Psychology Graduate
Program Application Information
Admission into the Department of Psychology is determined by a two-step process.
(1): Although all applications are reviewed, applications that exceed a score of 6.1 or greater using the following formula are substantially more likely to be accepted.
[(verbal GRE + quantitative GRE) / 400] + undergraduate GPA.
The Department prefers a minimum quantitative plus verbal GRE total score of 1200 and a GPA of 3.2. Students with lower formula scores will be considered only when their record, experience, and recommendations indicate a high likelihood of success.
Materials required are described here
(2): The department admits between 5 and 10 new students each Fall. When applying, students must select the program that will be their major course of study. The department offers a Ph.D. in Applied Psychology with specialization in one of two areas: Applied Biopsychology and Applied Developmental Psychology. Next, the student must select 4 potential choices for a major advisor. After the initial review, at least one faculty member must be willing to accept the applicant into their laboratory and serve as the student’s major professor. Applicants are encouraged to directly contact the faculty members with whom they may wish to work.
Incomplete applications impact a student’s chance of acceptance. Admission is restricted to the fall semester only, and no provisional admissions are made. Completed applications must be on file by February 1 for initial acceptance and funding decisions. Applications received after that date will still be considered, pending availability.
Applicants are required to have a minimum of 21 credit hours of psychology (7 undergraduate classes) to be considered for admission. Among those hours must be introductory psychology, statistics, and experimental design and methods. The remaining 12 hours may be psychology electives and should include some senior level courses.
Financial Aid
The Department of Psychology is committed to funding all students admitted to the program. The number of students admitted each year is partially dependent on the available funding. The most common source of funding is through teaching assistantships through the department or research assistantships through faculty grants. Twenty hours of work each week are typically required with both kinds of assistantships. Assistantships include a stipend and tuition waiver. Other common sources of student funding include fellowships and scholarships awarded by the Graduate School or external assistantships funded by outside agencies. All applicants are considered for financial assistance.
Housing
Rental prices in the New Orleans area are quite reasonable. Most graduate students choose to live off campus. There are, however, dormitories and on-campus apartments.
UNO maintains a state-of-the-art children’s center which serves UNO student and faculty families with children between 1-5 years of age.
Revised 11/18/09