Notre Dame looking to improve research, join elite

irish68178
Mon, 07 Jul 2008 08:07:07 +0000

The undergrad is far stronger than the grad school in part due to the research which is part of the reason I went elsewhere for grad school…didn’t even apply to ND (there were other reasons for that, don’t get me wrong, Psych is a strong program there).

It really presents opportunities for the undergrads. Unlike pretty much anywhere else, there is a good chance that the undergrad population is better than the grad population, and professors know this. I have actually heard profs say they prefer working with their undergrads than their grad students and there are internal research grants specifically for undergrads. Take advantage of this if you want a PhD someday, it was huge for me as I got a lot more research experience than I could have anywhere else!

A rule I made up, but it pretty much holds true, is the stronger the undergrad the worse it is for grad students and vice versa. Keep that in mind when you apply. For instance, I taught two sections of Psych 101 my first year of grad school, one year out of ND. At ND, you either have to have a PhD or be teaching the course with a PhD most of the time if you are a grad student. Just something to think about.