Prospective Graduate Students

Dr. Lo is accepting graduate students for Fall 2027 admission in Toronto Metropolitan University’s Psychological Science MA/PhD program. She is interested in working with students who have an interest in culture or diversity in psychology, especially about (but not limited to) the ongoing lines of research in the lab (see About section).

Please check out the grad school applications page for useful information, such as how to increase your chances for admission, the admission requirements (especially if you are an international applicant), etc. Here is also a helpful/humorous guide for what not-to-do when applying for grad school. 

It is important to know that CODE Lab does not shy away from statistics, a variety of experimental methods (e.g., eye tracking), and programming (primarily R, sometimes Python/JavaScript), but it is not necessary to be an expert in any of these things to apply (that’s what grad school is for!). 

Please note that Dr. Lo will pay close attention to applications that indicate an interest in working with her and therefore emailing Dr. Lo before applying is not necessary.  

Successful applicants will have these qualities:

1) Completion of an honours thesis project or year-long independent research project: It is important that applicants for a research-based MA program have experience completing at least one research project from start (e.g., completing and submitting for IRB approval) to end (e.g., producing a research manuscript). Ideally, one of your reference letters should come from your project supervisor (e.g., faculty member) who can speak to your independence and engagement in the research process.

2) Commitment to research experiences: For research assistantships, more than one year of experience is perceived as a commitment to deeply learning about the research process. It is only seen as a plus if you have taken gap years or an extra year during undergrad (e.g., 5th year) to obtain this research experience. This does not mean quantity over quality, however. An investment in one lab for three semesters provides quality research experience that jumping across three labs each semester cannot.

3) Strong interest in culture and diversity: Students in this lab should expect to be trained as a cultural psychologist and/or a social psychologist who specializes in culture and diversity. Ideally, students will have read at least one of the seminal papers in cultural psychology (e.g., Markus & Kitayama, 1991) or have examples of favourite research papers from undergrad courses/thesis research to get a clear idea as to the area of research they are most interested in.

4) Growth-mindset, humility, and independence: Successful students cultivate a growth mindset and yearn to improve their existing skills. This means students should continuously be asking for feedback and incorporating feedback in different areas, like statistical, coding, writing, and presentation skills. Successful students will also be expected to pursue skill development independently of faculty supervision.

5) Healthy interest in stats and programming (don’t worry–it’ll be fun!)

Things that are not necessary but any one of these things would make your application stand out: 

• Having already applied to CGRS-M or OGS for entry to TMU’s MA program
• Completed a USRA
• Held a lab manager or research coordinator position (i.e., a position that is considered “higher-level” than a standard volunteer RAship)
• Participating in research opportunity programs (e.g., SROP)
• Presented posters/talks at thesis days or conferences
• Having programmed in R before (even just a workshop or some exposure from a course is good)

Note about interest in mental health/clinical research:

I do not typically supervise students interested in TMU’s Clinical Psychology MA/PhD, nor do I typically conduct research about clinical psychology/mental health. If you are primarily interested in studying mental health-related topics, you are advised to consider other labs at TMU better suited for your interests.