Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology Requirements

Requirements

• Completed online application. The deadline for Clinical Psychology Program applications is January 1.
• A non-refundable application fee of $75.
• A minimum 3.0 grade point average (on a four-point scale) in all previous undergraduate and graduate study. (Occasionally, applicants with a GPA lower than 3.0 may be admitted conditionally upon the recommendation of the department.)
• Official transcripts of all undergraduate study, including evidence of having received a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university. (Those applying during their final undergraduate year will be required to submit a final transcript after completion of their bachelor’s degree and before enrolling in their first semester of graduate study.) 
• Official transcripts of all graduate study (if applicable)

Additional Program Requirements

1. Undergraduate Psychology Major or Minor, or Related Field
• 18 hours of Undergraduate Psychology courses preferred; Required undergraduate coursework includes the following or equivalent coursework:
• Child Development, Adult Development or Lifespan Development; Psychopathology or Abnormal Psychology; Experimental Psychology or Research Methods; and Statistics
2. Prior research and/or professional experiences preferred
3. Three Letters of Reference from academic, clinical and/or research professors or supervisors who can write to readiness for doctoral study. An additional fourth letter may be submitted from an individual who can attest to the applicant’s knowledge or experiences of working with deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind, deaf disabled, or late deafened individuals; ASL or other communication modalities; and/or cultural experiences. However, this fourth letter is optional and not required of applicants. Please inform your writers that the program requires an in-depth letter of recommendation that is uploaded in the admissions portal. They should not use the brief template found in the graduate admissions portal.
4. Three Narrative Statements – See the Narrative Summaries section below for more details.
5. Scholarly Writing Sample (Examples include prints or pre-prints of authored articles, Honor’s/Capstone research projects, MA thesis projects, papers written for junior and senior level psychology coursework, etc.)
6. Resume or Curriculum Vitae
7. Virtual Interview by invitation in February-March

Optional Components for Ph.D. Applicants

1. Summary of the written English narrative statements and/or scholarly writing sample in ASL, SEE, or another sign language modality.

Applicants for the Clinical Psychology Program are screened in two stages. First, the credentials submitted by all applicants by the deadline are reviewed. A group of finalists is selected and invited to be interviewed by Psychology Department faculty. Students for the program are selected from among these finalists, based on the totality of their credentials and their interview performance.

All information must be submitted to the Graduate School Admissions Office and received by January 1. Students are admitted for fall matriculation only. Program faculty review all written material in January. Finalists are generally contacted in February to schedule interviews. Students selected for the program are notified of their status as soon as admissions decisions are made. If a selected student declines or withdraws from consideration, then another finalist may be selected from the waiting list.

Screening Criteria

(Download the pdf file)

It may be helpful to applicants to know what characteristics and experiences the screening committee looks for in evaluating applicants. The program’s goals in selecting graduate students in clinical psychology are as follows:

• To select a group of students with the academic ability and skills to successfully complete a rigorous doctoral program in psychology.
• To select a group of students who will be as diverse as possible in background, ethnicity, race, sex, and other variables. Qualified deaf and hard of hearing applicants are especially sought.
• To select students who have had personal and professional experiences that will allow them to take on the responsibilities of a professional clinical psychologist, with a high level of self-understanding and an ability to master the skills and ethical demands of such a profession.

To help us understand how you meet the above goals, on a separate sheet of paper please:

• List all psychology courses you have taken. Do a SEPARATE list and calculation for undergraduate and graduate courses. Include title, number of credit hours, and your grade for each course. Then, calculate your grade point average (GPA) using the following scale: A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1, F=0. (Multiply each grade by credit hours to find your psychology GPA.)
• List all mathematics and statistics courses you have had and your grades in these courses.
• Name of Test or Subtest__________________________Date Taken:___________________
  Score:__________________

Narrative Summaries*

Please answer the following questions on separate pages, typed, double-spaced. Send your answers, along with a résumé and other required application materials, to the Graduate School Admissions Office.

1. Please write a narrative summary that is at least 2 to 3 pages long of your current and potential strengths as you see them in the following areas: 
   1. A career in clinical psychology.
   2. Working specifically with deaf and hard of hearing individuals(
   
   (Please mention any special qualities you possess that may uniquely qualify you for a career as a clinical psychologist working with deaf and hard of hearing people.)
2. Please write a narrative summary that is at least 2 to 3 pages long of experiences you have had (in academic, professional, personal, cultural, or other contexts) that relate to your interest in and qualifications for graduate study in psychology at Gallaudet University.
3. Describe your current interests (in both the clinical and research areas) in the field of psychology. As a clinical psychologist what population(s) do you envision yourself working with, and in what setting? Please identify at least one to two core Clinical Psychology Ph.D. faculty with whom you would like to conduct your research. Briefly summarize why you would like to work with this faculty member and the potential similarities in research interests.

NOTE: These narrative summaries substitute for the “Goals statement”. You do not need to complete a “Goals Statement” to apply to the Clinical Psychology Program.

Resume

On a separate sheet, attach a chronological summary of your educational and work experiences. Please include brief explanations of any gaps.

Writing Sample

The Clinical Psychology doctoral program, and the work of clinical psychologists, requires a high degree of professional and scholarly writing skills. To help us in evaluating this area, each applicant is asked to submit a copy (non-returnable) of a paper in psychology or a related field. This can be a class paper, a published article, or other written scholarly papers, rather than case reports. If you choose to submit a case report, please make sure all information that might identify the individual you discuss is deleted.

Applicant Self-Test

As a self-test, applicants may wish to ask themselves the following questions. These are similar to the questions the reviewers will consider in evaluating each application.

1. Can I present evidence that I can handle difficult academic work, through my grades in undergraduate and/or graduate courses, GRE scores, or other methods?
2. Do I have solid basic undergraduate training in psychology, either as a psychology major or through taking a number of core psychology courses?
3. Do I have quantitative skills and competencies necessary for understanding and using statistical and quantitative methods for conducting psychological research? Can I present evidence through courses, test scores, or work experience to demonstrate such competencies?
4. Do I have a good basic understanding of human biology and physiology acquired through courses, reading, or other methods?
5. Do I have effective interpersonal communication skills?
6. Do I have an interest in learning about and understanding people from a wide variety of backgrounds? Do I have the emotional maturity, tolerance for difference and diversity, and empathetic skills necessary for such an enterprise?
7. Do I have a good level of self-understanding and the ability to be flexible and receive feedback about myself?
8. Do I have the ability to be self-motivated, originate ideas, and keep myself on track while pursuing goals?
9. Do I have any experience in working with deaf or hard of hearing people? Do I have sign language communication skills? If not, do I have good ability in learning languages? Or, do I have other skills that may help me acquire a high level of sign language competency once I begin using it regularly? (Note: Otherwise qualified applicants who have limited background in deafness and sign language may be asked to participate in intensive training in these areas at Gallaudet before beginning the program in the fall.)
10. Am I able to make a commitment to at least five years of full-time graduate study to complete this program?