Fall 2021 Social & Personality PhD

[aurorma]

Hello! 

Just saw the clinical/counseling thread and thought to start a forum for all applicants applying to social/personality psychologyPhD programs (app due in Fall 2020)! Working on my list of schools now, hopefully will post that by the end of May. I'm mostly interested in exploring subjective well-being and quality of life, with several approaches currently in mind -

1. psychometrics - how to measure these traits accurately (including cross-lang, nation, culture) and efficiently
2. self-regulation
3. goal and meaning in life
4. emotional regulation and stress-coping (a bit of mindfulness too!)
5. cross-cultural effect

I look forward to getting to know y'all, while learning more about these fields themselves as well as deciding which one to pursue (or maybe I dont need to make that decision yet?).

Hope this is useful for y'all and good luck to everyone! :)

 

[PokePsych]

If anyone has any questions or wants a SOP proofreader, feel free to reach out

[777SPY777]

Glad that you created this new thread for social / personality psychology Ph.D Program! Thanks for starting one!

I am also applying this year. Just started studying GRE and doing my research to fill out a lit of my goal programs and faculty with related research interest.

I am still trying to narrow down my research interest (omg there are just too many things that I am interested...). Hope I have more specific interest soon. I will post the list of programs later on!

 

My general questions for you guys is,

How did you all know you know that particular topic (research interest) is what you really want to pursue when there are tons of other interesting topics out there?

How much research experience/ skills do you have? Do you guys have enough research experience particularly related to your research interest?

[PokePsych]

11 hours ago, 777SPY777 said:

My general questions for you guys is,

How did you all know you know that particular topic (research interest) is what you really want to pursue when there are tons of other interesting topics out there?

How much research experience/ skills do you have? Do you guys have enough research experience particularly related to your research interest?

What are the questions that you 'keep' asking yourself. And try to find a common theme in that.

As for research experience - it's very difficult to compare. Quality over quantity for sure. However, many skills are transferable, so it doesn't necessarily have to be int hat specific topic.

[imemine]

16 hours ago, 777SPY777 said:

How did you all know you know that particular topic (research interest) is what you really want to pursue when there are tons of other interesting topics out there?

When I was going through the process, it helped me to recall what topics I was most drawn to in each of my psychology classes. I had a lot of final papers that allowed me to pick a topic, and I realized I kept going back to the same topic areas (ie. emotion, self, individual differences) for each of these papers. It's okay if you don't have a specific question that drives you, or if you have more than one area of interest. But try to narrow your focus to just a couple of these broad content areas.

Nobody really knows if their research interests are what they "really want to pursue" forever (in fact, your interests are expected to evolve in grad school!), but it stands to reason that if you've been gravitating towards certain content areas throughout undergrad, you'll likely still be drawn to them in grad school.

[aurorma]

On 5/20/2020 at 12:32 AM, 777SPY777 said:

Glad that you created this new thread for social / personality psychology Ph.D Program! Thanks for starting one!

I am also applying this year. Just started studying GRE and doing my research to fill out a lit of my goal programs and faculty with related research interest.

I am still trying to narrow down my research interest (omg there are just too many things that I am interested...). Hope I have more specific interest soon. I will post the list of programs later on!

 

My general questions for you guys is,

How did you all know you know that particular topic (research interest) is what you really want to pursue when there are tons of other interesting topics out there?

How much research experience/ skills do you have? Do you guys have enough research experience particularly related to your research interest?

Some great points above already! Adding my two cents - go through different school's psych dept, and see what all the profs are doing (check on some students' projects too, if you have time). Browsing through their research work often helps me a lot in clarifying my paths. Hope it helps!

[aurorma]

On 5/19/2020 at 11:46 AM, PokePsych said:

If anyone has any questions or wants a SOP proofreader, feel free to reach out

That'll be great! It kind of surprised me that everything is pretty much 500-1000 words, gotta condense my thoughts a bit 

[Bald Academic]

On 5/19/2020 at 12:46 PM, PokePsych said:

If anyone has any questions or wants a SOP proofreader, feel free to reach out

You are always so helpful ❤️

[Bald Academic]

On 5/20/2020 at 1:32 AM, 777SPY777 said:

Glad that you created this new thread for social / personality psychology Ph.D Program! Thanks for starting one!

