Frequently Asked Questions

No, we do not have a stand alone Master's program. However, accepted students to our Ph.D. program may earn a Master's on the way to a Ph.D. The Master's is optional to our Ph.D. program requirements.

We have a Master's of Arts in Applied Child & Adolescent Psychology: Prevention & Treatment which you can read about here.

No, it is not required to have a prior degree (Bachelor's or Master's) in Psychology to apply to our graduate program. It is actually not required to have a Master's before applying to our Ph.D. program; applicants can apply with just a Bachelor's. We do strongly advise that applicants have prior experience with psychological research. It is important whether applicants have realistically assessed their interests and motivation to pursue a career along the lines available in our graduate program. It is unfortunate for everyone when a graduate student discovers that they have undertaken a career whose real rewards simply do not fit the needs of that student. Applicants with relevant previous experience, especially, participating in studies at some level, however rudimentary, are more attractive because we can be more confident that the applicant understands both the rewards and frustrations to be encountered in their chosen career.

Much like the previous response in #2, some coursework in psychology or relevant area (psychology statistics or research methods) is desired if no prior psychology degree was obtained. More important would be applicable research training and fit into our program.

Our Ph.D. program generally takes 5 to 7 years to complete. Because you are preparing to become a research scientist, courses after the first year are typically chosen with the advice of your advisors and supervisory committee with your individual career goals in mind. Students in Adult or Child Clinical tracks will also be required to complete a one year doctoral level internship program.

It is unlikely that having a Master's degree before entering our program will significantly impact how long it takes you to complete your degree here. Nor is it required for one to have a Master's degree before applying to our Ph.D. program. It is possible to place out of a course or two, but you will be required to register for a replacement course at a higher level. Everyone who begins our program, will start on the same page.

It is not possible to participate in our program on a part-time basis. This is generally a more than full time commitment which includes coursework, lab work, participation in seminars and lab meetings as well as the 20 hrs/wk appointment as a Teaching or Research Assistant.

Because of the scientific nature of the program which includes a great deal of lab participation and clinical work, it is not possible to do this program without being here in person. In addition, students admitted to our program receive departmental funding in the form of a Teaching or Research Assistant, the duties of which can only be completed while on-campus.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, our program has moved to remote learning which is not the same as an on-line or distance learning program. Students who apply and are admitted to our program should plan to attend in-person.

Tuition rates can be found online here. The Department of Psychology is Graduate Tier 1 on the Seattle Campus.

We have also provided information on the financial support package we provide to all students (U.S. and international) who accept offers to join our program. Please view our FAQ #29 for more details.

The faculty of the Psychology Graduate Program is committed, above all else, to research that promotes the advancement of psychology as a science. First, we attempt to select individuals for whom the scientific investigation of psychological questions is an integral part of their career goals. In all fairness, we want to discourage applications from people who, for any of a variety of reasons, will be disappointed by participation in a science and research oriented program. Second, we believe that psychological research benefits from the involvement of people with diverse backgrounds. We encourage applications from people who represent diverse educational, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds. Please see the Clinical Graduate Admissions FAQ if interested in either the child/adjult clinical PhD program.

No. The Graduate School does not accept transfer credits for any doctoral programs.

Maybe. Please know that being accepted as a GNM student and completing a few classes with our department does not make your chances better if you apply as a regular graduate student later on. GNM is commonly an option for professionals who are looking for more continuing education hours or students at other nearby graduate programs seeking a specific course/training offered in our department. Please email us directly, so we can properly advise you.

For U.S. and International applicants, the online UW Graduate School application must be completed by 11:59pm (PST) on Monday, December 2, 2024. Please be aware that if you wait until the last minute to submit your application, it is likely the application system will crash or lag due to the large volume of applications being submitted. Do not wait until the last minute to submit your application. EXCEPTION: U.S. and Permanent Resident applicants who are requesting application fee waivers must submit their applications one week in advance of our application deadline. International applicants, please ignore any other deadlines you may see during this process, and complete your online materials by Monday, December 2, 2024.

