FAQ for Prospective PhDs
This is my FAQ page for prospective students interested in applying to the School Psychology PhD Progam at Utah State University to work with me and my lab.
Please read this page, and check out all the relevant links, prior to emailing me or my doctoral students with questions about the application process or our lab. There is a good chance that whatever you are wondering about is already answered below.
Q1. Are you accepting new PhD students for admission in Fall 2026?
A1. Yes, I plan to interview and accept a new PhD student for admission in Fall 2026. So, if you are thinking about applying, I encourage you to do so. Applications are due December 1, 2025.
That said, sometimes minds and plans change. Please do check back in on this page before writing your statement of purpose and submitting your application. If my intentions change for any reason, I’ll be sure to update that here ASAP, and at the very latest by November 1, 2025, which is one month prior to our application deadline.
Q2. Do you accept graduate students for specialist or terminal masters degrees to work with you and your lab?
A2. No, I do not. Our Psychology Department at USU has an educational specialist (EdS) program in school psychology, but students in that program are accepted as a cohort and are not placed in research labs with major professors. Although I teach and train EdS students, I do not have the same mentoring relationship with them as I do with the PhD students in my lab.
If you want to learn more about our educational specialist program and how it differs from the doctoral program, check out the USU School Psychology EdS Program website. I encourage anyone interested in the EdS program to apply. The application deadline for that program is also December 1, 2025.
Q3. Do you provide funding for PhD students? If so, what’s the deal?
A3. Yes, we currently offer full funding for each on-campus year of the PhD program. Funding consists of a monthly living stipend, full tuition waivers, and 80% of the costs of student health insurance. Students are still responsible for paying student fees and the remaining health insurance costs required by the university.
To keep funding, PhD students are required to (a) hold a 20-hr week assistantship, (b) be continuously enrolled as an active student, and (c) remain in good academic standing. Assistantships usually last the duration of an academic year and can vary in nature from clinical to research to teaching positions, depending on availability, qualifications, and student interests.
Q4. How do I know if a PhD in school psychology is right for me? Am I better suited for another kind of graduate degree?
A4. Only you can answer this question for yourself. I worked through this dilemma when I was preparing to apply to grad school. One thing I found helpful was to talk with grad students and professionals in the different fields I was considering. I also read as much as I could find online and in books about different degrees and the opportunities they afforded. Eventually, once I was as informed as I thought I could be, I went with my gut. I suggest doing similarly: (a) consider your options, (b) do your homework, then (c) go with your gut.
Here are several resources you might consider to inform your decision:
APA article about bad (and good) reasons to go to grad school in psychology
Slide deck by Dr. Jessica Schleider that overviews the different options for grad schooling in psychology and related mental health fields (see slides 5–19)
Section 1 of Dr. Mitch Prinstein’s “Uncensored Advice for Applying to Graduate School in Clinical Psychology” (Note. This was intended for clinical applicants, but Section 1 does a nice job of parsing the difference between mental health professions, which is equally relevant for school applicants.)
Q5. What should I do in my application to signal that I want to work with you and your lab?
A5. First, review the "Steps to Apply" website from USU's School of Graduate Stuides. Then, once you start the application, make sure to do these four things:
When choosing the “academic program,” make sure to select the “Psychology PhD” option.
When picking a “specialization,” select the “School Psychology” option.
When asked to name any “faculty member” you are interested in working with, write my name in the text box. You can write others’ names too, but you should at least put my name if you’d like to be considered for my lab.
In your personal statement, explicitly say that you are interested in working with me and my lab—and talk about your reasons for why you’d like to do so.
Q6. Do you have any advice for writing an effective personal statement?
A6. There’s no one right way to write a personal statement. But I’ve noticed sometimes applicants get carried away with trying to stand out with their statements. A little bit of creativity can be fun and engaging for the faculty, like me, who are reading your statement. But I’m less interested in how creative your writing is and more interested in how clearly your writing communicates. I am especially interested in reading clear answers to these big questions:
What personal history or experiences have motivated you to get a PhD?
Given there are lots of psychology PhDs options, why are you specifically interested in school psychology?
Why are you applying to work with me and my lab?
What are your career goals and ambitions? In other words, what do you hope to do with your PhD post-graduation?
If you were to come to our PhD program, what contributions might you make toward supporting and improving upon the work we do in our lab and profession?
Q7. Could you be my primary faculty mentor if I apply to the combined counseling/clinical specialization within the Psychology PhD program at USU?
A7. No, I could not. I only serve as a primary faculty mentor for students in the school psychology PhD specialization. If you are interested in the combined clinical/counseling PhD specialization, you will need to apply to work with faculty in that program.
Q8. What are the application criteria and requirements for applying to the School Psychology PhD specialization at USU?
A8. The application criteria and requirements are listed on our PhD Program's website. Scroll down to the find the subsection with that info.
Q9. Do you require the GRE for applying to your PhD program?
