Following a vote by the sub in July 2020, the prospective questions megathread was continued. However, to allow more visibility to comments in this thread, this megathread now utilizes Reddit's new reschedule post features. This megathread is replaced monthly. Comments made within three days prior to the newest months post will be re-posted by moderation and the users who made said post tagged.

Post your prospective questions as a comment for anything related to graduate applications, admissions, CVs, interviews, etc. Comments should be focused on prospective questions, such as future plans. These are only allowed in this subreddit under this thread. Questions about current programs/jobs etc. that you have already been accepted to can be posted as stand-alone posts, so long as they follow the format Rule 6.

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I’ve been thinking about the current state of research at the intersection of technology and mental health.

The space now includes everything from digital interventions, measurement-based care and passive sensing to wearables, VR, AI-assisted tools and mental health chatbots. There is clearly a lot of excitement, but it can be difficult to distinguish promising, sustainable research directions from areas being driven primarily by the current technology cycle.

At the same time, the rise of LLMs and generative AI has produced considerable skepticism, and sometimes outright opposition, within clinical, academic and public conversations. Many concerns around evidence, safety, privacy, bias, commercialization and the replacement of human care are legitimate. I’m curious how this wider climate is shaping the research space itself. Is it encouraging greater rigor and accountability, or is it also making funders, institutions, researchers and participants more reluctant to engage with even carefully designed research?

For those working in or adjacent to this space:

• Where are you seeing meaningful research interest and funding right now?
• Which questions feel genuinely important from a scientific or clinical perspective and not simply technologically novel?
• How is skepticism toward LLMs and AI affecting what gets funded, approved, published or studied?
• What has proved most difficult in practice: engagement and attrition, validation, privacy and ethics, clinical integration, regulation, or interdisciplinary collaboration?
• Are there particular populations, problems or research methods that remain neglected?
• For researchers who have committed to this area, has the work been sustainable, fundable and intellectually satisfying?
• Looking five to ten years ahead, which directions would you bet on, and which currently feel overhyped?

Perspectives from different countries, career stages, and academic or industry settings would be especially helpful, since the funding and research landscape likely varies considerably. Thank you! :)

Hi Everyone,

I am a psychology student currently looking to develop proficiency in Qualtrics for upcoming research projects. Specifically, I am interested in learning how to build surveys, manage data collection, and utilize advanced features such as inserting custom syntax, logic, and piping.

Could anyone recommend reliable tutorials, documentation, or training courses (free or institutional) that cover these aspects effectively? Any guidance or shared resources would be greatly appreciated.

I'm 28 and currently going through a career transition. I have a Bachelor's degree in Nutrition, but I've recently realized that what I genuinely want to spend the next years of my life doing is studying human behavior.

I'm not interested in clinical practice. What fascinates me is understanding why people behave, think, decide, react and interact the way they do. I want to approach this scientifically and eventually become involved in research, but I'm still at the very beginning and I don't yet know which specific area within psychology would be the best fit for me.

I'm currently looking into areas such as experimental psychology, social psychology, behavioral science, cognition, behavioral neuroscience and related fields. I'm deliberately trying not to choose a specialization before I understand the field better.

The problem is that I don't have a Psychology degree and I don't currently have any academic connection to a university. I'm in Brazil and I'm particularly interested in eventually getting involved with research at a university, rather than simply taking online courses indefinitely.

I've started contacting researchers and labs to ask whether there are seminars, study groups, volunteer opportunities or other ways for someone without a Psychology background to get closer to academic research.

For people who have made a similar transition:

Did you come from a different undergraduate degree? How did you get your first research experience? Would you recommend taking a second undergraduate degree, individual Psychology courses, or trying to get research experience first? Did cold-emailing professors/labs actually work for you? If you were in my position, what would you do during the next 6–12 months? Is there anything you wish you had done earlier when entering psychology research?

I'm not looking for someone to choose a career for me. I'm mainly trying to understand how people actually made the transition from "I'm deeply interested in this" to "I'm participating in real academic research."

Any experiences or advice would be greatly appreciated.

What does this mean

(cacioppo, 2013; de lange et ql., 2022; Mcdonald et al., 2015; rothman et al., 2015; schwartz et al., 2022.)

