2021 Clinical Psychology Applicants CANADA

[LMoll]

17 hours ago, freudianslipintogradschool said:

To those who have reached out to PIs to express interest in their work & ask if they’re taking on a student how long (on average) does it take them to respond? One prof emailed me back in a week & I just emailed another so I’m trying to gauge what’s typical.

Are those of you who have reached out to PIs including a CV in your emails? I am planning on doing that (and including my CV) this week and I'm wondering if that's considered standard.

[Mickey26]

8 minutes ago, LMoll said:

Are those of you who have reached out to PIs including a CV in your emails? I am planning on doing that (and including my CV) this week and I'm wondering if that's considered standard.

Yes, always attach your CV. Unofficial transcripts can be optional (I didn't). Additionally, if you have a recent pub, you can attach that too. 

[LostSoulInPsychology]

Is it unwise to email the program coordinator for clinical psyc programs to ask which supervisors are accepting students? Just wondering because for some uni's they want you to indicate up to 3 potential supervisors so I'm not sure how appropriate it would be to actually email 3 profs from the same uni. Surely they talk amongst themselves and they'll see that oh they've been contacted by the same student - that might not reflect well on an applicant, would it? Or would it not matter?

[Mickey26]

14 hours ago, shubeydubeydoo said:

Is it unwise to email the program coordinator for clinical psyc programs to ask which supervisors are accepting students? Just wondering because for some uni's they want you to indicate up to 3 potential supervisors so I'm not sure how appropriate it would be to actually email 3 profs from the same uni. Surely they talk amongst themselves and they'll see that oh they've been contacted by the same student - that might not reflect well on an applicant, would it? Or would it not matter?

Email the profs directly. B/c program coordinators probs wont know, and they'd just email the profs anyways. So if you email the profs directly, you save time for everyone LOL

I mean supervisors get so many applicants I doubt they'd compare notes about who emailed whom; They really don't have that kind of time. Really your personal statement should be tailored to Supervisor #1; the people you put down for #2 and 3 most likely won't even look at your application because they have applicants who put them as #1. 

[LostSoulInPsychology]

Does anyone have stories/information regarding province-to-province hiring mobility of these degrees?

For example, if accepted to a Clinical Psyc MA in Ontario, is it impossible to use this MA to apply for clinical psychologist positions in Alberta (where only an MA is required to work as a clinical psychologist and not a PhD, unlike in Ontario where the full PhD is needed)?

I understand that I'd need to pursue registration as a psychologist in Alberta in the above hypothetical, but I'm just wondering if there are factors literally impeding this sort of thing from happening. It would make sense if provinces wanted their in-province students to be the ones getting registration and working of course, but are there explicit policies on this?

[broski]

1 hour ago, shubeydubeydoo said:

Does anyone have stories/information regarding province-to-province hiring mobility of these degrees?

For example, if accepted to a Clinical Psyc MA in Ontario, is it impossible to use this MA to apply for clinical psychologist positions in Alberta (where only an MA is required to work as a clinical psychologist and not a PhD, unlike in Ontario where the full PhD is needed)?

I understand that I'd need to pursue registration as a psychologist in Alberta in the above hypothetical, but I'm just wondering if there are factors literally impeding this sort of thing from happening. It would make sense if provinces wanted their in-province students to be the ones getting registration and working of course, but are there explicit policies on this?

You're correct with the example you provided. Your question is interesting so I did a quick search on AB Psych College's website and found this info sheet on mobility. They talk about the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) which guarantees the free movement of labour province-to-province. This agreement applies to psych graduates as well, so you can graduate from MA Clin Psyc in Ontario and register+work in AB and other provinces that only req a masters to register as a psychologist.

Other than finishing studies at the masters level, I can think of one other factor that might limit mobility between provinces, and that's course requirements. Province A might want X, Y, Z psych courses for registration, Province B might want X, Y, Z, W, and A courses for registration. PhD programs in Province B might provide W and A courses as part of their core curriculum. If you go to school in Province A but want to work in Province B, you'd need to take W and A courses as options or something. Tbh not that big of a deal as course requirements are pretty similar across provinces. I would check with psych colleges for each province to see what other requirements they want. 

Edited July 26, 2020 by broski

[laura23]

38 minutes ago, shubeydubeydoo said:

Does anyone have stories/information regarding province-to-province hiring mobility of these degrees?

