Admission Requirements

Applicants are required to submit the completed application form with all requested supplemental materials, official transcripts from degree-granting institutions, official transcripts of all previous graduate coursework, official report of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test (scores may not be more than five (5) years old), and three letters of recommendation. Completed applications along with all supporting materials must be received by the program’s deadline to be considered for admission. It should be noted that the application process is competitive. It is recommended that scores on the GRE Verbal section not be lower than 146 and scores on the Quantitative section not be lower than 140. Likewise, it is recommended that applications have a minimum combined total on those two sections of 297 (revised scoring beginning in Fall 2011). One exception for M.A. in Psychology is the School Psychology emphasis, which does not require the GRE for admission.

An Undergraduate Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale for all previously completed undergraduate university work is required.

Completion of the following prerequisite courses is required for admission to any M.A. psychology program: Elementary or Introductory Statistics, Experimental Psychology or Research Methods; Abnormal Psychology; Learning, Social Psychology and Developmental Psychology. These prerequisite courses must have been passed at the undergraduate level with a grade no lower than a B.

Admission Priority Deadlines

Applications for admission to the General Psychology Master’s, School Psychology Emphasis, and Behavioral Statistics Certificate programs are due by the following dates:

Domestic Applicants

International Applicants

Priority Deadline for the Clinical Emphasis and Post Master’s Certificate is January 31st for Fall Term.

Application Process

All applicants should follow the admissions process described in the Graduate Catalog. Application materials and current program information can be obtained by contacting the Marshall University Psychology Department, the Marshall University Graduate Admissions office website at www.marshall.edu/graduate/admissions/how-to-apply-for-admission, or by consulting the Psychology Department website at www.marshall.edu/psych/. (Submit all materials to the Graduate Admissions Office.)

Conditional Admission

Students may be admitted to the general psychology master’s program with “Conditional” status if they are missing certain official documentation supporting their application. Examples of such official documentation include a final transcript from their college or university documenting the successful completion of the bachelor’s degree. This may occur when a student applies to the general psychology master’s program while completing the final semester or quarter of their undergraduate program. Another typical situation includes official documentation of GRE scores. Other situations may also occur requiring an applicant to be admitted with “Conditional” status. Once the missing documentation is received by the graduate admissions office the applicant’s status may be changed from “Conditional” to “Full” status.

Provisional Admission

Students may be admitted to the general psychology master’s program with “Provisional” status if either the GRE admission criterion or the GPA criterion is met. (Students who do not meet either criterion are not eligible for admission to the program.) Provisionally admitted students will be fully admitted to the program when they have completed 12 hours of classes (which must include PSY 517 Inter Behavioral Stat and PSY 506 Psychometrics) from the core courses listed below with no grade being below a B. A student who earns a C or lower in any of the listed core classes during the period of provisional status will not be permitted to take further graduate hours within the psychology department. Students who meet the undergraduate GPA and GRE test score requirements but who are missing no more than two of the required undergraduate prerequisite classes listed above may also be granted provisional admission status. They will then be able to take some graduate classes with the approval of their advisors while completing the undergraduate prerequisites. However, they may only enroll in graduate classes for which they have taken the prerequisite as an undergraduate. For example, a student who has not had elementary statistics cannot enroll in Intermediate Statistics (PSY 517 Inter Behavioral Stat); a student without an undergraduate social psychology course cannot take Advanced Social Psychology, etc. Students granted provisional admission status because of missing course prerequisites will be fully admitted to the program upon successful completion of the missing prerequisites and of any graduate courses taken during the provisional period. Students will not be provisionally admitted to the area of emphasis in clinical psychology or the post master’s certificate in clinical psychology.

Students granted provisional admission status must take:

No student may take more than 18 hours in the psychology department without receiving full admission to the department.

Provisional students will be assigned an advisor who must approve all course registrations. Provisional students will have a departmental hold placed on their registration to assure advisor approval and compliance with this policy. This hold will be permanently removed upon full admittance.