Hi all,
I’m going to be 30 soon and what I thought I wanted to do with my life fell apart. I have an M.Ed. and taught English for three years, but I’m no longer doing that for a variety of reasons. I’m seriously considering the possibility that I want to pursue a Ph.D. The truth is I miss learning for myself. I got more intellectual enjoyment out of teaching than my students did. I know I have the intellectual eagerness to pursue this path for the years it will take. However, I don’t want to do a Ph.D. in education. I realized during my M.Ed. program and also as a teacher that I’m far more interested in interdisciplinary topics related to psychology, media, and education. I’m most interested in how media content and methods of consuming media affect learning and personality. I was a Cinema and Media Studies major in college and I have always been an avid consumer of film, television, books, video games, and other types of media. The older I get, the more I wonder how those things shape who I am, and how.
The tricky part: I don’t have any coursework in psychology. Here’s where you guys come in.
What do I need to do to prepare for an academic route toward a Ph.D. in this field? Can anyone recommend a list of programs to check out that match up with my academic/research interests described above? Should I apply to a post-bacc program first to help convince programs that I’m a serious candidate? I know many of you will say I need research experience, too, so if it helps, I’m Chicago-based if you’re going to point to contacting professors to ask about assisting on studies.
If you can offer any direction or guidance about how to start taking steps in the right direction, I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks!