Admissions Process for the Department of Psychology

The Department of Psychology offers graduate work leading to the Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. To be considered for the fall semester all material should be on file in the department by February 1st. 

Students will be admitted to graduate study on the basis of their potential for achievement in research, scholarship, and teaching. The most promising applicants will be accepted. Since the number of students that the department can successfully accommodate is limited, it will not always be possible to admit all qualified applicants. The admissions committee will consider any material that a candidate for admission wishes to present.

The minimum application consists of the following (with minimum acceptable values):

1. A completed Graduate School admission application (that can be downloaded below)
2. Complete transcripts of all college work (minimum 3.0 GPA)
3. Scores on the Graduate Record Exam. Applicants to the MA program are most likely to be considered with minimum scores of 550 Verbal, 600 Quatitative, and 4.5 Analytical Writing. Applicants to the PhD program are most likely to be considered with minimum schores of 560 Verbal, 720 Quantitative, and 5.0 Analytical Writing.
4. Three (3) letter of recommendation (form can be downloaded below) from professors, employers, or others qualified to evaluate your potential for graduate work.
5. A letter explaining how graduate work at NMSU fits your education and career goals, and, if possible, an indication of the faculty members whose work is of particular interest to you. 

• Graduate School Application
  

• Letters of Recommendation Form
  

Important Notes about the Admissions Process

• Items 1-3 should be sent to the Graduate School.
• Items 4 and 5 and an unofficial report of your GRE scores should be sent to the Department of Psychology
• Students with Bachelor Degrees should apply for admittance to the Master's program even if their ultimate goal is a Ph.D. Students who earn their M. A. at New Mexico State University will be considered for admission to the doctoral program after the oral defense of their thesis. Following a recommendation from the student's committee, admission is determined by a vote of the entire faculty.
• Admission of students with a Master of Arts degree from other institutions is determined by the department's Graduate Committee. Admission to the doctoral program is frequently made conditional upon one or more of the following: completion of a research thesis, completion of either course work or qualifying exams in three of the core course areas; and completion of either course work or qualifying exams in masters-level quantitative methods. Students with a written M.A. thesis from another established program can be considered for admission directly into the doctoral program.

International Students

International student applicants must contact the International Students and Scholars Services (ISSS) for the application procedure for non-U.S. citizens.