Admissions

Procedure and Requirements

Applications for admission are available online. The Graduate School is available to assist with questions about accessing and completing the application: McKelvie Hall, West Chester University, West Chester, PA 19383, Phone: 610-436-2943. Admission is for fall semester only.

Application Materials:

  • WCU Application and application fee
  • Current CV, including research experience and clinical experience
  • Statement of Professional Interests (no more than three pages, double-spaced) addressing each of the following:
    • Why you want to pursue a Psy.D.
    • How the Psy.D. program at WCU fits with your professional goals, including the match between your interests and those of specific WCU psychology department faculty members
    • Your interest in and experience working with diverse populations
    • Your interest in traumatic stress, children, or adolescents
    • Your primary clinical interests and experience
    • Your research interests and experience
    • Special aspects of your academic background you feel make you especially well prepared for a career in professional psychology
    • Any specific weaknesses in your application that you feel should be explained
    • List three faculty members from any sub-discipline within the WCU Psychology Department whom you would like to serve as your dissertation research mentor. (NOTE: Psy.D. students are encouraged to consider identifying potential faculty research mentors who are not clinical psychologists, in addition to the clinicians who represent the core faculty within the Psy.D. program.)
    • Three letters of recommendation, at least one from an individual who is familiar with the academic and/or scholarly qualifications of the applicant (NOTE: for applicants who have been out of school for a lengthy period, and therefore are at a disadvantage in terms of obtaining recommendations from course instructors/professors, a letter may be provided by an individual who is familiar with the applicant’s scholarship, such as a co-author on a publication, a collaborator on a public service grant, a co-presenter in a training workshop, etc.)

Admission Timeline

Admissions to the Psy.D. program are made for Fall only, with a December 1 deadline for completed applications. Applications received after this deadline will be reviewed only on a space-available basis.

An on-campus interview is required of all successful applicants before an admission decision is made. Not all applicants will be invited for an on-campus interview. Given the uncertainties presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the format of applicant interviews will be determined in January. Applicants will be notified by January 31 of an invitation to interview, and the interview day is the third Friday in February.

Applicants will be informed of admissions decisions on or around March 15.

Student matriculation decisions are due by April 15, at which time a $400 deposit is required.

Admission Requirements

The following undergraduate or graduate level courses are required in preparation for the WCU Psy.D. Program: (If an offer of admission to the program is made, no more than two of the courses listed below may be completed prior to matriculating.)

  • Introduction to Psychology
  • Statistics
  • Research Methods
  • Abnormal Psychology
  • Personality Psychology
  • History of Psychology

GRE, Major, and GPA Requirements:

  • GRE General Test scores for Fall 2024 Applicants are not required as part of the application
  • We DO NOT require the GRE Psychology Subject Test
  • Undergraduate Psychology Major is required OR a major from a related discipline UNLESS the applicant has already obtained a graduate degree in Psychology
  • GPA Requirements – BA/BS minimum 3.0, and for applicants with a Master’s degree, a GPA of 3.3 for graduate program

Transferring Credit for Previous Graduate Work:

With approval from the Program Director, students who enter the PsyD program with prior graduate work in clinical psychology or a related discipline may reduce their credit load during one or more semesters. Up to 30 credits completed in the former WCU Clinical Psychology MA program, up to 18 credits from a master’s program elsewhere, or up to 36 credits from an APA accredited psychology doctoral program are eligible for transfer to the PsyD program.

A reminder to current or former CMHS clients who are interested in applying to the PsyD program

To WCU Community Mental Health Services clients: CMHS is staffed by WCU students enrolled in the Clinical Psychology doctoral program. These students are under the supervision of WCU Clinical Psychology faculty members. If you receive services at CMHS and are interested in pursuing a graduate degree in clinical psychology, you should be aware that PsyD faculty are unable to consider your application for the WCU PsyD Program. The potential for multiple relationships arising is inevitable and in accordance with APA Ethics Code (STANDARD 3.05 MULTIPLE RELATIONSHIPS) to which our graduate students and faculty adhere, we are unable to consider your application to the WCU PsyD Program. This policy applies to WCU students, WCU alumni, or community members who currently are receiving, or within the last five years have received, psychological services (psychotherapy or testing) at CMHS.