Psychology PhD with Econ Background - Possible? How?

[JaneDoe89]

Hi, everyone!

Long story short - I have a background in Econ, with an interest and some experience in Behavioral Econ. I'm set to pursue a PhD in Econ next year, at a top 10 department. However, during my gap year, I figured out that my interest in Econ may not have been really in Econ, but much more in the psychology of it. In general, I spend a lot of my time thinking about why people do things, what their reasons are, if they're 'right' reasons, if something caused it, how do people find meaning etc. Psychology was never a major I'd considered, because, in my country (non-US), it's hardly taken seriously or done well. When I started to look it up and take some online classes this year, I realised I like it a lot and might want to pursue a research career in it. This is purely hypothetical, for now, but:

1) If I apply for a Psychology PhD at top 20-departments, with zero classes in Psychology and an Econ background, would I have a shot?
2) If I 'shadow' or attend Psychology classes at my uni during the PhD and even take summer courses in Psychology, to gain some background and much needed recommendation letters, would it make a difference? This would mean sabotaging my Econ PhD grades and time, but could it increase my odds and help get me into a good department, such that it would be worth it?

Again, all this is just for exploratory purposes. My mind is not set yet, but I'm wondering if such a transition could be made. Thanks.

[BeingThere]

I am sorry I don't have anything to offer in the way of solid help regarding how to finesse your current commitment to an econ program.

However, I can tell you that you need to refine your interest. Psychology is a very broad field. There significant differences between clinical psychology, social psychology, I/O psychology, neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and developmental psychology. (Sorry if I've left anyone out!) Before you think about switching programs, you may want to find out which particular discipline you are drawn to within the broader field. Better yet, talk to a professor in the psychology department at your most recent university. It may help to pick up an Introduction to Psychology textbook and read through it.

Best of luck to you!

Another big consideration is research experience. To get into any decent PhD program in psychology, you're going to need research experience in a psychology lab or working under a psychology researcher. If you have research experience in economics, it may translate for I/O or quantitative psych - emphasis on "may."

Edited July 2, 2013 by Bren2014

[JaneDoe89]

Thanks, Bren! I hadn't mentioned it, but I did actually do some digging and found myself gravitating toward experimental psychology and cognitive psychology. And, yes, after reading some threads in this forum, it seems research experience is a pre-requisite. Thanks for the helpful comments. 

[zapster]

Yes you certainly can, especially areas such as cognitive. There are plenty of very strong cognitive programs where strong mathematical and statistical skills are much more in demand than a Psych background. You need to demonstrate a very clear vision of why you are interested in, say cognitivie psychology, demonstrate familiarity with seminal research in the field, and why this would be abetter 'fit' for you rather than an eco program. You may also need to demonstrate reasonable (if not strong) programming skills, so perhaps spending some time there may be helpful.

 

Just to clarify - I understand you will begin your Eco phd this fall? Am not really sure how that would impact your chances for a subsequent phd application....is there an alternative to pursue a masters program instead?

 

Contrary to your comment above, in my experience research experience is not necessarily a pre-requisite in many excellent cognitive programs, a big positive yes, but can definitely be compensated for by other unique skill sets.

[PsychGirl1]

I majored in a mathy version of business and I'm entering a Psych PhD this fall. After college, I worked in business for a year and a half- hated it- then worked in research for a year and a half, but not in Psychology.

 

You will need some courses to fulfill the basic requirements of many programs- depending what area, this is likely to be general psych, developmental, abnromal, cognitive, etc. I took night classes when I was working- if possible, do it at the graduate-level. Also, try to volunteer in some psych labs and get some experience and hopefully some posters and maybe a publication.

 

I had a lot of encouragement to apply right to a PhD program after taking those night classes and workign in labs, but I wasn't sure of my research area and if this was what I really wanted to do. So I did a 2-year MS program which turned out to be the best choice possible for me. I really learned a lot, I feel like I made up a lot of lost ground compared to people who have been studying Psychology since their first day of undergrad, and I made great connections. Because of the program, I got into a really good PhD program with a well known PI. So that's something to consider as well- if I had to do it again, I'd make the same choice.

 

Honestly, I would NOT start your econ PhD program. If there is someone in the econ department who does behavioral economics and they have a working relationship with people in the psychology department, then I could see it working. But otherwise, I wouldn't do it. There's nothing worse than looking back on your life in a crappy job that you hate, thinking "what if I had just gone for it". Maybe see if you can defer for a year and explore your options in the meantime- volunteer in labs as a research assistant, read a lot of books, and take some courses as a non-degree seeking student.

 

Good luck! It can definitely be done!

[JaneDoe89]

Thanks, PsychGirl1! 

 

Your story is pretty inspirational and makes me think it can be done. And thanks for all your replies, everyone. 