We only accept applications once a year, for the following academic year which begins late September. We only complete admissions for one year at a time.

If you have a feeling that you might submit your application late despite your best efforts, please contact us BEFORE the deadline. We will try to work with you as long as we hear from you BEFORE the deadline. Those waiting for application fee waiver requests, please write to us BEFORE the deadline. No exceptions.

If December 1 falls on a Saturday or Sunday we will accept a submitted application on the first business day after. For 2025 admissions, the deadline falls on a weekend which is Sunday, December 1, 2024. Applicants must submit and pay by 11:59pm (PST) on December 2, 2024.

Please plan accordingly, the online system WILL get overloaded and crash if you wait until the very last minute to submit and pay for your online application.

Faculty acceptance status is listed on their individual faculty profile. Please visit our website, click on People, Faculty, and sort by Area (click on the faculty you are interested in). A faculty's acceptance status for the year of entry will be listed on the right. Acceptance status is usually updated each September. Our office sends out reminders to faculty, but it's up to the faculty to make the updates based on their individual circumstances.

Faculty with emeritus status no longer advise students; please do not list them in your application.Only current full-time faculty in Psychology will review applications. Do not list outside faculty in your application.

You can log into your online application to check the receipt of items as they arrive. It is your responsibility to ensure that your recommenders submit their letters for you in a timely manner. Receipt of recommendations is noted when you log into your application. Then it is up to you when or how you choose to contact your recommenders to remind them of their submission.

We do not requiring the GRE or any of its subject tests. International applicants who need to provide language proficiency information, please view the UW Graduate School's website for English language test acceptance minimums.

Please continue to check your application for updated status on received items. If you have not yet submitted your application or submitted it recently, please do not ask our office for a status update because we cannot access materials from an unsubmitted application and recently submitted applications need time for the various databases to share information.

Please add our email to your addressbooks to ensure that you receive any messages. If you are away during the holiday season, try to check your email at least once a day.

We will update your application and the materials received on your behalf as they arrive, please log into your application profile periodically to see when your status has changed. Your application will be marked "complete" when all items you list in your profile arrive and are checked off. Please be sure to check receipt dates for individual items (especially the required components) rather than the "complete" status! The important thing is to have your required items checked in and the 'complete' status should be considered secondary.

It takes the Graduate Program Office several days after the deadline to process application materials and update the items received.

In regards to the optional items (Optional applicant profile questions and Academic Resume/CV), if you did not submit something that was optional, the "not received" status will remain, but will not affect the completeness of your application. Your application will not be penalized for having "not received" optional items, please do not upload a file for the sake of having it marked as "received" if it is not truly the item requested. Thank you.

Log into your online application periodically to check the receipt status of the application materials that would be coming from other sources (letters of recommendation and test scores for those who need to show language proficiency).

This varies from area to area within the department, and from year to year. Overall, the department receives more than 800-1000 applications for approximately 20 open positions.

Sure, statistics for the past three years are located on our Apply page, item #4 to download.

As of the 2015 admissions, we will allow a 2nd area of interest. It is not required to have a 2nd area of interest. If you only have one interest, please list only the one. The clinical areas (adult or child) can ONLY be listed as a 1st area interest with NO 2nd area interest. Once you have selected your area(s), please list the faculty within the area(s) that you have interest in, in the Faculty Match question. If these sections were filled out incorrectly, our office will try to contact you and work together on correcting the sections.

Faculty, post-docs, current graduate students, and other staff who are assigned a special access to be able to review applications, will have access to applications in full.

Our evaluation will be based on the application as a whole. We do not have rigid cut-off points on conventional criteria, though the UW Graduate School does require a minimum of 3.0 GPA (on a 4.0 scale). However, the bulk of our accepted applicants are strong on the GPA criteria and more. We have provided admissions statistics for the GPA because this is a popular inquiry. Since we removed the GRE in 2021, we will no longer post admissions statistics which include the GRE. Because standardized tests were designed for the standard student and may not reflect the capabilities of applicants from backgrounds that differ from those of the test-content creators' experiences, we would also like to encourage applicants with other qualifications to submit supplementary materials (e.g., non academic recommendations, summary of work experience) which they feel will more truly demonstrate their competence.

