about income for now. According to your information I think it's the best for me to work on an MA first, try to get more research experience along the way then apply for PhD program later. Thank you again for your helpful advice.