WHAT: Required Materials in Brief

1. College of Arts and Sciences Application for Graduate Studies
   College of Arts and Sciences Residency Information
2. $50 processing fee
3. Transcripts from all colleges or universities ever attended
4. Official GRE scores
5. Three letters of recommendation
6. Department of Psychology Supplemental Form & Essays

Application instructions, forms, and links to the online application web site are available at the College of Arts and Sciences Graduate Admissions website. For general information about graduate programs, see College of Arts and Sciences, Graduate Programs.

.We encourage all applicants to apply on-line if they can. You can complete your application over multiple sessions; everything is saved and can be edited. You can check that we have received your application. Moreover, applications filed on-line are generally processed faster.

For additional general information see:

College of Arts and Sciences Frequently Asked Questions
Department of Psychology Frequently Asked Questions

WHEN: Deadlines for the next Academic Year

Applications are accepted for the fall semester only. Applicants apply to one of seven programs. The deadlines for admission are either December 5 or January 5, depending on program. All students who are admitted for graduate study will begin in the Fall semester (e.g., students apply on December 5, 2008 or January 5, 2009 for entry in Fall, 2009).

Deadline for admission is December 5 for:

CLG Clinical
CLC Joint clinical and community
CLN Joint clinical and NBN
NBN Neuropsychology and behavioral neuroscience
CGS Cognitive sciences

Deadline for admission is January 5 for:

COR Community
DEV Developmental

All materials must be received by the deadline.

WHERE: For Materials Not Submitted On-Line

Send to:

By U. S. Postal Service Delivery:
Office of Graduate Studies
College of Arts and Sciences
P.O. Box 3993
Atlanta, GA 30302-3993

By Overnight Carrier, UPS, FedEX, DHL, etc:
Office of Graduate Studies
College of Arts and Sciences
75 Poplar Street, Suite 800
Atlanta, GA 30303

1. You fill out the forms (College of Arts and Sciences forms and Psychology Department supplementary form) and pay the fee online; or, if offline, mail or deliver them to the Office of Graduate Studies.
2. Request that all college transcripts and GRE scores be sent to the Office of Graduate Studies early enough so that they are received by the deadline.
3. Collect your letters of recommendation (there is no special form) and mail or deliver them to the Office of Graduate Studies; see more about letters of recommendation below.
4. Do not send any materials to the Psychology Department.

HOW: To Get Additional Information

Material on our web sites should answer most questions. If you have questions for the Office of Graduate Studies, call 404-413-5040, 8:00-5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, or send Lita Malveaux an email. The Office of Graduate Studies hold general walk-in hours between 10-12 and 3:30-5:15. If you have questions specifically for the Department of Psychology, you may email Kristy Hill, Graduate Admissions Advisor, or Dr. Page Anderson, Faculty Coordinator of Graduate Admissions.

More About Required Materials for Admission

You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader for any forms you download. Acrobat Reader can be downloaded free; click the icon below.

1. Application forms and information about application fees are available at the College Of Arts and Sciences website: Graduate Admissions.
2. Department of Psychology Supplemental Form. Click to download a copy (not needed if applying online). This form asks for supplemental information, including essays. This information will be read by faculty members on the admissions committees of the programs to which you apply and, in some instances, by graduate students in those programs who participate in the selection process. If you have problems with the PDF file, click here for an MS doc file version.
3. If you are applying to the Neuropsychology and Behavioral Neuroscience Program and would also like an application for the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience Graduate Scholar Program, click here to download the form.
4. Three letters of recommendation. The department does not have a standard form. Persons recommending you usually write letters but they may use their own forms if they wish. Ask that they put their letter in an envelope and sign the sealed flap. Then include their letters with any other material you send to the Office of Graduate Studies.
5. Two official transcripts from every institution you have attended. Request that each institution send transcripts directly to the Office of Graduate Studies. The College requires all transcripts regardless of the number of hours completed at each institution. Be sure to request these early enough to meet the application deadline.
6. Official copy of Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores. Request that your GRE scores be sent directly to the Office of Graduate Studies. ETS keeps GRE scores for five years; thus if you took the GRE more than five years ago, you will need to take it again. The Advanced Psychology--or subject test--of the GRE is not required. Remember, be sure to request GRE scores early enough to meet the application deadline. Our institutional code is 5251; the departmental code is 2016.

Requirements, Standards, and Procedures for Admission

Although an undergraduate major in psychology is not required, applicants are expected to have a background in psychology that includes a minimum of four courses. A course in psychological statistics and a course in research methods, including a laboratory, are required. Two additional junior- or senior-level content courses are also required. The Clinical program recommends a course in abnormal psychology or psychopathology as one of the content courses. An introductory psychology course cannot be counted as one of the four required courses.

If you have already received an undergraduate degree and plan to take undergraduate courses at Georgia State University that are prerequisites for admission to graduate study in the Department of Psychology, you must take these courses in post-baccalaureate status. Students admitted to post-baccalaureate status may take undergraduate, but not graduate, courses. To apply for post-baccalaureate admission to GSU, contact the Office of Admissions.

No single predictor is used to accept or reject an applicant. However, when one factor, such as a GRE score, is below average, other factors should be well above average. See Historical Statistics for information about the number of applicants, the number accepted, their average GPA and GRE scores, etc. Previous research experience and, in the case of the Clinical and Community Programs, relevant applied experience are evaluated favorably in the admission process.

Your application includes forms, essays, a processing fee, letters of recommendation, college transcripts, and GRE scores. Remember, if any piece of required information does not reach us by the appropriate deadline, your application may not be considered; incomplete applications are not returned to the applicant. It is your responsibility to ensure that all material is received by the Office of Graduate Studies, College of Arts and Sciences, by the deadline. You may not be able to control directly when requested transcripts and GRE scores are mailed, thus it is especially important to request such material well in advance of the deadline.

Additional information for International Applicants

It is recommended that international applicants provide an objective evaluation of their credentials obtained from a credential evaluation service. You can find a list of all of the approved credential evaluation services by going to www.naces.org and clicking on current members. The College of Arts and Sciences accepts evaluations from any of these services.

Georgia State University is an equal educational opportunity institution and, as such, students are admitted and treated without regard to race, sex, age, religion, color, national origin, sexual orientation, or disability. The University is in compliance with the regulations for Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.