FAQ for Prospective Students

Our application deadline is December 1 for admission the following fall.

Our formal interview process will take place early in the new year. Please check back for details.

The following faculty mentors will consider applications for new PhD students for the 2024-2025 incoming doctoral class. GRE scores are not required to apply to our graduate programs, however applicants can choose to submit GRE score if they wish. If an applicant submits GRE scores, some of our faculty consider the scores in evaluating applicants, whereas other faculty do not. The table below indicates whether a faculty member considers the GRE in evaluating applicants.

• Dr. Sarah Black - considers GRE
• Dr. Kathleen Casto - considers GRE
• Dr. Jeff Ciesla - considers GRE
• Dr. Chris Flessner - does not consider GRE
• Dr. Judith Gere - considers GRE
• Dr. Mary Himmelstein - does not consider GRE
• Dr. Joel Hughes - considers GRE
• Dr. William Lechner - considers GRE
• Dr. Angela Neal-Barnett - does not consider GRE
• Dr. Amy Sato - considers GRE
• Dr. Jennifer Taber - does not consider GRE
• Dr. John Updegraff - considers GRE

In evaluating applications, the Department focuses on your grades and the courses in which they were earned, your personal statement, which should reflect your professional goals, areas of specialized interest, research experience and other relevant background experiences, your letters of recommendation, and your scores on the GRE. The Department will, of course, consider your complete application, including any special experiences or circumstances you might want to call to our attention.

The Department evaluates each applicant's entire package.  We do require a minimum last 60 hours of undergraduate coursework GPA of 3.0 but no minimum GRE score.  The table below shows the average scores of applicants recently admitted to the Clinical and Psychological Science programs.

Our application deadline is December 1 each year for admission the following Fall. In order for an application to be considered complete, the department must have received all application materials including: 

• Statement of Career Goals and Purpose, describing your motivation for graduate study, your future professional goals, and your reasons for having selected Kent State University for graduate study.  You are encouraged to identify any faculty with whom you have a particular interest in working. 

• The general GRE; we do not require the subject test.  The institution code for Kent State University is 1367. (Please note, submitting GREs will be optional this year.)

• Copies of official transcripts (front and back) are required at the time of application from all universities where 8 or more credit hours were earned.  Admitted students are required to submit official transcripts after they have accepted an offer of admission.

• Three letters of recommendation.  You will be asked to identify your recommenders and provide their email address.  The automated recommendation system will send an email to your recommender requesting that they complete a recommendation form/letter for you.  Through the application portal, you will be able to send reminders to your recommenders or change recommenders.

• Application has a $45 nonrefundable application fee.

The Department of Psychological Sciences will waive the GRE requirement for applicants for fall 2024. You are welcome to submit your GRE scores; if you choose to do so, that information will be used in admissions decisions. However, full consideration will still be given to applications that do not include GRE scores. 

The institution code for Kent State University is 1367, and the departmental codes are 2016 for Clinical, and 2007 for Psychological Science. We encourage applicants to look into the GRE Fee Reduction Program to determine if you are eligible for a fee reduction.

In the past, nearly all students have received full financial support in the form of a graduate assistantship, which includes a full tuition waiver, a stipend, and some health insurance benefits. We expect to be able to maintain this level of support in the future.

The typical time for completing the Ph.D. program has been five years in the Psychological Science degree program and about six years, including the internship, in the Clinical degree program.

Graduate courses/degrees completed at other institutions are evaluated for equivalency with our requirements on an individual basis.

Students admitted to either the psychology or clinical program may not change automatically to the other; such a change requires a complete re-evaluation of the student's credentials.

We do not have a program in either counseling or industrial psychology in the Department of Psychological Sciences. For the former, you may wish to consider programs offered in our College of Education, Health and Human Services in community, rehabilitation, or school psychology. Requests for information about these programs should be directed to the College of Education, Health and Human Services in White Hall (ogs@kent.edu).

You can contact international admissions in the Office of Global Education at 330-672-7980 or intladm@kent.edu. International applications are received and processed by KSU’s Office of Global Education.

For additional information on the international student application process, visit international admissions Frequently Asked Questions.

All decisions will be released by April 15, via the email you indicated on your application.

The areas of interest for Psychological Science include Behavioral Neuroscience, Cognitive/Cognitive Development, Social-Health.  Please visit our webpage at www.kent.edu/psychology/training-areas to learn more information about each training area and the core faculty members.

The areas of interest for Clinical Psychology include Adult Clinical Psychology, Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, and Clinical Neuropsychology.  Please visit our webpage at www.kent.edu/psychology/training-areas to learn more information about each training area and the core faculty members.

Our most recent data indicate that 90% of our alumni who graduated between 2009 and 2017 are licensed. Our graduates who did not become licensed typically are in positions that do not require licensure (e.g., teaching faculty or research positions). Please note that graduate training alone does not lead to licensure immediately upon graduation because many jurisdictions have licensure requirements beyond the curricular requirements of a graduate program (e.g., passing oral and written licensing exams). Still, the professional preparation you receive in our program will assist you in preparation for licensure as a Clinical Psychologist. For more information on how the Kent State University Department of Psychological Sciences Clinical Program fits into your plans for licensure, please see our Professional Licensure Disclosure.

If you have questions that have not been answered by our online materials, contact the Psychological Sciences, Office of Graduate Admissions at:

Telephone:  330-672-8536
Email:  gradpsyc@kent.edu

Although it is geared primary towards clinical psychology programs, many people find Mitch Prinstein’s “Uncensored Advice for Applying to Graduate School in Clinical Psychology” to be very helpful in navigating the process of preparing for and applying to graduate school in psychology.