 

The problem is that I'm not in the US and I have a non-US background. I was thinking of not starting the Econ PhD, but there's no better alternative for me. I don't have guaranteed admission if I defer. Even if I do re-apply next year, I won't be able to make productive use of my year here: the Psychology Department of my local uni is practically non-existent internationally, I can't take evening or part-time courses and I don't think they've even heard of research labs. I was even pondering staying in my country and doing a second bachelor's in Psy, but a second bachelor's means I'm precluded from scholarships and I wouldn't be able to fund it. Plus, again, the department sucks. 

 

That's why I figured taking the Econ PhD would still be a good idea. I thought I could build better background and connections over there, by talking to Psych professors to let me take their classes, taking summer courses and maybe even volunteering there. I will be doing Econ at a top 10 uni, so maybe some courses and letters from Psych professors there would help me along the line. That would mean sabotaging my Econ career and it would be a several year-long effort, probably, but that's that. 

[PsychGirl1]

Thanks, PsychGirl1! 

 

Your story is pretty inspirational and makes me think it can be done. And thanks for all your replies, everyone. 

 

The problem is that I'm not in the US and I have a non-US background. I was thinking of not starting the Econ PhD, but there's no better alternative for me. I don't have guaranteed admission if I defer. Even if I do re-apply next year, I won't be able to make productive use of my year here: the Psychology Department of my local uni is practically non-existent internationally, I can't take evening or part-time courses and I don't think they've even heard of research labs. I was even pondering staying in my country and doing a second bachelor's in Psy, but a second bachelor's means I'm precluded from scholarships and I wouldn't be able to fund it. Plus, again, the department sucks. 

 

That's why I figured taking the Econ PhD would still be a good idea. I thought I could build better background and connections over there, by talking to Psych professors to let me take their classes, taking summer courses and maybe even volunteering there. I will be doing Econ at a top 10 uni, so maybe some courses and letters from Psych professors there would help me along the line. That would mean sabotaging my Econ career and it would be a several year-long effort, probably, but that's that. 

 

Maybe things are different in economics, but from my experience, it's highly unusual for PhD programs to let you take classes in other departments without justification, or just to spend time working in a lab unrelated to your field. If there is overlap with what you are specializing in within econ, then that makes sense, otherwise, I can't imagine that would be allowed to the extent that you would want- and even if it was allowed, I wouldn't imagine that you would have enough time to do it all. What does your econ program or professor specialize in? Knowing that would be helpful. Also, I can't imagine that if you are accepted to an econ PhD program, accept their stipend, spend a lot of your time on Psychology, and then withdraw from your program, that you will leave on good terms or have good LORs from that school. In fact, doing that could negatively impact your Psych PhD application and make for some awkward interview questions when you're applying to Psych PhD programs.

 

What about applying to positions in your country that are focused on research? I'm sure there are plenty of places where you can work as a research coordinator or research assistant and make a decent salary- hospitals, universities, pharmaceutical companies, market research companies, etc.. You could do research in behavioral economics with a strong Psychology leaning, or in Psychology, etc- a lot of different things could be related to what you want to do. For classes, you can take some online- for example, Harvard Extension School offers quality online courses often taught by actual Harvard professors (I took their graduate-level abnormal psych class, since I lived in Boston, but then halfway through I just watched the lectures online instead of attending in person). I'm sure there are other programs like this that I'm not aware of. 

Again, if I were you, I would NOT enter your econ PhD program.

[zapster]

A top 10 Eco admit is definitely difficult to reject, so I empathize with your dilemna - but I think an important consideration is whether the dept. you are entering has a strong and established interest and faculty in Behavioral Economics. Unless you are able to strongly entrench yourself into this area within the eco program, the program may backfire at least as far as your interests in CogPsych are concerned.

 

On the other hand, if there is a strong BehEco focus, you may actually even enjoy approaching the same issues from this perspective and possibly even change your mind about pursuing a Psych phd.

 

Best of Luck. 

[PsychGirl1]

^ Agree with zapster, much more succint than I was :-D

[Angua]

A top 10 Eco admit is definitely difficult to reject, so I empathize with your dilemna - but I think an important consideration is whether the dept. you are entering has a strong and established interest and faculty in Behavioral Economics. Unless you are able to strongly entrench yourself into this area within the eco program, the program may backfire at least as far as your interests in CogPsych are concerned.

 

On the other hand, if there is a strong BehEco focus, you may actually even enjoy approaching the same issues from this perspective and possibly even change your mind about pursuing a Psych phd.

 

Best of Luck. 

 

This is good advice, I think.

 

You mention that you've done some behavioral econ -- there are a lot of very psychology-ish things going on in business and econ right now.  If you're set on entering the econ program (and I think that makes sense, given what you've said), then you should look for ways to make your econ program more psychology-like -- I think this may be easier than you think.  If you focus on behavioral econ, for example, you will probably be allowed to take psych classes that count toward your course requirements.  You can also reach out to psych and business professors (look for folks in management and/or organizational behavior) and learn more about the intersection of psych, econ, and business -- this could also lead to research or writing collaboration with those folks.  Be enterprising, and remember that you applied for an econ program to begin with because (I assume!) you have a serious interest in econ.  Instead of viewing psychology as a totally different path, start looking for all of the places those two paths cross.  Good luck!