CUR - The Council on Undergraduate Research

Evidence Based Graduate School Applications in Psychology Programs

Haylie DeMercy, Sara Hathaway, Natalie Wennergren and Dr. Jennifer Grewe. Department of Psychology, Utah State University. 2810 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322.

Graduate programs in psychology are competitive, but can give psychology students more career opportunities than a bachelor’s degree alone (Landrum, 2010). Many psychology undergraduates who wish to attend graduate school are unsure which qualifications Department Chairs and admissions committees are looking for and what they should focus on prior to applying to graduate school. Previous research has shown that applicants to graduate school in psychology-related fields are more likely to be accepted if they have strong letters of recommendation, at least 6 months of relevant research experience, higher-than-average GRE scores, higher-than-average GPA, exceptional personal statements, applicable work experience, and more life experience in comparison with other applicants (Littleford et al, 2018, Pashak et al., 2011). This study will examine the potential impact of each of these variables on admission to graduate programs. Department Chairs and admissions committees of master’s, PsyD and PhD psychology programs throughout the United States will participate through a Qualtrics survey. Participants will answer questions regarding the importance of each of the previously mentioned qualifications. Means will be calculated across groups for each perceived importance to graduate school admissions process variable. A MANOVA analysis will be run to determine whether there is a significant difference between variables and whether there is an association between variables. This study will help undergraduate students have a better idea of which qualifications are most important to graduate admission committees and how to best prepare for the application process. 

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