Category Archives: Graduate School

An Almost-Win for Student Voting Privileges


The American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS) Committee is disappointed that members did not pass the proposed bylaw amendment to grant graduate students voting privileges in APA. APAGS will, however, keep mobilizing to advance this issue and ensure increased representation for students. 

Here’s the background: In 2018, APAGS proposed a measure that would enable graduate students to vote on the same issues after one year that all full APA members, and associates after five years of membership, are eligible to vote for: Elections for APA President-Elect and Board Members-at-Large, bylaw amendments like this one, and apportionment ballots. The measure would have also aligned the voter-waiting period for associate members with that of graduate student members.

The Council of Representatives agreed to put the matter before the current voting bloc this fall. The ballot closed Dec. 16, 2019, resulting in 8,436 total votes, with 5,566 (65.98%) in favor. Because this item is a bylaw amendment, it requires not a simple majority but a two-thirds majority (66.67%) in favor to pass. Translation: The measure was 58 votes shy of passage.

This was an incredibly close outcome. Our committee is so glad that a groundswell of voters supported this measure, including many who otherwise would not have voted at all (in fact, the turnout for a bylaw amendment vote has not been this high since 2011). We recognize the support of the APA Board of Directors, the Council Leadership Team, the Council of Representatives, many APA presidential candidates, and a number of APA Divisions and State Psychological Associations that came out favoring the measure. 

Of course, our sincerest thanks are to our fellow students who could not vote, but encouraged their professors, supervisors, and colleagues to do so. We believe most members would agree with us that enfranchising graduate students is the right thing to do for APA. This is, in fact, reflected in today’s results. This outcome is not a verdict on our competency to vote, but on readiness for change. In my tenure as 2019 APAGS chair, I am reminded that everything takes the time that it takes. In less than one-and-a-half years, our committee moved an issue from idea into action, challenging traditional timelines, and falling a tiny bit short – 58 votes, to be exact. Stick with us as we regroup, because we’ll need you!

Our enthusiasm for APA’s future is undeterred. And our desire to strengthen APA through our voices is only increasing!

Yours in solidarity,
Roseann Fish Getchell, PsyD
2019 APAGS Chair 

APAGS Grants $12,000 to Advance Diversity in Doctoral Programs

The American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS) Committee has recently selected four grantees and dispersed $12,000 to support the recruitment, retention and leadership training of diverse psychology doctoral students.

Photo by LinkedIn Sales Navigator on Unsplash

Now in its second year, the APAGS Student Diversity Initiative Award provides funding of up to $3,000 per institution to address “leaky pipelines” on the road to successfully completing a doctorate. Efforts will be directed to students and prospective students with traditionally underrepresented identities in race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, disability, religion, language, socioeconomic status, and age.

We are pleased to present our distinguished awardees:

Howard University

HU’s Counseling Psychology Program will use its funding to address the goal of retaining and recruiting highly qualified diverse students through the creation of a Graduate Education & Training in Psychology Podcast.  The purpose of the podcast is to increase awareness of the doctoral program, provide networking, research, and professional development opportunities for grad students, and even fundraise.

San Diego State University

SDSU’s Joint Doctoral Program (JDP) in Clinical Psychology will use its funding to cultivate and maintain a diverse student body within the doctoral program and clinical psychology at large. The goals will be met via committee initiatives focused on recruitment, retention, mentorship and leadership – for example diversity aimed events, mentoring potential applicants, and hosting a diversity mixer during interviews.

Tennessee State University 

TSU’s Counseling Psychology Program will use its funding to expand the reach and understanding of the program’s Microaggressions Work Group (MWG), a collaboration between students and faculty to facilitate program-wide development concerning microaggressions. It does this through educational and experimental training, member support, and advocacy and awareness.

University of Virginia 

The Black Scholars in Education & Human Development Writing Group has created a space for black doctoral students and postdocs to develop and enhance their writing skills in a community of support. In addition to their monthly writing sessions, the group plans to use funding to convene once a semester for a retreat focused on writing skills and wellness.

APAGS encourages you to consider applying in our fall 2020 cycle.

