First, decide what you want to study.

If you are not sure - you are not alone! Don’t panic. Do research on career options: use counselors, books, web, professional organizations, people etc.

Some areas of psychology include:

  • Clinical
  • Counseling
  • Social
  • Personality
  • Developmental
  • Biopsychology
  • School
  • Forensic
  • Cognitive
  • Experimental
  • Community
  • Health
  • Industrial Organizational

Of course you can also Google "areas of psychology".

American Psychological Association (APA) Divisions—one for everyone!

  • Society for General Psychology
  • Society for the Teaching of Psychology
  • Experimental Psychology
  • Evaluation, Measurement, and Statistics
  • Behavioral Neuroscience and Comparative Psychology
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Society for Personality and Social Psychology
  • Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI)
  • Society for the Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts
  • Society of Clinical Psychology13Society of Consulting Psychology
  • Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology
  • Educational Psychology
  • School Psychology
  • Society of Counseling Psychology
  • Psychologists in Public Service
  • Society for Military Psychology
  • Adult Development and Aging
  • Applied Experimental and Engineering Psychology
  • Rehabilitation Psychology
  • Society for Consumer Psychology
  • Society for Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology
  • Behavior Analysis
  • Society for the History of Psychology
  • Society for Community Research and Action: Division of Community Psychology
  • Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse
  • Psychotherapy
  • Society of Psychological Hypnosis
  • State, Provincial and Territorial Psychological Association Affairs
  • Society for Humanistic Psychology
  • Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
  • Society for Environmental, Population and Conservation Psychology
  • Society for the Psychology of Women
  • Society for the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality
  • Society for Child and Family Policy and Practice
  • Health Psychology
  • Psychoanalysis
  • Clinical Neuropsychology
  • American Psychology-Law Society
  • Psychologists in Independent Practice
  • Society for Family Psychology
  • Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues
  • Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues
  • Media Psychology
  • Exercise and Sport Psychology
  • Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, and Violence: Peace Psychology Division
  • Society of Group Psychology and Group Psychotherapy
  • Society of Addiction Psychology
  • Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity
  • International Psychology
  • Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology
  • Society of Pediatric Psychology
  • American Society for the Advancement of Pharmacotherapy
  • Trauma Psychology

Most of these represent areas for graduate study!

Clinical Psychology

  • General Career Pathways
  • Education options

What does “clinical psychology” mean as an area of work and education?

  • Related to the study and treatment of mental illness
  • Related to the study and promotion of mental health
  • This is not limited only to “clinical” populations
  • May also include “non-clinical” populations

Will I get rich?

  • Probably not
  • Will you earn a good living? Probably so.

For more information check the American Psychological Association (APA) website for salary surveys.

What about Getting a “License”?

To “do therapy” you need a license. If you seek a Ph.D. only to do research (which is really what the Ph.D. is for) you don’t need a license—though you can get one. The PsyD and many MA degrees provide options for licensure. Getting a license requires a combination of coursework and therapy training. Licensure is on a state-by-state basis.

Some Licensable Degrees:

  • Ph.D.
  • Psy.D.
  • M.D.
  • MSW
  • M.Ed
  • Masters in School Psychology
  • Masters in Counseling
  • Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy*
  • MS in Autism Studies

Ph.D.

  • This is a research and teaching oriented degree.
  • If you don’t like research you should not pursue it.
  • If you only and/or mostly want to do treatment, you should not pursue it.

Ph.D. in Clinical

  • A Scientist Practitioner Model
  • Available through Universities
    • Usually includes some funding
    • If you don’t get funding you should not go
  • Very competitive
    • Programs typically get 300-600 applications in a year and take 6-8 applicants
  • Mentored (usually)
    • An applicant works with an individual faculty member
    • Completes the masters and dissertation with this person
    • Choice based on shared interests
  • Includes clinical training
    • Requires a one year clinical internship
  • Focus is on research
    • Quantitative/Qualitative
    • Collecting data
    • Publishing
  • A Ph.D. program is not just more/more difficult, classes
  • It is possible to flunk out of a Ph.D. program
    • It is not a degree to rush into
    • If you aren’t really really sure, you are better off waiting
    • And it helps tremendously to have research experience
    • Consider working in a research lab for a year or two before applying

Psy.D.

