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Admissions Information

The application deadline for our Clinical, Counseling and Experimental Ph.D. programs is December 1.  For our terminal Experimental Master’s Program, the application deadline is February 1 for international applicants and March 15 for US citizens. Applications for graduate programs are completed online at http://graduateadmissions.utk.edu/.  Paper application materials are not to be submitted to the Department.  At the graduate admissions website, applicants will complete both the Graduate School application and the Department of Psychology application.  Applicants will upload information including unofficial transcripts, essay responses, and current resumes. Applicants with a Master’s degree must supply records of both undergraduate and graduate coursework.  For students seeking admission, the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is optional for applicants to the Clinical Psychology program, the Counseling Psychology program, and Social Psychology.  The Graduate Record Exam will not be considered in either the Cognitive and Developmental Science area or the Neuroscience and Behavior area.

In addition, applicants are required to list the names and email addresses for up to three references. Applicants will also list one to three of our faculty with whom they would want to work in the program to which application is being made. This is an extremely important component of the application, so applicants should carefully consider the core faculty in the chosen program. Since faculty do not review applications outside their own program, it is very important to list only faculty in the applicant’s chosen program.

Application review begins after the deadline, and notification of acceptance is usually made no later than April 1. Applications cannot be processed until all information and records requested by the Graduate School have been received. In accordance with accepted recruitment practices, commitments regarding financial support in effect as of April 15 are considered binding on both the Department and the applicant.

For applicants with the bachelor’s degree, the Graduate School requires a minimum GPA of 2.7 on a 4 point scale. The Department expects an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0, and students accepted for graduate study typically have an undergraduate GPA of 3.5 or higher.  Applicants should refer to Graduate Admissions for additional Graduate School requirements.

All students admitted into the doctoral programs normally receive financial assistance. At the present time, financial assistance is ordinarily not available for students in the Master’s program. In addition to departmental funding, there are other sources of funding for students, including the Graduate School and research grants of individual faculty members. There are also a variety of loan programs. Additional information about loans is available through the Graduate School as part of the formal application process. Applications can be started on the Graduate School website.