Does Pursuing a Doctorate Degree In Psychology Take You Along The Best Career Path?
Lots of people apply to psychology doctorate programs because they believe it is the next step in their education and have run out of ideas about what else to pursue as a career. There are many career paths in psychology and going onto get a doctorate degree in psychology is just one of many options. At the doctoral level, you invest a minimum of five years in most psychology graduate programs. You need to be sure that a doctorate degree will get you closer to your ultimate career goal. Contrary to popular belief, it is not a good idea to apply to graduate school if you’re not 100% sure that this career path is for you. (And most graduate admissions committees at the doctoral level are screening carefully between lackluster applicants and those who really truly want to go on to earn a doctorate in psychology). read more…
Critical Thinking Skills Are An Essential Part of the Doctoral Experience
“Psychology is easy. It’s just common sense.” How many psychology students have uttered those words only to find out that they had underestimated the field of psychology? Earning a doctorate degree in psychology is certainly not about repeating “common sense,” but actually creating new knowledge by extensive use of your critical thinking skills. Not only are these skills engaged in research, but also in writing. While the college experience is supposed to engage these analytical skills, many students leave the university without them. read more…
Mastering Scientific Writing Skills Can Help You Get Into Graduate School!
Whether you would like to further your studies by getting a masters degree or Ph.D. in psychology, you need a solid background in scientific writing. Most students come in as psychology majors writing as they did in high school or exactly as they were taught in English class. However, mastering scientific writing for psychology requires learning an entirely new skill set. Excelling in graduate school in psychology (and maybe getting into graduate school in psychology as well) requires changing your writing style to be concise, less “flowery,” and using data or credible sources of information, such as academic journal articles, to provide evidence for your major claims. read more…
Recommended Reading Before Starting An Online Doctorate Degree Program in Psychology
Considering an online doctorate degree in psychology? Online education has literally changed the face of higher education, oftentimes giving students access to earning their masters or Ph.D. in psychology via their closest Internet connection. There are quite a few online graduate degree programs offering graduate degrees in psychology — University of Phoenix, Capella University, Walden University, and still others. But is an online doctorate program really for you? read more…
3 Factors To Consider: How To Get Into Psychology Doctoral Programs
One of the biggest mistakes that students make when applying to psychology doctoral programs is to rely on their GPA and GRE scores as a compass measuring their chances of getting in. What you may not have learned from your classes or even your participation in the Psychology Club is that psychology doctoral programs tend to admit “holy grail” students straight out of undergrad – those students who have those objective criteria at a minimum. You will need much more to get into graduate school. What other factors should you consider when preparing for advanced study in doctoral programs? read more…