For example, if accepted to a Clinical Psyc MA in Ontario, is it impossible to use this MA to apply for clinical psychologist positions in Alberta (where only an MA is required to work as a clinical psychologist and not a PhD, unlike in Ontario where the full PhD is needed)?

I understand that I'd need to pursue registration as a psychologist in Alberta in the above hypothetical, but I'm just wondering if there are factors literally impeding this sort of thing from happening. It would make sense if provinces wanted their in-province students to be the ones getting registration and working of course, but are there explicit policies on this?

At the PhD level, it is rarely an issue. The masters-level licensure could be difficult depending on the program since the MA in clinical psych in Ontario and most other provinces is not meant to be a terminal degree. You may or may not get the necessary hours and courses to be eligible for licensure during the MA, unlike a counselling or psychotherapy MA that’s meant to lead directly to practice. It’s also pretty frowned upon to enter a clinical psych program with the intention of just completing the masters, so may be better to choose a different program if that’s the plan.

[LostSoulInPsychology]

15 minutes ago, laura23 said:

At the PhD level, it is rarely an issue. The masters-level licensure could be difficult depending on the program since the MA in clinical psych in Ontario and most other provinces is not meant to be a terminal degree. You may or may not get the necessary hours and courses to be eligible for licensure during the MA, unlike a counselling or psychotherapy MA that’s meant to lead directly to practice. It’s also pretty frowned upon to enter a clinical psych program with the intention of just completing the masters, so may be better to choose a different program if that’s the plan.

Wait, why would it be frowned upon to only complete the Masters if there are jobs specifically looking for people with a Masters? (again, not including the provinces where you need a PhD to register as a psychologist - namely BC, Ontario, Manitoba, PEI) For example at UofA one could theoretically go to get their MA in Clinical Psyc and just work with that in Alberta after

Idk I have heard that it is frowned upon (and lots of uni's outright state it), I just find it weird that it is frowned upon when there are jobs for those with a Masters + entry to a PhD isn't even guaranteed once you're done your Masters (not at all schools that is)
 

46 minutes ago, broski said:

You're correct with the example you provided. Your question is interesting so I did a quick search on AB Psych College's website and found this info sheet on mobility. They talk about the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) which guarantees the free movement of labour province-to-province. This agreement applies to psych graduates as well, so you can graduate in Ontario and go work in AB, New Brunswick, etc. no problem.

I can think of only one factor that might limit mobility between provinces, and that's course requirements. Province A might want X, Y, Z psych courses for registration, Province B might want X, Y, Z, W, and A courses for registration. Programs in Province B might provide W and A courses as part of their core curriculum. If you go to school in Province A but want to work in Province B, you'd need to take W and A courses as options or something. Tbh not that big of a deal as registration course requirements are pretty similar across provinces. I would check with psych colleges for each province to see what other requirements they want. 

What did you mean by taking W and A courses "as options"? Thank you for the response though! Definitely helpful

[broski]

3 minutes ago, shubeydubeydoo said:

Wait, why would it be frowned upon to only complete the Masters if there are jobs specifically looking for people with a Masters? (again, not including the provinces where you need a PhD to register as a psychologist - namely BC, Ontario, Manitoba, PEI) For example at UofA one could theoretically go to get their MA in Clinical Psyc and just work with that in Alberta after

Idk I have heard that it is frowned upon (and lots of uni's outright state it), I just find it weird that it is frowned upon when there are jobs for those with a Masters + entry to a PhD isn't even guaranteed once you're done your Masters (not at all schools that is)
 

What did you mean by taking W and A courses "as options"? Thank you for the response though! Definitely helpful

If your program doesn't offer courses required for registration in another province, or if they don't give you as much space in your schedule to finish those courses, then you might need to take those courses (courses could be undergrad or grad) at the same or another institution. It's a pre-req courses kind of thing.

Agreed with @laura23 you should also check out requirements for hours, and see if your program fulfills those requirements. Other than that ... if you have the masters then you can register in a province that only requires a masters. The most 'frowned upon' action would be to apply to a Masters+Phd degree where it's a 2-in-1 deal and then decide you don't want to continue to PhD, but even then, I don't know if schools make you sign a contract stipulating that you have to stay on? 

[LostSoulInPsychology]

31 minutes ago, broski said:

If your program doesn't offer courses required for registration in another province, or if they don't give you as much space in your schedule to finish those courses, then you might need to take those courses (courses could be undergrad or grad) at the same or another institution. It's a pre-req courses kind of thing.

