The department has a master's degree program in Clinical-Counseling Psychology and in Psychology. Admission is only offered for the fall semester. Department applications must be received by January 5, for best consideration. Applicants must have a bachelor's degree and a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) for the last 60 hours of undergraduate work. Applicants must take the Graduate Records Examination (GRE) General Test. Official GRE scores must be transmitted to Illinois State's Admission Office using code R1319. Admission is competitive. Meeting the minimum admission requirements does not ensure selection into the master's degree program.

NOTE: International applicants are advised to have all university application documentation completed and received by Admissions at least four (4) weeks prior to the stated admission deadline. International applications require additional time to process submitted documentation.

The forms on this Web site are in Microsoft Word. Click on the link to download a specific form to the computer's desktop. The forms can be filled in on the computer, saved to the computer's desktop as an MS Word document, and electronically submitted by e-mail to the Department. Department receipt of the application form will be confirmed by return e-mail. Confirmation completes the registration process.

Program Course Preparation

Applicants seeking admission to the Clinical-Counseling Psychology Program are required to have 15 hours of undergraduate psychology courses, which include introductory psychology or an equivalent course, statistics or equivalent, research design or equivalent, abnormal psychology or equivalent, and learning theory or equivalent.

Applicants seeking admission to the graduate program in Psychology (with sequences in Cognitive and Behavioral Sciences, Developmental Psychology, Industrial/Organizational-Social Psychology, and Quantitative Psychology) are required to have a minimum of 21 hours in undergraduate psychology courses, which include general psychology or an equivalent course, experimental psychology or research methods or equivalent, and a social science statistics course or equivalent. For the Quantitative sequence, a requirement of finite mathematics or precalculus will be waived if a grade of "B" or above is recorded in a college-level statistics course or a score of 500 or greater is attained on the Quantitative section of the General Graduate Record Examination (GRE).

Applicants who have not completed required courses may be admitted but will have these courses added to the master's degree program requirements. For more information, see the program or sequence Web site. Questions should be directed to the program or sequence coordinator.

Department Application

The department's required application materials are listed below. The Application Flowchart provides a convenient checklist for completing the department application:

Data Sheet
Letters of Recommendation
Three letters are required. The department's letter of recommendation form must be completed for each of the required letters. At least one letter should be from an individual who is familiar with your research activities. Each form with the letter must be in a separate, sealed envelope with the writer's signature across the seal.
Writing sample (Scholarly work, not a personal statement, approximately 5-15 pages; writing sample is optional for Industrial/Organizational-Social Psychology and Quantitative Psychology sequences)
Graduate Assistantship application (see Financial Assistance section)
Graduate Tuition Waiver application (see Financial Assistance section)

Submission of Applications

Department master's degree application material, as one complete package (i.e., data sheet, letters, writing sample, if required, and tuition waiver, if desired) should be sent to:

Illinois State University
Department of Psychology
Graduate Psychology Programs
Campus Box 4620
Normal, IL 61790-4620

Applicants must also complete the University application process for admission to Illinois State University. Click on the Graduate student link on the left menu.

Admission Offers

The department attempts to make its decisions concerning initial admission and financial aid offers prior to April 15. An American Psychological Association policy stipulates that initial offer recipients have until April 15 before responding to the department's offer. Applicants who have not been notified by April 30 may send an e-mail to inquire about their application status.

Notice of Admission Status

Admissions will inform applicants about acceptance or denial of admission into a graduate degree program. Admission can be unconditional, provisional or probationary. These types of admission are defined in the Graduate Catalog. Typically, notices of admission are distributed from early April to mid-May. The Department of Psychology will notify applicants about:
a. any deficiencies in an applicant's undergraduate preparation;
b. contact information for the coordinator of the specific graduate program; and
c. applicant's standing concerning a graduate assistantship and tuition waiver.

Financial Assistance

Applicants, admitted to the Clinical-Counseling Psychology Program or to the Psychology Program having a 3.0 GPA or higher, are eligible to apply for graduate assistantships. Graduate assistants are chosen at the same time as admission offers are made to the master's degree program.

Applicants interested in a graduate assistantship should click on Illinois State University Jobs for a list of available positions and an online application. When at the Jobs Web site, click on Graduate Assistantships and scroll down to find the jobs for Psychology-462. Follow the instructions for the online application. The decision to award a graduate assistantship is based on a variety of factors, e.g., the academic record of the applicant, the program to which the applicant is applying, and matching job-related skills and availability of the applicant with specific needs of the department. Incoming students receive $400 a month for 10 hours of work per week.

If applying for a graduate assistantship, applicants are also encouraged to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA application is the basis for determining eligibility for a Federal Work Study (FWS) award. The FAFSA application should be completed by March 1; the online application is available at www.fafsa.ed.gov.

Applicants are not required to complete the section on parental income or assets; however, providing this information increases the likelihood of eligibility for federal funding. If work study funding and a graduate assistantship are both awarded, a portion of the cost of the assistantship will be covered by the FWS award. If the FWS award is larger than the assistantship stipend, the department will consider increasing the assistantship. Under some circumstances, graduate students who receive a FWS award are disadvantaged by accepting the award; therefore, students will be released from the FWS award if this award is not in their best interest.

If applicants do not apply for or receive a FWS award, applicants are still eligible for graduate assistantships. Conversely, receiving a FWS award does not assure applicants of a graduate assistantship offer from the department.

Applicants are also encouraged to complete and submit a Graduate Tuition Waiver.

See the Graduate School and Financial Aid Web sites for more information about financial assistance.