Applying to PhD Programs 101

How do you stand out as a PhD applicant? Learn more about the admissions process and graduate school experience at this panel hosted by the Department of Psychology and Psych Club. A live Q&A session with our panelists is included.

Our featured panelists for the evening are:

Dr. Morgan Jerald, Associate Professor in Social Psychology: Dr. Jerald graduated from Spelman College, a small, liberal arts and historically Black college, with a B.A. in Psychology and Spanish. She then went to the University of Michigan to obtain her Ph.D. in Personality and Social Contexts Psychology. Her current research examines sociocultural factors, such as the media and group stereotypes, that influence Black women’s gender beliefs, sexual well-being, and experiences of sexualization. Dr. Jerald participated in several summer research programs as an undergraduate student to bolster her research experiences. As someone who did not take a gap year, she is also happy to discuss the pros and cons of that decision.

Dr. Simon Goldberg, Assistant Professor in Counseling Psychology: Dr. Goldberg completed his BA in sociology at Tufts University, his PhD in counseling psychology at UW-Madison, and his postdoctoral fellowship at the Seattle VA. He has been an assistant professor in the Department of Counseling Psychology and core faculty at the Center for Healthy Minds since 2018. He conducts research on psychotherapy, with an emphasis on the effects of and mechanisms underlying meditation-based interventions. He is completing an NIH-funded K23 award focused on the delivery of meditation training through mobile technology. He’d like to discuss how to decide whether a PhD is right for you.

Katie Pereira, PhD student in Clinical Psychology: Katie is a third-year PhD student in Clinical Psychology. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience and Psychology from Virginia Tech and Master’s degree in Psychology at UW-Madison. Katie’s research focuses on how to create feasible, effective, and scalable mental health assessments and treatment strategies for people who are currently or formally incarcerated. She hopes to integrate research, practice, and policy to bring evidence-based care into the legal system. She actively mentors prospective Master’s students and can answer questions about the application process, jobs before graduate school, common misconceptions about clinical psychology programs, and how to best prepare for graduate school.

Alex Latham, PhD student in School Psychology: Alex is an alumnus of UW-Madison’s Psychology program. He graduated with a degree in Psychology in 2020, where he was a part of Dr. Harackiewicz’s Motivation Lab. He then started in the School Psychology PhD program and is a part of the Interdisciplinary Training Program Fellowship. His research focuses on academic assessment and intervention, but particularly on statistical decision making with educational data. He is happy to answer any questions but might be more qualified to answer questions about applying without a gap year, the application editing process, and balancing interests in both research and practice.