Availability and Perceived Importance of High-Impact Practices for Psychology Graduate Program Admission

Abstract

Background: Participation in high-impact practices (HIPs) is related to student success and development. Less is known about whether HIPs can increase students’ chances of getting into graduate school in psychology. High-impact practice participation might be one strategy for students to stand out in the competitive graduate school admission process. Objective: We examined (a) the perceived availability of HIPs and (b) the perceived role that HIP participation plays in psychology graduate program admission success. Method: A total of 81 U.S. psychology professors who are involved in graduate program admission decisions rated the availability, importance, and influence of HIPs and non-HIPs (e.g., GPA) on psychology graduate program admission success. Results: Many HIPs are widely available. Of all HIPs, only undergraduate research was rated as very important and strongly increases admission chances. Participation in honors, writing-intensive courses, and applied experiences slightly increased admission chances. Conclusion: Research continues to be the most beneficial HIP when applying to graduate programs in psychology. Non-HIPs (e.g., grades, letters of recommendation) are more important in graduate program admission than most HIPs. Teaching Implications: Students, academic advisors, and faculty mentors can use the results of this study to align students’ HIP participation with postgraduation goals.

Keywords

graduate admission graduate program application high-impact practices

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

American Psychological Association (2020). Graduate study in psychology: Finding a psychology graduate program. https://gradstudy.apa.org/ .

American Psychological Association (2022). Graduate study in psychology: Applications, acceptances, and enrollments in departments of psychology. https://www.apa.org/education-career/grad/survey-data/graduate-education-data-tools.

Appleby

D. C.

Appleby

K. M.

(2006). Kisses of death in the graduate school application process. Teaching of Psychology, 33(1), 19–24. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15328023top3301_5

Assefa

Lin

Williams

W. R.

Stamm

(2023, March 1). Fewer psychology graduate programs require GRE scores postpandemic. Monitor on Psychology, 54(2). https://www.apa.org/monitor/2023/03/psychology-graduate-programs-gre

Bonet

Walters

B. R.

(2016). High impact practices: Student engagement and retention. College Student Journal, 50(2), 224–235.

Bonifazi

D. Z.

Crespy

S. D.

Rieker

(1997). Value of a master’s degree for gaining admission to doctoral programs in psychology. Teaching of Psychology, 24(3), 176–182. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15328023top2403_5

Braun

Clarke

(2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

Collisson

Eck

B. E.

(2022). Oh, the places you can go” gen Z psychology students’ perceived career options and interests. Teaching of Psychology, 49(3), 245–257. https://doi.org/10.1177/00986283211013842

Golding

J. M.

McGavran

M. B.

Susman

Wright

(2020). Demystifying one’s chances of acceptance into clinical PhD psychology programs. Teaching of Psychology, 47(1), 97–101. https://doi.org/10.1177/0098628319889537

10.

Greenman

S. J.

Chepp

Burton

(2022). High-impact educational practices: Leveling the playing field or perpetuating inequity? Teaching in Higher Education, 27(2), 267–279. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2021.2000384

11.

Hughes

J. L.

McDonnell

E. R.

Engsberg

E. V.

(2019). Invited editorial: Professors’ research expectations for admission to psychology graduate programs. PSY CHI, Journal of Psychological Research, 24(1), 2–11. https://doi.org/10.24839/2325-7342.JN24.1.2

12.

Karazsia

B. T.

Smith

(2016). Preparing for graduate-level training in professional psychology: Comparisons across clinical PhD, counseling PhD, and clinical PsyD programs. Teaching of Psychology, 43(4), 305–313. https://doi.org/10.1177/0098628316662760

13.

Katsumoto

Bowman

N. A.

(2023). The link between high-impact practices and college success among international students in the US. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 16(6), 734–744. https://doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000364

14.

Kilgo

C. A.

Ezell Sheets

J. K.

Pascarella

E. T.

(2015). The link between high-impact practices and student learning: Some longitudinal evidence. Higher Education, 69(4), 509–525. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-014-9788-z

15.

Kilgo

C. A.

Linley

J. L.

Renn

K. A.

Woodford

M. R.

(2019). High-impact for whom? The influence of environment and identity on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer college students’ participation in high-impact practices. Journal of College Student Development, 60(4), 421–436. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2019.0038

16.

Kotter-Gruehn

Gruehn

(2023). High-impact practices (HIPs) for psychology graduate program admission [Data set]. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/NVHT6.

17.