I am also applying this year. Just started studying GRE and doing my research to fill out a lit of my goal programs and faculty with related research interest.

I am still trying to narrow down my research interest (omg there are just too many things that I am interested...). Hope I have more specific interest soon. I will post the list of programs later on!

 

My general questions for you guys is,

How did you all know you know that particular topic (research interest) is what you really want to pursue when there are tons of other interesting topics out there?

How much research experience/ skills do you have? Do you guys have enough research experience particularly related to your research interest?

My interests are broad but they all relate to personality psychology. Now in my master's, I was forced to pick up a specific topic to develop my thesis, which is concerned with mechanisms underlying personality traits. It is not an easy thing to do, because it will take up most of your time, so pick something you are obsessed about.

 

As for my research experience, I have worked as an undergraduate research assistant for 3 years in a project for developing a school achievement test--activities ranged from test administration, to data collection, to data entry. Basic stuff. And now in my master (2 years), I basically had to come up with a research question, so my supervisor would help me to think the best way to approach it.

Edited June 2, 2020 by Fabretti
I didn't complete the message.

[psych_applicant123]

Hey everyone, first time posting! Would anyone be willing to give their perspective on my applicant profile? I apologize if this is an annoying ask, but I’m truly uncertain about my chances, and any feedback would be a huge help. Thank you so much in advance. 
 

I don’t have a formal psych background. I studied economics in undergrad, and am now in UC Irvine’s sociology PhD program (will exit with a terminal M.A.). My independent M.A. research project was social psychological and statistical (and I will submit for review soon), but my undergrad research experience, while interesting (e.g., prison ethnography), will need to be cleverly framed as social psych related. Through this M.A. process I’ve discovered that I’m absolutely fascinated by positive psych, social psych, and personality psych, and can’t imagine doing anything else. I feel confident that I have the necessary requisite psych knowledge (via lots of informal self-educating, one graduate course in the psychology of motivation (received an A+), as well as T.A.ing for social psych and intro to psych). But now that the Psych GRE subject test is cancelled, I have no way to “prove” this.
 

Any idea on how schools would interpret my profile? And any tips on what I can do to assess/improve my chances? I am optimistic that my recs will be strong (two from sociology and one from psych dept.). My grad GPA is 3.93 and GRE is 169 V / 158 Q / 4.5 AWA, which I’m quite happy with, but I worry that without a strong Psych GRE subject test score to lean on, schools will see me as unprepared for a Psych PhD. Aside from UCI, I’m only applying to schools that are a great research fit (UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis, UVA, Penn, U of British Col.), but I worry that I’m shooting too high. 

[socialpsychnerd]

On 5/20/2020 at 12:32 AM, 777SPY777 said:

Glad that you created this new thread for social / personality psychology Ph.D Program! Thanks for starting one!

I am also applying this year. Just started studying GRE and doing my research to fill out a lit of my goal programs and faculty with related research interest.

I am still trying to narrow down my research interest (omg there are just too many things that I am interested...). Hope I have more specific interest soon. I will post the list of programs later on!

 

My general questions for you guys is,

How did you all know you know that particular topic (research interest) is what you really want to pursue when there are tons of other interesting topics out there?

How much research experience/ skills do you have? Do you guys have enough research experience particularly related to your research interest?

Thanks for starting this thread! Any help at all I do deeply appreciate, and starting this has helped me so far gain some perspective.

I am applying this year as well. I'm studying to take the GRE at the end of the month (and have been doing so for 2 months now). I graduated in 2018 with a 3.4 GPA, this is while working 2 research labs in both psych (intervention study) and public health. I left to study in another country in another language and completed a master's in a year, but because of my difficulties there my grades aren't where I want them (it's around a little less than a 3.0 in their scaling system), but I did write my thesis in another language and I did really well on that. Knowing how bad I've been historically with standardized tests, my latest practice tests are giving me 160Quant, 150Verbal. Now I work on a research team doing more intervention work, but relatively unrelated to my topics of interest. Lots of my research experience has been different in topics, but have tended on similar themes (heavily involved in data collection).