In general, we are looking for students whose capabilities and motivation will allow them to contribute significantly to the advancement of psychological science. These capabilities include the obvious intellectual strengths, the ability to reason clearly and insightfully, creative imagination, the ability to articulate one's ideas, and mathematical and computational skills. It also includes diversity of perspectives, and the strength of motivation to pursue difficult problems.

We will post brief updates periodically on our Apply page to let applicants know about where we are in the admissions process. We do not provide updates specific to an individual applicant. Please check the Apply page instead of contacting our office because we will direct you to the Apply page. Even if the date may be old; it is where we are in admissions. Thank you.

Each area within the Psychology Department has a different timetable for reviewing applications. Most areas begin to make selections in January and will contact applicants by phone or e-mail for interviews beginning in February, although some could happen in March or even early April. The Graduate Program Office does not know who will receive invites until after the applicants have been contacted by faculty or research staff directly. We also will not know if an area is done extending invitations. You could try contacting an area faculty directly (via our directory) to ask, but whether you receive a reply is up to the individual. Please respect their time during admissions. Please resist contacting the Graduate Program Office to ask these questions because we do not know (sorry!).

The experimental areas (Animal Behavior, Behavioral Neuroscience, Cognition & Perception, Developmental, Quantitative and Social Psychology & Personality) have organized interviews to occur anywhere between mid- to late-February and sometimes in early March. The two clinical areas (adult and child) have occasionally held their interview day separate from the department and each other, although recently they have participated with the experimental areas, making it a whole department visit day.

For the 2025 admissions season we are currently planning an in-person interview day in Mid -February 2025. 

Since each area within the Psychology Department has a different timetable for reviewing applications and whether they will have a waitlist, we will notify applicants of decisions as soon as they are confirmed by the area. This does not usually begin until sometime in February or March. Offers are not made without some kind of extended contact with the applicant (via email correspondence, telephone, or in-person meeting). Denials are sent via email. The Graduate Progarm Office does not have any information on waitlists. Please make sure you have a current email address for any correspondence.

The last day for making offers or accepting students to our graduate program is April 15. This is also the last day for applicants to notify us whether they intend to accept our offer.

We do not make offers to U.S. or International applicants unless we can fund them with either a Teaching or a Research Assistantship for half time (expected workload of 20 hrs/wk). Occasionally, we will have access to fellowships which we can nominate incoming students for. Your application to our program makes you eligible for this support. There is no additional application to apply for departmental funding, your consideration is automatic.

Financial support package information can be found in our Admissions Newsletter, top of the third page.

The funding package is usually enough to cover the needs of most students including international students. Some students may require additional funding for books, childcare, etc. If so, you may consider applying for financial aid through the UW's Office of Student Financial Aid or various other outside funding agencies. These sources are not generally available to international students.

International applicants: In order to qualify for TA funding, a valid and non-expired speaking language exam must be taken (either TOEFLiBT, Duolingo, or IELTS speaking portion) by the time of application submission. More information and other options for language qualification can be found on conditions of appointments for TAs who are not U.S. citizens. Please also view the Section entitled "Graduate Application Questions" FAQ #43 below for additional information on language testing. If you receive an offer from the Department of Psychology, please return to the Application Checklist and complete item #3.

Due to the highly competitive nature of our program, we do not allow enrollment deferments—new students must enter in the following September.

The earliest you can apply would be when the application reopens around Labor Day (early September) and by Monday, December 2, 2024 deadline. When admissions/recruitment season is closed, the application is unavailable and cannot be found as an option to select while logged into your applicant profile.

Our application and its procedures are only available online on our "Apply" page. We no longer mail paper materials to save time and resources.

