Prospective Students
> Info for prospective grad students & undergrad RAs
Are you interested in joining our lab as a PhD student? Or maybe as an undergrad RA? If so, here's what you should know!
Prospective Grad Students
Dr. Renshaw usually accepts 1–2 new grad students per year, which means our lab plans to interview prospective students every application cycle. Grad students interested in our lab will be applying to the School Psychology PhD Program here at USU. (Note. Although some grad students in our lab are currently completing the School Psychology EdS Program, that program is sunsetting and no longer accepting applications.)
If you are interested in applying to our lab/program, we encourage you to do so! The application deadline is December 1 of each year. Information about our application evaluation criteria is available on our Department's "How to Apply" page.
Got questions? Do you have questions about our lab, the application process, etc.? If so, please read through our "FAQ for Prospective Graduate Students" document prior to reaching out to Dr. Renshaw or anyone else in our lab. The FAQ should answer most of your questions. And it provides links to lots of resources that might help you along your grad school application journey.
Prospective Undergrad RAs
We usually have 2–4 undergraduate research assistants (RAs) working in our lab at any given time. Being an undergrad RA is a good way to figure out what you are (and are not) interested in––and it's a surefire way to strengthen your application for grad school. All of our current undergrad RA positions are volunteer-based.
Undergrad RAs are assigned to work on specific projects and are typically trained and supervised by graduate students. Common research activities completed by undergrad RAs include school-based observations and data collection, literature reviews, and article coding for systematic reviews. (Note. Because of COVID-19 conditions there are currently very limited opportunities for school-based or in-person research activities.)
Want to get involved? Are you interested in joining our lab as an undergrad RA? If so, run through this checklist to see if you meet our lab's prerequisites for undergrad RAs:
- I'm interested in learning more about school and/or youth mental health services
- I plan to pursue graduate studies in a mental health related field (e.g., school, counseling, or clinical psychology; social work; school or mental health counseling)
- I'm majoring or minoring in Psychology at USU
- I have at least a 3.0 overall undergrad GPA
- I have at least one full academic year (or 2 semesters) left prior to graduating
- I'm willing to commit at least 5 hours per week to volunteer research activities
- I'm willing to be an undergrad RA for at least 2 semesters
If you checked-off *all* of the boxes above, then feel free to email our Lab Manager, Caleb Farley, to express your interest. Caleb will assess our lab's current need for undergrad RAs and reply to you ASAP with a status update and/or next steps.
Last modified 4mo ago