[upbeat music]
[text: "Frequently
Asked Questions"]
(Rob McKenna) Hi,
I'm Dr. Rob McKenna
I'm chair of the Industrial
Organizational Psychology
Masters and PhD programs at
Seattle Pacific University
and one common thing that many
programs like ours receive
are Frequently Asked Questions,
which we thought we get
asked these questions often
and we should create
a video for you
so that you can get
some of these answers
and you can move on to other
questions that you have.
So, I'm gonna roll
through some of these
that we receive quite often.
The first one is this:
 I'm applying to the program,
what do you look for
in a candidate? 
And there's some
basics in terms of
your written application
that we look for.
Certainly your GRE scores,
the quantitative component
of our program is
pretty rigorous,
especially the PhD level.
So that matters.
The overall GRE scores
are very important.
And we want to make sure
that you are successful,
we set you up for success,
and so that's why that has
been an indicator for us.
Make sure you spend some good
time on your personal statement.
Make it clear; tell us
something about your story,
let us see you in your writing
and also tell us something
about why you want to
be studying Industrial
Organizational Psychology
here at Seattle Pacific.
That answer of the
question of why
is just as important
as your resume,
so make sure that you are
clear in stating that.
Research experience is helpful,
it isn't absolutely necessary,
but if you have some,
certainly talk about that
so that we see that
you've got some of that,
because research is a
component of our program,
both in the masters, and
even more, at the PhD level.
Practical experience.
Having, again, a long history of
work experience is not necessary
but it can be helpful
for us to understand
the portfolio of
experience that you bring.
So, all those things
are important
and then what we also look for
is once we see your
application on paper,
then if you are invited
to the interview day,
we get a chance to meet
each other in person
and to really see
what's important to you
and for you to see
what's important to us
as we make these selections.
So, that's the way
the process looks.
 Do I have to be a
psychology major
to apply or to be accepted? 
And the answer to that is no,
you do not have to be.
There are certain
core requirements
that you can see in our
application process,
but we get students
from business,
from psychology, from
theology, from sociology,
from a lot of different
disciplines and so
certainly psychology
in your background
and a little bit of business
can be very helpful
to you in terms of your success,
but it's not
absolutely necessary.
 What does a typical student
look like in the program?
Are they older or younger?
Experienced or not experienced?
What different backgrounds-
ethnicity and so on? 
I would say this, that there
is a common characteristic
of students in our program.
One of them would be
that they are different
in terms of their
perspectives and the stories
that they bring to the program,
which would be common
a lot of places.
But, I think one of
the common factors,
in terms of how they show
up is our students come
with a sense of themselves,
or at least a beginning
sense of themselves,
wherever they are
developmentally,
but also a willingness to edit,
a willingness to
change and to adapt,
because the program
itself requires that.
If you're someone who already
has all the answers,
I don't know why
you'd be looking
at a graduate program anyway,
but that's a really
important piece here.
And so, that's what I would say
that our students look like.
Also, in terms of
older or younger,
sometimes there's
this assumption that,
especially in our PhD program,
it's more seasoned people with
a longer career experience,
who happen to be a
little bit older
who would do their PhDs, and
that's not necessarily true.
We have students across
the age spectrum
who are studying here.
I mean, not high school,
of course, [laughs]
we have students who are
post their college education
and up into later
seasons of life
who do very well here.
One of the questions
that's asked is
 Will I meet spouse
in the program? 
And I'm kidding.
That's not on my list,
but I wanted to say it because
I would say that one of
the common factors is
that this program
is challenging,
it will challenge
you intellectually,
it will challenge you socially,
it will challenge you
inter-personally and personally
and so when you get challenged
and you spend that
time with people,
you will develop some very
close bonds with others
and so we have had
people, actually today
I can say that we have had
a couple people who've
actually met their
spouse in the program.
So, a lot of people in
other people's weddings
and at the birth of
their children now,
so it's- you do generate some
very close relationships.
 Are there scholarships or
graduate assistant-ships
to assist with tuition? 
Most all of our PhD students
get some scholarship money
offered in their offer letters.
And it's a percentage. It's
not a huge percentage,
but it is something to help
those doctoral students with
their progress in the program.
But they do need to figure out
financing for the rest of their-
we want to make sure that
we have a realistic preview
that we want people to
have a clear understanding
of the costs of the program.