I know I'm broadly interested in morality, persuasion, intergroup conflict, political behavior (voting, collective action, political participation), and impact of macro level factors on individuals. I also want to put these things to action, sensitively. I also think a lot about the impact of colonialism, climate change, inequality, the current pandemic, mass media, misinformation, and masculinity on individuals, and how we treat each other. I've been interested in UMass Amherst, UCIrvine, UIllinois Urbana-Champaign, Clark has a cool department, and I'm lucky I've found plenty of programs with at least 2 professors I like.

Questions to you all:

1) Should I even go ahead and include my GRE scores? I mean all of my list are making the GRE optional or even fully suggest not to send. I'm worried about them looking down on my master's degree, when I know it's not an accurate representation of me as a student. And I don't have any publications or conference presentations, all I have really are my research experiences.

2) Does anyone have any other schools I should consider? 

3) Are my interests too narrow? I mean I have more of a clear direction I see and I even already have research ideas in mind with certain professors, but I'm worried I'm not being broad enough.

Thanks everyone!

 

[PianoPsych]

On 9/5/2020 at 1:46 AM, psych_applicant123 said:

Hey everyone, first time posting! Would anyone be willing to give their perspective on my applicant profile? I apologize if this is an annoying ask, but I’m truly uncertain about my chances, and any feedback would be a huge help. Thank you so much in advance. 
 

I don’t have a formal psych background. I studied economics in undergrad, and am now in UC Irvine’s sociology PhD program (will exit with a terminal M.A.). My independent M.A. research project was social psychological and statistical (and I will submit for review soon), but my undergrad research experience, while interesting (e.g., prison ethnography), will need to be cleverly framed as social psych related. Through this M.A. process I’ve discovered that I’m absolutely fascinated by positive psych, social psych, and personality psych, and can’t imagine doing anything else. I feel confident that I have the necessary requisite psych knowledge (via lots of informal self-educating, one graduate course in the psychology of motivation (received an A+), as well as T.A.ing for social psych and intro to psych). But now that the Psych GRE subject test is cancelled, I have no way to “prove” this.
 

Any idea on how schools would interpret my profile? And any tips on what I can do to assess/improve my chances? I am optimistic that my recs will be strong (two from sociology and one from psych dept.). My grad GPA is 3.93 and GRE is 169 V / 158 Q / 4.5 AWA, which I’m quite happy with, but I worry that without a strong Psych GRE subject test score to lean on, schools will see me as unprepared for a Psych PhD. Aside from UCI, I’m only applying to schools that are a great research fit (UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis, UVA, Penn, U of British Col.), but I worry that I’m shooting too high. 

Your profile looks strong to me! Research fit (and personality/work style fit, and funding) should matter the most, and I wouldn't worry about shooting too high.

Some people who get into Psych programs do so without a formal Psych degree (I know 2 in my area who come from non-psych backgrounds). It might mean some extra time catching up on coursework, but judging by your experience with TAing and self-learning I don't see a gap there either. With your background you might approach psych with innovative lens and that would be a plus for your application. (i.e., I would recommend situating your research and interests within social/personality/positive psych theories/findings, like you mentioned, but also discussing how your economics/sociological background will be a strength).

If your psych recommender focuses on your readiness and potential for psych grad school, that would further strengthen your app.

I may be out of the loop, but I think some schools are waiving the GRE Psych requirement to avoid disadvantaging students like you.

Good luck ?

[psych_applicant123]

20 hours ago, PianoPsych said:

Your profile looks strong to me! Research fit (and personality/work style fit, and funding) should matter the most, and I wouldn't worry about shooting too high.

Some people who get into Psych programs do so without a formal Psych degree (I know 2 in my area who come from non-psych backgrounds). It might mean some extra time catching up on coursework, but judging by your experience with TAing and self-learning I don't see a gap there either. With your background you might approach psych with innovative lens and that would be a plus for your application. (i.e., I would recommend situating your research and interests within social/personality/positive psych theories/findings, like you mentioned, but also discussing how your economics/sociological background will be a strength).

If your psych recommender focuses on your readiness and potential for psych grad school, that would further strengthen your app.

