Chances at Psych PhD for Biochem BSc international student?

[siduri]

Hello guys~

I'm an undergraduate junior year student from a top university in Hong Kong with a major in Biochemistry. However I'm more interested in psychology and I'm considering switching fields after my undergraduate degree, e.g. cognitive psychology.

However, the problem is there is no undergraduate psychology major in my university. There is only a graduate psychology program with only 3 professors who are focused on social and personality psychology. There are only general education courses in psychology offered for undergraduates, with limited topics. Thus my university is not much recognized in the psychology academia. Besides I have not much research opportunity in psychology (more on that later) which is admittedly a big disadvantage. Plus I'm an international student and this hurts the chances more. And I'm quite worried about it all.

Stats:

GPA (Biochemistry): we use a different grade system but should be 3.9/4.0 sth

TOEFL: 118

GRE not taken yet

Course: I have only taken 2 psychology courses(too few, I know...), in first year, 1 intro course and 1 on fundamentals of social psychology (with top grades in both). Later semesters my major courses clashed the timetable badly and couldn't find timeslots to fit in psychology courses. But I'm on exchange to UW-Madison this spring and I'm taking a cognitive psychology course and a course on psychology of reading there.

I have a minor in Liberal Studies (Humanities+Social Science) and I'm studying to get another minor in computer science.

Research: I did a summer project in my first year in social psychology, mainly data coding and some analysis. I also helped at the university psychology lab for 2 years, basically help administering some experiments and data collection sessions, and entering and coding data (all very basic jobs). The rest of my experience is in biological science: a 9-month synthetic biology team project for an international competition, a summer project studying a synaptic protein, a half-year at a lab on cell cycle and another half-year in another neuroscience lab helping in a graduate student's project (which I'd continue in final year after I come back from exchange). The methods and techniques I mastered are all in molecular biology.

So it seems my experiences are not very convincing if I want to apply for PhD in cognitive psychology. I wonder what you guys think of this, what my odds are and what I may consider doing to improve? And what I might be able to do while on exchange to the US.

Thanks in advance~~!

[waddle]

You'll be fine. Hey, if I (think I) have a shot at moving from biochem to geosci, then you would definitely be competitive for cog psych Ph.D. programs. I can't comment directly on psych programs, but if they operate roughly the same as life science programs, then you won't have much of a problem switching fields. You just need to demonstrate that you actually understand the field (via your SOP and GRE subject score).

Perhaps the psych people in this forum have a more informed opinion...

[repatriate]

Your stats actually sound very good. It is common for psychology programs to take people from non-psychology backgrounds, and I'd think your background in biology (and computer science) would be seen as preferable to most other non-psychology backgrounds. Cognitive psychology, especially, involves collaboration with other fields. Graduate seminars in cognitive psychology will often have students from computer science, education, and other fields.

It also sounds like you have taken advantage of just about every psychology-related opportunity you have found at your school and beyond, which is to your credit. Bear in mind that, in the US, an undergraduate minor is typically about 5 classes worth of credits, so after you finish your courses at UW-Madison, you would be just one class short of a sort of unofficial minor.

Although relevant research experience is preferred, the professors I have spoken with are generally very understanding of the fact that not everyone has equal access to such opportunities. The fact that you have 2 years of psychology research experience at a school with such a small psychology program will look good. Also, that you have continued to work on research, even in another field, is in your favor.

You may want to emphasize in your SOP that even though your school did not offer much in the way of psychology opportunities to undergraduates, you sought out every opportunity you could, including at a foreign institution. That will make you appear to be a dedicated candidate.

[siduri]

You'll be fine. Hey, if I (think I) have a shot at moving from biochem to geosci, then you would definitely be competitive for cog psych Ph.D. programs. I can't comment directly on psych programs, but if they operate roughly the same as life science programs, then you won't have much of a problem switching fields. You just need to demonstrate that you actually understand the field (via your SOP and GRE subject score).

Perhaps the psych people in this forum have a more informed opinion...

Thanks a lot for the opinion! I'd read up more on the subject and talk to ppl in the field I suppose...and good luck with your app~

[siduri]

Your stats actually sound very good. It is common for psychology programs to take people from non-psychology backgrounds, and I'd think your background in biology (and computer science) would be seen as preferable to most other non-psychology backgrounds. Cognitive psychology, especially, involves collaboration with other fields. Graduate seminars in cognitive psychology will often have students from computer science, education, and other fields.

