Department of Psychology at Illinois State University
Applications for fall 2013 will not be accepted until after September 15, 2012.
Admission is offered only for the fall semester and is very competitive. Only applicants who intend to enroll full time will be considered for admission. Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission into the doctoral program in School Psychology. The department must receive a complete application in order for the applicant to be considered for admission. A complete application includes the following:
The doctoral application process includes a mandatory two-day interview on campus with the School Psychology faculty. See the Interview section below.
Programs Requirements: Applicants must have a grade point average of 3.0 or above (on a 4.0 scale) for the last 60 hours of undergraduate coursework and a bachelor's degree. Applicants should have completed at least 21 hours of undergraduate psychology courses that include general psychology or an equivalent course, experimental psychology or research methods or equivalent, and a social science statistics course or equivalent. Applicants who have not completed required courses may be admitted to the doctoral program, but will have the required courses added to the doctoral program requirements. The required courses must be completed during the first semester of graduate study at Illinois State
Applicants who have completed a master's degree in psychology must have a graduate grade point average of 3.5 or above (on a 4.0 scale). Applicants with a master's degree from another institution who have been employed as school psychologists may be admitted if qualified to pursue doctoral study and can demonstrate research competency. Successful completion of a master's thesis and research courses satisfy this requirement. Credit for completed courses will be determined on an individual basis. If applying to the doctoral program with a master's degree that did not require completing an empirical master's thesis, applicants will be required to complete a research apprenticeship.
Individuals who have been convicted of a felony are not eligible to complete an internship in the public schools (a doctoral program requirement) and are not eligible for certification as a school psychologist in the State of Illinois. Applicants who are convicted felons will not be considered for admission to the doctoral program in School Psychology.
Applicants must complete the online University application and the department's supplemental questions. Click on the link to access the appropriate website.
GRE General Test: Applicants must take the GRE General Test and have their scores reported to the University by Educational Testing Service. Applicant should use code R1319 to have official GRE General Test scores reported to Illinois State.
Applicants must have every college and university where they received course credit (including transferred credit accepted at another school) send an official transcript to Illinois State. Copies of transcripts will not be accepted. TRANSCRIPTS MUST BE SENT TO:
Illinois State University
Admissions
Campus Box 2200
Normal, IL 61790-2200
Applicants may verify receipt of their online University application at www.welcome2isu.ilstu.edu.
Applicants are also encouraged to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The application deadline is March 1. This application is for a federal work study award. Work study awards assist the department in reducing the cost of graduate assistantships, which provides more funding for graduate students.
For additional information about financial assistance, see the department's Graduate Programs Application website.
Applicants must submit a writing sample that is scholarly work and different from the personal statement. The writing sample should be limited to 5-15 pages. Applicants may also submit any articles or publications that they have authored or coauthored. Articles and publications are optional and are submitted at the discretion of each applicant. The writing sample, articles, or publications should be downloaded as part of the University application.
Applicants must submit three Applicant Recommendation Forms to the Department of Psychology. At least one recommendation must be from an individual who is familiar with the applicant's research activities. The Applicant Recommendation Form is an interactive Microsoft Word document that should be completed on the computer.
Applicants should complete Part I of the Recommendation Form and save it as a MS Word file. The saved Recommendation Form should be submitted as an e-mail attachment to the three individuals providing the recommendations.
The individual providing the recommendation should complete Part II, print the Applicant Recommendation Form, and then sign and date it. The completed and signed Recommendation Form should be placed in an envelope. If a separate letter of recommendation is also being provided, the letter should be included in the same envelope with the signed Applicant Recommendation Form. The envelope should be sealed and the signature of the individual providing the recommendation should be written across the envelope flap. The sealed envelope should be returned to the applicant. The applicant should mail the three sealed envelopes to the Department.
The three recommendations should be sent by the applicant to:
Illinois State University
Department of Psychology
Graduate Programs Office
Campus Box 4620
Normal, IL 61790-4620
Incomplete applications will not be reviewed by the department. Applicants may contact the Graduate Programs Office by e-mail to verify receipt of a complete application. The e-mail should include the applicant's full name and identify the doctoral program in School Psychology.
Selected applicants being considered for admission to the doctoral program must complete the campus interview process. The School Psychology Admissions Committee will notify selected applicants of the two-day interview schedule. Applicants must attend both days, which are usually scheduled on a Thursday and Friday in January. Travel and lodging expenses are the responsibility of the applicant.
The department generally notifies doctoral applicants of its admission offers during February. The department's admission offer will include information about:
The American Psychological Association stipulates that recipients have until April 15 to respond to the department's admission offer.
The University will notify applicants about their admission status into a graduate degree program. Notices are generally distributed from early March to mid-May.
The department routinely awards graduate assistantships to applicants who accept admission to Illinois State. Applicants who accept our admission offer will receive information about completing the assistantship application process. Graduate assistantships are subject to verification of employment eligibility under U.S. immigration laws and the receipt of anticipated state funding.
Applicants may contact the Graduate Programs Office by e-mail to inquire about their admission status, if they have not received an admission offer by April 30.
Any applicant who has accepted admission at another college or university should notify the Graduate Programs Office by e-mail to inform the department of the accepted admission.