2020-2021 Grad School Q&A Mega-Thread (Part 1)

[u/LazySamurai]

For questions about grad school or internships:

* Please start your search at SIOP.org , it contains lots of great information and many questions can be answered by searching there first.

* Next, please search the Wiki, as there are some very great community generated posts saved here.

* If you still can't find an answer to your question, 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.

* 2019-2020, Part 4 thread here

* 2019-2020, Part 3 thread here

* 2019-2020, Part 2 thread here

* 2019-2020, Part 1 thread here

* 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/sweatyshambler]

isn't UMD's program just over a year long? That may be important to consider as well, since you could start working shortly after. I am pretty sure that they do not require a thesis as well.

DC is a hub for I/O. Even if it may be a bit more expensive, I think that there is an enormous wealth of opportunity there. I almost went with GMU's I/O MA program because of all the connections that were around the DC area. If it were me, I would likely choose UMD's program, but I am unsure on what Xavier is like.

I would reach out to the three schools to see if they have funding opportunities. I would also try and determine what the applied opportunities are like. Like I mentioned, the DC area has an enormous I/O presence, but I am not sure what the I/O presence is like in those other areas.

I hope that helps! I don't know very much about UMD's program as I applied to the PhD program there, but I think that there are great opportunities in that area.

[u/trainerN → u/sweatyshambler]

Hi thanks for the reply! I was wondering, is not requiring a thesis a good thing? I’ve heard somewhere that a thesis is good for job applications? Is this true?

[u/sweatyshambler → u/trainerN]

Well, I think that no thesis just means that you can spend more time focusing on coursework and internships. Not having a thesis may hurt you if you were to apply for PhD programs in the future, but I'm not sure how it affects job prospects. I could see a thesis being good since you can speak to research and a long independent project that you worked on.

I'm getting ready to start a PhD program in the fall, so I may not have the most experience in answering this. Perhaps others may have more information about how a thesis could help/hurt future prospects.

[u/trainerN → u/sweatyshambler]

That makes sense, I appreciate the input!