Careers in Science-Related Policy, Part 1: Balancing Research with Policy Interests in Graduate School

Mary Fernandes, Melanie Arenson, Elyse Mowle

The number of PhD graduates that pursue traditional tenure-track faculty career paths is declining yearly (Horn, 1999). Many graduate students choose to pursue “alternative” careers in business, industry, policy, education, practice, and more. Unfortunately, while most PhD training programs adequately train students for research-based careers, few are able to support the needs of students with alternative goals. As a result, graduate students are left to supplement their training with experiences aligned with their career goals. But how? Well, if you’re interested in pursuing a career that integrates science and policy, you’re in luck! Below, we have listed some helpful educational and training resources to help you build your policy-related skill-set, as well as some tips to help you balance your research responsibilities with such opportunities. 

Resources/tips for students interested in policy 

  1. Look for policy trainings locally and/or at the conferences that you attend (e.g., SPSSI’s 2019 Policy Workshop). 
  2. Get involved in policy-making or policy-influencing bodies at your university (e.g., Graduate Association of Student Psychologists, University Executive Committees, etc.). 
  3. Get involved in your local Psychological Association and/or other mental health organizations that include a strong advocacy or policy component. Ask to get involved in these roles. 
  4. Seek advice from psychologists in your area of study who currently hold policy positions of interest to you. Ask them what their path to their position was and try to emulate it. 
  5. Align your research and practice work with your career goals as much as possible. In your research, think about the policy implications of your work (see this blog post for more information). Stay updated on policies relevant to your clients. 
  6. Apply for training grants that might allow you to pursue a more full-time educational experience while in graduate school (e.g., the Predoctoral Fellowship in Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services). 

Tips for balancing policy interests with research and clinical work

  1. For most students, the ability to pursue opportunities outside of graduate school will likely require the approval of a mentor or department head. Be prepared to justify the experiences that you wish to pursue and how they align with your career goals. Consider ways to gain buy-in from your mentor. 
  2. Prioritize your interests. If you have a clear picture of your ideal career endpoint, that might help you prioritize. If you do not have a clear endpoint, do not panic! Consider prioritizing experiences that might help you explore potential careers of interest. 
  3. Practice saying no in an assertive and kind manner. In order to make room for the experiences that you wish to gain, you will need to say no to ones that are less aligned with your goals.
  4. Budget your time. As a graduate student, you’re probably already well-versed in this skill. However, adding additional responsibilities might require more skills. Consider blocking out chunks of time or days for different responsibilities (i.e. research: Friday-Monday, practicum: Tuesday, clinical work: Wednesday, policy work: Friday). Make a plan, and stick to it. Try to arrange your policy-related educational experiences around times when you can truly gain the most out of them. This might be during the summer, during a semester when your course load is lower, or during a “gap” year. 
  5. Consider ways in which your policy interests can be integrated with your research interests. This might serve the dual role of 1) having your research inform your policy, and vice versa, and 2) gaining buy-in from your advisor in the form of publications, conference presentations, etc.
  6. Self-care! Adding more to your plate means expanding your mental, physical, and emotional resources. Family time, sufficient sleep, healthy eating, and exercise are important. The more you stretch your limits, the more important these will become. 

Benefits of pursuing policy-related experiences in graduate school

  1. Skills you learn (writing and presenting information for a variety of audiences, speaking to stakeholders and policymakers) are applicable across many fields, whether you go into research, a clinical career, industry, or policy full time.
  2. Sharing your passion about a particular area of interest (eg. specific population, pathology, social-justice issue, etc.) could help you stand out during internship and postdoc interviews.
  3. Networking! Getting involved at the university, local, state, and national levels means meeting and developing professional relationships with more psychologists in your field and area of interest.
  4. Exploring and narrowing down career interests. You might find novel ways to use your skills and pursue an interest that you hadn’t thought about before delving into a policy opportunity. 
  5. Gain a different perspective. Engaging in policy work might allow you to form a more macro-level perspective than is typically afforded when primarily working with individuals in clinical or research settings. A more systems-based perspective, might, in turn, inform your research and clinical practice. 
Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

What Will Internship Sites Say About My Medical Marijuana?

Recently, we received this question in our APAGS inbox:

“As a psychology doctoral student, I am about to apply for internships. I take prescribed medical marijuana for a health condition.  How do I approach the issue of drug testing as part of pre-internship employment screening?” 