  • This is a clinical treatment oriented doctoral degree
  • Four years (typically) of coursework and training
  • Focused on clinical work
  • Research is a minor focus, but necessary
  • Whether it requires an internship varies by state
  • Licensure requirements vary by state
  • Programs are most often free standing professional degree programs
    • Like some law or medical schools
  • Accept a larger cohort than Ph.Ds
    • For example around 100 in a class
  • May not have much access to funding
  • May be costly

Psychiatrist

  • A medical degree
  • Requires you to go to medical school
  • May lead to research
  • Commonly leads to practice
    • Private, clinic, hospital all common
  • Practice is usually oriented towards medication related treatment
  • It may also include therapy

Master of Social Work (MSW)

  • A two year degree
  • Will confer an opportunity for a clinical license
  • Can be a treatment related degree
  • Can also lead to other applied work
    • Policy, community organizing, human services management

Master of Education (M.Ed.)

  • A two year degree typically
  • May be a treatment related degree
    • Can lead to licensure in counseling, school counseling, marital counseling
  • May be an education related degree
    • If you want to go into teaching and have a more advanced understanding and training in the field
    • Can also lead to licensure as a teaching professional

Masters in Counseling

  • Also a treatment related degree
  • Typically two years
  • Can lead to licensure in counseling
  • May include individual, group, or system related counseling work

Masters in School Psychology

  • May be a treatment degree
  • Typically two years
  • Usually orients towards working within a secondary school system
  • Clinical treatment
  • Assessment and testing

Master of Arts (MA) in Marital and Family Therapy

  • Programs that focus education specifically on this area
  • Not all states offer licensure
  • You should check the program/state guidelines carefully to be certain

Some Programs In The Area

Ph.D. in Clinical:

  • UMass Boston (also counseling and school psych)
  • Clark University
  • UMass Amherst
  • Harvard
  • Northeastern (Ph.D. in counseling)
  • Boston University
  • Boston College

Psy.D. in Clinical:

  • Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology

A Few Area MA Programs

  • Simmons
  • Assumption College 
  • Boston UNiversity
  • Boston College
  • UMass Boston 
  • UMass Amherst
  • UMass Lowell
  • Salem State University
  • Worcester State University

Deciding What To Study

  • Call the UMass Lowell Career Services & Co-ops office at 978-934-2355 and talk to a Career Counselor
  • Talk to people: professors, friends, alumni - INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEWS
  • Get experience in different fields to better understand options
  • Think about what you really like to do and relate it to jobs and academic areas
  • Review different Graduate School offerings

Researching Graduate Schools

  1. Compile a list of schools offering your field of study
  2. Talk to people about schools’ programs:
    • Professors
    • Administrators
    • Staff members
    • Professionals
    • Friends
  3. Read professional journals: what schools are represented / professors?

Next narrow the list of schools. Use factors like:

  • Location
  • Admission requirements - Test scores, grades, field experience, etc.
  • Time frame of program:
    • Day, evening, part-time, full-time - start time also
  • Reputation and mission of school, program
  • Programs and coursework offered
  • Professors’ backgrounds and interests
  • Current Students’ and Alumni’s comments
  • Accessibility of faculty
  • Accreditation

Choosing A School

Attend the best school to which you have been accepted AND can afford.

