Participants of the second annual Diversifying Clinical Psychology Weekend gained skills for succeeding in graduate school.
Program offers pointers for prospective students
In an effort to help aspiring clinical psychology applicants from historically marginalized and underrepresented backgrounds feel better prepared to tackle the application process and succeed in graduate school, School of Social Ecology graduate students from the clinical psychology area hosted their second annual “Diversifying Clinical Psychology Weekend” event earlier this month. Co-sponsored by DECADE, the event included breaking down application requirements, discussing how to obtain relevant research experience, and sharing the experiences of current students to help aspiring applicants feel more confident in their own academic journeys.
The DECADE committee, composed of graduate students in psychological science, offered the following tips:
- Professionalism is key. Using professional email greetings, being punctual, demonstrating preparation, taking ownership and responsibility, and using critical thinking and problem solving skills goes a long way.
- Get involved in research labs. Joining a research lab during undergraduate or post-bacc programs, or seeking full-time research assistant and research staff positions will help prepare you for graduate programs that place heavy emphasis on research.
- Prepare an accurate and professionally-formatted CV. Keep formatting consistent, list things in reverse chronological order, use action words when describing your contributions to activities.
- Personalize your Research Statements (also known as Statement of Purpose) for each program you apply to. Emphasize what draws you to each particular program, include faculty members you are interested in working with and why, and state how YOU can add value and contribute to the program.
- Weave a narrative through your personal statement that goes beyond your CV. Avoid summarizing your CV. Tell a story that SHOWS the reader what lessons you have learned and your main takeaways from prior experiences that have led you to apply to their program. Relate your experiences through common themes, goals, and interests that may not be obvious to someone simply reading through your CV.
- Incorporate your values, commitment to DEI, and who you are as a person in your Personal History Statement (also known as Diversity Statement). This is a great place to show parts of yourself, your background, and your experiences that don’t fit into other parts of the application.
- Get feedback on your materials. Get feedback from friends, family, and colleagues on your essays.
- Submit strong letters of recommendation. Letters of recommendation are a critical component of a well-rounded application. Be sure to request letters from writers with whom you have good relationships and believe will be able to write you a thorough and positive letter of recommendation. Don’t hesitate to ask potential letter writers if they would be able to write you a STRONG letter of recommendation.
- Research your programs ahead of time to make sure they are a good fit for you. Just as schools are evaluating whether you will be a good fit for their program, you should take the time to do your research on whether programs you are applying to seem to be a good fit for your research interests, professional goals, and personal needs.
- Check out additional resources and information sessions: https://tinyurl.com/ClinicalPhDInfoSessions and https://tinyurl.com/ClinicalPsychResourceSheet.
