Have you ever dreamed of attending Harvard University for your Ph.D. in Psychology? If you have, then read on, as this article will give you some information about the types of programs offered in the Psychology field, the academic requirements for admission, and quality education you can expect to experience from the university itself.
Harvard University is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and has a whopping student body of nearly twenty thousand. Considered the oldest university in the United States, Harvard ranks at number three in the nation for universities to obtain your Ph.D. in the field of Psychology. Harvard offers doctoral study in psychology in the following areas:
* Cognition, brain, and behavior
* Developmental Psychology
* Clinical Science
* Social Psychology
* Organizational Behavior
Each of these areas in psychology represent prominent faculty members who jointly administer graduate admissions and provide training in some subfield of psychology. As with other graduate programs, it is not uncommon for individual faculty to have research interests that span more than one area, and thus, provide a breadth of necessary graduate training in research.
If Harvard University is your dream school to obtain your Ph.D., you have to be the best of the best to even have a shot at getting in. Harvard expects its applicants to have stellar GPA and academic resumes. Additionally, graduate admissions committees want you to demonstrate strong leadership skills through your extracurricular activities. Consider those extras on top of writing the perfect graduate personal statement and turning in glowing letters of recommendation that speak to your prior research experience.
In terms of prerequisites, current information on the Harvard University website indicates that you do not have to be a psychology major to gain acceptance to their doctoral programs. However, ALL entering students share a commonality of an undergraduate degree with an academic record of distinction. As is the case with most research-oriented Ph.D. programs in psychology, undergraduate work in statistics is strongly advised.
If paying for graduate education is one of your primary concerns, please be aware that Harvard University (like many Ph.D. programs) provides fellowships to support graduate students. Currently, admitted students receive five years of tuition support, along with a stipend and research fellowship for the first two years of doctoral study. During the third and fourth years, students are guaranteed teaching fellowships, and the final year includes a stipend that includes funds for living expenses during the final year, which you will be expected to produce a dissertation.
Much like other doctoral programs in psychology, it is not easy to get into Harvard University. However, you probably knew that before you read this article, so let this be your motivation, rather than discouragement. Do your best to create a winning graduate school application package and study hard for your GRE exam (which great news – the GRE Psychology Subject Test isn't a requirement for admission), and you've already light years ahead of most of your competition to get into grad school in psychology.
Source by Sheridan Salter
