(NOTE - the GSAS online application portal will open October 1)
UVA/Psychology Department Admissions Process
To apply for admission to the graduate program in Psychology, you should:
- Using UVA’s on-line application, submit the application, and statement of purpose. Three letters of recommendation should be submitted electronically by your recommenders once you have saved their contact information in your on-line application.
- Starting with the applications for Fall 2021 admissions, the UVA Psychology PhD Programs do not require the general or the subject GRE scores. WE WILL NOT BE COLLECTING ANY INFORMATION RELATED TO GRE EXAM SCORES ON THE APPLICATION. PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT GRE SCORES TO UVA FOR OUR PROGRAM.
- If your first language is not English, the TOEFL test is required. Record your score on your online application. Official scores are not required at the time of application, but if admitted as a student, you will need to arrange to have the Educational Testing Service (ETS) send your scores directly to UVA using the UVA ETS code number B875. The minimum score requirement for either the internet-based (iBT) TOEFL or the paper-based TOEFL is 90 (including sectional minimums of 22 in speaking, 22 in writing, 23 in reading and 23 in listening. Applicants may submit scores from the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) as an alternative to the TOEFL exam. The minimum IELTS score requirement is 7.0 in each section. TOEFL scores are valid for two years from the test date. The Duolingo can be submitted as a supplement to the TOEFL or IELTS, but it cannot take the place of either. If you have or will have received an undergraduate degree entirely from an institution where English is the primary language of instruction, the TOEFL requirement will be waived when you submit evidence of these circumstances (such as a transcript or primary language certificate) as part of your electronic application. For other TOEFL/IELTS waiver requests, applicants may submit alternate proof of English language proficiency. Examples of supporting documentation include, but are not limited to, expired test scores (TOEFL/IELTS), master’s transcript from a university at which English is the primary language of instruction, evidence of teaching assistantship in a course for which English is the primary language of instruction, thesis document, video of thesis defense, etc. Duolingo test scores will also be considered as part of the TOEFL waiver request, but only in combination with other supporting documentation. This is not an exhaustive list.
- Upload an unofficial copy of your transcript(s) to your on-line application. If you are admitted to our program, you will be asked to provide official transcripts at that time.
- $85 nonrefundable application processing fee paid with credit card. It is recognized that application fees can become prohibitively expensive and can be waived in some circumstances. Fee waivers are available to US citizens and US permanent residents who demonstrate a financial hardship, current or former members of the United States Armed Forces, or those who have participated in specified organizations and training programs. If you qualify and are interested in applying for a fee waiver, please see https://graddiversity.virginia.edu/application-fee-waiver. NOTE: Fee waivers may be requested beginning on October 1 and must be requested no less than one week before the program application deadline of December 1 at 5 p.m. for the December 1 application deadline. Additionally, applicants who indicate citizenship of any of the low-income countries listed at the bottom of this page will automatically have an application fee waiver applied at the time of application submission and will not be prompted for payment.
- Additional optional supporting documents other than listed above (i.e., writing sample, resume) should be attached to your on-line application. If the on-line application will not allow you to upload the documents, you may send them via US mail to Debbie Snow, Department of Psychology, P.O. Box 400400, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904.
- Checking the status of your application or checking that all documents have been received by UVA can be done by logging back into your online application.
ON-LINE APPLICATION DEADLINE: DECEMBER 1
If you should have any questions about the admissions process, please feel free to contact Ms. Debbie Snow, the Psychology Department Admissions Administrative Assistant via email at dsnow@virginia.edu. If you should have questions about the application function, please contact UVA’s Graduate Admission Office.
Applicants for admission will not be excluded on the basis of age, color, disability, family medical or genetic information, gender identity or expression, marital status, military status, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, and veteran status.
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Applicants from the following countries will have the application fee automatically waived:
- Afghanistan
- Angola
- Bangladesh
- Benin
- Bhutan
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cambodia
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Comoros
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Djibouti
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Gambia
- Ghana
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Haiti
- Kiribati
- Lao People's Democratic Republic
- Lesotho
- Liberia Madagascar Malawi
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Mozambique
- Myanmar
- Nepal
- Niger
- Rwanda
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Solomon Islands
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Timor-Leste
- Togo
- Tuvalu
- Uganda
- United Republic of Tanzania
- Yemen
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
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