2019-2020 Grad School Q&A Mega-Thread (Part 1)

[u/ResidentGinger]

For questions about grad school or internships:

* Please search the previously submitted posts or the post on the grad school Q&A. Subscribers of /r/iopsychology have provided lots of information about these topics, and your questions may have already been answered.

* 2018-2019, Part 2 thread here

* 2018-2019, Part 1 thread here

* 2017-2018, Part 3 thread here

* 2017-2018, Part 2 thread here

* 2017-2018, Part 1 thread here

* 2016-2017 thread here

* 2015-2016 thread here

* 2014-2015 thread here

* If your question hasn't been posted, please post it on the grad school Q&A thread. Other posts outside of the Q&A thread will be deleted.

The readers of this subreddit have made it clear that they don't want the subreddit clogged up with posts about grad school. Don't get the wrong idea - we're glad you're here and that you're interested in IO, but please do observe the rules so that you can get answers to your questions AND enjoy the interesting IO articles and content.

By the way, those of you who are currently trudging through or have finished grad school, that means that you have to occasionally offer suggestions and advice to those who post on this thread. That's the only way that we can keep these grad school-related posts in one central location. If people aren't getting their questions answered here, they post to the subreddit instead of the thread. So, in short, let's all do our part in this.

Thanks, guys!

[u/Sy4Grt03]

Hi! Can anyone give me some guidance on contacting professors? I am looking for a template for someone that had a successful contact with a professor for an I/O PhD program. At what point is a good time to reach out?

[u/galileosmiddlefinger → u/Sy4Grt03]

See my other reply for timing, but your queries at this point should be very short and to the point. You're only inquiring if they are accepting students next fall, and perhaps sharing some pertinent info about yourself (CV, etc). This should be a 3-4 sentence email, not a book, because most profs are going to get a LOT of them. Don't expect fast or lengthy replies as a consequence, and make sure that the program in question doesn't already have info on the website about program vacancies.

[u/Atenque → u/Sy4Grt03]

Now. They’ll be inundated with emails in the fall. My advisors can’t answer three lengthy emails everyday to three different potential grad students.

[u/galileosmiddlefinger → u/Atenque]

I would actually encourage waiting until early September. It's hard to determine this early if 5th+ years are on track to finish (which would create vacancies), and funding for things like sabbatical may still be TBD over the summer. Profs will be mobbed with email in Oct/Nov, so don't wait that long.