How To Plan Your PhD in Psychology

Disclaimer – This blog is written from gathering personal experience as Ms Aarti Ahuja is pursuing her PhD and required technical information for the Indian scenario 

Psychologists and Mental Health Professionals in India attempt to take on PhD in the subject to pursue a teaching or research based career in the field. Today the PhD process under Union Grants Commission UGC is very streamlined and structured providing Universities both Private and Government a standardised way of completing the requirements and enhancing the research repertoire based on an Indian population. 

A researcher’s main aim is to seek knowledge of the observed phenomena in society and find synergy with the role of being a Psychology student understanding the human needs , patterns and identifying ways / techniques to improve well-being and add to existing interventions.

The PhD journey is a self development and responsibility to enhance the professional and personal persona. Reasons to do a PhD can be many and purely just to add the famous”Dr” title to one’s identity. That being innately a personal reflection for aspiring PhD scholars. For keen academic seekers pursuing academia is a thrilling and personally gratifying experience and a PhD program provides that motivation towards subject specific research.

PHD ROADMAP

• An entrance test Syllabus common for most universities
• Revise BA & MA course work completely 
• Each University has a different focus in a subfield of Psychology gathering information regarding their present research and teaching focus , questions are asked primarily from those domains. A famous example is Ambedkar University the focus is on Psychoanalysis ,Indian Psychology and its growth in India.
• PhD programmes are offered in full time & part time format across universities. 
• For Part time courses a No Objection Certificate on the company or industry organisation letterhead is required ,do keep it ready.

Eligibility Criteria For PhD 

• Academic qualifications: Have a Master’s degree in a relevant field with at least 55% marks 
• Entrance exam: Qualify for a national-level entrance exam like UGC NET, GATE, or CSIR NET 
• Interview: Some programs may require an in-person or virtual interview 
• Letters of recommendation: Provide letters of recommendation from respected academics or professionals 
• Research experience: Highlight any research experience you have in your application 
• Some universities may also require a four – year bachelor’s degree with a minimum 7.5 CGPA

Before Entrances 

• Give yourself 6 months to thoroughly study the entire BA & MA psychology syllabus again
• Do General Knowledge practice papers and logical thinking practice papers as well.
• Make an excel list 

Keep a record like this for entrances and their follow ups it will help you plan travels , resource finances and revise before each entrance 

• Select a CO Guide / Co Supervisor , someone from the same field in the academic or industry space.
• From the specific faculty list at each university select your tentative Guide / Supervisor 
• For both Guide / Supervisor + Co Guide / Supervisor follow this way to connect with them

i) Search their name and research they do – Connect with them on Linkedin communicate your interest to be supervised by them and take suggestions for the synopsis.

ii) On all platforms search for their publications and how many times their work has been cited. 

iii) In your online communication, express your own reasoning to pursue the research and establish a connection that will help in building up during the research process much similar to rapport building in a therapeutic relationship with clients.

• Supervisors and guides at most private and government universities are also partially involved in administrative tasks of the institution and building research repositories , having a CO- Guide keeps the PhD scholar motivated towards completing the degree and also support in discussion and building up research expertise.
• Keep the CO-Guides  consent letter and relevant details ready most private and government universities ask for this at time of application 
• Keep NOC ready 
• Keep Letter of recommendations ready 
• Keep a industry specific CV ready highlighting work experience and research work ( include publication links ) 
• Speak to a statistician hire them for research work 
• A digital media person to help create ppts , google forms and other technical resource management
• Overall it requires financial planning and resource allocation as attending CMEs , conferences and seminars is a crucial network building task of being a PhD scholar. It opens the scope of thinking within the academic field and keeps one updated with research trends.

Have a PhD Synopsis Created 

• A basic outline of your research 
• Why you want to do it 
• What sample size you are targeting 
• What tentative methodology would you like to use 
• What are your tentative hypothesis 
• What do you aim to conclude and how to you want to use your research for academic or industry application

in word & ppt format which during the interview if selected you will have to present 

Most universities ask you to upload the synopsis in word document format

Under UGC guidelines first two years of a Phd Programme are for completing credit courses 

Total Number of Credits – 12

Year1 

Standard Subjects Under UGC
Research Methodology 2 credits 

Ethics In Research 2 credits 

Statistics & Computers 2 credits 

Year 2 –  

Domain Specific Courses 

2 subjects that you can select from the list your university provides 

Select courses that are at least 4 credits from the list 

After completing the credits the work on developing mini research by using variables of the main research for Article Publication , under university appointed Doctoral Committee (DC ) that reviews the progress every 6 months 

As per present UGC guidelines 2 articles are required to be published in the subject peer reviewed journals indexed under UGC CARE II & SCOPUS list of journals.

Different universities have different internal criterias for setting up DC following a roadmap of completing the UGC requirements. Also there are Research Progress Assessments ( generally 6 monthly )  which are schooled after DC2 to monitor progress and give suggestions or feedback.

Generally there are 3 DCs conducted 

DC 1 – after completion of the 3 courses work 

Wherein the synopsis is reviewed and approved to begin working under the approved topic 

Domain specific courses allotted 

DC2 – after publication of first research article 

DC 3 – after both articles are published 

90 days after DC 3 scholars are required to submit their thesis.

The Thesis goes through a format check by the university 

• 5  hard bound copies after format checking is approved need to be submitted 
• A plagiarism report ( certified by the university library ) 
• A soft copy of the Theis duly certified by the supervisor 
• The committee evaluates it and gives their recommendations that if approved lead to degree awarding or can come back to the scholar for revision and resubmission.
• After the university confirms the thesis , a Viva is scheduled in an “ Open Defence Mode” – Keep a PPT ready summarizing the research highlighting the methodology , finding , results ,discussion , conclusion, further scope of research and how you would be using these professionally.
• Viva is conducted by a panel of examiners including department head , Dean , External Examiner , Supervisor & Co Supervisor , other professors from the department.

The joie de verve of research is very thrilling and at the same time has a dark grey side. For every scholar wanting to put themselves through the process of obtaining a PhD it is a self discovery and one has to do the work on one’s own . Supervisors and Co- Supervisors are challenging the mantle of professional scope along with personal patience in a changing education and social cultural scenario. Their role is crucial but for the scholar it is their own efforts and commitment to academia that will make them a “DR”. More so for Psychologists as even their chosen profession demands a deeper commitment to personal growth and consistent development that PhD amplifies in an individual’s life.

Tatava Studio Simplifying Wellness is open to connect , collaborate and support other PhD in Psychology scholars by engaging in peer supporting dialogues and resource sharing from entrance syllabus to formats of article writing to constructing research etc.

Contact Details 

It is trial and error finding the right Mental Health professional for yourself, but we are here to help you on your journey. You can choose us or we can refer you to others in our network!

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Aarti Ahuja
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