What a good question. I reached out to Dr. Jeff Baker, the head of the Association of Psychological Postdoctoral and Internship Centers, for his opinion on the matter. Dr. Baker kindly replied, giving his own personal thoughts on the matter (not those of APPIC’s) as formed by his years as a training director.  He said this issue has come up a few times before, and it’s not as simple as drawing a line around states where it is legal. He writes, “There are many sites in Colorado and California, where THC is legal, that will not allow a positive drug screen for it.  I’m not positive the rationale is universal, but a few programs have stated, ‘Alcohol is legal, but we do not allow trainees to have it in their system.'”

Dr. Baker’s advice continues —

“1. If a site does not allow medical marijuana, hopefully it says that in public materials (especially in states where that is allowed).  The site should have some statement saying it requires THC (drug) screenings so the applicant can decide what sites might be eligible or ineligible.

2. If this information isn’t public, I would check with the site’s Human Resources department, hopefully anonymously and discreetly, prior to submitting an application.  Some will have a policy, and some will not. This is not to be sneaky, but it is to remove any possibility that they would track your application.  PS: Don’t call from your cellphone with caller ID.  I don’t think most sites would go to this trouble to find out who called, but it doesn’t hurt to be cautious.

3. When checking with anyone at the program, I would advise applicants to be very clear about having a medical condition (do not give the name and disclose only what is necessary); that they have been prescribed THC; and that THC has been helpful for them to manage their medical condition which has been approved by a licensed health care provider.

4. I would advise them to apply to those sites that say it is not a problem but carefully read their public materials about drug screens.

5. I would advise them to be cautious about those that do not know their policy or clearly state that medical THC would be counted as a positive drug screen and is not allowed at this site. If they do NOT review the public/HR policy about prescribed THC and match to a site, then they find out that medical marijuana is not allowed, they have wasted a lot of time.

6. I do NOT advise applicants to consult with the program or training director directly about the issue.  I fear that will likely increase the chances that site will decline to interview that person. They will be taking a chance by disclosing it. This is NOT true for the vast majority of training directors but there is no need to disclose identifying information prior to submitting an application.”

With any luck, prospective sites will see you, dear reader, as an asset all around. Thank you for being so responsible and proactive with treatment and contacting APAGS with your question.

Increasing Research Transparency in Psychological Science: How Can Graduate Students Participate?

Written by: Michelle Rivers, Rachael Soicher, and Dr. Morton Ann Gernsbacher

  1. What is transparency in research, and why does it matter?

Research transparency, also referred to as “open science,” is the process of making research and its dissemination accessible to all levels of society. Practices that increase research transparency accelerate progress toward solving the persistent problems of society. For example, you may have heard about the “replication crisis” in psychology and other sciences. Engaging in open science practices can help make science more reproducible and thus more trustworthy.

As the field of psychology works toward greater research transparency, how can you get involved? In this post, we talk about some baby steps you can take as a graduate student, and we address some common challenges you may face along the way.

2. How can you get started?

Below we’ve crafted a short list of ways you can make your research more transparent. Think of baby steps. Don’t feel like you have to do all of them at once!

  • Pre-register your study design, hypotheses, and planned analyses. Place them in a locked file (hardcopy or electronically) or post them on free websites like AsPredicted or Open Science Framework.
  • Make your study materials, data, preprints, and post-prints publicly available online, such as on your lab’s website or on Open Science Framework.
  • Avoid “Questionable Research Practices,” such as selectively reporting dependent measures/entire experiments, revising your sample size after viewing your data, or so-called “HARKing” (hypothesizing after the results are known).
  • Take advantage of research collaborations. Do you have or need access to a particular demographic sample? Check out StudySwap or Psychological Science Accelerator, online platforms for research replication, collaboration, and resource exchanges.
  • Use free and open-source software so it’s easier for others to reproduce your exact methods and analyses. For example, OpenSesame and PsychoPy are open-source applications for running psychology experiments, LimeSurvey is open-source survey software, G*Power is free software for running power analyses, and R is free software for statistical computing and graphics
  • Practice disseminating your research to diverse audiences. For example, one of us, Michelle, manages a blog (cogbites.org) run by early-career academics that focuses on translating scientific research about the study of mental processes to a general audience. To learn more about science communication and outreach, consider applying to attend ComSciCon, a workshop for graduate students, by graduate students.
  • Stay informed! If you have an advanced stats or methods course in your program, encourage the instructor to include recent readings on research transparency. One of us, Morton, teaches an open-access active-learning Research Methods course, and you can find other teaching resources here. Consider starting a reading group with other students in your program!

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