Prospective Graduate Students

Although the ERPAS team involves and welcomes graduate students from other universities and disciplines, the majority of our graduate students have been doctoral students in the School Psychology or Applied Psychology program at North Carolina State University (NCSU). 

If you are interested in applying to the Applied (Social) Psychology program at NCSU and you are specifically interested in working within our research team in areas of school, community, and applied psychology, please do not hesitate to contact Dr. John Begeny (john_begeny@ncsu.edu) if you have any questions. 

Frequently asked questions

Prior to making contact with Dr. Begeny or other members of the ERPAS team, it will help to review the NCSU Applied Social Psychology program website and ERPAS website because many prospective students’ questions can be answered with the information found within those two websites. Questions not answered in those websites are strongly encouraged. 

Answers to the questions most commonly asked by prospective graduate students are as follows:

1. Will Dr. Begeny be accepting new graduate students to work with him, starting in the upcoming fall semester? 

The answer to this question varies each year depending on numerous factors, but Dr. Begeny usually tries to involve one or two new doctoral every 1-2 years. Overall, if you feel like your professional interests are aligned with Dr. Begeny’s professional interests, you should apply to NCSU's Applied Social Psychology program and clearly articulate in your application how your interests seem to be a good fit with Dr. Begeny’s and other members of the ERPAS team.

UPDATE: For those looking to start graduate studies in the 2025-2026 academic year, it is unlikely Dr. Begeny will be accepting new doctoral students to begin that year. However, If you are specifically interested in NC State and the work of our team, please contact us if you have any questions.   

2. What does Dr. Begeny look for when reviewing applications of prospective graduate students who want to join our research team?

There is no simple answer to this question because Dr. Begeny and the other members of the NCSU Applied Social Psychology program selection committee consider several aspects when making decisions about who to admit to this graduate program. The Applied Social Psychology program website offers a lot of information about the qualifications a student should have to be a competitive applicant.

In addition to those qualifications, Dr. Begeny strongly considers a highly qualified applicant as one who:

• Clearly shares one or more of the professional interests stated in Dr. Begeny’s professional biography and description of interests.

• Values diversity in its many relevant forms and actively strives to improve his/her/their own intercultural consciousness.

• Has a strong passion to improve social justice, such as by advancing educational equity and related mechanisms that afford individuals and communities more opportunity and greater empowerment. 

• Values and strives to learn from the knowledge, expertise, and/or experiences of all individuals, including but not limited to professionals devoted to education.

3. What research is going on as part of Dr. Begeny's research team (i.e., the ERPAS team)?

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