Applying to Graduate School: A Psychology Graduate Student’s Perspective on the Process

This story was written by Jenny Huang, a Department of Psychology Peer Ambassador who is majoring in psychology and minoring in biological sciences.

I recently had the honor of interviewing a psychology graduate student and instructor, Patrick Seebold, to get his perspective on applying to graduate school. Patrick is currently a second year Ph.D. student in the human factors and applied cognition program. His co-advisors are Dr. Yingchen He of the Translational Vision Research Lab and Dr. CS Nam of the Brain-Computer Interface and Neuroergonomics Lab. He earned his undergraduate degree at NC State in biological sciences with minors in theater and environmental science. His current work is on the intersection of multisensory perception and neuromodulation. He received national funding for his experiments that use transcranial magnetic stimulation and visual tests to determine whether certain types of sounds can improve the function of the primary visual cortex.

See Patrick’s insights below on the graduate school application process:

Be Persistent

Patrick began with his story about applying to graduate school, “I applied to graduate school two years in a row and wasn’t accepted. I suspect because my research statement was not focused, and I did not connect with potential advisors ahead of time.” After encountering this experience, he decided to spend two years away from the university. This time away helped him clarify that in order to do the work that matches his interest the most, he would have to learn how to do science professionally. Patrick got accepted on his third application cycle and was afforded the chance to work with the professor who he had worked with previously.

Narrow Down Your Research Interests

Knowing what path to go and field of interest to focus on is among the tasks that students ought to at least start considering during their undergraduate career. Patrick disclosed that he found his research interest through, “A lot of reading, a lot of trial and error, and a lot of discussion about the problems I would most like to solve but it wasn’t until I was well into the Ph.D. training that I discovered the research topics that I intend to dedicate my career to.” He also suggested networking with and learning from the people doing that research! It’s never too early to start learning how to do the research you want to do.

Consider Program “Fit”

Lastly, he emphasized the importance of choosing a graduate program, advisor, and degree that are most relevant to your interests and future goals, “Pursuing a Ph. D. and doing research, in general, is difficult work, but making sure that you are receiving the skills you need in an environment that will support your future growth can make a challenging path just a little smoother”.

I really enjoyed the overall conversation we had during the interview. Patrick has lots of innovative ideas and wants to enhance human function in daily life and come up with better ways to deal with age-related health problems and diseases. If you are interested in Patrick’s research study on the transcranial magnetic stimulator or want to take a step further to understand more about research, he is willing to guide you and answer your questions. Patrick also teaches PSY 430, biological psychology, which I personally took last semester and really enjoyed it. You will definitely learn a lot and get new ideas from his inspiring teaching style.