Our graduate program is currently structured so that students complete a 2 year M.A. program, before advancing to their Ph.D. Graduate courses are all taught by tenure-track faculty in the Social/Personality area, and students are afforded numerous opportunities to collaborate with other faculty, not just their primary supervisor. We are dedicated to training top researchers in psychological science, and the structure of our program reflects this goal. A great deal of care has been put into our program, to ensure that students receive proper mentorship and are well-prepared upon graduation.
Here are details on applying to the graduate program in psychology.
This year, the application deadline is in December.
For details on course offerings and the graduate degree requirements, please see the graduate handbook. There are also a number of graduate diplomas available to York graduate students, such as a diploma in Quantitative Methods, Neuroscience, or Health Psychology. These diplomas formalize advanced training for our graduates and are appealing to employers.
For questions regarding our area, feel free to email the Area head: Dr. Amy Muise.
Advice for Graduate Applicants
Applying to Graduate School in Psychology can seem like a daunting task. Here are some tips for how to choose a Graduate Program, and also some links to additional resources.
Choosing a Graduate Program
- Decide whether you really want to go to graduate school.
Graduate study in Psychology is not for everyone, and it is substantially different from undergraduate studies in Psychology. You should try to get some experience in a lab, conducting research, to get a sense if this is something you enjoy doing. - Think about what topics you would like to research, and find a supervisor who shares those interests.
Graduate school is only going to be rewarding if you spend your time thinking about and doing research on a topic that really interests you. Once you’ve found a topic that interests you, find out who is doing research on this topic. Contact these individuals to see if they are currently accepting students. There is no point in applying to schools/supervisors if the person you want to work with has a full lab and no room for you in the coming year. Researchers typically enjoy hearing from potential applicants, so don’t be afraid to e-mail them your C.V. and politely ask if they are taking on new students. This may open up a dialogue, and you can get a better sense of what this person is like and if you’d like to work with him or her. - Find out more about potential supervisors.
The two things that will determine your happiness (and success) in graduate school more than anything else are fit between personal interests and research interests, and fit between yourself and your supervisor with regards to supervisory style. Graduate supervisors have many different styles of supervision, some like to be very involved in their student’s research and mentorship (i.e., “hands-on”) and others prefer to give their students more freedom (i.e., “hands-off”). One style may suit you more than another, and it is important to learn what sort of supervisory style each potential supervisor employs. Contact current and former graduate students of each supervisor and ask them about their experiences. The potential supervisor may supply this information if you ask, or you can find out who has worked with a supervisor through careful online searching. This is a very important decision, so you should really do your homework! - Apply.
The following steps should have led to a relatively narrow set of individuals who you are interested in working with, and who seem interested in working with you. Hopefully you’ve already developed some sort of dialogue with these individuals as well, which should increase the probability of you being accepted into their particular program. The only thing to do now is to apply. There are plenty of good resources out there for how to go about preparing for the GRE, and putting together a good application, so it’s a good idea to seek these out. The only other thing to mention is that if possible you should try to apply for some funding for graduate school. Some granting agencies allow you to apply in advance for fellowship money, and bringing your own money with you will certainly be attractive to potential supervisors.
Good Luck!
Links to Additional Resources