So, there is some money
in those offer letters.
Masters students can get
graduate assistant-ships,
and you apply for
those after you
get into the program and it's
not just for financial aid,
it's for assistant-ships were
you'd actually be working,
you'd have the time to work on a
faculty member's research team.
So, if you'd be interested
in applying for that,
you would apply after you
come into the program.
 How do I know whether
to apply for the PhD
or the master's degree? 
Both of these
populations of students
are in our program and
they do study together
at certain points and
are wonderful people.
If there were a separation,
I would say that if you're gonna
apply to the PhD program,
you have got to love research.
You gotta love research,
you gotta love deep,
analytical thinking,
digging into questions that
are challenging to answer.
You have love to think
about these things
and also, if you want
to be a practitioner,
but you're gonna have
to want to study
with one of the
faculty members here
because your going to work
on their research agenda
for the next several
years of your life.
And so make no
mistake about that.
Get to know who we are.
This is why it's important.
I had a question on here
that is not a real question,
but it is,  What is Dr.
Yost really like? 
If you don't know
who Dr. Yost is,
he's one of our faculty members
and I'm not gonna tell you
what he's really like.
You can find out if you
end up in the program.
But I would say you need to
understand what we're about,
as a PhD student, and be
driven to understand that.
And master's students are people
that want that same
foundation in research,
but they really want to get
out and practice sooner.
And they see themselves
as increasingly applied.
And most of our
students end up working
in organizational
settings anyway,
not academic settings,
but it is important to know that
there is that difference there
so that love of research is
certainly a really important
piece of the program.
 Can I do the program part-time
and can I work
during the program? 
If you're a master's
student, yes!
The courses are in the evening,
so as long as you can be there,
and you gotta be present
in the program,
then many of our
master's students
do have full time jobs.
They would say it's challenging,
but it is do-able.
With the PhD students,
the answer to that
is mostly no. That this is your
primary vocational identity
is as a doctoral student
and I'm not just here
to get you a job,
but we are here to
change your name.
We are here to give you-
it's a long, kinda journey
through the program,
and so know that there are
some doctoral students
who take on part-time roles,
but it is a residential program,
and so you have to
be fully present.
This is your primary- not
only vocational identity, but
but the place where most of
your hours will be spent.
So, that's a conversation
that if you ever do,
have permission
from your adviser,
to take on a role somewhere,
but we are here to make sure
that you finish your PhD,
and now some of
you are thinking,
 Of course you are,
that's what I want, 
but when those job
opportunities start to come-
and they do- we're gonna
tell you [to] stay home.
This is the most important
thing going on right now.
And then the other piece is
a question that is so
commonly asked is,
 SPU is a Christian community.
What does that mean?
What does that mean
to study here?
I studied at a state university
and I don't know what that means
or what that looks like. 
And I would say, yes,
our faculty come
from a Christian
faith perspective
and we believe in the
God in the Bible who-
the story is so engaging,
it's the story
of a God who sacrificed Himself,
and at the same
time, this is a God
who has a very strong
sense of who He is
and asks us to model
that same thing
in our own character.
And so for us, that
means that it's
walking this line
between discovering
the importance of who we are,
that we are beloved
children of God,
but also this willingness to
sacrifice for others around us,
because sometimes those
sacrifices might be
little moments in the program
and what that means is that,
really, this is a place
where we are attempting
to model grace.
Both offering grace
to ourselves,
but offering grace to others,
even when it's very
difficult to do so.
That's what character
development looks like
in the program.
Now, more practically,
what does that look like?
It means in some cases, if
you haven't experienced
a professor who prays
in the classroom-
and who care deeply
about our students-
it sometimes occurs, and
there certainly are
places in the program
where we would
discuss our Christian theology,
but I would say that
we have students
who are not of the Christian
faith perspective
and unless you're someone
pushing back hard against that,
this can be a wonderful place,
a wonderful place of grace,
especially given it is such a
rigorous learning environment.
But understand that
it is the perspective
that underlies what
we work on here
and also, there will
be courses where
you will get into some
Christ-centered theology
in the program as well,
as we understand our own faith
journey and perspective.
It is from that foundation.
So, I hope this
video was helpful
as you consider the program
and we hope to see
your application!
[upbeat music]