I may be out of the loop, but I think some schools are waiving the GRE Psych requirement to avoid disadvantaging students like you.

Good luck ?

Thank you for the advice and perspective! Much appreciated!

[aurorma]

Saw lots of discussions going around in other subtopic threads  hopefully more will happen here so we resurface more often!

[Bald Academic]

Just finished my applications for University of Oregon, UIUC and UMN. Fingers crossed.

[phdwannabequeen]

Hi,

Applications are in and I cannot relax. I'm glad this thread is here. Each time I try to get info, it only relates to clinical programs. I hope this becomes more active as this is my first phd application cycle and I have no idea what to expect. Good luck to all!!!

[inwaldosia123]

8 hours ago, phdwannabequeen said:

Hi,

Applications are in and I cannot relax. I'm glad this thread is here. Each time I try to get info, it only relates to clinical programs. I hope this becomes more active as this is my first phd application cycle and I have no idea what to expect. Good luck to all!!!

I'm totally with you...it almost feels like everyone is applying for clinical programs lol.

[aurorma]

22 hours ago, Skyler0117 said:

I'm totally with you...it almost feels like everyone is applying for clinical programs lol.

Agreed! Felt so weird that according to many admission stats I saw (i.e. UC Berkeley), clinical and social receive similar amount of application (~600 per year). But the clinical programs just got way more discussion than here. 

[Milou2644]

Hi all, 

Sending you all patience as we desperately check our phones and emails every two seconds! 

Has anyone started hearing back from social psych programs? I see a couple of informal interviews for social psych programs but nothing else. Maybe a little extra desperate to post here as well, but can you blame me?! 

Thank you! 

[inwaldosia123]

On 12/19/2020 at 7:35 AM, Milou2644 said:

Hi all, 

Sending you all patience as we desperately check our phones and emails every two seconds! 

Has anyone started hearing back from social psych programs? I see a couple of informal interviews for social psych programs but nothing else. Maybe a little extra desperate to post here as well, but can you blame me?! 

Thank you! 

Nothing yet. Quite anxious

[aurorma]

On 12/18/2020 at 6:35 PM, Milou2644 said:

Hi all, 

Sending you all patience as we desperately check our phones and emails every two seconds! 

Has anyone started hearing back from social psych programs? I see a couple of informal interviews for social psych programs but nothing else. Maybe a little extra desperate to post here as well, but can you blame me?! 

Thank you! 

Heard from a colleague that Rutgers has been extending some pre-interview invites, hope some will arrive soon. 

[socialpsychnerd]

Hi everyone, I'm anxious too. I feel like I'm checking my email all the time and it feels obsessive. ?  How are ya'll doing/managing?

I got an informal interview already, which feels great, but it feels weird having only heard from 1 and not the rest...

Wishing everyone all the luck in the world!!!!! ❤️ 

 

(also shoutout to aurorma for starting this thread!!!)

Edited December 22, 2020 by socialpsychnerd

[gparks]

Got an interview invite from University of Houston on December 16th. Had a pre-deadline informal interview with them and UC Riverside. Heard nothing else so far.

Edited December 22, 2020 by gparks

[aurorma]

1 hour ago, socialpsychnerd said:

Hi everyone, I'm anxious too. I feel like I'm checking my email all the time and it feels obsessive. ?  How are ya'll doing/managing?

I got an informal interview already, which feels great, but it feels weird having only heard from 1 and not the rest...

Wishing everyone all the luck in the world!!!!! ❤️ 

 

(also shoutout to aurorma for starting this thread!!!)

Congrats! hang in there. I'm assuming things could get slow in the next two weeks given finals are just over and profs might take off for holidays (though it might also mean they got time to review our apps). 

[socialpsychnerd]

1 hour ago, aurorma said:

Congrats! hang in there. I'm assuming things could get slow in the next two weeks given finals are just over and profs might take off for holidays (though it might also mean they got time to review our apps). 

I assume so too. Really think we're either gonna hear back tomorrow or in January.

 

Also, just saw that Van Bavel posted this thread on twitter, seems like programs are really competitive this year: https://twitter.com/jayvanbavel/status/1334558142240321544?s=21