Kuh

O’Donnell

Schneider

C. G.

(2017). HIPs at ten. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 49(5), 8–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/00091383.2017.1366805

18.

Kuh

G. D.

(2008). High-Impact Educational Practices: What They Are, Who Has Access to Them, and Why They Matter. Association of American Colleges & Universities. https://www.aacu.org/publication/high-impact-educational-practices-what-they-are-who-has-access-to-them-and-why-they-matter

19.

Landrum

R. E.

Cramblet Alvarez

L. D.

Jones

K. N.

Burton

(2022). Graduate admissions in psychology: Using quantitative and qualitative measures to understand the frequency and fatality of applicant errors. Teaching of Psychology, 0(0). https://doi-org.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/10.1177/00986283211072853

20.

Littleford

L. N.

Buxton

Bucher

M. A.

Simon-Dack

S. L.

Yang

K. L.

(2018). Psychology doctoral program admissions: What master’s and undergraduate-level students need to know. Teaching of Psychology, 45(1), 75–83. https://doi.org/10.1177/0098628317745453

21.

Michalski

D. S.

Cope

Fowler

G. A.

(2019). Graduate study in psychology summary report: Admissions, applications, and acceptances. Office of Graduate and Postgraduate Education and Training, Education Directorate, American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/education/grad/survey-data/2019-admissions-applications.pdf.

22.

Miller

A. L.

Rocconi

L. M.

Dumford

A. D.

(2018). Focus on the finish line: Does high-impact practice participation influence career plans and early job attainment? Higher Education, 75(3), 489–506. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-017-0151-z

23.

Myers

C. B.

Myers

S. M.

Peters

(2019). The longitudinal connections between undergraduate high impact curriculum practices and civic engagement in adulthood. Research in Higher Education, 60(1), 83–110. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-018-9504-4

24.

Norcross

J. C.

Ellis

J. L.

Sayette

M. A.

(2010). Getting in and getting money: A comparative analysis of admission standards, acceptance rates, and financial assistance across the research-practice continuum in clinical psychology programs. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 4(2), 99–104. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014880

25.

O’Donnell

Botelho

Brown

González

G. M.

Head

(2015). Undergraduate research and its impact on student success for underrepresented students: Undergraduate research and its impact. New Directions for Higher Education, 2015(169), 27–38. https://doi.org/10.1002/he.20120

26.

Parker

E. T. I.

Kilgo

C. A.

Ezell Sheets

J. K. E.

Pascarella

E. T.

(2016). The differential effects of internship participation on end-of-fourth-year GPA by demographic and institutional characteristics. Journal of College Student Development, 57(1), 104–109. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2016.0012

27.

Provencher

Kassel

(2019). High-impact practices and sophomore retention: Examining the effects of selection bias. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice, 21(2), 221–241. https://doi.org/10.1177/1521025117697728

28.

Purdy

J. E.

Reinehr

R. C.

Swartz

J. D.

(1989). Graduate admissions criteria of leading psychology departments. American Psychologist, 44(6), 960–961. https://doi.org/.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/10.1037/0003-066X.44.6.960

29.

Sanders

C. E.

Landrum

R. E.

(2012). The graduate school application process: What our students report they know. Teaching of Psychology, 39(2), 128–132. https://doi.org/10.1177/0098628312437697

30.

Schatz

R. T.

Ansburg

P. I.

(2020). Advising psychology majors about graduate school in psychology: Current practices and challenges. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology, 6(1), 36–45. https://doi.org/10.1037/stl0000165

31.

Schwartz

Miller

R. L.

(2020). High impact educational practices: A review of best practices with illustrative examples. Retrieved from the Society for the Teaching of Psychology website: https://teachpsych.org/ebooks/highimpacted.

32.

Willis

K. L.

Holmes

Burwell

(2022). Improving graduate student recruitment, retention, and professional development during COVID-19. American Journal of Educational Research, 10(2), 81–84. https://doi.org/10.12691/education-10-2-2

33.

Wofford

A. M.

(2022). The perpetuation of privilege: Exploring the relationship between early admissions and high-impact practices. Research in Higher Education, 63(8), 1312–1342. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-022-09681-z

34.

Woo

S. E.

LeBreton

J. M.

Keith

M. G.

Tay

(2023). Bias, fairness, and validity in graduate-school admissions: A psychometric perspective. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 18(1), 3–31. https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916211055374

35.

Zilvinskis

(2019). Measuring quality in high-impact practices. Higher Education, 78(4), 687–709. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-019-00365-9