It also sounds like you have taken advantage of just about every psychology-related opportunity you have found at your school and beyond, which is to your credit. Bear in mind that, in the US, an undergraduate minor is typically about 5 classes worth of credits, so after you finish your courses at UW-Madison, you would be just one class short of a sort of unofficial minor.

Although relevant research experience is preferred, the professors I have spoken with are generally very understanding of the fact that not everyone has equal access to such opportunities. The fact that you have 2 years of psychology research experience at a school with such a small psychology program will look good. Also, that you have continued to work on research, even in another field, is in your favor.

You may want to emphasize in your SOP that even though your school did not offer much in the way of psychology opportunities to undergraduates, you sought out every opportunity you could, including at a foreign institution. That will make you appear to be a dedicated candidate.

Thanks a lot for your information~! At least that's quite some reassurance for me~

I'm still a bit concerned with lack of some core courses such as experimental psychology; would it be a great disadvantage or can I make it up later? Or is it just up to department requirements of different schools as some have a lot of course requirements while others don't. Besides, my research experience is a bit disjointed, either because the projects are short term or because I wanted to switch environments...would that matter much?

And finally, I heard that it's very hard and competitive for international students to land a PhD. At least a senior student I know who is a psychology PhD in Toronto U told me it was a very tough process for her, and she thought she depended largely on contact with professors in the application process, and reference letters (though she said hers were not very impressive). I wonder whether you know much of this?

Sorry if I have so many questions but thanks a lot again for your help!

[repatriate]

In terms of courses, I think the best action you can take is to contact the departments you are interested in individually. As you've noted, the required prerequisites differ. Write a very brief email to the graduate secretary or the admissions secretary explaining that your school offered very little in terms of psychology coursework but you are very interested in the cognitive psychology program there; are there certain courses that they require? Overall, though, I think psychology courses are more forgiving about a lack of certain classes.

You may also want to apply to a few MA/MS programs as backups just in case, if you feel that your coursework is really lacking. There is a thread on here somewhere on funded MA programs. I ended up doing a 1-year MA before entering my PhD program, but I was not only and English major but also had a terrible undergrad transcript (plenty of Fs and Ws) and only 1 year of academic research experience, so I was a lot farther behind you.

In terms of your research experience, the best answer I can give is, "it depends." I'd focus on trying to tie the experiences together into a narrative in your SOP or stressing how you have sampled a variety of techniques and topics and how this has enabled you to develop flexibility or to decide which approaches you would like to use.

Funding is more difficult for international students, but there is generally at least a handful of international students in most large psych departments. The finances involved in funding international students differ from school to school, but as a general rule, the bar is higher for international students. I definitely recommend contacting potential advisors no matter what. I don't know how much this affects admissions/funding; perhaps if you get an advisor really excited about you ahead of time, they can find internal or external support for you more easily, but I don't know.

[siduri]

In terms of courses, I think the best action you can take is to contact the departments you are interested in individually. As you've noted, the required prerequisites differ. Write a very brief email to the graduate secretary or the admissions secretary explaining that your school offered very little in terms of psychology coursework but you are very interested in the cognitive psychology program there; are there certain courses that they require? Overall, though, I think psychology courses are more forgiving about a lack of certain classes.

You may also want to apply to a few MA/MS programs as backups just in case, if you feel that your coursework is really lacking. There is a thread on here somewhere on funded MA programs. I ended up doing a 1-year MA before entering my PhD program, but I was not only and English major but also had a terrible undergrad transcript (plenty of Fs and Ws) and only 1 year of academic research experience, so I was a lot farther behind you.

In terms of your research experience, the best answer I can give is, "it depends." I'd focus on trying to tie the experiences together into a narrative in your SOP or stressing how you have sampled a variety of techniques and topics and how this has enabled you to develop flexibility or to decide which approaches you would like to use.

Funding is more difficult for international students, but there is generally at least a handful of international students in most large psych departments. The finances involved in funding international students differ from school to school, but as a general rule, the bar is higher for international students. I definitely recommend contacting potential advisors no matter what. I don't know how much this affects admissions/funding; perhaps if you get an advisor really excited about you ahead of time, they can find internal or external support for you more easily, but I don't know.

Thanks a million~~