FAQs re: Graduate Admission
Below I answer the most common questions I get about the application process (and inspired and borrowed from Dr. Sophia Choukas-Bradley’s website)
Q: Can I list your name as my graduate mentor on my application? Are you accepting applications through specific Ph.D. programs?
A: Listing a Mentor: When applying to Psychology Ph.D. programs at Pitt, prospective students apply to work with a specific faculty member(s). There is a spot on the application where you should list my name if you are interested in working in my lab and want me to review your application.
Specific Ph.D. programs: I have primary faculty appointments in the Biological-Health and Developmental psychology programs. I have a secondary faculty appointment in the Clinical program. Therefore, I can accept students in the following tracks:
Biological-Health Psychology*
Joint Bio-Health/Developmental* (for students particularly interested in lifespan or aging approaches and health)
Joint Bio-Health/Clinical (Note: I do not take students in the straight Clinical Psychology track)
*For the upcoming admission cycle, I am especially interested in taking a student in this track.
Q: Will you consider applicants in the joint Bio-Health/Clinical track?
A: I’m prioritizing taking a student in the straight Biological-Health or joint Bio-Health/Developmental programs, but I will consider applicants interested in the joint Bio-Health/Clinical track who have a strong research fit with me. However, if you’re interested in clinical psychology research and training, please carefully consider whether my research program is the best fit. My lab does not study affective disorders, psychopathology, treatment, or interventions; we also don’t use neuroimaging methods nor study clinical populations. If you have research interests that touch on any of these areas, I am not the best research mentor for you and my lab will likely not provide the opportunities you’re seeking. Instead, I recommend checking out the Clinical faculty or Psychiatry faculty with appointments in Psychology.
Q: What are you looking for in a prospective student?
A: Generally, I evaluate applications on two key factors:
(1) Fit with the research and training that can be offered in my lab: Strong applicants to the PNI Research Lab are passionate about biological mechanisms linking psychosocial factors to age-related health outcomes (see Figure below for an overarching conceptual model that frames our research). Some students tend to focus more on the A path (links between psychosocial and biological factors) or the B path (biological factors predicting aging-related health outcomes), but all students have an interest and prior experience in biological factors/mechanisms (see star) relevant to health and disease.
(2) Readiness to pursue a PhD: Strong applicants have a solid academic record; typically have completed prior coursework in health psychology and/or biology and/or courses on a pre-med track; and have gained at least one year of research experience in health psychology or a related field, ideally including post-baccalaureate experience and independent research experience (e.g., through a senior honors thesis, poster presentations, publication experience). Applicants should also have prior training and experience in quantitative methods (e.g., coding, data management, data analysis in R).
I will consider applications from prospective students interested in any of our current research projects. I especially welcome applications from students who are interested in the SIERA study – a study of adults aged 60+ years old and older linking experiences in daily life (e.g., stress, emotions, social aspects) to immunological and biological changes important for age-related health outcomes.
Q: Can we meet by phone/Zoom before I submit my application?
A: No, I will not be scheduling phone/Zoom meetings with applicants prior to Dec 1 out of fairness to all applicants. My current graduate student(s) will also not be meeting with prospective applicants prior to Dec 1. However, graduate students will be involved in the admissions process, so if you are invited for an interview, you will have lots of time to meet with them (and me) and discuss your questions about the lab, my mentorship, Pitt, and Pittsburgh.
Q: Should I email you to let you know I’m applying to your lab?
A: No, it is not necessary to email me before applying. Whether or not you email me will have no bearing on your ultimate chances of admission; I will carefully review any applications that list me as a potential mentor on official applications submitted through Pitt. However, if you have very specific questions that are not addressed on my website or Pitt’s website, then you can email me.
Q: What is research training like in your lab?
A: Research training in my lab is hands-on. Students will be involved in active data collection (e.g., interviewing older adult participants, working with biospecimens in the wet lab, etc.) and in data management and analyses (e.g., coding and analyzing data in R). In addition, students learn about all aspects of the research process and have opportunities to develop their own studies, to be involved in my ongoing work, and to analyze and write up results for presentations and publications. The goal of the training I offer is to foster the development of independent research scientists. Thus, I am looking for someone who has a vision of being a research scientist and contributing to our understanding of how biopsychosocial factors may impact health and disease.
Q: What are some aspects that make training at Pitt unique?
A: Great question! Here are just a few things that make Pitt stand out:
Other universities have a health emphasis within their Clinical or Social Psychology programs, but Pitt is unique in that it offers a Ph.D. in Biological and Health Psychology as its own, stand-alone program. Students in this program are able to devote more time to research activities and to developing their program of research, but can also supplement their training with elective coursework in other fields (e.g., immunology/ biology, advanced statistics, social psychology coursework, etc.). See the Pitt Bio-Health Student Handbook for more information.
There is a vibrant and large community of biological-health psychology researchers in Pittsburgh. Indeed, Pitt is embedded in an urban environment that is rich is collaborative resources and facilitating multidisciplinary team science, including connections with many institutes and centers across campus (check out Bio-health program for more information) and with Carnegie Mellon University.
Graduate students in Pitt's Psychology Department can also pursue a Minor in Quantitative Methodology within the Department, a distinction that appears on students' transcripts. Most students in my lab have strong interests in or enthusiasm for quantitative methodological approaches to studying links between biopsychosocial factors and biological processes, and I strongly encourage students to consider this Minor.
Within the Psychology department, there are several journal clubs and student-organized groups that offer unique training opportunities for graduate students, such as the Psychoneuroimmunology Journal Club and the Community for Advanced Methodological Learning (CAMeL).
Q: Do you know of resources to help me put together a strong personal statement?
A: Yes, my colleague, Dr. Jennifer MacCormack, put together an excellent guide for writing a strong personal statement here.