Applicants may also contact the Graduate Program Advisor by email to schedule a meeting to discuss general admissions questions only, such as the information covered in our Application Newsletter, Admissions statistics (both can be found on our "Apply" page) and FAQ. Drop-in appointments are generally not preferred due to the varied schedule and workload of the office. We will not review transcripts, critique writing statements, discuss other graduate programs/departments, or provide career guidance. More in-depth questions about the various labs and research being conducted is better answered by faculty or their graduate students. Please note that appointments are very unlikely during the peak times. Email is the preferred method of communication. We can respond by giving you specific links or FAQ items to read. We appreciate your consideration!

U.S. citizens, permanent residents (green card holders), immigrants, undocumented status, and citizens of U.S. protectorates (American Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Marshall Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands) will likely use the U.S. application. Please confirm with the UW Graduate School. All other countries/statuses, please use the International application.

Application information/processes are updated by early September each year. When admissions/recruitment season is closed, the application is unavailable and cannot be found as an option to select while logged into your applicant profile.

Be sure to use the "Click here to print this application" link on the screen and not any keyboard shortcuts otherwise the system will not recognize you as having completed this step.

There are a few application fee waivers available for U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents. International applicants are ineligible to request an application fee waiver. If you are in need to be considered for an application fee waiver, please know that you must complete/submit your waiver request and application ONE WEEK PRIOR to our application deadline. This means, if you need an application fee waiver, you must submit your entire application with waiver request no later than November 24 (is 7 days prior to December 1), otherwise your application will automatically be rejected and no waiver given (you would then need to pay the application fee). If you receive a waiver, you will need to log back into your online application to apply it and then submit your application to completion. The Graduate School/Department of Psychology does not submit your application for you because you requested a fee waiver. More information on application fee waivers can be found here. Once you submit your application with application fee waiver request 7 days in advance of our application deadline to the Graduate School they will contact you with the decision to the email listed on your application profile. If you are waiting to hear back from your fee waiver request, please let the Psychology Graduate Program Office know.

We cannot accept any revisions to your application once it has been submitted. However, we will contact you if a file cannot be read/opened and ask that you email us the requested file quickly.

If you need to update your email or mailing address, you can do that if you log back into your application.

If you would like your application materials returned after admissions, please write us as soon as the admissions season completes. You are eligible to receive all parts of your application except for the recommendation letters.

International applicants who need to provide language proficiency information, please view the UW Graduate School's website outlining English language proficiency requirements.

The language requirement is waived for individuals with a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree from a regionally accredited institution in the United States or from an institution in Australia, the Bahamas, Canada, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, New Zealand, Singapore, Trinidad and Tobago, or the United Kingdom. In addition, graduate students who are not native speakers of English must meet the spoken English proficiency requirement before being assigned teaching duties, such as the TOEFLiBT speaking score or IELTS speaking score.

More details can be found on the Graduate School website, Policy 3.2 and Policy 5.2

Language test scores are valid for two years and must be valid on the date the application is submitted.

We will look at the most recent language test score if multiple language test scores are provided.

Research Statement (required): Typically, the statement of purpose describes what motivates you to pursue a career in psychology. What theoretical issues, research problems, clinical problems, or application areas are your central interests? Why are these issues especially interesting and important? Include in your statement the following: description of research experience, reason for applying to our graduate program, and the name(s) of faculty members who are pursuing similar research in our department with whom you may wish to work.

Research Statements are on average 2-4 pages, double spaced (or equivalent formatting).

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement (required): The Psychology Department values diversity and we invite applicants to talk about their backgrounds and how it has influenced the path to a degree. Applicants may also include a brief section on any of the following topics that may apply to their situation: first generation to attend graduate school, economic background, overcoming adversity in educational or other development. Please read the writing prompt in the application for full details. We may use the information provided to identify students who might qualify for diversity funding.

The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement should be no more than 2 pages, single spaced. It should complement the Research Statement but not replace it.

We require three online letters of recommendation. If you have a couple extra that would be acceptable, but excessive numbers of letters (more than 5) are not helpful. The application system will allow you to designate one or two recommenders beyond the required three. It is not necessary to ask permission to submit extra recommendation letters.

