Succeeding in Graduate School: The Career Guide for Psychology Students [Hardcover]

Steven Walfish (Editor), Allen K. Hess (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0805836136 | ISBN-13: 978-0805836134 | Edition: 1

Psychology students who want to continue their education today are confronted by a bewildering variety of possibilities. Succeeding in Graduate School offers them much needed practical help. Written by experienced mentors, this book:
*explains the options provided by a bachelor's degree, describes what each of the many available programs at the master's and doctoral levels prepares one to do, helps in selecting the most appropriate program, and enhances one's chances of being admitted;
*gives reader-friendly tutorials in teaching, research, and clinical/consulting skills;
*describes the stresses of life as a graduate student;
*suggests ways to cope with the management of difficult professors, the search for the optimal advisor-mentor match, and other political and emotional problems that can make or break a graduate career;
*offers advice on overcoming obstacles to completing a thesis or dissertation; and
*provides guidance on navigating beyond graduate school: maintaining one's ethical focus, getting into and completing the internship that is a requirement of many programs, obtaining a license for those requiring one to work, and in general, building a career beyond the degree.

Clear, crisp, and comprehensive--with extensive references for further exploration--Succeeding in Graduate School is must reading for undergraduates and graduate students alike.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This edited volume takes a panoramic scope in describing the terrain of graduate education....In scope and in detail, the map provided by this book is a success....We recommend [it] to people at any point in their graduate education....[It] could save you from major stumbling points that you might otherwise have to learn by trial and error. If it protects the reader from making a poor choice about going to graduate school or poor choices while in it, the book will live up to its title and more than pay back its cost in reduced stress and increased success.
—APS Observer

...a compilation of chapters addressing a wide variety of topics pertinent to students of psychology....addresses relevent issues for individuals choosing to complete their formal education in psychology....the book provides a wealth of information to anyone considering a career in psychology. It is a great resource for students at the beginning, middle or end of their graduate education. It also offers an integration of formal education and real-world practical advice to new professionals. I recommend it highly.
—The Independent Practitioner

Succeeding in Graduate School: The Career Guide for Psychology Students takes a comprehensive, practical approach to guiding its readers through the graduate school experience....a useful resource to have throughout your training....The information provided is...practical and valuable.
—Psychotherapy Bulletin

It enumerages the key and longstanding departmental issues that have and will continue to make graduate school seem unpredicatable. Before, during, and after graduate school, this book helps to direct one's choices and live with the aftermath of those choices...it addresses questions unique to psychological training and correctly targets the ambiguities related to misperceptions about what psychology is and what psychologists do. The book fully addresses the problem of making a topically oriented core curriculum connect with the evolving professional sphere of actitivity in the world of work and does so with clarity and thoroughness.
—Contemporary Psychology

Walfish and Hess have 'Succeeded' in creating an indispensable book for any student considering a career in psychology. I recommend this book not only to students but also to the mentors and professors that guide them in this important decision. Reading this book is like going to a private seminar with a panel of experts with MSW, Psy.D., and Ph.D. degrees that includes both new professionals and veterans....In summery, Succeeding in Graduate School: The Career Guide for Psychology Students is comprehensive, details an accurate picture of what the experience entails and provides coping mechanisms....This book is well worth both time and money!
—Georgia Psychologist

Psychology students and their undergraduate professors often discuss getting into graduate school. Staying in, once accepted, is an entirely new challenge that has heretofore not received the attention it deserves. Walfish, Hess, and their collaborators have contributed a most helpful volume that I would recommend to any psychology graduate student.
—Patricia Keith-Spiegel, Ph.D.
Ball State University

Wow, your book is really comprehensive! I wish it had been available when I was going through graduate school.
—Kristin K. Schaaf, Ph.D.
Bay Psychiatric Associates

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Psychology Press; 1 edition (June 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805836136
• ISBN-13: 978-0805836134
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,099,271 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to survive and thrive as a graduate psychology student, January 22, 2002

By 

Schahresad Forman (Knoxville, TN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Succeeding in Graduate School: The Career Guide for Psychology Students (Hardcover)

An outstanding and very well written source of information for the prospective as well as current graduate psychology student, this guide provides crucial information on all aspects of a career in psychology from choosing the appropriate degree to mastering a career in one's chosen area of expertise. I especially appreciated the chapters on the development of traditional psychological skills including teaching, psychological testing and assessment, psychotherapy, and consultation, as well as how to get and how to survive an internship. Having been in graduate school myself for over 6 years I also found the chapter on mastering stress quite useful. Information is also provided for students in special circumstances such as minorities, international students, and student couples.

The guide concludes with the prudent advice to keep an open mind and keep your eyes open concerning the many ways in which a degree in psychology can be put to good use depending on opportunities available, as well as the changing needs of society. I would like to conclude by saying I wish I had this book available to me as an undergraduate psychology student, and would like to offer my sincere thanks to Dr. Walfish and to my distinguished former professor Dr. Hess, for making this extremely useful and interesting text available. I will continue to tell as many fellow psychology students I can about this guide.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most useful psychology grad school guides, April 30, 2003

By 

Acacia C. Parks (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Succeeding in Graduate School: The Career Guide for Psychology Students (Paperback)

This book was one of the best books I read about grad school in psychology. What I loved about it was that it not only has useful information about applying and interviewing (which is why I bought it), but it also has chapters on many other aspects of grad school, including a few candid chapters that discuss departmental politics (a rarely broached topic). Another great chapter discusses how to juggle relationships and academia, strategies for landing jobs when your spouse is also an academic, etc. There's also a chapter on the clinical internship process, yet another topic that I have not read about in detail anywhere else.

I really enjoyed the opportunity to read more about what grad school is really like, and to hear great solutions to various hurdles that grad students face. Knowing more about the process, warts and all, made me all the more confident that I was making the right choice for myself.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Comprehensive and Useful Guide, April 17, 2002

By 

Tori Bourguignon - See all my reviews

This review is from: Succeeding in Graduate School: The Career Guide for Psychology Students (Paperback)

The editors of this text have done a remarkable job of putting together a comprehensive user-friendly guide to assist anyone who is considering a graduate degree in Psychology or other areas within the helping profession. This guide addresses and clarifies the often complicated and ambigious process of selecting, applying, and untimately succeeding in a graduate level psychology program. I purchased a copy for a family member who is currently applying to graduate programs in psychology. She recently commented that the information in this book helped her to make some critical decisions about programs, and what options she will pursue as a graduate student and beyond. It is also an excellent resource for students already enrolled in or just completing their graduate studies. This is a must have resource for anyone considering a graduate program in psychology