2022-2023 Clinical Psychology Applications - Canada

[BeezKnees]

Hi all,

I'm a current PhD clinical psychology student at York U. If anyone has any questions about the application process or York U specifically, they can feel free to reach out to me!

[psycpolarbear]

Does anyone know what is happening with the GRE for the Fall 2022 application cycle? I know some schools have posted that they won't require it, but I'm not sure about others. I reached out to Calgary to see if they will require it (their website currently says they will) and haven't gotten a response). I would appreciate if anyone had any insight! ?

[lishlish]

On 7/13/2021 at 3:45 PM, psycpolarbear said:

Does anyone know what is happening with the GRE for the Fall 2022 application cycle? I know some schools have posted that they won't require it, but I'm not sure about others. I reached out to Calgary to see if they will require it (their website currently says they will) and haven't gotten a response). I would appreciate if anyone had any insight! ?

Hey, a lot of schools are waiving it again. I have been keeping track and so far I know of: McMaster (always optional), Ryerson (will never require again), U of T Scarborough (not requiring this year, also Western I emailed and they are not, Windsor (might not require again, even after this cycle), Lakehead, York, and Waterloo. Everyone feel free to correct me if I got any of this wrong as I could have easily mixed up things on my list :).

I was planning to take it this summer, but I emailed my top schools in advance and they expressed they would be waiving. One less thing to stress over for me LOL. 

[PeanutButterBread]

On 7/10/2021 at 4:52 PM, VanessaB said:

I'll be applying to continue to the PhD in SCCP at UAlberta. I'm only applying to this program because my supervisor is such a great person and so easy to work with, I want to stay in Alberta and work permanently in the province, and the program is a perfect fit. Currently, I'm heading into my second year of my master's in SCCP this fall. As many of you have mentioned, once your foot is in the door, things get (somewhat) easier. I say somewhat easier because there's always going to be pressure to produce meaningful research contributions, secure funding, etc. Students who are currently completing their masters in my program and who apply for the PhD get prioritized in the application cycle, so I feel like a big weight has been lifted off of my shoulders in that regard. Originally, I wasn't sure if I'd continue to the PhD since I could technically register with my masters in Alberta and I'm itching to get back into the professional workforce, but given that the SCCP program is a dual specialization, I've realized that I need the full scope of training to feel competent in my field. Plus, the 1600-hour internship can be used to fulfill part of our registration requirement in Alberta for those wanting to be a psychologist, so it's nice that it's integrated in the PhD program.

For people who are just starting out and applying for CGS-M funding, my best advice is (1) feel free to take a few lines in your proposal to talk about yourself and your training/preparation. Your proposal doesn't have to be all about what you're going to research and the what, where, when, why and how of it all. You can also talk about why you're the best person to conduct the research, including your training and supports you have in place to ensure you will get the study done in a timely manner. Think of it as you're selling your study AND yourself to a reader/committee. As well, (2) it's often great to talk about dissemination and knowledge mobilization plans. It speaks to the impact your research will have. Finally, (3) get as many people as you can from within your field and outside of your field to read your proposal drafts. After many revisions, when I thought I was ready to submit my proposal, I had yet another person read it, which led to switching the order of paragraphs. Up until that point I had never considered changing the order of ideas that drastically. While I'm sure each university is different in what they look for, I can confirm that I did all of these things and I was successful in the 2020 CGS-M competition, so hopefully those little pieces of advice will help others.

This is great advice, thank you so much. I wish you all the best with your application! It would be a dream for me to get into a masters program in psych, even if it would not be clinical- but that's what my aim is for now. It's also great to hear that you work well with your supervisor, that's definitely an important aspect, especially when they'll be mentoring you for years.

[PeanutButterBread]

On 7/10/2021 at 5:35 PM, BeezKnees said:

Hi all,

I'm a current PhD clinical psychology student at York U. If anyone has any questions about the application process or York U specifically, they can feel free to reach out to me!

Hi thanks so much for offering to help, that's so kind! Can I PM you?

[BeezKnees]

1 minute ago, PeanutButterBread said:

Hi thanks so much for offering to help, that's so kind! Can I PM you?

Absolutely!

[psycpolarbear]

On 7/14/2021 at 11:28 PM, lishlish said:

Hey, a lot of schools are waiving it again. I have been keeping track and so far I know of: McMaster (always optional), Ryerson (will never require again), U of T Scarborough (not requiring this year, also Western I emailed and they are not, Windsor (might not require again, even after this cycle), Lakehead, York, and Waterloo. Everyone feel free to correct me if I got any of this wrong as I could have easily mixed up things on my list :).

I was planning to take it this summer, but I emailed my top schools in advance and they expressed they would be waiving. One less thing to stress over for me LOL. 

