How to Research Grad School Programs

Note: This advice is coming from someone pursuing a PsyD in Clinical Psychology (PsyD tips included!) so the advice comes from this perspective. Where possible, I put in notes to make this applicable to other disciplines, but it may not be exhaustive for all fields. 

 


Quick Note on Timeline: Most graduate programs (unless they have rolling admission) typically have deadlines in fall or early spring semester (with variations with early decision, waitlists, etc.). Ideally, start researching well (6 months minimum, depends on your field) in advance of when the application cycle opens to ensure you have plenty of time for research, creating/gathering materials, etc. We will cover this more in the applications but maybe think of/build on your relationship with potential references/recommenders (usually a combination of professors and employers) early so you have plenty of time and aren’t scrambling trying to get in touch when . 

My personal timeline: I started researching mid-late summer before my application, narrowed my programs down by October, and then started my applications. I applied to one program and submit my application in January for the school with an early spring deadline (took a long time to get recommenders to all complete their form). We will talk more about applications in the other article but just wanted to make the timeline note think ahead. 

Define Your Search Parameters 

Since you already determined your “why” you should be able to look at the goal you have and ask yourself these questions:

  • What education do you need (if any) and what level? Bachelors, Masters, Doctorate, etc. (this is remind you that all career goals do not need a graduate level degree, some can be okay with Bachelors and experience, etc., it depends on your goals/needs/interests). 
  • Are there multiple degree types? Which do you want? Do you need/want a more general or highly specialized program?
    • For example in Psychology, there is research or clinical/therapeutic  routes, with PhD and  PsyD degree options. On the clinical side, there are different licensure requirements (has to be applied degree like a clinical or counseling degree, vs a general psych or super specialized program). There is even more complication when looking at industrial/organization or school psych and looking into counseling licensure options (MFT, LPC, Ed.D, pastoral/ministry counseling, etc.) 
  • Ultimate career goal with any national/state licensure or accreditation requirements?
  • Any formatting/program requirements?

Then the next questions to ask yourself before you get started with the actual research:

  • Online, hybrid, or in-person degree (requirements may depend on your field of study in addition to your learning preferences)
  • If in person, where are you (and if applicable) your spouse okay with living for 2-5+ years? What places will not be a good fit to move to? 
  • Think about funding.
    • do you need a program with scholarship options, a fully funded PhD type, a place with graduate assistantships, etc.? 
    • Are you going to privately fund (grants, loans, scholarships, savings, etc.)

Create a short list of your answers to these questions in bullet point form, putting them in two categories of “needs” and “would likes” (you can make your own labels) with any alternate options (in parentheses in the example below), or even adding a “don’t wants” if that is helpful. As you research, these can change, but it is important to have some of this to go off of, and then become more specific as you go. 

When I was applying to my Clinical Psychology doctorate, an excerpt of my list looked something like this: 

Needs:

  • PsyD (or PhD) in Clinical (or Counseling) Psychology
  • Direct start from Bachelors degree (or accepts Masters transfer program)
  • Leads to AZ psychology licensure (ideally APA accredited)

Would Likes:

  • AZ in person (or out of state hybrid programs)
  • “Affordable” as grad programs go
  • Not require a GRE exam

Organize Your Options

I then set up an excel document (here is a link to a template for your use!) to track information as I researched. As I googled programs ( “degree title/type in location”, adding in any extra keywords you need!) and went through program websites, I would use a spreadsheet to save the below information for schools/programs I could  potentially be interested in: 

  • School Name
  • Degree Type (if looking at multiple types such as PhD and PsyD as an example)
  • Location
  • Time to Complete
  • Tuition
  • Credits in Program (if applicable)
  • Pros
  •  Cons
  • Application Deadline
  • Lens/Concentration
  • (if it is a program where you have to match with professors labs) Professor(s) and Research Interests/Relevant Publications  Notes. 
  • Notes
    • You can make notes on any entrance exams that you see such GRE/MCAT/LSAT (don’t worry about finding it right now but you can note if you see it or know it is needed), or if a Masters degree is required, etc. (or put in pros and cons list like I did, whatever makes the most sense to you!)
  • Program Info Link

This gives you a comprehensive look at all of the programs you could possibly be interested in and the details to help you move forward in the grad school research process!

