Communicate with professors before applying for doctoral studies

Dear Madam,

I will be completing BA/LLB integrated programme shortly and wish to pursue Master's degree in clinical psychology/ psychotherapy at a university in the USA or Canada. Please guide.

Anita S

Dear Anita,

I hope you studied psychology in your integrated UG programme. To pursue your masters in clinical psychology, a Bachelor’s degree in psychology is a pre-requisite. Top universities in both US and Canada would require a GRE in addition to an English test like TOEFL iBT, IELTS academic or PTE. Universities in Canada known for Clinical Psychology are University of British Columbia, University of Guelph, Lakehead University, University of Toronto and University of Alberta. In US, Columbia University, NYU, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, Pepperdine University and University of New Orleans are among those offering Clinical Psychology.

Dear Madam,

I work with a company after doing BE (computer science). Eventually, I wish to pursue MBA abroad. Please suggest the best distance mode degree which I can pursue in the meantime and will help me land a job post MBA?

Nidheesh SN

Dear Nidheesh,

If it is an MBA you wish to pursue eventually, perhaps an online management programme will give you the right amount of preparation since you come from an engineering background. In the USA, Stanford offers a one-year online programme called LEAD. University of Illinois Urbana Champaign offers an online one year Masters in Business Management. Babson College's Master of Science in Management in Entrepreneurial leadership is a 9-month online course. Purdue University has a 2-year online programme in MS Management and Leadership. Northeastern University and Arizona State University are both known for their online courses. In the UK, the University of Birmingham, University of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Sheffield and Warwick offer 2 to 2.5 year online programmes in Marketing, International Business, Management and Data Analytics.

Dear Madam,

I want to pursue PhD in media studies from a foreign university. Please guide me on the best university, admission, scholarship and time duration.

Priya K

Dear Priya,

To apply for a PhD programme in any country, it is important to communicate with professors at various universities and get their permission to apply. Most of these programmes are fully funded and it is important to convince the professors that you will be an asset to their department. Universities look for candidates who have excellent writing skills, high academic credential and published research works. GRE score of 327 and above is necessary. You need to identify a research topic and communicate with professors who are already into research in your area of interest. A good research proposal, a statement of purpose that clearly addresses your interest in their university and the particular department you are applying to, a resume that highlights all your academic achievements, research works and publications and work experience will help them decide if you are a worthy candidate. The duration of your programme could be anywhere between 4 to 6 years. You can expect 100% scholarship.