Information

The Department of Psychology does not have specific course requirements for admission to its doctoral program.  We review the entire folder of applicants to assess their promise for teaching and research careers.  Courses taken, Grade Point Average, Graduate Record Exam scores (Verbal, Quantitative, and Analytical), letters of recommendation and statement of purpose are all considered.  Stanford places considerable emphasis on research training.  Therefore, students who are admitted have often been involved in independent research as undergraduates.

The department currently accepts about 10-15 new graduate students each year.  Minority students are particularly encouraged to apply, and all applicants are given careful consideration.  Typically, 2-4 students are admitted in each of the major sub-areas of the department---Cognitive, Developmental, Neuroscience, Personality, and Social.

We accept students with undergraduate or Master's Degrees.  An undergraduate degree in Psychology is not required.  Applicants from other backgrounds are admitted.  All applicants should have the knowledge equivalent to an undergraduate degree in Psychology, as they will be expected to go straight into graduate level course work. 

Applications are accepted for Autumn Quarter entry only.  The deadline for submitting an application for 2008 is November 27, 2007.  All applicants are notified of admission decisions in March or April.

PLEASE NOTE, THE GRE EXAM MUST BE TAKEN BY THE NOVEMBER 27TH DEADLINE. THE SCORES DO NOT HAVE TO BE RECEIVED BY NOVEMBER 27TH, BUT THE EXAM MUST HAVE BEEN TAKEN.

Official Transcripts can be mailed to:

Admissions Committee
Department of Psychology
Stanford University
Jordon Hall, Building 420
450 Serra Mall
Stanford, CA 94305-2130

Stanford University allows Ph.D. students to apply up to 45 units of graduate level course work taken at other institutions toward the 135 unit Ph.D. requirement.  The Psychology Department will determine if these units can be applied toward our program course requirements.  Generally, students are required to take our courses.

Admissions for Autumn 2008-2009 (earlier admission is not possible)
Information about the admissions process, what's required and the program are available on-line.

Psych website: http://psychology.stanford.edu/

General graduate admissions site http://gradadmissions.stanford.edu/

These websites will be updated regularly, so please continue to check them for more information. We do not provide paper copies of information about our program, so please visit our websites about specifics regarding faculty and research interests and projects.

We will be accepting applications for Autumn 2008-2009 beginning September 1, 2007. The deadline to have the application in for Aut. '08-'09 will be November 27, 2007.

What's Required:
1. On-Line application (on the graduate admissions website http://gradadmissions.stanford.edu/ )
2. Statement of Purpose
3. Three Letter of Recommendation from faculty  (submitted electronically on the graduate admissions website http://gradadmissions.stanford.edu/ )
4. Two Copies of official transcripts from BA/BS (undergraduate) and any graduate program (i.e., MA, MS, etc.). Official Transcripts can be mailed to:

5. GRE general test and TOEFL (if international) tests must be taken BEFORE November 27, 2007. The GRE subject test in Psychology is not required.
All of your admissions materials must be in by November 27, 2007. We will be unable to review late applications or supplementary materials. Please do not send CV's, resumes or additional paperwork.
6. Applicants should have the Educational Testing Service (ETS) send your GRE and/or TOEFL scores electronically to Stanford. Our university code is 4704. It is not necessary to indicate a department code.

The GRE Subject test is not required. Many students submit their GRE Subject test scores to demonstrate knowledge of the field. We encourage those who have taken the exam to submit their scores.

What faculty look for in an application (in no particular order):
1. Bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college or university or to have complete an international degree that is equivalent to a US bachelor's degree from a college or university of recognized standing.
2. No postgraduate education is required (no MA, MS, etc. are necessary).
3. Strong academic backgrounds (psychological research, a well-rounded academic education and strong GPA)
4. Strong research experience.
5. Research interests that match or compliment the research going on in our department (see Faculty Research Interests on psychology website: psychology.stanford.edu).
6. Strong letters of recommendation (preferably from faculty in the field).
7. Students who bring diversity in their experiences and backgrounds to our department.

Other admissions requirements can be found at the graduate admissions website http://gradadmissions.stanford.edu .

We do not give out information about the kinds of students we admit or what we are looking for in our candidates. Each candidate is reviewed individually. We cannot provide any other information with regards to what we look for in prospective students.

Tours and Meetings with Faculty:
We do not set up appointments to meet with prospective students, nor do we offer department organized campus visits. If you have specific questions, feel free to direct them to psych-admissions@lists.stanford.edu or to gradadmissions@stanford.edu. Please check our websites first though to see if your question is answered on-line.

You may email faculty to ask them specific questions about their research. Some faculty have time to respond, others do not. We cannot facilitate a meeting with a faculty member or any of our current graduate students.

Department and Program Information
We have five areas of study in which our graduate students specialize. They are: Cognitive, Developmental, Neuroscience, Personality and Social Psychology. Our program focuses on research in the field of psychology. We do not offer a specialization in clinical psychology. For programs that specialize in clinical psychology, you should consult other institutions. We do not provide information about other institutions.

We do not offer a M.A. degree in Psychology for students outside of Stanford University . We do offer a coterminal M.A. degree, for students who are currently enrolled in our BA or PhD programs and would like to earn an MA concurrently (while working on their main degree). Otherwise MA degrees are not available. For more information, please visit out website http://psychology.stanford.edu/ .

Research Opportunities
If you are interested in research opportunities on campus, please visit our website http://psychology.stanford.edu/ for more information. We cannot facilitate these opportunities, but you are welcome to contact anyone who has their information published on our site. We often suggest that if you are interested in working with a specific lab or faculty member, that you contact them directly.

For complete information about the Admissions Process, please refer to the Registrar's Graduate Admissions Website or the Registrar's Guide to Graduate Admission.   Information on fee waivers and the application itself can be obtained there.