Application Process

Please read the following material carefully!

The deadline for receipt of all application materials is 15 January. Applications received after that date will not be considered for admission until the following year.

We only admit students one time per year.

Our graduate students begin their programs of study in the fall semester.

Although our graduate programs technically consist of separate master's and doctoral degree components, only students who are applying for, and who expect to complete, the doctoral program are considered for admission. That is, we do not offer a terminal master's degree.

Our department is one of the few at the University of Wyoming that uses a two-phase application process.

Phase One

Prospective students apply directly to the Department of Psychology for admission by sending us a packet of application materials.
Click here to obtain application
Application materials include the application, a ONE to TWO page personal statement, official undergraduate and graduate (if applicable) transcripts, official GRE scores (general and advanced psychology subject), and three letters of recommendation. Transcripts and letters of recommendation can be sent directly to the department but they must be sealed in separate envelopes and signed across the envelope seal.

Please sent all application materials to:
Psychology Department Graduate Admissions
Dept. 3415
1000 E. University Ave.
University of Wyoming
Laramie, WY  82071

The Clinical and Experimental Admissions Committees meet in late January and develop a short-list of students who appear to fit well with our program. Students on the short list receive a phone call from one of our faculty and are invited to come to campus for our Graduate Recruitment Weekend, which is held each spring for a mix of students who are being considered for or who have already been offered admission in our graduate program. Prospective and admitted students may receive some financial support from the department to help them fund their visit. The recruiting weekend gives prospective students a chance to see the campus and to interact with other graduate students and departmental faculty.

Applicants who have strong letters of recommendation, whose undergraduate grade point average is above 3.2, and whose GRE scores total 1200 or more for the Verbal and Quantitative sections of the examination are competitive for admission to the Doctoral Program. It is strongly suggested that applicants have a strong, well-rounded undergraduate major containing at least 30 semester hours in psychology (preferable 40-45 hours).

Phase Two
 

Students who are offered admission to our graduate program and who accept our offer will be asked to complete an official application for graduate study through the Graduate School. A Graduate School application fee of $50 is required at this phase of the admission process. Only students who are admitted to our program and accept our offer to attend the University of Wyoming need to complete this phase of the admissions process.

Applicants are considered for graduate assistantships at the time of admission. Graduate students typically receive some departmental financial support for the first four years.

Information for Post-Masters Applicants
We occasionally admit students who have completed an MA or MS degree in psychology (or a closely related field). If a student’s master’s degree program included an empirical thesis, that thesis may be accepted as satisfying our program’s empirical thesis requirement, pending the outcome of a review to determine if the thesis is comparable to those produced in our department. If a thesis is accepted as satisfying our requirement, up to 21 hours may be transferred to the doctoral program of study. However, exemption from our required courses is made on a case-by-case basis, following a review of course syllabi, approval by the relevant course instructors, and review by the relevant program (clinical or experimental) Transfer/Substitution Committee. Post masters students whose MA or MS programs did not include an empirical thesis (or whose empirical theses are not judged comparable to those from UW) will be required to conduct an empirical thesis as part of our program’s MS degree (earned en-route to the PhD in our program). In these cases, only 9 hours of previous graduate work will be applied to the UW master’s degree program of study. For more information regarding this policy, please refer to the UW Department of Psychology Graduate Handbook http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/psychology/grad.asp.
 
Application Procedure for International Students

The application and admission procedures for international students are more complex than for students who are citizens of the United States. At the time of application, the international student must provide transcripts that are in English (or have English translations attached), GRE scores, and TOEFL score. If the student's application is successful, then he or she must complete a statement of financial security verifying that support funds are guaranteed. Usually, the amount guaranteed is about $8,000 (U.S.) per year of study. If the international student is awarded financial
support through the university, (Graduate Assistant, non-resident tuition waiver, etc.) the amount of the award can be included as part of the guaranteed funds.

International applicants should visit the website http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/UWGrad/internationalstudentinformation.asp for more information on obtaining your student visa. This site also contains useful information for continuing international students.