Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology - Social - Personality Psychology

Students who are successful in their application typically have GPAs of 3.3 or higher We do not require that applicants have a bachelors degree in psychology We do require however that the applicant have specific courses on the transcript We require three letters of reference These letters should be from psychology faculty from whom you have taken classes or under whom you have carried out research If you are applying to the Clinical Program it is advisable that you include letters from individuals with whom you have worked that can attest to your abilities industriousness interpersonal facility stability and so forth Be aware that letters of reference should contain specifics about the referees knowledge of you Positive general letters of reference are not especially helpful to us We require a two to fourpage Statement of Purpose This statement should be typed and wellwritten This statement should address a why you want to become a psychologist b experiences you have had that enhance your psychology application c future plans after you achieve the doctorate etc For those applying to the Clinical Program carefully chronicle any job experience in the helping professions especially any jobs relating to mental health Include both paid and volunteer experience in these areas We require that you submit a paper representative of your writing abilities preferably from an experimental psychology course a convention paper presentation or a manuscript submitted or accepted for publication If one of these is not available any paper from a psychology course will suffice Please note however that the paper will be examined for evidence of both writing skills and research expertise One very important requirement for admission is taking the general aptitude tests of the Graduate Record Examination Average GRE aptitude score for our admitted students is 300 for verbal and quantitative combined