College of Arts and Sciences

Department of Psychology

Admissions

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. Preliminary decisions about financial aid will be made by February 15, and you will be notified as soon as possible after that date. Admission decisions for those not requesting financial aid will be made as soon as possible after receipt of complete applications.

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.
2. Complete transcripts of all college work (minimum 3.0 GPA).
3. Scores on the Graduate Record Examination. Applicants to the MA program are most likely to be considered with minimum scores of 500 Verbal, 600 Quantitative, and  4.5 Analytical writing. Applicants to the PhD program are most likely to be  considered with minimum scores of 560 Verbal, 720 Quantitation, and 5.0 Analytical  writing.
4. Three letters of recommendation from professors, employers, or others qualified to evaluate your potential for graduate work.
5. A letter explaining how graduate work at NMSU fits your educational and career goals, and, if possible, an indication of the faculty members whose work is of particular interest to you. Items 1-3 should be submitted to the Graduate School, 4 and 5 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.