Please note these are not considered terminal degrees and students are not admitted for the M.A. program only.
Admission Requirements
The department accepts as graduate students only those who show definite promise for completing the requirements for advanced degrees. Meeting the minimum admission standards or having extensive undergraduate course work in psychology does not guarantee acceptance, since the number of applicants who can be admitted is limited. Preference is given to those applicants who have a well-balanced background of psychology courses and some background in science and mathematics. Students who do not have an undergraduate major in psychology but who otherwise satisfy these requirements may apply.
For consideration for admission, the applicant must have the following:
- Bachelor’s degree (official transcript(s) required to verify degree).
- Satisfactory undergraduate scholastic average
- Minimum of 32 quarter hours (24 semester hours) in psychology. This total should include a three semester hour (four quarter hour) elementary statistics course as well as a course in experimental psychology. A course in History and Systems is also desirable.
- The departmental graduate admission committee will determine, on the basis of a consideration of each student’s proposed program of study, whether the minimum 32 quarter hours in psychology is sufficient for advanced study.
- Official Graduate Record Examination results of the Verbal and Quantitative tests. It is highly recommended that you also submit
scores from the Subject Test in Psychology, although it is not required.
- Three letters of recommendation from academic sources.
- Vita/Resume
Students considering application to the M.A.-Ph.D. programs in Clinical Psychology should be aware of the following:
Over 400 students applied to the doctoral program in clinical psychology last year for an incoming class of 6-7 students. Students apply to either the child track or the community track, and committees are established in each of these tracks to review applications. The clinical faculty wishes applicants to know that the faculty carefully evaluate all the application materials and emphasize the following criteria:
Completeness of credentials
When important pieces of information, such as transcripts, are lacking, the application is rejected. Approximately one applicant in seven is rejected on this basis. Application materials should be complete by December 1.
GRE scores and Grade Point Average
Typically, successful applicants to our program have an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.5 (B+) and a strong combined GRE score.
Undergraduate preparation
Students are expected to have had courses in statistics, experimental psychology, abnormal psychology, and other areas in psychology to enable advanced study in this field. A course in history and systems is also suggested. A total of eight undergraduate courses in psychology is required.
Prior graduate study
The program considers students with prior graduate study in clinical psychology or closely related fields. Minimal transfer credit is available for prior graduate work, but waiver of requirements is often possible. Each student's previous academic record is individually reviewed.
Interests
The clinical program emphasizes training in Clinical Child and Clinical Community Psychology. Obviously those who have no special interest in those areas would be better served elsewhere. Further, we accept only those applicants who intend to work toward the doctorate and do not consider applicants for a terminal master’s degree.
Diversity
The Clinical faculty strongly encourages applications from minority students. About one-third of the graduate students in clinical psychology admitted in the last three years were members of minority groups.