Thank you so much! This is so helpful, especially since I'll be applying to many of those schools. I'm still waiting to hear from Calgary because I do not want to write that awful test. 

[prospectivegradstudent21]

hi everybody! i'll be applying again to american and canadian phd programs this cycle, specifically in child psych. if anybody wants to talk id be more than happy. i did have a question though, how can i make myself more competitive this cycle (as compared to last cycle). im hoping to stay in my psych labs through my profs and hopefully do more posters and such and also gain some clinical experience! id love to know what u guys r doing to be "different" from the last cycle! thank you  

[lishlish]

1 hour ago, psycpolarbear said:

Thank you so much! This is so helpful, especially since I'll be applying to many of those schools. I'm still waiting to hear from Calgary because I do not want to write that awful test. 

Anytime, and I hope it ends up being good news

[cpsych2021]

Hi everyone,

I'm starting the RCT program at McMaster this September. I start in September so I don't have a lot of advice about the actual program but I am happy to share my experience with the application process! Please feel free to reach out  

 

 

[cpsych2021]

On 6/28/2021 at 8:51 AM, space-psych said:

Hi everyone. I'll be applying to Master's programs for the first time this year (both Clinical and Counselling). I am completing my 4th year in Honours Applied Psych. So far, I plan to apply to: Ryerson U, Concordia U, York U & U of T (Counselling and Clinical Psych - OISE).

I think like many other posts I've read so far in the forum, many of us question whether we're competitive enough to get in (i certainly question it 24/7). Makes this whole process that much more nerve-wracking. 

Any advice about these grad schools and their processes? Would be greatly appreciated!

 

 

 

Hi! I also applied to clinical psych programs during my 4th year of undergrad. I found it helpful to start my first drafts of my SOI and CGS-M application during the summer. Because I started so early, I had lots of time to ask for feedback. I also made a list of potential interview questions during the summer and would frequently look over them and think about them (but I didn't start actually practicing answers until I was invited to interview).

I also questioned whether I was competitive enough throughout the process. I didn't have any publications or even experience at conferences. My best advice would be to reach out to anyone that you can. If it weren't for my mentors (I had an awesome mentor through the CPA mentorship program and a grad student from my lab who mentored me throughout the process), I doubt that I would have been as competitive as I was. These mentors not only helped me to build a competitive application but provided much needed emotional support. That application process was one of the hardest things that I have done in my life!

Please feel free to reach out about the application process at Ryerson. I wasn't accepted at Ryerson but I did go through the interview process both with my POI and the clinical interview. 

I hope that this helps   

 

[PeanutButterBread]

7 hours ago, cpsych2021 said:

Hi! I also applied to clinical psych programs during my 4th year of undergrad. I found it helpful to start my first drafts of my SOI and CGS-M application during the summer. Because I started so early, I had lots of time to ask for feedback. I also made a list of potential interview questions during the summer and would frequently look over them and think about them (but I didn't start actually practicing answers until I was invited to interview).

I also questioned whether I was competitive enough throughout the process. I didn't have any publications or even experience at conferences. My best advice would be to reach out to anyone that you can. If it weren't for my mentors (I had an awesome mentor through the CPA mentorship program and a grad student from my lab who mentored me throughout the process), I doubt that I would have been as competitive as I was. These mentors not only helped me to build a competitive application but provided much needed emotional support. That application process was one of the hardest things that I have done in my life!

Please feel free to reach out about the application process at Ryerson. I wasn't accepted at Ryerson but I did go through the interview process both with my POI and the clinical interview. 

I hope that this helps   

 

Hiii  Congratulations that you got in to McMaster, you must be so excited! I was just wondering how the interview process was for you? I am not sure if I'll even make it that far tbh but I guess I'm just curious about the questions they asked and I guess what answers the interviewers are looking for. Also, if you have any tips on writing statements of intent, that would be much appreciated! Congrats again on your accomplishment!!!

[cpsych2021]

21 hours ago, PeanutButterBread said:

Hiii  Congratulations that you got in to McMaster, you must be so excited! I was just wondering how the interview process was for you? I am not sure if I'll even make it that far tbh but I guess I'm just curious about the questions they asked and I guess what answers the interviewers are looking for. Also, if you have any tips on writing statements of intent, that would be much appreciated! Congrats again on your accomplishment!!!

Thank you   My POI was also my undergraduate supervisor so I didn't do an interview with her, but I did do the official interview with the admissions committee. The interview was very structured. Basically, 5 committee members took turns asking questions. I think that the questions aren't the same for everyone but I would definitely expect to be asked why you are a good fit for the position. Also, at the end of the interview they give you some time to ask questions yourself. I definitely spent more time asking questions then I did answering questions! 

