Other students use the program as an opportunity to determine whether they are interested in continuing their career in psychology. Strong quantitative and research skills are particularly important for students who intend to pursue a doctoral degree. The survey also found that there were no differences in the importance of research experience between experimental and clinical psychology doctoral programs. Students are actively involved in research throughout the program. Every semester, students receive course credit for participating in research.
Class sizes are relatively small.
This is an extremely important component of the Ph.D. program application. Assistantships are awarded on a competitive basis. The majority of the assistantships are research assistantships which means that the student works on a research project under the supervision of a faculty member. Students usually have the opportunity to choose a research project of which to work. This research can lead to a thesis project.