We do not require a certain number of letters from academic, professional, or personal. However, letters from faculty members are most desired. The letters of recommendation should discuss the your research interests, academic ability, written communication skills, professional identification, and interpersonal skills. All of these factors go into predicting overall success in a graduate program.

Letters of recommendation will ONLY be accepted online, as part of the online UW Graduate School application. We are no longer accepting paper letters. While completing your UW Graduate School online application, you will be given the opportunity to designate (or list) who your recommenders will be. Select "System should send email" and not the postal mail option for an online request to be sent. Your recommenders will be notified via email that they have agreed to submit a letter for you. It is your responsibility to ensure the email addresses are correct. Advise recommenders to check spam filters if they do not receive the email request. Please contact us if you have any difficulty with this step.

The email request may have been identified as spam or bulk mail. Have your recommender add our email address to their addressbook and then re-send the request. You may log into your online UW Graduate School application profile and select the option to re-send any requests. We are also happy to assist you with re-sending the email request. We have, on occasion, accepted an emailed recommendation from the writer directly to our psygrad email account. Due to the volumes of e-mails we receive during admissions this is not recommended as your second chance, instead, only go this route if you have truly exhausted your other options.

Note: Our office has been quite good at notifying applicants that we received a bounced email from a recommender.

The email request is sent immediately, once you enter the information in "Recommendation Detail" and then click "Save and Continue." You do not have to wait until you finish and pay for your application for the recommendation request to be sent nor do you have to wait for all letters to be received before you pay and submit the application.

You do not have to wait until you are done (have submitted your application) to do this step. Please designate your recommenders early, check in with them, and take your time with the rest of your application (while submitting everything by the deadline). You do not have to wait for all letters to be received in order to pay and submit the application either. Recommendations can still be received after our deadline, but could get missed being reviewed along with your other materials. It is your responsibility to ensure that your letters are submitted in a timely manner.

If you have your letters of recommendation stored with a letter service, then the Department of Psychology can accept those via mail or email to psygrad. For paper-mailed letters: You are still required to designate the letters in the packet in your online application, just mark the "postal mail" option instead. Once we receive the letter packet, it will be scanned and uploaded to each placeholder you created by designating. Due to the volume of mail we receive, it may not happen very fast. Keep logging into your application to see whether the letters have been uploaded by our office. For email letters: the letter service can email your letter packets to psygrad and we will upload each letter to your application. If the letter service can upload the letters on behalf of the writers, you would include the letter service's email address in the recommendation profile instead of the writer (so that the writer isn't asked again for a letter they already provided).

If your recommender prefers not to submit an online recommendation, then the letter can be mailed to the Department of Psychology. Please still designate this person as a recommender in the online system and check the "postal mail" option. Once we receive the paper letter and you've submitted your application, it will be scanned and uploaded to the placeholder you created by designating. Keep logging into your application to see whether the letters have been uploaded by our office.

Recommenders should write your letter of recommendation using word processing software and save it to their computer. Upon receiving the email request for the recommendation, they will be lead to a webpage with 3 brief questions before being able to copy/paste a previously written letter or upload a previously written letter. It is not recommended to type the letter directly into the text box as the individual can 'time out' and lose any information entered, especially if the letter is an original version. Once the recommendation is uploaded, they will not be able to review what was submitted, this is why it's very important to inform your writers to save the letter to a computer before uploading.

If your recommender is experiencing difficulty uploading the letter, sometimes switching browsers will help. Otherwise we will be happy to receive an emailed letter to psygrad direct from the writer. We will upload it when we get a chance.

Only those who have retained the right to view the letters AND accepted an admissions offer here are eligible to see letters of recommendation received on their behalf. View full rules in the "Designate Recommendations" step of your online application for more details.

Enter your undergraduate institution twice, one for each degree you earned and its corresponding major GPA.

