HELP [ARCHIVED CATALOG] Educational Psychology PhD Print-Friendly Page

Before being admitted to the doctoral program, the prospective student must first meet the general requirements for admission to the Graduate School. Applicants to the doctoral program must hold at least a bachelor’s degree.

In all cases, admission to graduate degree programs in psychology is competitive, since available facilities and faculty do not permit admission of all qualified applicants. Application packets are reviewed twice a year, in May and December. The components of an application to the doctoral program are as follows:

1. Graduate Record Examination. Applicants must submit scores for the quantitative, verbal, and analytical/written sections of the GRE.
2. Transcript(s) showing academic prerequisites. 
   • Applicants holding the master’s degree must have an overall grade point average of at least 3.50 on graduate work, exclusive of practicum and thesis grades.
   • For students applying with a completed non-thesis master’s degree, completion of the thesis will be required prior to admission to doctoral candidacy.
3. Recommendations/references. The doctoral applicant is required to submit four satisfactory recommendations on forms provided by the Graduate School, including one from the last employer, if it was a professional experience, and one from the last institution attend.
4. Statement of goals. All prospective students must submit a brief statement to the graduate admissions committee stating their goals in psychology and how the Department of Psychology and Special Education at Texas A&M University-Commerce can help them attain those goals.

The department reserves the right to deny entrance to an applicant who, in the judgment of a duly constituted departmental committee, appears unlikely to succeed professionally, or whose goals are inconsistent with the orientation of the degree program, regardless of any other qualifications.