It's true (well, I may have exaggerated a little). We've graduated 18 people in the last two years, and all but three are in (or are accepted to start) grad school. Most are counseling, many clinical, a couple sports psych, and a few experimental (social, cognitive and psychopharmacology). One from a few years ago is accepted to med school.
Our graduating-senior MFAT averages (since I've been here) have only once been below the 90th %ile, and one year the graduating class *mean* was at the 99th. I think there are several things going for us. One is that we have a year-long methods/stats sequence, and it is known to be a very hard class (I teach it: it's true) -- so I think there's a selection bias. We don't get people who "default" to psychology: they come here because they want to get grad training. Another thing we do is make them read research and write, write, write. Starting with methods, every course they take requires writing with revision. E.g., in my lab classes (cognitive, physio, sensation & perception, and learning) they do 8-10 lab reports (4-5 pages) and one or two (depending on the class) lit review/design paper. So they get pushed very hard. One other thing I think helps is that we have a required one-semester-hour "portfolio class" that helps them prepare resumes, practice interviews, and select programs that are appropriate for their interests and skill level. A last thing I might mention is that we get to know the students very well, and can write very detailed letters for their applications. But above all I think it's our rigor. It would not be uncommon that 20 students would start the methods class and half would finish it (but generally more than half do get through it). It's sort of amazing. It's fun, this little department.... m -- Marc Carter, PhD Associate Professor and Chair Department of Psychology College of Arts & Sciences Baker University -- > -----Original Message----- > From: Annette Taylor [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Thursday, April 15, 2010 10:53 AM > To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) > Subject: RE: [tips] Best Methods, Stats, and Stats Lab > Instructive Material > > 90%?????????????????? go on to grad school? WOW!!!! > > Even at our private liberal arts college it's only about 20% > and we think we are WAY higher than the average, which seems > to be about 5-10%. > > How do you do it? > > Annette > > Annette Kujawski Taylor, Ph. D. > Professor, Psychological Sciences > University of San Diego > 5998 Alcala Park > San Diego, CA 92110 > [email protected] > ________________________________________ > From: Marc Carter [[email protected]] > Sent: Thursday, April 15, 2010 7:08 AM > To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) > Subject: RE: [tips] Best Methods, Stats, and Stats Lab > Instructive Material > > We fight to keep SPSS because upwards of 90% of our graduates > continue on with a grad program, and even if it's not a PhD > program, they are almost always required to do an empirical > thesis of some sort, they are all required to take a grad > stats class, and SPSS is nearly universal (at least from the > reports I get back from graduates). They thank me for being > a "Nazi" with their writing and design, and they thank me > because they know more about stats and methods than their > peers. I almost always get the "I'm bored" notes from > students in their first-semester stats/design classes in grad > school. (I've even had notes sent to me WHILE the students > are in class, for which I chastise them.) > > But it's increasingly a battle in our cash-strapped little U. > SPSS is expensive, especially when I have to buy separate > packages for advanced regression and advanced stats > (repeated-measures analyses, etc.). And it's increasingly > aimed at business data analysis (and now that IBM has bought > it, I expect that trend to accelerate). > > I'm on the edge of using something else because SPSS is > rapidly pricing itself out of the small-college market, but I > hate to make the students learn some software that they won't > see again. > > Our program is small and has become a major that is virtually > a grad-school prep program -- so that's the main reason that > we have them learn to use SPSS. > > m > > -- > Marc Carter, PhD > Associate Professor and Chair > Department of Psychology > College of Arts & Sciences > Baker University > -- > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Dr. Bob Wildblood [mailto:[email protected]] > > Sent: Wednesday, April 14, 2010 8:38 PM > > To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) > > Subject: Re: [tips] Best Methods, Stats, and Stats Lab Instructive > > Material > > > > A couple of folks have commented on using SPSS in their statistics > > courses, and that causes me to ask "what is the rationale for using > > SPSS in undergraduate statistics when the vast majority of our > > students will never again use SPSS unless they are employed in a > > research situation at a university or an agency that does a > great deal > > of number crunching as part of their research?" > > > > The information contained in this e-mail and any attachments > thereto ("e-mail") is sent by Baker University ("BU") and is > intended to be confidential and for the use of only the > individual or entity named above. 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