Under Prior School Detail, #3 School Name, please select "Other U.S. Schools" and then in the next section #4 you can type in your school name.

At this time, most schools do not have official online transcripts, this is not required. However if you are referring to unofficial online transcripts, you can always order a paper copy and scan it yourself. Please know that the application system does not accept image files of your transcripts. It accepts .doc, .pdf or .rtf. The file size limit for uploads is 1 megabyte. You can insert the transcript image into a Word document, but please make sure it can be read. If we cannot read your unofficial online transcript, then we cannot review your application and it will be marked incomplete.

You will still need to upload a transcript, please. If you receive an offer of admission that you are accepting, we will require an official transcript as part of your acceptance.

No, but thanks for the offer!

Yes. You still need to upload an unofficial online transcript even if you are/were a UW student, thanks!

We no longer require paper transcripts during the review stage of admissions. You are required to upload an unofficial transcript as part of the online Graduate Application. Unofficial transcripts are typically available in the student portal of your University's website, you can copy and paste the entire page into a Word document, then save the file. Or you can scan a paper transcript and upload the file. Please make sure that your unofficial electronic transcript, if scanned, can actually be read. If we cannot read it, then we cannot use it to evaluate your application.

The UW Graduate School requires a minimum GPA of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) for at the last two years OR last 90 quarter credits OR last 60 semester credits of study where you earned your degree (Bachelor's or higher). Exceptionally strong applicants with a GPA below 3.0 may still be considered. If you have taken classes after graduating but did not earn a degree at this second institution, please do not factor the grades you earned at this second institution. Only use the GPA from the program where you earned your degree (Bachelor's or higher). Later in our application, you will be asked for a major only GPA (optional). If your institution grades by letter, you can estimate your grades by using the scale located here. If you cannot figure out your GPA or your school does not provide grades (letters or numbers), you may skip this step (Mark "I do not have a GPA") because we will just look at your transcript anyway!

The UW Graduate School has provided some guidelines for converting grades which can be found here and here.

Colleges and universities that operate on a semester system award semester credit. The UW awards quarter credit. To convert semester to quarter credits, multiply by 1.5. For example, a student who earns 30 credits in an institution on a semester calendar would have earned 45 quarter credits at the UW.

Note: This is not required of our application process, but we have been asked this a few times. :)

It is the applicant's responsibility that letters of recommendation and TOEFL score reports are sent on-time (or close). Late items will be processed after items received on-time. While we will make every effort to see that the late materials catch-up with their respective applications, applicants will run the risk of missing important selections committee review meetings.

Without knowing what you have tried to do to resolve the issue, here are a few suggestions:

1) If the file is smaller than 1mb, try using a different web browser,

2) Scan each document as a separate file,

3) If you are using a scanner, adjust the settings:

a. scan pages as documents and not images
b. scan pages in black and white
c. save directly as a PDF

Best practices for reducing filesize for transcripts (pdfs specifically):

1) Make your scan in black and white instead of color.

2) Make a paper copy of your original paper transcript, then scan the paper copy to pdf.

3) If the paper copy is dark (from the watermark), lighten resolution before copying to paper. Then scan the lightened paper copy to pdf.

4) With the pdf open 'Save as' a jpg, insert the jpg into a word document, save the document, and upload.

5) If the word document with the jpg is too large, convert the word document to pdf.

If you accidentally uploaded a document/file in one of the optional application fields (most commonly, this happens when the required reseach statement is uploaded in the required diversity, equity and inclusion statement field), the only way to 'remove' the document is by placing a period (".") in the textbox provided. Doing so will remove the initial upload. Unfortunately it won't remove the checkmark next to it saying you've completed it, but at least the file has been removed.

We recommend applicants to view each section of the application before they start uploading/submitting materials. Reviewing before you provide materials helps ensure that you have the full picture of our application and avoid mistakes such as uploading items in the wrong section.

You may contact us via email. This is the best method of communication from our office and we strive to respond within two business days.

You may visit PDF Online and use their free and easy PDF converter for your Word Documents and other file types as well.