Undergraduate Research Assistants

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Dr. Victor does not have openings for undergraduate or post-baccalaureate research assistants in the lab at this time. Dr. Victor maintains a list of individuals who are interested in joining the lab in this capacity and will notify those people when applications to join the lab are open. If you are interested in hearing about this application when it becomes available for spring 2025, email Dr. Victor to express your interest in the lab. Please include your current year or training stage (e.g. first year student, recent graduate), whether you are a psychology major (and/or relevant coursework), and a bit about your interest in the lab.

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Postdoctoral Researchers

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Dr. Victor does not have funded openings for postdocs in the lab at this time. If you are interested in applying for your own direct funding (F32, Banting award) for postdoctoral training to work with Dr. Victor, please send your CV and information about your research interests to Dr. Victor by email.

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Graduate Students

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Dr. Victor anticipates that she will review applications submitted during the fall 2024 admissions cycle for at least one student to join the lab beginning in fall 2025. If you are interested in working with Dr. Victor as a graduate student, please review the following information:​

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What does the application entail?

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General application instructions are available here: https://www.depts.ttu.edu/psy/apply.php

Instructions for the Clinical Psychology Program are here: https://www.depts.ttu.edu/psy/clinical/applicants.php

 

The application will ask for:

• Demographic and contact information​

• Curriculum Vitae (CV)

• Personal statement

• Unofficial transcripts

• A brief statement regarding how your background, experiences, and/or perspectives contribute to our community and the communities we serve.

• Contact information for 3 references/recommenders

• A writing sample is optional; you can upload a manuscript you've written, an honors thesis, a paper for a class, or something similar if you wish, but it is not required.

 

Some additional notes:

• GRE scores will not be accepted nor reviewed as part of your application.

• International applicants have additional requirements, which are detailed on the graduate school website.​

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What is Dr. Victor looking for?

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Your CV should provide information on your research and clinical experiences. For instance, if you've been involved in research, what specifically did you do? What skills did you develop? Have you worked with participants and, if so, what did you do with them? Have you been involved in reviewing literature? Generating hypotheses? Analyzing data? Have you presented your research to others, for instance, at an academic conference, or through contributing to a manuscript? For clinical experiences, have you volunteered in a mental health related setting? Have you worked with people with psychopathology? If so, doing what?

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Your personal statement should describe how you became interested in a specific area within clinical psychology, what experiences you've had related to that interest, and what you hope to do in graduate school and beyond (e.g., career goals). Even though this document is referred to as a "personal" statement, it is generally more focused on your research and clinical experiences to date - you are welcome to include personal information, but it is certainly not required. 

 

When reviewing these materials, Dr. Victor is looking for three things:

• Prior experiences: what level of experience, training, skills, and exposure do you have that will help you be prepared to make the most of a PhD program?​

• Fit: what are your interests, and do they fit well with the types of research being conducted in the lab?

• Future plans: what do you want to do after graduate school, and is Dr. Victor the right mentor (and is the TTU Clinical Psychology Program) the right fit for your needs and goals?​

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What kinds of things do NOT matter to Dr. Victor?

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• GRE scores: we do not accept these as a program, and if you provide them, they will not be reviewed as a part of your application.

• Isolated poor grades: often applicants have a class or two on their transcript with a grade that they wish was a bit higher, or a class that had to be retaken. Generally speaking, this is not a problem - especially if the class was early in your college career, or if the class is unrelated to what you'd be doing in graduate school (e.g., introductory pre-med "weed out" courses, such as chemistry and physics). ​

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How do I know if I'm a good fit for the program, and if the program is a good fit for me?

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The best way to answer this question is to do your homework! Review this website for information about the Tracking Risk over Time Lab.

Review the website for the Clinical Psychology Program at Texas Tech, as well, located here: http://www.depts.ttu.edu/psy/clinical/program.php​

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What projects would I be involved with in the Tracking Risk over Time Lab?

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Graduate students have the opportunity to present and/or publish research using already collected data, as well as being involved in ongoing data collection. Further, graduate students are always welcome and encouraged to pursue their own independent research and to collect their own data!

 

Previously collected data available for analysis includes the following projects (details available on the Open Science Framework website):

• Young adult NSSI ecological momentary assessment: https://osf.io/t97s4/

• Transgender adult suicidal thoughts and behaviors ecological momentary assessment: https://osf.io/bvz65/

• LGBTQ+ adult cross-sectional data on suicidal ideation, outness, and minority stress: https://osf.io/e7wmt/

• Psychology faculty and trainee data on lived experience of psychopathology: https://osf.io/vtxa2/

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Ongoing and upcoming projects for which graduate students will be involved in data collection include:

• Post-discharge ecological momentary assessment of suicide risk among adults: https://osf.io/2gmn8/​

• Ecological momentary assessment study of psychotherapy, gender minority stress, and resilience among transgender and non-binary adults (study recently funded by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, OSF link forthcoming, data collection to begin early 2023).​

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What is the "vibe" of the lab?

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The Tracking Risk over Time Lab is a collegial, collaborative, friendly group of people who enjoy working together and who care deeply about improving the lives of people who struggle with NSSI, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and psychopathology more broadly. We are not a competitive lab - folks are encouraged to work together on projects, bring on fellow graduate students and undergraduate RAs as co-authors, and help each other learn new skills and techniques.

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What's the application timeline?

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Applications are due December 1st. 

Faculty review applications after the deadline, and extend interview offers in December or early January. 

Interview Day is typically early February.

Offers are extended in the week or two after Interview Day.

Applicants who have an offer of admission have until April 15th to decide.

If the first applicant offered admission declines, Dr. Victor will extend an offer of admission to another applicant. This means that offers of admission can occur anytime from February through April.

 

Do I need to do anything else other than complete my application?

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Prospective applicants are requested NOT to email Dr. Victor to convey their interest in the lab prior to applying. Some people view these emails as a necessary way to show interest and to get one's "foot in the door". Dr. Victor will certainly not penalize you as an applicant for sending these emails, but you will likely receive a standard response that provides most of the same information as above, and whether or not you email will have absolutely no impact on the review of your application.

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