Application Checklist

Application fees differ for domestic and international applicants. Review the Graduate School’s Application fee page for more information.

The Department of Psychology has modest funds to pay the application fee for a limited number of competitive applicants who would be unable to apply, or would experience significant hardship, without financial assistance. Competitiveness is defined on our Admissions Guidelines page. 

Complete our Fee Waiver Request Form by noon CST on November 25. 

This opportunity is open to all eligible applicants regardless of race, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or other protected characteristic. Requests are reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis for eligible applicants until funds are exhausted. Self-reported GRE and English language test scores must be included in the request if they are required for your application. Please plan accordingly when scheduling testing. 

Requests must be made and approved prior to submission of an application to our PhD program. The Department must pay the fee directly and is not able to refund applicants for paid fees.

The Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) Fee Waiver Program is an additional resource for some applicants. Applicants who obtain a BTAA waiver must work proactively to ensure their application fee will be paid by the December 1 application deadline to prevent late submission.  

The Psychology section of the online application will prompt you to enter relevant coursework. Although  this information will also be reflected on your transcript(s), the coursework list is required to:

• Support applicants in highlighting their preparation in Psychology and related fields.
• Improve accessibility of transcript information (e.g., address legibility issues). 

List all psychology courses you have taken and any courses outside psychology that would contribute to your academic preparation for the area of specialization you are applying to. Be sure to include your statistical and quantitative courses, as such training is essential preparation for our program.

For each entry, use the subject dropdown menu to identify whether you are adding a psychology course or a complementary/related course, then fill in the following information: 

• Course designator, number, and full course name without abbreviations (example: PSY 1001: Introduction to Psychology)
• Institution name
• Term and year (e.g., Fall 2023)
• Number of credits
• Grade in original grading system

All courses listed should be included on transcripts you have provided, and grade information must match that on the transcript. Complementary/related courses may be from any field, provided they have relevance to the specialization you are applying to and/or demonstrate relevant training (e.g., statistics, quantitative analysis, measurement, research methods).

Upload your CV or resume in the materials section of the application. Review detailed instructions on what we want to see in your CV or resume.

International applicants and some domestic applicants whose first language is not English must meet University requirements for English Language Proficiency (ELP). Most international applicants meet this requirement by providing TOEFL iBT or IELTS exam scores.     

Review the English Language Proficiency (ELP) page carefully to understand our proficiency requirements, how to meet them, and how to submit your TOEFL or IELTS scores if applicable. Please note that the Department of Psychology sets higher minimum requirements than the Graduate School. The Department’s requirements must be met to be considered for admission. 

Important: The Department of Psychology only accepts TOEFL iBT or IELTS exam scores. Other English-language proficiency exam scores (e.g., Duolingo, PTE Academic, Cambridge C1 Advanced) are not accepted.

In addition to submitting your official scores by December 1, you must enter your self-reported scores in the Test Information-Self - Reported field in the online application prior to submission. As long as self-reported scores are included in your application, official scores can arrive after the December 1st deadline. Self-reported scores are used for initial review while we await the arrival of official scores, which are needed for final decisions on applications. It is common for official scores to appear in your application file after December 1, reflecting processing timelines; this will not impact review of your file provided you included self-reported scores and met our test score submission deadline. Do not enter a future-dated test you will take after application submission or after our application deadline; your application will be considered incomplete and ineligible for review.

GRE General Test scores are required for some areas of specialization. Review the GRE Requirements page to ensure you understand the submission requirements for the area you are applying to. No exception can be made if the area requires the GRE General Test and their is no waiver process for required scores. Applicants who have earned a graduate degree or who are currently in another graduate program are not exempted from testing requirements. 

If the area you are applying to requires scores, or if you want to submit scores for an area that considers GRE scores if submitted, you must test before the application deadline and include the self-reported scores in your application. This reflects that you will need to complete the Test Information - Self-Reported field in the online application prior to submission by listing your self-reported scores. Do not enter a future-dated test you will take after application submission or after our application deadline; your application will be considered incomplete and ineligible for review if you applied to an area requiring scores.

Use institution code 6874 to submit official electronic GRE scores to the University by December 1. Do not include a department code with your submission. 

As long as self-reported scores are included in your application and you ordered them to be sent to UMN from ETS by December 1, it is acceptable if the official scores do not appear in your application file until after the December 1 application deadline (reflecting processing timelines after you submit official scores).

