PhD programs in Psychology/Organizational behaviors?

Graduate School
1

Hi everyone,

I’m currently starting on graduate school application process for programs in psychology, and I’m for the most time, unsure or clueless on what is the right approach to do school/program research. I am afraid that I would apply to schools all of which I have little chance of get into. I feel like I’m yet to gauge a sense of my competency and level. Honestly, having researched phd programs in organizational behaviors (micro track) such as Columbia’s, NYU’s, UC Berkeley’s, Harvard’s, Stanford’s, UPenn’s, North Carolina-Chapel Hills’s and etc., I am fairly intimidated by the slim chance of getting in any program…

I will try to be concise, but I have more than one questions so please bear with me.

I am a senior and will graduate in May 2019 with a B.A. in psychology at UC Berkeley, and I would like to apply for graduate psychology programs this fall. My current gpa is 3.68. I wish I had higher GPA if I knew earlier I would be applying to PhD program, but I have devoted my time to researches and extracurricular activities in psychology and entrepreneurship. I do not regret the time I spent there though because it was such exploration that made me realize that I DO want to apply to a PhD program after all.

More specifically, I am interested in organizational psychology, and I have worked in an OB lab for two years. I want to study human factors that can make organizations more effective, and why we suffer from biases that still influence us even after we know they are there (e.g. why we make overconfident predictions, develop giant blindspots around ego and identity and social pressure, fail to follow through goals, turn opportunities for collaboration into antagonistic zero-sum games). Other than that, I am also interested in power, status and personality. What programs/professors, if any, would you recommend according to my interests?

Also, I was wondering if anyone could tell me whether going directly to a PhD program would be realistic for me. (I do want to get into a good program). Would you strongly recommend a master program first? If so, do you have any recommendations?

Moreover, I have taken GRE and got 160v, 167q, 4.5essay. I know it could be better but I for now do not plan to take it again (or would you strongly recommend I get a better score?)

If you read all the way through, thank you, and I would be incredibly grateful for advice!

2

You say you want to apply to psychology programs but then mention OB - my post will assume you’re looking at OB programs in management departments although I do touch on psychology. I’m heading for an academic career so I focus on that path in my response, although there are plenty of industry and consulting opportunities as well. I’m also assuming you’ve had some discussions with your advisor(s) - if not, I recommend doing so. They will help you gauge your potential and may have some program recommendations.

Your GPA and GRE scores are fine and you have relevant research experience. I would not be concerned with those pieces of your application. I would recommend that you focus on finding the right programs and writing a strong personal statement. You have a broad set of interests. Keep reading the literature on those topics to identify researchers and programs.

The UTD rankings for business schools is a helpful resource to identify schools based on the number of faculty publications in top journals in each sub discipline. Pretty much any school on that list will have a good program if it matches your interests. Applying to only top programs is risky, so I would consider looking at any program in the top 50ish (you need to sort by journal so that you’re looking specifically at management department rankings), though you needn’t limit yourself to that cut off. If you apply to a broad range of programs with a strong research fit and have good letters of recommendation, you have a reasonable chance of admission.

The academic job market for business PhD students is generally healthier than other disciplines, which is why I was less concerned about only applying to “top” programs when I applied (for OB). Those with a PhD in social or I/O psychology can also be hired into management departments if that is your end goal; however, some perks to getting a PhD from a business program is that they generally offer better funding and the program length is often shorter. My point is that you can have a good career even if you don’t get into your dream school - although I am not discouraging you from applying to a few if they are a good fit.

As I mentioned, social and I/O psychology programs are an option. You could apply to some psych and some management programs, though you normally can’t apply to both at the same school. If you ultimately want to work in a psychology department after getting your PhD, post docs are much more common as a next step than for OB students (for now) and I would say that program standing (not necessarily school standing) will matter a lot more. My feel is that competition is much more fierce with fewer academic job prospects in the field of psychology. Salaries are also lower than for business faculty.

I don’t think you need a masters degree. I would recommend working for a bit if you don’t get in on the first round. If that isn’t an option you want to explore, you might apply to one or two masters programs when you apply to PhD programs, but look for research-oriented ones, or at least ones with a thesis option (many OB students have MBAs, but they are not geared to prepare you for a PhD, so I don’t advise that route).

My research interests are different and so I can’t recommend specific programs (and you’ve already named a few that came to my mind), but I hope I’ve given you some helpful things to consider.

3

Your GPA is fine - a 3.68 is quite good and plenty high enough for a competitive PhD program. Once you get to a 3.5+ I really don’t think anyone needs to worry, and even below that you can be fine if the rest of your application is really good. Your research is going to be the more important part. You’ve got two years of research experience; you’ve got well-defined research goals and interests, which will help you write a good statement; I’m assuming you’ve got at least good recommendations from your OB lab PI and 2 other professors. Your GRE scores are really good (if I were you I wouldn’t bother retaking it). So yeah, it sounds realistic for you, and I don’t think you need an MA first.

I, too, assumed that you were looking for organizational behavior programs, which usually aren’t in psychology departments but are in business schools. You should think carefully about this; I’d advocate the business school, honestly, given your interests.

For example, Columbia has three programs in which you could study this: the regular psychology department in GSAS (which has a close affiliation with the business school, and several professors are jointly appointed); the PhD in management in the micro OB subfield, and the PhD in social-organizational psychology at Teachers COllege. Based on your interests, I am assuming you’re talking about the management PhD, which is also the one I’d recommend given your interests. (And, if I recall correctly, Columbia has several people doing research in your areas of interest!)

I can’t recommend schools because this is outside my field. Your OB lab PI should have some ideas.