Statement of Objectives for Grad School Application

I am writing to express my interest in graduate studies at Rowan University. As a graduate of the psychology department at Rowan, I look forward to narrowing my scope and finding my niche within the field of psychology.

Dr. Margaret A. Lloyd, retired psychology professor of Georgia Southern University, has published an informative website entitled "Careers in psychology." According to Lloyd, a terminal bachelor's degree in psychology can qualify one for such positions as: restaurant management, hospice work, or a parole officer. This statement alone describes why I need to pursue graduate studies. Since there are so many facets of psychology that interest me, I need a degree that will offer me options. I feel that the master's of arts in mental health counseling will serve that purpose.

My ideal career path would be that of a therapist employed by a college. At first glance, the school psychology program seems to be the appropriate choice. However, I soon realized that I would only be qualified to work with children from Pre-K through 12th grade and would be dealing primarily with testing. If I chose to change career paths, I would have to go back to school and pursue another degree.

When one thinks of mental health counseling, immediate visions of talking people off of window ledges and sleepless nights worrying about saving patients begin to appear. However, the college environment provides a "transitional" time period between high school and adulthood that would present a wealth of issues that I feel I can contribute to. Matters of concern would range from: study habits, time management, introduction to credit card debt, to more extreme issues such as crisis and rape. I feel that my growth and experiences in this time period, myself, would make me the college environment a suitable choice in which I would thrive.

One would like to think that the career path they envision in college is the one he or she ends up with. However, in reality, very few people end up with this luxury. Fortunately, there are so many facets of psychology that interest me. For instance, facing my own fears of animal dissection in a biology class would make me an empathetic specialist on the subject of phobias. Other aspects of psychology that fascinate me are that of sleep disorders and dreams. There are so many alternatives when choosing a career path in psychology. I feel that the degree program that would offer me the widest array of options is the master's in arts in mental health counseling.

References

Lloyd, M.A. (1997, July 16). Entry level positions obtained by psychology majors. [Online]. Available: http://www.psywww.com/careers/entry.htm.