Three letters of recommendation are required and must be submitted by the December 1 deadline. Additional letters will not be accepted. 

Letters from faculty are recommended, but not required. Use your best judgment to select recommenders who can speak to your background and preparation for doctoral study in psychology, including your quantitative preparation.

Recommendation letters can be submitted both while your application is still in progress and after you have submitted it. When you enter a recommender’s information and click the “Submit to Recommender” button in the online application portal, the recommender immediately receives an email notification containing instructions and a link to upload their letter. During the upload process, each of your three recommenders will also fill out a rating form.

To ensure that your application is complete by the December 1 deadline, we recommend submitting requests early in your application process and communicating the submission deadline directly to your recommenders.

You cannot have more than three recommender requests active in the system. If you need to change a recommender, log into your application and navigate to the Recommendations tab. Click on the recommender’s name, then click exclude.

View more information about recommendations.

The online application contains a Psychology section where you will:

• Required: Identify one or two faculty members considering accepting new advisees in the area of specialization you are applying to. Take time to learn about their research and labs first, as a strong alignment with your training goals is an important assessment criteria during application review.
• Optional: Identify one or two additional faculty with whom you would also potentially like to work. These faculty may be in other areas of specialization if your research interests encompass more than one. Faculty do not need to be considering accepting new advisees to be listed in this section.
• Required: Answer three brief questions about your months of research experience and any publications you may have authored. Publications are not required to be considered for admission. These questions are asked to support grant reporting requirements, and some faculty may use the information provided as part of their holistic review.

Required: Enter all psychology courses you have taken and any courses outside psychology that would complement your chosen area of specialization (review the Coursework List section, above, for details).

CSPR has one additional required component for the Psychology section of the application:

• CSPR is currently accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) and by the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS). Our approaches to clinical-science based research and training are described on CSPR's area page on the Department of Psychology website. Briefly describe your research interests within CSPR in the text box provided (100-150 characters).

Statements are weighted heavily in faculty review. We encourage applicants to invest time in developing tailored statements that respond fully to each prompt. All statements are uploaded to the Materials section of the online application.

Personal Statement (Required): Make sure your statement directly addresses the information requested in the Department of Psychology's personal statement prompt. 

Diversity of Views and Experiences (DOVE) Statement (Required): Diversity of views and experience is fundamental to the University’s mission, and the University’s faculty, staff, and students share responsibility for the collective achievement of this goal. Make sure your statement directly addresses the information requested in the Graduate School's prompt:

Please describe the distinctive perspectives or life experiences, such as successfully overcoming obstacles or hardships, that you would bring to your graduate program. Describe how these perspectives or life experiences could contribute to the education and enhanced perspective of fellow students at the University of Minnesota.

The Department of Psychology recommends a maximum of 1,000 words for the DOVE statement.

Quantitative Preparation Statement (Required): Make sure your statement directly addresses the information requested in the Department of Psychology's quantitative preparation statement prompt.

Extenuating Circumstances Statement (Optional): An extenuating circumstances statement (250 words maximum) will be taken into consideration if submitted. A statement is most appropriate if you have experienced any serious medical, personal, or scholarly difficulties that have significantly impacted your academic performance. Details about personal situations, such as an illness, do not need to be disclosed for the impact of the circumstances to be taken into consideration. 

Unofficial transcripts or academic records are required for all post-secondary institutions you attended, even if you did not receive a degree. Include the original transcripts for any courses appearing as transfer credits on your degree transcript, as well as courses taken as a non-degree student.

Transcripts must be uploaded directly to the online application. The University only requires official transcripts from admitted applicants. View more information about transcripts and credentials. 

International credentials, including all transcripts, must include both the original language document and an English translation. Include original language diplomas if a degree was conferred.

Applicants to the Quantitative/Psychometric Methods (QPM) area of specialization are strongly encouraged to submit a writing sample as part of their application materials. The applicant must be the primary or sole author of the sample, which can be of any length or type, provided the sample demonstrates proficiencies in scholarly, technical, and/or scientific writing. 

A writing sample, if provided, is considered as part of a holistic assessment of applicants’ academic preparation and research preparation. Applicants who choose not to submit a writing sample will receive full consideration and will not be penalized during review for not including this optional material. 

Questions about the appropriate scope and content of samples should be sent to the current QPM Area Director (other inquiries about applying to the Psychology PhD program should continue to be sent to [email protected]).

At this time, no other areas of specialization will accept or consider a writing sample as part of the application.