Psychology PhD Application FAQs

Please visit our Admissions Information page for details about application requirements.  Essentially, our criteria for admission include reporting your undergraduate grade-point average (3.0 GPA is the required minimum on a 4.0 scale), quality of recommendations contained in 3 required letters of reference, your background in mathematics and research, your academic and personal statements, submission of your CV/resume, and unofficial transcripts from your program of undergraduate studies (and any other institution from which you received a degree). Some areas consider test scores on the Graduate Record Examinations (GREs).  You should also note your performance in special parts of those programs; such as your success in particularly demanding courses, independent work, projects, papers, posters, etc.

The General Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is required by some program areas.  To ease the financial burden of applying for graduate education, we will accept your unofficial GRE scores in your initial application. The Subject test is not required.  There is no minimum score requirement. Our Institution Code is 1836 (Department code is 2016, but is not necessary).

• Attention & Perception:  Optional. Applicants who choose not to submit GRE scores should provide information about their background in quantitative methods in their Academic Statement. Admission decisions are based on a holistic review, so high GRE scores could compensate for other deficits in an applicant's record, just as other accomplishments or experiences can offset lower scores.
• Behavioral Neuroscience:  Optional
• Clinical-Community: Optional - scores will be considered if submitted.
• Cognitive Neuroscience:  Optional
• Cognitive:  Optional. Applicants who choose not to submit GRE scores should provide information about their background in quantitative methods in their Academic Statement.
• Developmental:  Optional - scores will be considered if submitted.
• Industrial-Organizational:  Required
• Quantitative:  Required
• Social-Personality:  Optional - scores will be considered if submitted.

Please see the Financial Information page of our website.

Of those admitted in recent years, the average GPA was 3.77, the average GRE Verbal score was 161 and average GRE Quantitative score was 161.

Examination scores are valid for up to 5 years.  Applicants with expired scores must retake the exam if the area requires.

Applicants to our psychology programs are NOT responsible for any program-specific questions/essays or writing samples.  However, if you feel strongly about attaching writing samples to your application, you may do so at your discretion.

Students of high ability transferring to psychology from other disciplines may be accepted even though they lack a background in psychology.  We recommend approximately 15 hours of previous coursework in psychology (including a lab-based course) and a previous statistics course, though these experiences are not required in order to apply.

No.  Applicants must have earned at least a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college in the United States or a comparable degree from a recognized institution of higher learning abroad. Students finishing their bachelor's degree program are eligible to apply as long as the degree will be awarded before studies in the graduate program begin.

Yes. International students should check the bachelor’s degree equivalents from their countries. Please note: our Graduate College Office does NOT accept outside WES evaluations of undergraduate transcripts.

Furthermore, as long as you plan to graduate (and complete your 4^th year) in the spring or summer prior to the fall semester for which you hope to be admitted to our program, you may apply now and submit your in-process transcripts along with your other application materials. For example, if you plan to graduate with your bachelor’s degree in the spring of 2023, you may apply for the fall of 2023 by submitting your current, incomplete transcripts now. If admitted, we will ask for the official, complete transcripts as soon as they become available to you.

Yes, we offer a Master of Science in Psychological Science.  Separately, in our PhD program, we offer an optional master of science as an intermediate degree on the way to the doctorate.

No.  We offer a Clinical-Community PhD program (but we do not offer/provide licensure). The College of Education offers a program in Counseling Psychology. 

In cases where a direct conversion to our scale is not available, we will have the transcript analyzed by our admissions unit for determination of bachelor’s degree equivalency and admission eligibility.

Yes. Even with the financial support offered by the department, it has been determined insufficient to cover what is needed per INS regulations.  At current rates, the department support guarantee is approximately $1,000 short of the funds required to issue visa documents.  International applicants are, therefore, required to provide evidence of financial resources before an offer of admission can be made. 

We make every effort to get the decision to the applicant as soon as possible, but due to variability of review times, we cannot guarantee a specific time.  You will be notified of the decision regarding your application via e-mail as soon as we are given the final decisions from the admissions committee.

We do not provide campus tours for prospective graduate students. However, some program areas invite students to visit during interviews. Others admit students first and then invite students for a recruitment weekend. If you would like to take a virtual or photo tour of the campus right now, you may visit the campus tours website.

Our graduate programs do not offer online or distant learning courses.

Our programs and funding package are structured for students to complete in up to 6 years.  However, there is fluctuation in the time to completion, commonly related to research progression.  Also, students in the Clinical/Community program area typically complete in 6-8 years, as there is a 1-year internship requirement for those doctoral candidates. 

We may use supplemental information from your application file: transcripts, recommendation letters, etc.  However, you must complete a new application and submit another application processing fee.  International students must also provide new financial certification documentation (when asked). 

A maximum of 12 semester hours of course work completed outside the University of Illinois may be transferred and used toward a graduate degree in our program.  Course work must be at the graduate level, and cannot have been used toward another degree or certificate program.  Also, a student must have successfully completed at least 8 semester hours of graded, graduate course work at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign before submitting a request for transfer of credit.

We will accept materials after the deadline (i.e. letters of recommendation are submitted by the recommenders, and are not within the power of the applicant to submit by the deadline; you are encouraged to request them early to ensure timely submission).  However, if the committee reviews your application before all materials are received, we cannot guarantee those late materials will be reviewed. 

Yes. In fact, you are NOT required (or encouraged) to submit the funding documentation at the time of application.  When needed, we will request the forms and allow plenty of time for submission.