Masters in the UK; PhD in the States

[FreudianChip]

Hi there,

To offer some background: I completed my B.A. in Psychology last year in Ireland, and I plan to enter a M.Sc. program this year in the UK. Eventually, I hope to enter a Ph.D. program in clinical psychology in the U.S.. I have dual Ireland–United States citizenship.

Is there anything I ought to consider by going this route? Would a Masters improve my chances of gaining admittance to a doctoral program? The M.Sc. I am hoping to enter is a taught program on either child psychopathology, or psychological research, which both include the completion of a dissertation. Thanks!

[hippyscientist]

Hi, I'm just finishing up my MSc in the UK and will be starting my PhD in the US in August so hopefully able to shed a bit of light.

I found that having an MSc that isn't conferred until December (although all work is completed by July) meant that I was restricted on which schools  I could apply to, so if you're planning on going direct then you might need to look into this. 

Make sure you can talk about your MSc in your personal statement - how has it developed you, what have you learnt (outside of just academic knowledge).

Why do you want to do the PhD in the US? An answer more comprehensive than they have better funding will be needed. Also think about your career beyond. Do you want to build that in the US? If so a PhD over there is good. Remember that you might end up duplicating content - the first semester of my PhD will be covering similar content to that I have already covered but this is okay with me. 

While I can't comment on your program as I'm not in psychology I hope this helps a bit. Any questions about the UK-US move at this level, send my way. I'll do my best ot answer