Application Procedures

To ensure timely review of your application please follow these steps.  Additional information can be found at the Graduate School Website (http://graduateschool.vt.edu/):

  1. Complete the online application (Note: Only online applications will be considered. Notify the Director of Graduate Programs [Rachel Diana, rdiana@vt.edu] if you do not have internet access to the online application system)
  2. As part of the online application, upload your resume, personal statement, and any supporting documents providing evidence of your scholarly or professional work (i.e., theses, conference poster or paper presentations, publications).
  3. Submit referee information on the online application so that referees will be sent the link to submit their letters online following the instructions on the Graduate School web page.
  4. On the online application, upload a scanned version of your official transcript(s) from all post-secondary schools you have attended. While completing your online application and prior to submitting it, you will be required to upload one copy of your scanned official transcript from each institution from which you have earned or will earn an undergraduate or graduate degree. Do not send transcripts for community college attendance or from any institution where you enrolled in classes but did not earn a degree. Make sure your scanned documents are legible before uploading, as non-legible documents will result in processing delays.
    1. Do NOT upload your institution's web-based academic record or a document stating it is not an official transcript.
    2. Make sure that all critical and identifying marks have been scanned and are legible.  These include the institution's name, your name, the names of your courses and the grades you have received. 
    3. It is important that you scan both the front and back of your transcript as we will need to be able to review the information provided on the back of your transcript concerning credit hours, the institution's grading scale, etc. 
    4. Please ensure that your file is in Word (.doc) or PDF format.
    5. The process of uploading transcripts is intended to eliminate the need for you to mail in your transcripts during the application review process, as all departments will be able to review your application based on your uploaded transcripts. Only those who are offered admission will be required to provide an official copy of your transcript(s) upon the awarding of your degree and its posting to your transcript prior to your enrollment at Virginia Tech.
  5. Pay the application fee and submit your application.
  6. If you need to mail hard copies of any materials, the Department of Psychology Address is:

Graduate Application Coordinator
Department of Psychology
109 Williams Hall
Virginia Tech (0436)
Blacksburg, Virginia 24061

Application Deadline:

For full consideration, all application materials must be received by December 1 for all Concentration Areas.  Applications are reviewed immediately following the deadline and offers of admission are typically made during the spring for the following fall.

 

Application fee waivers:

  1. Fee waiver information is available from the Graduate School website. Please begin by reviewing the graduate school's fee waiver conditions and determine whether you are eligible for a waiver through their processes.
  2. If you are not eligible for a waiver from the Graduate School, you can contact a Psychology faculty member whose lab you are interested in joining. In some cases, the faculty member may be able to support a fee waiver for an applicant who is a good fit to their lab. Please email your CV/resume and a brief explanation for a fee waiver request to the faculty member whose research interests you.
  3. All fee waiver requests must be initiated (via email to a Psychology faculty member) no later than 1 month before the application deadline (November 1st). The process takes some time to complete and must be finalized before you submit your application in the online system. Application fees can not be refunded after they are paid.

 

GRE Policy for Admissions:

  • For applicants to the Cognitive Neuroscience & Biopsychology, Clinical Science, and Developmental Science training programs, GRE scores will neither be required nor accepted.
  • For applicants to the Industrial/Organizational Psychology training program, GRE scores will be optional. Report them directly to Virginia Tech. The ETS Institution Code is 5859.
  • All applicants, regardless of training area, are evaluated holistically.

 

Virginia Tech does not discriminate against employees, students, or applicants on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, disability, age, veteran status, national origin, religion, or political affiliation. Anyone having questions concerning discrimination should contact the Equal Opportunity Compliance Office.