Agreed with @laura23 you should also check out requirements for hours, and see if your program fulfills those requirements. Other than that ... if you have the masters then you can register in a province that only requires a masters. The most 'frowned upon' action would be to apply to a Masters+Phd degree where it's a 2-in-1 deal and then decide you don't want to continue to PhD, but even then, I don't know if schools make you sign a contract stipulating that you have to stay on? 

Ah okay interesting point. So basically just taking a few more courses nothing crazy, that's good to hear

And yeah I'm fairly certain those 2in1s accelerate you to the PhD pretty much after the first year of the Masters (so you pretty much have to stay on it's not like it's a choice). I don't think any of the programs that I'm currently looking at are 2in1s just because those tend to be more competitive and I don't match up atm (re: GPA and research exp.)

[laura23]

53 minutes ago, shubeydubeydoo said:

Wait, why would it be frowned upon to only complete the Masters if there are jobs specifically looking for people with a Masters? (again, not including the provinces where you need a PhD to register as a psychologist - namely BC, Ontario, Manitoba, PEI) For example at UofA one could theoretically go to get their MA in Clinical Psyc and just work with that in Alberta after

Idk I have heard that it is frowned upon (and lots of uni's outright state it), I just find it weird that it is frowned upon when there are jobs for those with a Masters + entry to a PhD isn't even guaranteed once you're done your Masters (not at all schools that is)
 

You very well could be right about U of Alberta. I was speaking more broadly since you mentioned Ontario. This is also a clinical-specific thing that I don’t believe extends to child/school or counselling psych. Quite a few programs mention on their websites that they don’t offer a terminal masters and only admit students that plan to continue on to their PhD, even if the province offers MA licensure. Obviously they can’t stop people from quitting, but it’s not ideal. Supervisors plan to have their students for 5+ years, and it doesn’t look great for CPA accreditation to have students dropping out before the PhD. For clinical programs specifically (does not apply to counselling, etc), admission to the PhD is basically guaranteed and expected. 

Edited July 26, 2020 by laura23

[LostSoulInPsychology]

Just now, laura23 said:

You very well could be right about Alberta. I was speaking more broadly since you mentioned Ontario. This is also a clinical-specific thing that I don’t believe extends to child/school or counselling psych. Quite a few programs mention on their websites that they don’t offer a terminal masters and only admit students that plan to continue on to their PhD, even if the province offers MA licensure. Obviously they can’t stop people from quitting, but it’s not ideal. Supervisors plan to have their students for 5+ years, and it doesn’t look great for CPA accreditation to have students dropping out before the PhD. For clinical programs specifically (does not apply to counselling, etc), admission to the PhD is basically guaranteed and expected. 

I see what you're saying! Makes sense makes sense. I guess I should take it with a grain of salt then when the MA in Clinical Psychology webpage from any specific university says that "entry to the PhD is not guaranteed" (ex. Lakehead - which is kind of one of my schools of choice!)

You're right about me mentioning Ontario (re: Lakehead being appealing to me), my bad for being confusing! I'm planning to apply pretty broadly (maybe not 10-15 programs as I said in an earlier post, but I have narrowed it down to 4-6 right now) so I wanted to understand each of the circumstances I'd be facing should I get in to any one of those 6

[laura23]

5 minutes ago, shubeydubeydoo said:

I see what you're saying! Makes sense makes sense. I guess I should take it with a grain of salt then when the MA in Clinical Psychology webpage from any specific university says that "entry to the PhD is not guaranteed" (ex. Lakehead - which is kind of one of my schools of choice!)

You're right about me mentioning Ontario (re: Lakehead being appealing to me), my bad for being confusing! I'm planning to apply pretty broadly (maybe not 10-15 programs as I said in an earlier post, but I have narrowed it down to 4-6 right now) so I wanted to understand each of the circumstances I'd be facing should I get in to any one of those 6

Makes sense, it’s a confusing process! I think they have to say that so there’s no liability on the rare occasion when someone does poorly or isn’t a good fit to continue onto the PhD. Otherwise it’s more of formality at most schools.

Edited July 26, 2020 by laura23

[NeuroLim3]

Hey everyone! When are you planning on sending out your applications? I know submissions are open from October - December (dates vary depending on the school), but how early are you planning on submitting them? I heard that earlier is better, so I'm trying to figure out my dates for GRE, completing my statement of interest, etc. 