A9. No, not anymore. We discontinued the GRE requirement in 2020.
Q10. Beyond the formal requirements, what other characteristics are you looking for in grad students who are good fits for your lab?
A10. After you meet the minimum requirements, then it all boils down to how well your interests and qualifications fit with my lab. I am particularly keen on accepting students who want to pursue a career path involving research or teaching/training or leadership in school psychology. This doesn’t mean you have to want a traditional professor position like mine, but it usually means you want something different than a full-time clinician role. Beyond that, here’s a list of other characteristics that I look for:
Strong interest in youth mental health assessment
Strong interest in schools as mental health service systems
Previous research experience related to youth and/or school mental health
Previous applied experience related to working with youth and/or in schools
Research interests that are compatible with my lab’s current lines of research
Strong interpersonal skills that contribute to a collaborative lab culture
Q11. Will you review and provide feedback on my CV or personal statement prior to applying to your program?
A11. As a rule, I will look over your CV, but I will not offer feedback for improving it. I will happily tell you if it seems like your interests and experiences align well with my lab or not. It is also totally fine to apply without sending me your CV. This contact does not influence how I evaluate applications. As another rule, I do not review personal statements pre-application.
Just because I won’t, however, doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea. I strongly recommend asking others to carefully review and provide feedback on your CV and personal statement prior to applying. Professors and current grad students are usually the best people to ask for this feedback.
Q12. When is the deadline for your grad applications? And if I’ve already missed the deadline, will you still consider my application?
A12. The application deadline is December 1 of each year. In principle, I am open to considering applications received past the deadline. But there is no guarantee your application will be given full consideration unless it arrives on time. If you’re applying past the December 1 deadline and have extenuating circumstances that you believe justify a late application, please email me directly about your situation.
Q13. What is the timeline for hearing application decisions? And when do interviews usually happen?
A13. We review applications around December 10 and we typically make interview invitations prior to December 20. Interviews are held in late January or early February of the next calendar year. All interview decisions are communicated by email.
Q14. Can you tell me more about the school psychology PhD specialization at USU?
A14. If you haven’t done so already, I recommend reading through the PhD program’s website. Then read through the PhD program’s Graduate Student Handbook, which gives a thorough overview of program requirements, accreditation status, culture, policies, etc. These two resources should tell you all you need to know about the program prior to applying. If you’re invited to interview day, we will then tell you even more about the program and provide you opportunity to any questions on your mind.
Q15. Can you tell me more about your lab and what kinds of projects you're working on?
A15. Definitely. The best place to start is by reading through my lab's overview page. If you are invited to interview day, we will tell you lots more about our projects, and you will have an opportunity to talk with current PhD students about their experiences working on our lab projects.
Q16. It is okay to reach out and express my interest in applying to work with you and your lab?
A16. For sure. I will be happy to hear from you. But it’s also fine not to reach out. Contacting me directly won’t make or break your application, as I give every on-time application the same careful level of review. Historically, I have accepted several students who reached out in advance as well as several who did not. As a rule, I don’t carry on extensive correspondence with prospective students prior to the application review stage. If you do reach out, I’ll likely send you a short reply confirming that I received your note and saying that I look forward to reviewing your application. That's about it.
Q17. Can I reach out to your current grad students?
A17. Yes, you can. You may email them by clicking on their names listed on my current PhD students page. However, before you do, please do your homework by reading this page and reviewing our school psychology PhD program website and handbook. (See Q14, above, for links to access those resources.)
Q18. What is your best advice for how to approach grad school applications?
A18. I recommend four things:
Do your homework to ensure your goodness-of-fit with the programs, labs, and mentors you'd like to work with.
Take the time to develop a clear personal statement and a comprehensive CV.
Be intentional about who you ask to write your letters of recommendation. Make sure your letter writers are willing to write letters that are positive and specific.
Reach out to people you trust and solicit their feedback about points 1, 2, and 3. And do this well in advance of application deadlines, so you can iterate plans and materials as needed.
While we’re on the topic, here are some other good resources to support the points mentioned above: (Note. Some of these resources are geared specifically to clinical applicants, but they are just as applicable to school applicants.)
APA resources related to preparing and applying for grad school in psychology
APA article about building a better CV (with a linked example)
Real-life examples of personal statements from previous clinical psychology applicants
APA article about the art of the recommendation letter process
UC San Diego, Psychology Department’s overview of how to apply to grad school
Slide deck by Dr. Jessica Schleider that overviews grad school preparation and application processes
Curated list by Mallory Dobias of open access tips/materials for applicants
ABCT’s website with several resources for “getting into grad school”
That concludes my FAQ. If you still have questions after reading all this, feel free to email me. And if you just want to say “Hi” or let me know you've applied, I will be happy to hear from you as well.
Thank you for being interested in my work, my lab, and our PhD program here at USU. I wish you all the best with your grad school applications.