Quick note here for Masters degree seekers: remember us thinking ahead in terms of our ultimate goal and working backwards? This is where it matters! If you are looking at Masters degrees in terms of a ultimate goal (e.g. MS in Marriage and Family Counseling leading to MFT Licensure, or masters degree for further professional development in your field) vs stepping stone (advance your experience/education toward future degree such as doctorate), it will change how you should be looking at it. If it is your ultimate goal, continue reading the next section! If, however, it is a stepping stone, please (please!) make sure that it is a useful stepping stone! If you are looking for more (separate) experience in your field or want to get  a grad school GPA (such as if you want to improve your GPA if you did not like your undergrad GPA) before applying to terminal degree, great! However, if you are wanting to transfer your credits and apply your masters degree towards your terminal degree, double check the transfer policies for your top school(s) before you apply for your masters programs. Save yourself, time, effort, money (and potentially hassle) and work backwards. You can consider a “special masters program” (which helps you get an interview at the same school when you finish your masters), get a masters at the school you want to attend (still check transfers), or you can choose one of the doctoral programs that confers a masters degree in the middle of the program (so you have the option to stop there with your masters instead of continuing the doctorate). Whatever you choose, make sure you are looking ahead, working backwards, and then finding the next best step towards what you want to do and who you want to become. 

 

Narrow Your Choices

At this point, you likely have a number of different options across varying preference levels based on interest, goals, cost, location/format, etc. For me, that meant I had 36 programs composed of PsyD, PhD, and Masters degrees (for programs that preferred Masters first) – your number will be larger or smaller based on your personal criteria. However, we are not going to jump in and apply to every program on our list, we are going to narrow down our options!

Please note, we are not going for a specific target number of applications with this method. Internet advice has a myriad of opinions on how many programs to apply to with the most common advice ranging from 4-10 ish schools. My recommendation for the most long term thinking is only apply to programs you could be interested in attending; this will be a very personal number. Sure have some “backups” if you would like (or of you are applying to “reach”schools), but if you can’t see yourself attending and being happy with a program for 2-5+ years, I wouldn’t waste the application time/money/etc. applying somewhere you would not go if that was the only place you got accepted (that also makes applications and interviews harder if you’re not truly interested!) 

If you don’t get into the programs you want, you always have the option to wait until the next application cycle, get more experience, and then go where you actually want attend to do what you want to do. (This applies to specific professor/advisor/lab availability if they aren’t accepting students this application cycle, but maybe next. )



Now to help narrow that list down:

Firstly, is there any program/professor/school that you look at and are immediately responding “meh”? Best to archive that program (I recommend archiving, instead of deleting, in a separate sheet to keep the research in case you change your mind later or your interest change). Now go through and archive the ones you are not likely to attend if you got in. 

Next, we are going to do some more research! (I told you we are researching grad schools :D)

(This section also applies to your dream/reach schools!)

For your shorter list of programs we want to dig in a little deeper to get a better feel for the program to help make a decision: (take or leave any of these that feel helpful/applicable) 

  • For out of state programs where you’d have to move, check out the cost of living, housing options, etc. If applicable, will your stipend/job/spouses income be able to support living costs in that area along with an payments and expenses you have
  • Look up student forums/reviews/discussions about the program
  • If the program is more established, check out any outcome data they may have (licensures, occupation-specific test scores, size of cohort, incoming:graduated:discontinued ratio, etc.) that may be relevant to your future goals and decision-making
  • Talk to current students/professors or admissions counselors if you have access to that for more of an insider’s perspective and to ask questions
  • Check out any support programs that may be helpful to know about: tutoring, office policies, study groups, student mentoring, mental health or medical services, campus amenities, etc. 
  • Look at the list of classes or program plan
  • Dig into anything else you would need to know to help support your decision 



Quick Note: In my narrowing, I was pretty specific in this season of my life (very specific location needs, etc.) and only ended up applying to one program, being okay with re-applying or looking into other schools if I didn’t get in, or going another route (such looking more into a Masters with a later deadline). For me it was better to just apply to the program I was 100% on and ticked all the boxes for my priorities instead of a bunch of things that didn’t make sense right now. Your list may be longer than mine, or you could be like me. However, if you go this route of only having a couple programs, be flexible with your timeline and put extra care into crafting your application to promote success with your selection. 

Congratulations! Now you have your shortlist of programs you are applying to this application cycle!