In regard to the SOI, it should be like a sales pitch for your POI and should focus on your research and clinical experiences. The McMaster SOI is really tricky because there is so little space! Here's a great article that helped me out a lot: https://psychology.unl.edu/psichi/Graduate_School_Application_Kisses_of_Death.pdf This being said, slightly against the advice of the mentioned article, I actually did end up personalizing my SOI and and talked a little about what drew me to clinical psychology. As a mature student, it felt relevant and important to mention this in my SOI and I think that it may have helped me to stand out. 

Also, and maybe this problem has already been fixed, it doesn't mention that a CV is necessary for the PNB RCT application but it most definitely is! I'm not sure why it doesn't actually state this when you are applying. So anything that you didn't have space to highlight in you SOI, you can mention in your CV.

 

[PeanutButterBread]

12 minutes ago, cpsych2021 said:

Thank you   My POI was also my undergraduate supervisor so I didn't do an interview with her, but I did do the official interview with the admissions committee. The interview was very structured. Basically, 5 committee members took turns asking questions. I think that the questions aren't the same for everyone but I would definitely expect to be asked why you are a good fit for the position. Also, at the end of the interview they give you some time to ask questions yourself. I definitely spent more time asking questions then I did answering questions! 

In regard to the SOI, it should be like a sales pitch for your POI and should focus on your research and clinical experiences. The McMaster SOI is really tricky because there is so little space! Here's a great article that helped me out a lot: https://psychology.unl.edu/psichi/Graduate_School_Application_Kisses_of_Death.pdf This being said, slightly against the advice of the mentioned article, I actually did end up personalizing my SOI and and talked a little about what drew me to clinical psychology. As a mature student, it felt relevant and important to mention this in my SOI and I think that it may have helped me to stand out. 

Also, and maybe this problem has already been fixed, it doesn't mention that a CV is necessary for the PNB RCT application but it most definitely is! I'm not sure why it doesn't actually state this when you are applying. So anything that you didn't have space to highlight in you SOI, you can mention in your CV.

 

Hi thank you so much!! This is super helpful to know! I definitely struggle with asking questions to interviewers afterwards so I need to prepare for that part- 5 committee members sound quite intimidating! I need to fine tune my interview skills haha

And thank you also for the article, I appreciate it

[space-psych]

On 7/18/2021 at 10:37 AM, cpsych2021 said:

Hi! I also applied to clinical psych programs during my 4th year of undergrad. I found it helpful to start my first drafts of my SOI and CGS-M application during the summer. Because I started so early, I had lots of time to ask for feedback. I also made a list of potential interview questions during the summer and would frequently look over them and think about them (but I didn't start actually practicing answers until I was invited to interview).

I also questioned whether I was competitive enough throughout the process. I didn't have any publications or even experience at conferences. My best advice would be to reach out to anyone that you can. If it weren't for my mentors (I had an awesome mentor through the CPA mentorship program and a grad student from my lab who mentored me throughout the process), I doubt that I would have been as competitive as I was. These mentors not only helped me to build a competitive application but provided much needed emotional support. That application process was one of the hardest things that I have done in my life!

Please feel free to reach out about the application process at Ryerson. I wasn't accepted at Ryerson but I did go through the interview process both with my POI and the clinical interview. 

I hope that this helps   

 

@cpsych2021 Thank you for your advice! I totally forgot about the CPA mentorship program. I'm in the process of being approved for CPA student membership and intend to apply as a mentee. 

[cpsych2021]

17 hours ago, space-psych said:

@cpsych2021 Thank you for your advice! I totally forgot about the CPA mentorship program. I'm in the process of being approved for CPA student membership and intend to apply as a mentee. 

That's so great! I hope that the program is as helpful to you as it was for me ☺️

[Terelia]

Hi again everyone! :) 

I'm curious if anyone has any insight into applying to more than one program or "stream" at the same university. 

I am primarily interested in clinical but this is my third round of applications and do want to be open to different programs as backup plans at this point - such as experimental. How is this viewed by the department/future supervisors? Does this look "unfocused" on applications? Just curious if anyone has any insight - I don't want to shoot myself in the foot on my clinical applications just because I list experimental as my second choice. 

[RebeccaPsych]

Hi, all! 

I'll be applying to Canadian programs again this year as an international (American) student. Last year, I was told that very few schools would have funding for international students given... all that was 2020. Does anyone have insight into what the current situation is like? I'm interesting in pursuing a degree in Canada, but I don't want to be shooting myself in the foot. 

Thank you! 

[CateFace]

On 8/5/2021 at 6:40 AM, Terelia said:

Hi again everyone!

I'm curious if anyone has any insight into applying to more than one program or "stream" at the same university. 

I am primarily interested in clinical but this is my third round of applications and do want to be open to different programs as backup plans at this point - such as experimental. How is this viewed by the department/future supervisors? Does this look "unfocused" on applications? Just curious if anyone has any insight - I don't want to shoot myself in the foot on my clinical applications just because I list experimental as my second choice. 

