Worth it to apply to PhD programs with limited/ no research experience?

Graduate School
1

Hi all,

I am in the process of applying for Industrial Organizational Psychology (I/O) grad programs to start Fall 2021. Originally, I was only considering master’s programs. However, corresponding with some people in I/O I think I should also at least consider PdD programs. My main question is: given my background, is it worth it applying for PhD programs this cycle? I am currently searching for Research Assistant roles and have had 2 interviews for one, but even if I did land an RA role, I would only be there for a few months before the applications are due (the Phd apps seem to mostly be due earlier than the master’s app’s). I don’t want to end up in a situation where I finish a master’s program and then go back for a PhD. I am already 3.5 years out of undergrad (2 years of work experience as a paralegal; the rest is in education – AmeriCorps Fellowship & tutor), and I don’t want to waste any more time. The master’s programs on my list at the moment are: Texas A&M, Florida Institute of Technology, University of Texas at Arlington, Akron, George Mason University, Minnesota State University – Mankato, Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) (may take this one off because it is mainly applied) & Indiana University Indianapolis.

My undergrad major was economics. My GPA was 3.4/4.0, from one of the top 10 universities in the U.S. I have experience conducting statistical and data analysis. I completed an independent research project for my economics major using statistical programming in R and the creation of graphs using Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics datasets. Also, I completed field research on the impact of learning styles on educational outcomes in a school in my Urban Education class, during which I surveyed students and completed a final research paper on the topic. Would any of this count at all as “research experience”? I recognize that: 1. It was not for a psychology class and 2. It was not conducted in a lab.

During undergrad, I took Intro to Experimental Psych (covering research methods) & several statistics courses (statistical inference, probability, econometrics). I am currently taking a social psychology class and an organizational behavior class this semester at community colleges to prepare for graduate programs. I plan to take a psychology research methods class and one other psychology class next semester. I took the GRE this year and my scores are 163 Verbal, 163 Quant, 5.0 Analytic Writing. These scores put me in the range for some of the top programs but of course I understand that they are looking other aspects besides just test scores … How would you view my application overall, and what could I do to become more competitive? What do I need to touch on/ emphasize in my personal statement? I haven’t taken the psych subject test GRE, and now I won’t be able to for this cycle, since they aren’t offering subject tests this year due to Covid.

My main concern revolves around my lack of research experience and my lack of psychology background (although credit hour wise, I am OK for a lot of the schools I have researched, given my additional psych coursework this semester). With my lack of formal lab research experience, is it worth applying to any of the top and/or good PhD programs?

Ideally, I would apply to PhD programs, wait and see what happens, and then based on that apply to master’s programs. With the decision deadlines I am not sure that will be possible, so my plan is to apply to both PhD and Master’s (sometimes at the same school… does that look bad? I have seen some schools let you do this).

2

If you are interested in a PhD, why are you limiting your chances by rushing into an either/or strategy. You acknowledge that you lack research experience and did not major in psychology… But you conclude that you would go the master’s route if you don’t get accepted into a PhD program. Why not take a year to get more research experience, take some more psych classes, and then apply to a PhD program?

You are trying to give yourself your best chance for a lifelong career. Do you want to be 40-years old and regretting that you settled for a master’s degree, when with one more year of preparation, you could have attended a top PhD program? A year seems like forever when you are 21; looking back it will seem like no time at all, especially when regrets last a lifetime.

Why not focus on the top PhD programs, rather than those you have listed that offer master’s degrees? Some top programs, like Michigan State’s number-one Industrial/Organizational Psychology program, don’t even offer terminal master’s degrees.

“Students are accepted for graduate study in psychology only if judged by a departmental committee to be qualified to complete a doctoral degree, and programs of study are planned with this goal in mind; the master’s sequence is generally developed as an integral part of the doctoral program with special attention given to the plans and needs of each student. Additional details are given under the doctoral program as outlined below. There is no terminal master’s program.”

3

I’m going to echo what Beaudreau said.

Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Your working career is going to be something like 30-40 years, perhaps more. Working between college and graduate school is certainly not “wasting time” - but what is a waste is rushing into a program that’s not a good fit for you simply because you want to be done faster. You don’t have to rush the process; it’s better for you to take an additional year to find the right fit program for you than it is to rush into a program (and potentially pay for it) only to realize 2-3 years later it’s not the best fit for your career goals. There’s nothing wrong with finishing a master’s and then going back for a PhD; lots of people do that.

That said, the only thing you said that made you consider PhD programs is “corresponding with some people in I/O.” What people in I/O? Whether you need a PhD depends a lot on what you want to do. If you just want to work in industry, a master’s may be all you need. What kind of job/career do you want? Lead with that: decide what you want to do with your career, and then look up job listings for that kind of career. Look up people who have the job you want on LinkedIn and other places. What kind of degrees do they have? That’ll help you decide what kind of degree YOU need to get to achieve your goals.

Do you want to do research as a career? (Follow-up question: if you haven’t ever worked as a research assistant, how do you know that you want to do research as a career?) There are always going to be ‘some’ people who will advise that you get a doctoral degree, but that doesn’t mean they are taking into account your unique career goals. You only need a PhD if you want a career as an independent researcher of some kind

Research experience isn’t a black-and-white, “either it counts or it doesn’t” kind of thing. There are different kinds, and some kinds are more appealing to graduate programs than others. The gold-standard is experience as a research assistant, volunteering or working in a lab alongside a professor on some research in the field you intend to study in graduate school (or a closely related one). A research project that you complete in a class usually isn’t what professors mean when they say research experience; it’s good, but most of the people you’ll be competing with will have more independent research experience and thus will be more competitive than you as an applicant.

If your only experience with research is this class project, then you are not a very competitive candidate to PhD programs. The best thing you can do for your application is to go get some research experience. Many people work or volunteer as a research assistant/associate for 1-3 years after college to improve their competitiveness to PhD programs.