Applying to multiple Programs at one institution?

[EyelandPychePhD]

Question for you all-

Does it look bad to apply to multiple programs within one institution?

For example, some schools have a Clinical Psychology PhD, a Counseling Psychology PhD, and a Clinical or Counseling Psychology PsyD. Would it look bad or work against me to apply to more than one or even all three programs?

All comments are much appreciated. Thank you!

[PsyDuck90]

Some schools explicitly prohibit this, so it depends on the school. I would reach out to someone in admissions if possible to find out. 

[Bernt]

I applied to two programs at the same school (microbiology and BE) and got into both. Applying to multiple programs at the same school can work, but you need to have a "good" reason to do so. Admissions committees can tell when you're applying to multiple programs just because you want to get into the school (by whatever means necessary). This will reflect badly on you, indicate you aren't really interested in each program, and decrease your chances of admission. 

You need to show clear interest in each individual program. You also need to prepare to answer the question: "why are you applying to multiple programs?" For me, I applied to multiple programs because my interests spanned both programs. The programs also had different structures/focuses for classes and rotations, which I wanted to explore. I used the interview weekends to get a feel for the programs (beyond what was written on the website) and explicitly stated that during interviews: "I am interested in both programs because I have research interests in many broad areas; I want to explore and understand these research topics during these interviews, and get an idea of how good my research fit is. I also want to interact with current students/administrators to better understand the nuances and focuses of each program."

 

 

[Psyche007]

Some schools allow consideration for other programmes with a single application. For example, as part of the clinical psych PhD app at my programme, there was an option to also be considered for the clinical psych PsyD programme. That's information you should be able to find out with a phone call.