I can't figure out where one reasearch starts and other ends or if it's one reasearch and I'm just stupid

Hi, I just graduated high school and taking a gap year. I was always confused what I wanted to do in the future, but one of the options for me is becoming a psychologist. I am aware that I need at least masters to become a psychologist (not just a counselor or social worker, because that is not really my goal-i am more interested i severe cases) but as I was reading posts here about other peoples experiences having a hard time for getting accepted at masters because it is so competitive, I started having second thoughts. I am still trying to figure out if this career really interests me, so I would love to hear from people who are now currently in BA in psych and maybe planning going into masters-how is your path looking like? Do you enjoy the process at all? How is the workload? etc.

My long-term goal is to have my own business and work for myself, not under anyone, so I am also interested if this career will be the good path for me. I am interested in other peoples experiences -Did you open your own business? if so when? is it successful? do you feel happy?

I would really appreciate the advice because I am questioning everything right now...

I’m considering studying a ‘bachelor in pharmacy’ or ‘Bachelor of Pharmaceutics and Therapeutic Sciences/Doctor of Pharmacy’ then doing a diploma in psychology and honours psychology in uni.

In order to actually study a masters clinical psychology, would that sly or no? I don’t want to do a bachelor in psychology since I feel I can get more out of a pharmacy bachelor degree than a psychology one

I’m curious about something.

Is there any real scientific research on people who grew up with almost no connection to religion or culture that talks about God, but they still end up believing that someone created the world, animals, or the universe?

I’m especially interested in studies with children or people raised without religion.

Has science looked into this?thanks!

I’m a master’s student in a graduate program and I’m funded by a CAPES scholarship. I’ve been going through an incredibly difficult period: my godmother’s illness getting worse and eventually losing her to cancer, my sister being diagnosed with HIV, and my advisor suddenly abandoning my supervision.

All of this has seriously affected my academic performance, and I ended up getting some low grades, which has put my scholarship at risk. I genuinely cannot afford to lose it — it’s my only source of income, and I wouldn’t be able to support myself without it.

Right now, I’m basically panicking because everything seems to depend on having a successful conversation with my advisor, who is also the program coordinator.

I know that, institutionally, personal circumstances like these often aren’t taken into consideration very much. But this degree is my dream, and I don’t want to give up. I’m already halfway through my master’s, and I honestly don’t know how I would survive even one month without my scholarship.

I really need psychological support too, but I haven’t been able to find any free mental health services that I can actually access.

Has anyone here been through something similar, or had to deal with serious personal/emotional circumstances while in academia?

I’d really appreciate any advice — especially on how to approach this conversation with my advisor/coordinator, how to explain my situation without sounding like I’m making excuses, and how to deal with the pressure of academia when life is falling apart at the same time.

I’m feeling completely overwhelmed and could really use some perspective right now.

Hey everyone, as the title says I need some help

In my country, you have to take an entrance exam to get into university. The results came out last week, and mine were good, maybe a little too good. Basically, I now have the option to choose almost any program at some of the best universities, and honestly, it’s put a lot of pressure on me.

I originally chose this major because I had a dream of studying cognitive psychology. But now that I’ve actually studied the field and experienced more of life as an adult with, well, adult problems, I’m starting to wonder if that dream is a little too idealistic.

I absolutely love cognitive psychology, but my love for it isn’t going to help me make money if the only real career path is research. Don’t get me wrong I genuinely enjoy doing research, and I’d love to eventually become a professor. But I also don’t like the idea of having so few options if I ever change my mind about.

On the other hand, I could choose clinical psychology. I don’t dislike it, and the idea of becoming a therapist is nice, but it just doesn’t excite me in the same way. When I look at the clinical psychology courses I’d have to take in a master’s program, I don’t get that “I can’t wait to study this” feeling that I get with cognitive psychology.

I could also go into clinical psychology and do research related to cognition, which would give me more flexibility, but I don't think It'll e as satisfying.

biggest advantage of clinical is obviously the money and the fact that there are more career options outside academia.

So I’m basically stuck between doing what I genuinely love but potentially limiting my career options, and choosing the safer/more practical path even though I’m not nearly as passionate about it.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation? Please help me

Heyy everyone please fill this google form... It's not a scam or anything.🙏 https://forms.gle/cvH3Jdt91sNcS77m7

Heyy everyone please fill this google form... It's not a scam or anything.🙏 https://forms.gle/cvH3Jdt91sNcS77m7

I just graduated with my MA in Clinical Psychology! May I ask: what are the things you wish you knew back then that you can share with aspiring psychologists now? It could be about skill enhancement, career opportunities, or anything you feel you could have maximized if you had known earlier.
Sending my appreciation in advance! 🫶

I am a Psychology student from the Philippines please help me with my problem psychmates. 🙏