Keep in mind:

  1. Academic Requirements:
    • Entrance Test Scores
    • Grades
  2. Class and Program Offerings:
    • Cost
  3. Financial Package offered to you:
    • Free Monies - Scholarships, fellowships, grants
    • Loans
    • Graduate Assistantships: teaching, research, administrative, resident halls
  4. Size of student body in relation to size of faculty
  5. Facilities (library, housing, study space, etc.)
  6. Demographics of student body
  7. Enrollment and class size
  8. Make a site visit (research professors before visit)

School Admission Criteria:

  • Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) scores
  • Grade Point Average (GPA)
  • Personal Essay
  • Work experience
  • Letters of reference / recommendation
  • Interview
  • Samples of previous work (optional)
  • Financial Aid Application

GRE

  • Computer adaptive test
  • General aptitude test of three parts
    • Analytical
    • Verbal
    • Quantitative
    • fee
  • GRE Subject test – 8 tests of major fields of study: for example: Biology, Psychology
    • is not computerized
    • fee
    • check with school if required

For more information visit the GRE website.

Potential Benefits of Waiting a Year or More

  • Work in related profession and decide if field is right for you
  • Earn money to help pay for education
  • Gain work experience which may assist admissions chances
  • Relax before the rigors of Graduate school
  • Mature

Potential Costs of Waiting a Year or More

  • May lose some reading, writing, and analytical skills
  • May be difficult to motivate yourself to go back to school (may indicate your desire was not as strong as you had thought)
  • The longer you wait, the longer it will take to finish
  • Some schools have a deferment policy
  • May lose contact with references: Go ahead and secure letters of recommendation before leave undergraduate institution.

Application Tips

  1. Follow Directions of application
  2. Start Early--Most applications due in December, January or February
  3. Contact schools to be sure application is complete

Letters of Recommendation

  • Should come from people who know you well enough to offer a truly informed assessment of your abilities
  • Academic references carry most weight
  • Provide your references with:
    • a copy of your personal statement and CV
    • Instructions on how the letter should be submitted
  • May be a checklist format or a letter request:
    • ***Which box do you check? Do you waive your right to view the letter?

Personal Statement

  • Usually in some manner covers the question:
  • Who are you, and why do you want to go to graduate school?
  • Include your “plan” for graduate school
    • research and experiences you hope to attain at that specific program
  • Writing should be clear and concise
  • Draw attention away from your weak points by focusing on your strengths.
  • Try to not exceed 2 pages (length may be mandated)

Funding Graduate School

  • Forms of financial aid
    • Grants / scholarships which do not require repayment
    • Scholarships - check out the FastWeb Scholarship finder website.
    • Wages, which are provided in return for work
    • Loans, which require repayment
      • 75% students finance education with loans

Time Table

  • Spring semester of your junior year:
    • think about what type of program you're interested in
    • start talking to the faculty
    • if you haven't already done so, find out if you can get involved in faculty research or an Independent Study project; consider taking a fieldwork course
  • Summer before your senior year: look over Graduate Study in Psychology
    • make a rough list of schools you might apply to
    • start writing your personal statement
    • begin studying for the GREs

UMass Lowell Grad. Programs

Figure out which program and increase your success of getting accepted.

Some areas of psychology:

  • Clinical
  • Counseling
  • Social
  • Personality
  • Developmental
  • Biopsychology
  • School
  • Forensic
  • Behavioral
  • Cognitive
  • Experimental
  • Community
  • Health
  • Input / Output (I/O)
  • Education

You can also Google "areas of psychology".


M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis & Autism Studies

The M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis & Autism Studies launched in September 2012. It is a 39 credit program with a mix of online and on-campus courses. It enables individuals to meet the education, experience and supervision requirements for board certification.

How do I figure out which program is right for me?

By getting involved you will figure out what you like and what you don’t like.

  • GET INVOLVED!!!
  • Volunteer - join the River Hawks in Service Club
  • Work in the field (Melmark, May Institute)
  • Conduct research with faculty
  • Volunteer to participate in research
  • Interview faculty
  • Take advantage of all of your opportunities
  • Join the Psych Club