Graduate School Series Part 1 (with Dr. Anita DeLongis) Event Update

On Monday, PSA members came together on Zoom to gain valuable information on graduate school from Dr. Anita DeLongis, our Associate Head of Graduate Affairs. She had prepared a slideshow presentation on career opportunities, how graduate school works and how to prepare for it, the application process and sources of funding. Knowing your career goals is the first step to preparing for graduate school and Dr. DeLongis gave many examples of careers like hospital jobs, government agencies, and academic jobs such as teaching or research. She included careers in other disciplines that a BA/BSc in psychology can lead to, like law, advertising, or social work. She also talked about specializations in psychology and how to choose one. Then, she moved on to choosing universities and highlighted the significance of considering the fit and quality of both the university and the supervisor as well as costs, location, and more. 

After, we learned that graduate school is based on an apprenticeship model instead of a classroom model. Dr. DeLongis talked about how to choose a supervisor, what courses and exams would be like, and the different kinds of work that graduate school students perform like research and internships. After detailing the graduate school experience, she laid out the steps to creating a winning application. Admissions are very competitive due to limits on supervisors’ availability, financial resources, and space. Hence, a good academic record and research experience are important, as well as placement tests, letters of reference, and a written statement. Since the application process also depends on the school, Dr. DeLongis advised checking out school websites to get the best information. 

She talked more about financial resources, and gave tips on how to get funding for graduate school from school departments, grants, or fellowships. Her presentation concluded with an explanation of the evaluation criteria that is used to judge applications for funding. Academic excellence is the most important criteria, followed by research potential, and then personal characteristics. 

Attendees had lots of questions and Dr. DeLongis answered them both throughout and after her presentation. Questions ranged from applying to international graduate schools to Graduate Record Exams to applying for scholarships and even to how the application process has changed during Covid-19. We all left with new knowledge and suddenly, life after graduation didn’t seem as scary. 

For those who attended, please fill out the post event survey to share your feedback and ask any questions that went unanswered at the event. We hope to see you all at our next grad school event.