[freudianslipintogradschool]

1 hour ago, NeuroLim3 said:

Hey everyone! When are you planning on sending out your applications? I know submissions are open from October - December (dates vary depending on the school), but how early are you planning on submitting them? I heard that earlier is better, so I'm trying to figure out my dates for GRE, completing my statement of interest, etc. 

I'm thinking second week of November!

[PrettyFlyForACogSci]

2 hours ago, NeuroLim3 said:

Hey everyone! When are you planning on sending out your applications? I know submissions are open from October - December (dates vary depending on the school), but how early are you planning on submitting them? I heard that earlier is better, so I'm trying to figure out my dates for GRE, completing my statement of interest, etc. 

I'm planning to submit early, between mid-October and early-November and then spend early November until December submitting funding applications. The idea of writing a research proposal for funding when I have no idea who my PI will be is a little ridiculous but I guess we really don't have a choice!

[LostSoulInPsychology]

23 minutes ago, PrettyFlyForACogSci said:

I'm planning to submit early, between mid-October and early-November and then spend early November until December submitting funding applications. The idea of writing a research proposal for funding when I have no idea who my PI will be is a little ridiculous but I guess we really don't have a choice!

I was actually just logging on to ask about this - so with this whole grad school application process I've always heard people talk about funding funding funding. But where do we even look for funding, and what would we even say in these research proposals, etc.? I'm completely clueless to the applying for funding process so anyone who reads this post feel free to go ham on your explanation the more info the better lol

[higaisha]

12 hours ago, NeuroLim3 said:

Hey everyone! When are you planning on sending out your applications? I know submissions are open from October - December (dates vary depending on the school), but how early are you planning on submitting them? I heard that earlier is better, so I'm trying to figure out my dates for GRE, completing my statement of interest, etc. 

Preparing early is a good idea, but schools don't review apps until they're all submitted, so submitting early doesn't really help (though 2 years ago some folks got interviews before apps were due, but thats rare). 

[NeuroLim3]

When seeking potential supervisors to reach out to, what is your criteria? I understand when you look for a PI for a purely research-oriented grad program, you want to get into a leading lab, where the grad students are publishing in high impact journals. Also, I've been told it's critical to find someone who is active, motivated, and obviously a good match...but is this even applicable for Clinical Psych Master's programs? I do ideally want to work with someone who will be a good mentor and maintains a healthy lab environment. 

At the moment, I'm filtering first by university, then lab topics and methods that interest me, and then seeing if the prof is even taking students. Then, I check out the professor...are they tenured? Are they pumping out publications? How many grad students do they have? What do their students have to say on RateMyProf? What else should I look out for?

Also, each university has approximately 3-5 labs that investigate the general topic I'm interested in. Does it look bad if I reach out to several profs in the same university?

[broski]

22 hours ago, shubeydubeydoo said:

I was actually just logging on to ask about this - so with this whole grad school application process I've always heard people talk about funding funding funding. But where do we even look for funding, and what would we even say in these research proposals, etc.? I'm completely clueless to the applying for funding process so anyone who reads this post feel free to go ham on your explanation the more info the better lol

We can apply for federal level masters funding which is the CGS-M scholarship (funded by SSHRC, CIHR, or NSERC depending on what your project topic is) which is like ~17,500/year for 1 year in any year of your masters. If you're applying for Ontario, you can also apply for the OGS scholarship but some schools automatically consider you for OGS when you apply for their program (not sure if it's some or all schools that do this). Other provinces have their own provincial scholarships. Deadline is in December or something the year before you wanna apply, so Dec 2020 for us. Applying for + getting any of these scholarships makes you more competitive for a clinical psych program because you're coming in with $$$ already. That means you're less costly for the department. For example without any of these scholarships, they might pay you a stipend of 20k, but with a scholarship they only have to pay you like 3k. Also the award itself is pretty prestigious so there's that lol

Proposal -- tbh you can write a proposal on anything, doesn't have to be related to your labs of interest, as long as it fits within the topic bounds of any of the 3 federal funding agencies. You should get a mentor to review it before submitting though, and make sure it's still a sound proposal.  also gotta fill out stuff related to your GPA, research experience, etc. 

This is a n00b answer cause I haven't done this before, please someone elaborate. 

