Masters or PhD in Psychology?

juillet
Mon, 22 Dec 2014 15:23:22 +0000

You need more than 1-3 classes in psychology. Just intro, research methods and statistics won’t be enough. If you want to get into a psychology PhD program, at minimum you will need

1) Intro to Psychology
2) Psychological Research Methods (sometimes called Experimental Research Methods or something like that)
3) Intro to Statistics (in a psychology department)
4 & 5) At least two electives in a psychology area. It is preferable if one of them is a psych laboratory class, but they should be in your research area. Since you want to do neuropsychology, you should take for example a class in biological psychology (usually a lab course) and a class in neuroscience (sometimes called mind, brain, and behavior).

These are BARE MINIMUMS. Most successful psychology PhD applicants had a major or the equivalent in psychology, which is generally about 10-12 classes. Also, many psych programs don’t require the psychology GRE - none of mine did. So investigate that before you take it.

You have two options. You can either take the psychology classes as a non-degree student, or you can take a master’s program.

The upside to the master’s program is that you get everything you need in an all-in-one 2-year package. The classes, the research experience, and the recommendation letters from professors. The downside is that you have to pay for it out of pocket, since funding for psychology MA programs is rare, and that you are unlikely to transfer any classes into your PhD program. You would still need a few prereqs to be competitive for an MA program (maybe 2-3 classes). I normally don’t recommend psychology master’s programs unless the person has zero or very little background in psychology because of the cost + transfer issues, but they are sometimes a good idea for a person who can afford them (or get funding) and needs research AND coursework.

The other option is the non-degree classes. You can take at least the 5 non-degree classes listed above (more is better) and volunteer to do research with a professor in your spare time. The upside is the likely lower cost - even non-degree classes at your local four-year will be cheaper than an MA - and that you only take exactly what courses you need. Time isn’t an upside here, since you’ll need at least 2 years of research experience to be competitive (part-time is ok).

I guess option 2.5 is to get a full-time job as a lab manager in a neuroscience/neuropsychology lab. Then you could take the non-degree classes you need for free. Most people who do these jobs do them for 2-3 years with the goal of getting into a PhD program after that.

No, your work experience won’t count unless it is directly related to neuropsychology research.



I feel as if I should take 2-3 classes and do some research to just get into a master’s program. Is it possible to take a couple classes with some research for one semester and apply to a PhD program?



You won’t be a competitive applicant at all if you do this. Most competitive applicants have the equivalent of a major in psychology (or neuroscience), which is about 10-12 classes, and about 2-3 years’ worth of research experience. 2 classes and one semester of research will put you far behind the most competitive applicants.