Switching to Psychology/ Any advice welcome

[_funnymonkey_]

I have a good 2.1 from LSE in economics, and I liked it fine. I fully intended to study economics (got into LSE's econ master's program). However,  in my final year, I took social and applied psychology and my life changed. I had never found something so interesting before, and I surprised even myself with how much extra work I put in beyond the course requirements. I took a sociology module as well and loved it. Now, I'm aware that it isn't a massive switch seeing as economics and psychology are so closely related. But most master's applications require a bachelor's in psychology (some require an honours). I'm not interested in practicing psychology (clinical psychology if I'm not wrong). I'm interested in cognitive psychology- specifically the application of psychology in economics, industry etc. Not occupational psych per say as that seems quite specific (again, I may be wrong here so please correct me if I am).

Anyway, as all my info in internet based, the best route to switch seems to be masters conversion courses. I've narrowed it down to UCL, Reading, Trinity, Glasgow, and Nottingham (for which I got an admit into the Msc. Behavioural Econ program). Stirling offers a conversion course as well, but it's def a notch below the other schools (but I'm still planning to apply). As I definitely want a PhD after this, I'm wondering how valuable a conversion course is. Is it too general? Will I need another masters degree after it to even be considered for a PhD at a top school? I got a first in stats, microeconomics and psych- will this be sufficient to prove my quant skills (I thoroughly botched math in my first year for the silliest of reasons, but microecon is some pretty serious calculus). Are there any other ways of switching that I should be considering (say, a PG Diploma/Cert- Nottingham and Melbourne both offer this)? Most info on websites is about accreditation to the BPS, but as I said, I am interested in the research (maybe consultancy) aspect of psychology/economics. I think the strength of the Msc conversion courses is the research project/dissertation. Perhaps I'll discover a particular area I'm interested in as I don't have much exposure to the subject as such.

So, any advice from people in the inside? Are the schools I'm considering good? Am I on the right track?

Thanks in advance!

[PokePsych]

my first response is: Do you want to do cognitive or social psych? What you describe seems to be more like social psych (group dynamics, decision making, social cognition) rather than cognitive psych (perception, memory, attention). Social psych is also highly related to behavioral economics, and some people argue that the two can actually not be distinguished. You'll also find a LOT of social psychologists at business schools and in consultancy (although MBA's generally earn more in consultancy for what I know). So first - make sure you know which of the two you actually like. Other than those, you may also want to look into organizational psychology (not the same as occupational). Maybe read an intro in psych book to find out what field you actually like most, then continue to read in that area (e.g., intro in social psych book or cog psy) to learn more about the field. 

Although it is possible to enter a PhD with a different background, you should have narrowed down your interests already by that point and preferably show you at least have some knowledge (whether it being from an economic perspective or not) on that topic. Do you have any idea which topic you would like to pursue a PhD on - and rather than which school - which professor would you like to work with (probably more important than schools in itself - I didn't apply to many 'top schools' because there was no 'fit' in my interests). You may want to consider checking out both business and psych departments in your case. 

As for your background - it would be hard to tell - again it will also depend on your topic to some extent and how close it will be to your economics coursework. Sure quant matters (and I'm not sure if people in psych would know microeconomics is serious quant tbh), but what is your research experience? This is a very important determinant of actual admission and you do not describe any. 

Second question; what would be your goals AFTER the PhD. If you want to do consultancy - a research master or general (2-years) master is likely to be totally fine and the actual research in the PhD would not do much extra really unless the topic is very very very directly relevant to consulting (I have worked in consultancy and talked with HR about this). If you want to do for example market or consumer research a research master's is generally sufficient too - it will give you enough quant and methodology to work with. Note that in this case you will still be 'practicing psychology' - although you won't be counseling or be a clinical psychologist. I did a Research Master's in (Social) Psych in the Netherlands - we also had some people who majored in economics or a different discipline in class. It's not uncommon at all. 

[cognitiveDecline]

For the most part I agree with the previous comment I would disagree with their difference between social and cognitive psychology as you can definitely do decision-making in both. I studied psych/econ in undergrad and I study cognitive decision making now. I typically find the distinction between the two to be closer to whether you adopt the view that all people are to be treated the same (cognitive) or if you care more about the individual themselves (social). So in my opinion, cog would be more about the mechanism like how do people place value on things and how do previous experiences interfere with decisions and social would cover areas closer to how do people's beliefs and situation affect their choices. But to be honest there is a lot of decision research in both fields so it's going to depend on your interests. It is true that a lot of social psychologist are kinda moving into marketing departments and cognitive is starting to move more toward computational modeling and neuroimaging so just be aware of the direction of the fields.

To echo the sentiments of the previous responder, what is really important is going to be research experience which you don't really elaborate on. What I would recommend is finding a researcher you want to work in and then just applying to whatever their department because in psych programs fit is frequently the most important things. Often you get accepted into a specific lab so even if you have great credentials if the person you want to work with isn't accepting, it is not going to happen. Also, it is not required to get a masters before applying to a PhD. I doubt any non-clinical program would require a psych degree before a PhD, especially if you can prove you have done related work but consider take the psych GRE if its something you are worried about. 

I would also agree that a research PhD isn't going to necessarily make you a better consultant unless it is particularly relevant to your topic. A masters with relevant experience will get you  further. Psych PhDs, for better or worse, are targeted towards keeping their grad students in academia forever so they may not really set up you with applied skills.

As for your schools, I unfortunately don't have any experience on whether they are good schools but it sounds like you are on the right track!

Edited December 18, 2017 by cognitiveDecline