[broski]

12 hours ago, NeuroLim3 said:

When seeking potential supervisors to reach out to, what is your criteria? I understand when you look for a PI for a purely research-oriented grad program, you want to get into a leading lab, where the grad students are publishing in high impact journals. Also, I've been told it's critical to find someone who is active, motivated, and obviously a good match...but is this even applicable for Clinical Psych Master's programs? I do ideally want to work with someone who will be a good mentor and maintains a healthy lab environment. 

At the moment, I'm filtering first by university, then lab topics and methods that interest me, and then seeing if the prof is even taking students. Then, I check out the professor...are they tenured? Are they pumping out publications? How many grad students do they have? What do their students have to say on RateMyProf? What else should I look out for?

Also, each university has approximately 3-5 labs that investigate the general topic I'm interested in. Does it look bad if I reach out to several profs in the same university?

My question for you is: are you interested in doing research as a career/getting into academia and/or getting into a PhD after a masters program? In that case, looking for a PI who is active in research could be a top priority. Mentorship style, healthy lab environment, match, etc. can be just as if not even more important. I would consider all these factors holistically. If you have 3-5 labs/school then you have more freedom to judge and select between PIs. I think in a Masters program these factors might be less important than in a PhD as the time commitments are different. But I think they're still important as a masters PI could help you build further connections, or give you research and publishing opportunities that will make you competitive for a PhD or other career options.

Reach out to as many profs you want at each school. You're trying to explore your options and profs know this. A lot of PIs don't update their websites, pub lists, CVs, etc. ?  You'll need to do an interview with them and/or talk to their current/past grad students to get a sense of what they're like as a mentor, what kind of research they're doing now, and ask other questions. So at this point I would cast a wide net, meaning that I would consider profs who don't necessarily meet all of my criteria because that could change + websites (esp Ratemyprof) don't tell you everything. I would also read their publications to see if their research is interesting to you. 

[clinical_psyc_hopeful]

How long should I wait before sending a follow up email after not receiving a response from a POI? Have you guys started emailing professors? How has your response rate been? Mine has been pretty low, so I am wondering if I should hold off until lat aug/sept

[LostSoulInPsychology]

1 hour ago, clinical_psyc_hopeful said:

How long should I wait before sending a follow up email after not receiving a response from a POI? Have you guys started emailing professors? How has your response rate been? Mine has been pretty low, so I am wondering if I should hold off until lat aug/sept

I've heard a two week period is good for follow up, me personally I haven't emailed anyone yet

[LostSoulInPsychology]

On 7/28/2020 at 8:55 AM, broski said:

We can apply for federal level masters funding which is the CGS-M scholarship (funded by SSHRC, CIHR, or NSERC depending on what your project topic is) which is like ~17,500/year for 1 year in any year of your masters. If you're applying for Ontario, you can also apply for the OGS scholarship but some schools automatically consider you for OGS when you apply for their program (not sure if it's some or all schools that do this). Other provinces have their own provincial scholarships. Deadline is in December or something the year before you wanna apply, so Dec 2020 for us. Applying for + getting any of these scholarships makes you more competitive for a clinical psych program because you're coming in with $$$ already. That means you're less costly for the department. For example without any of these scholarships, they might pay you a stipend of 20k, but with a scholarship they only have to pay you like 3k. Also the award itself is pretty prestigious so there's that lol

Proposal -- tbh you can write a proposal on anything, doesn't have to be related to your labs of interest, as long as it fits within the topic bounds of any of the 3 federal funding agencies. You should get a mentor to review it before submitting though, and make sure it's still a sound proposal.  also gotta fill out stuff related to your GPA, research experience, etc. 

This is a n00b answer cause I haven't done this before, please someone elaborate. 

Thank you for the helpful info! I feel like this gets me a decent little start, is it only the big 3 that provide funding? What about provincial level stuff?

& does anyone else reading this have any info/tips of where to look?

[LMoll]

1 hour ago, clinical_psyc_hopeful said:

How long should I wait before sending a follow up email after not receiving a response from a POI? Have you guys started emailing professors? How has your response rate been? Mine has been pretty low, so I am wondering if I should hold off until lat aug/sept

I emailed 11 POIs on Monday. 6 got back to me and I'm still waiting on 5. I was surprised that it took those six between 20 mins and 1 day to respond (didn't think it would be so soon before I got a response). A lot of POIs take late July and early August off for vacation is what I've heard, so I'm probably going to wait 2 weeks as well before considering a follow up.