Hello, everyone! I am seeking advice on narrowing applications to graduate programs in Clinical Psychology, Affective Neuroscience, and Behavioral Neuroscience. I recently graduated with a Psychology B.A. and I am currently studying for the GREs. My research interests include the cognitive, behavioral, and physiological bases of and the neural substrates involved in emotion, effects of stress, learning, and memory; neuroplasticity, neurodegenerative diseases (especially Alzheimer’s), and affective/cognitive disorders (primarily depression and anxiety). I would like to find a professor/lab that conducts this research using physiological and neuroimaging techniques in addition to qualitative measures, and preferably with young human subjects. Ideally, I would like to become a neuropsychologist and professor. I realize the difficulty of being accepted into a PhD program, let alone Clinical Psychology. I am completely open to other research interests, relevant graduate programs (e.g., Cognitive or Social Neuroscience), and career paths (e.g., industry).
Stats:
3.9 cumulative GPA; 3.92 psychology GPA
honors thesis on olfactory memory/learning using a rat model; awarded full research funding
2 honor distinctions for 2 research presentations, respectively; also presented poster at honors conference
over 3 years of lab experience: 1 year each in a clinical and biopsychology lab, respectively
trained volunteer who devoted <90 hours to non-profit that works with children who experienced trauma (e.g., parents are divorced, deceased, incarcerated)
awarded paid public health summer internship; gave a research presentation
commencement speaker for graduation
selected as “Star Graduate” of psychology department
honorary memberships in Phi Beta Kappa, Psi Chi, Mortar Board
created psychology social organization; managed 10+ officers and engaged 60+ students on campus
studied abroad twice for 6 months each in Asia and Europe (uncertain if this is relevant)
native English speaker; fluent in Mandarin; beginner in French (also uncertain if this is relevant)
basic programming skills (e.g., HTML, Javascript); very interested and motivated to learn more
relevant coursework: Biopsychology, Behavioral Neuroscience, Clinical Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Animal Learning and Motivation, Research Writing, Statistics, Research Methods, Biology (1 semester), Chemistry (1 semester)
Unfortunately, I have only decided on two programs: Affective Science at Stanford and Clinical Science at UC Berkeley. At each school/program, there are three professors whose work I have either read or am eager to read, and I can envision committing the next 5-7 years of my life conducting their research. I would like to apply to Neuroscience programs but I do not think I am competitive enough with my lack of hard science courses. Honestly, I question my competitiveness at Stanford and Berkeley… I am also looking at schools such as UCSD, USC, UCLA, and UW. I know PhD programs should not be based primarily on geographic location but I prefer schools on either coast. Anyone who can give me feedback on which professors, labs, or programs I should apply to have my sincerest gratitude. Thank you very much in advance!
P.S. Sorry for any writing mistakes–it’s pretty late here! :bz
I would caution you against geographically limiting yourself. Admittance to graduate school is competitive and based on research fit. You don’t want to limit yourself. The best PI in your area of interest might be in what some consider to be a “fly-over state” … Wisconsin, or Tennessee, or Arizona.
The best way to find programs of interest is to look at each program and read through the faculty to see if they interest you. It takes a lot of time and commitment to do this for each school, but this is very important.
If you want to be a practicing neuropsychologist, you will need to go to a PhD program that will lead to licensure in that area. Most PhD programs in cognitive or social neuroscience do not lead to that. In fact, clinical neuropsychology is usually a concentration or specialization in a clinical psychology program. [Drexel[/url] and [url=<a href=“http://www.loyola.edu/academic/psychology/resources/neuropsychology%5DLoyola”>http://www.loyola.edu/academic/psychology/resources/neuropsychology]Loyola University Maryland](http://www.drexel.edu/psychology/academics/graduate/clinical/concentration/ClinicalNeuropsychology/) are two universities that have this program. Division 40 of the APA (Society for Clinical Neuropsychology) also maintains [a list of programs](http://training.scn40.org) on their website.
A PhD in cognitive or social neuroscience will prepare you to be a researcher and professor, but not a clinical neuropsychologist.
You do look like quite a competitive candidate for PhD programs in the area you are looking in, though. Whether or not you are competitive enough for neuroscience programs really depends on the neuroscience program itself - some are housed in biological sciences departments (in which case you need more science, maybe) and some are interdisciplinary programs or housed in psychology departments (inc ase your coursework is probably quite fine).
You might be interested in one of the neuroscience programs at Columbia. There are lots of departments in which you can study neuroscience; the psychology department does have people who specialize in learning and memory and neurodegenerative diseases, and Columbia has a large and thriving neuroscience community and psychiatric and neurological institutes in the academic medical center with fMRI scanners and all that jazz. (But again - Columbia’s program is not clinical, so you would not be able to get licensed to be a clinical neuropsychologist with a PhD from that department.)
I think “either coast” is an okay geographic spread to have, as long as you don’t completely rule out excellent programs in the Midwest. Michigan has a great program in neuroscience (although I’m not sure if there’s anyone there matching your interests) and so does Wisconsin. Still, if you are willing to go anywhere up and down the coasts of the U.S., you’ll hit most of the major programs in this area.
FWIW, I also think your research interests are fine - they’re narrow enough. It’s okay to have wider interests at this point; you do have a specific area in which you are interested, but your flexibility means that you have a greater number of people you could potentially work with. You can narrow it down more after you’ve started working in a lab at a department.
Hi @julliet ! First off, thank you for taking the time to respond to me–I feel so honored. Haha. I’ve seen a number of your posts on CC and you are always so comprehensive and helpful!
Your link for the Society for Clinical Neuropsychology website is a great resource! I’m definitely using this to search programs. I appreciate you clarifying the career paths between the Cognitive/Social Neuroscience and Clinical Psychology PhD. I wasn’t too sure whether or not Neuropsychology was a “one-track” education path.
Columbia sounds interesting! I’ll look into the Neuroscience programs right now! I think I read in another thread that you completed your PhD in Public Health after your BA in Psychology. Can I ask what your current work involves?
Thank you again for your very insightful post! Applying to programs is quite a challenge but you have helped quell some worries.
I got my PhD in social psychology and public health in a joint/hybrid program at Columbia after my BA in psychology. I current work as a user researcher at a technology company; I use psychological research methods to investigate how to make video games and other interactive experiences more fun So not public health anymore, haha. I just wanted to make a change and the career sounded super interesting, so I went for it.
