Applying to graduate school can be a hard-to-understand process. Thus, if you're considering our program, please consider looking through this information.
You should identify if a tenure-line faculty member in our program is doing research that interests you. Although applicants may have their own interests, these interests should be clearly aligned with at least one of our faculty members. Also take a look at our student first-authored publications and presentations to get a sense for the kind of work our students do. On your application you will be asked to identify two faculty from our program with whom you'd like to work. If you can't find someone doing work that is aligned with the work you want to do, our program may not be a good fit for you.
You will also need to write a personal statement. Although there is not one way to write a good personal statement, you should make it clear what your (research) interests are, what you hope to get out of the program (including linking to the work of potential advisors), and your long-term goals (post-graduation).
You will need to provide contact information for three references. Although there is not a rigid requirement, at least one of these recommendations should be from an academic source.
We are strongly committed in the Psychology Department and the ADP group to equity, diversity, and inclusion, and promote these ideals in every aspect of our work. We encourage people who identify as members of minoritized groups and who hold underrepresented social identities to apply to and join our program.
If you have questions about our program or the process, or if you need help, please reach out to the Applied Developmental Psychology Program Director, Dr. Thalia Goldstein (tgoldste@gmu.edu).
Please note the program deadlines - December 1st for PhD and January 15th for MA applicants. Late applications are still reviewed as time and space allows. We only do admissions for the following fall. International applicants need to submit their application 1 month prior to the due date listed above in order to have enough time for the processing of additional paperwork (transcript evaluations etc.).
Our program has made the GRE General Test optional for admission to the fall 2023 class. If you feel like your scores would help your application, please send them along.
There are a variety of resources available for applicants, but we would recommend a few in particular. The American Psychological Association has a good resource, on Applying to Graduate School. We also recommend reading "Deciding to Apply and Successfully Gaining Admission to Graduate Schools in Psychology" by Prinstein, Choukas-Bradley, & Guan. In addition, if you are considering pursuing Clinical Psychology, you may want to look at advice for Applying to Graduate School in Clinical Psychology