I did this last year and was accepted into one and not the other. In my interview for the program I was accepted, I was asked where else I had applied and what programs. When I stated the other program within the same school I was asked why. My answer was simply that I realize there are multiple pathways to achieving the same end goal and that I felt both programs shared a lot of overlap and both offered what I needed to pursue my interests. I was admitted to the one that I answered this into, so just be truthful - there really is a lot of overlap in different programs with the same opportunities to pursue your research. 

[shuttleboooo]

Hello there!! 

Is anyone interested in applying for Memorial's PsyD program, or had experiences in applying? I really want to do PsyD instead of PhD, unfortunately there are so few options in Canada...

[Terelia]

15 hours ago, CateFace said:

I did this last year and was accepted into one and not the other. In my interview for the program I was accepted, I was asked where else I had applied and what programs. When I stated the other program within the same school I was asked why. My answer was simply that I realize there are multiple pathways to achieving the same end goal and that I felt both programs shared a lot of overlap and both offered what I needed to pursue my interests. I was admitted to the one that I answered this into, so just be truthful - there really is a lot of overlap in different programs with the same opportunities to pursue your research. 

Thank you for this! That is great advice

[Edge98]

On 7/16/2021 at 9:24 AM, psycpolarbear said:

Thank you so much! This is so helpful, especially since I'll be applying to many of those schools. I'm still waiting to hear from Calgary because I do not want to write that awful test. 

Calgary is not requiring the GRE (forever). They listed this on their website as well  Clinical Psychology - MSc - Thesis | Faculty of Graduate Studies | University of Calgary (ucalgary.ca)

[shuttleboooo]

Hi thank you for your sharing!! Would you know if masters-level psychologists are common in Alberta? Would they be less competitive or have less employment opportunities than the doctoral-level ones? 

[shuttleboooo]

On 7/11/2021 at 4:52 AM, VanessaB said:

I'll be applying to continue to the PhD in SCCP at UAlberta. I'm only applying to this program because my supervisor is such a great person and so easy to work with, I want to stay in Alberta and work permanently in the province, and the program is a perfect fit. Currently, I'm heading into my second year of my master's in SCCP this fall. As many of you have mentioned, once your foot is in the door, things get (somewhat) easier. I say somewhat easier because there's always going to be pressure to produce meaningful research contributions, secure funding, etc. Students who are currently completing their masters in my program and who apply for the PhD get prioritized in the application cycle, so I feel like a big weight has been lifted off of my shoulders in that regard. Originally, I wasn't sure if I'd continue to the PhD since I could technically register with my masters in Alberta and I'm itching to get back into the professional workforce, but given that the SCCP program is a dual specialization, I've realized that I need the full scope of training to feel competent in my field. Plus, the 1600-hour internship can be used to fulfill part of our registration requirement in Alberta for those wanting to be a psychologist, so it's nice that it's integrated in the PhD program.

For people who are just starting out and applying for CGS-M funding, my best advice is (1) feel free to take a few lines in your proposal to talk about yourself and your training/preparation. Your proposal doesn't have to be all about what you're going to research and the what, where, when, why and how of it all. You can also talk about why you're the best person to conduct the research, including your training and supports you have in place to ensure you will get the study done in a timely manner. Think of it as you're selling your study AND yourself to a reader/committee. As well, (2) it's often great to talk about dissemination and knowledge mobilization plans. It speaks to the impact your research will have. Finally, (3) get as many people as you can from within your field and outside of your field to read your proposal drafts. After many revisions, when I thought I was ready to submit my proposal, I had yet another person read it, which led to switching the order of paragraphs. Up until that point I had never considered changing the order of ideas that drastically. While I'm sure each university is different in what they look for, I can confirm that I did all of these things and I was successful in the 2020 CGS-M competition, so hopefully those little pieces of advice will help others.

Hi thank you for your sharing!! Would you know if masters-level psychologists are common in Alberta? Would they be less competitive or have less employment opportunities than the doctoral-level ones? 

[VanessaB]

1 hour ago, shuttleboooo said:

Hi thank you for your sharing!! Would you know if masters-level psychologists are common in Alberta? Would they be less competitive or have less employment opportunities than the doctoral-level ones? 

I don't know the precise numbers, but I suspect the majority of psychologists in Alberta are master-level ones. The Collage of AB Psychs (CAP) might be able to provide you with specific data or direct you to where you could find such numbers, but anecdotally speaking, everyone I know who is registered in Alberta is at that master-level here. However, all of these individuals are either working in the counselling psychology field or the school psychology field. I suspect a master-level clinical psychologist is rare. Some jobs will specifically request a PhD-level psychologist and graduation from a CPA accredited program, so having those boxes checked could certainly help your chances at securing certain jobs.