Prospective Students
Our doctoral program in Psychology is designed to foster high quality research and practice. Graduate students work closely with outstanding faculty and fellow students in a collaborative and collegial environment. Our program prepares students for both academic and practitioner roles and our graduates are found in academia, public service, medical, consulting, industry, government, and community settings. The Psychology Department offers graduate assistantships, tuition scholarships, research and professional travel funding, and an intellectually stimulating and supportive atmosphere that facilitates professional and personal development.
Admissions Information
Students may obtain a PhD in Psychology from Bowling Green State University within one of four doctoral program areas: Clinical, Developmental, Industrial-Organizational (I-O), Neural and Cognitive Sciences (NCS). Students enter our doctoral program with the intent of earning their PhD, and earn a Master's degree while working toward their doctoral degree. We do not offer terminal master's degrees. We do not offer an online PhD program.
Please review the pages below that describe our application process. We recommend learning about our different program areas and the interests of individual faculty members.
For further information, direct your inquiry to individual faculty members or contact our graduate program secretary:
Ms. Paula Watson (email: pwatson@bgsu.edu)
419-372-2301
Department of Psychology
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, OH 43403-0228 USA
- Undergraduate Psychology courses: General Psychology
- GRE required for Industrial-Organizational and Developmental Areas Only: Verbal, Quantitative, Writing.
- There are no GRE minimum score requirements for the Industrial-Organizational and Developmental Areas. Clinical and Neural and Cognitive Sciences (NCS) areas do not require the GRE and GRE scores will not be used in the admissions process in the Clinical or NCS areas.
Apply to our graduate program online through the Graduate College
Your application should include:
- A personal statement
- Three letters of recommendation
- Scanned copies of official transcripts from all institutions attended. Individuals who are admitted to the program will be required to have official final transcripts submitted from each degree granting institution.
- A resume or vitae
- A nonrefundable application fee ($45 for domestic applicants and $75 for international applicants)
- GRE Scores for Industrial-Organizational and Development Programs
- TOEFL or IELTS scores if your native language is not English
If admitted to our program, have your official transcript sent to:
Graduate College
120 McFall Center
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, OH 43403
United States of America
APPLICATION DEADLINES: All materials need to be submitted by the following deadlines for our program areas:
- Clinical - December 1
- Industrial-Organizational - December 1
- Developmental - January 1
- Neural and Cognitive Sciences - January 1
Our department and our university celebrate and support students from many countries. Please visit International Students for more information about international student admissions.
Our department does not wish to slow down student progress by the duplication of previous graduate course work. Graduate work used in fulfillment of credits for a master's degree cannot be used toward the doctoral degree. However, there is a procedure to review graduate coursework earned elsewhere to determine if it is comparable to work in our program and if some program requirements may be waived. This process is initiated by the student upon entering the program and evaluated by a faculty review committee. We do not conduct preliminary reviews of student transcripts for prospective students.
Information by Program Area
Frequently Asked Questions About the Graduate Admissions Process
It is recommended that you read about our doctoral program in Psychology before you decide to apply. You can start your application to our doctoral program in Psychology at the Graduate College Application section on the Office of Graduate Admissions page.
If you are applying to the Clinical, Neurocognitive sciences (NCS) or Developmental areas of our doctoral program, you do not need to submit GRE scores. These areas will not ask for or review GRE scores in their admissions process.
If you are applying to the Industrial-Organizational (I-O) area, you will need to submit your GRE scores. The I-O area reviews and uses GRE scores in their admissions process.
The I-O area requires GRE scores for their admissions process and provides no waivers for the GRE.
Your personal statement is an opportunity to showcase your accomplishments, what makes you special, and why our program is right for you. Obviously, there is no one way to write a personal statement. Personal statements are usually about two pages long and reflect what you consider important for faculty reviewers in your selected program area (i.e., Clinical, I-O, NCS, Developmental) to know about you.
There is a $45 nonrefundable application fee for domestic applicants; $75 for international applicants. The application fee is automatically waived for McNair Scholars, US Military Veterans, returned Peace Corp Volunteers, and K-12 public school teachers current employed in the United States.
Unfortunately, the Graduate College does not provide application fee waivers for international student applications.
Please see the Graduate College webpage for more information.
The Psychology Department welcomes applications to our doctoral program from individuals from around the globe. BGSU’s International Programs & Partnerships works with prospective students on the application process.
The Graduate College lists that BGSU accepts evaluations by NACES organizations on their application instruction page. They do not have specific information about the type of evaluation to provide since it is not required by BGSU.
If you choose to have an evaluation done, it is recommended that you request a course-by-course evaluation to get a full picture of the work that you have completed previously.
Yes, contact Graduate Admissions. Request that Graduate Admissions change the name of the letter writer on your application.
Yes. The Graduate College does allow unofficial transcripts for applications. For domestic institutions, please make sure that the following information is included on the unofficial transcript:
Your Name; The Name of the Institution (school); Names and grades of all courses; Calculated cumulative GPA (if applicable).
You will be required to submit a final official transcript sent by your institution if you are admitted to BGSU.
You can log into the Graduation Application page to check your current application status.
Updated: 11/18/2024 09:20AM