Application Information

Thank you for your interest in graduate study in psychology at The Ohio State University. By following the instructions on this page you will complete your Ohio State Graduate School Application for the Department of Psychology online. Please ensure that all of your application materials are received by the deadline for your application year for full consideration. You should anticipate typical delays in obtaining letters of recommendation, transcripts, and get an early start. Admission decisions are made only after all materials are received.

Please Note

• The Psychology Department ONLY Admits for Autumn Semester Each Year.
• The Psychology Department ONLY Admits Students Interested in Acquiring a Ph.D.

Completing an Ohio State University Graduate School Application

• Credit Card: (Fee: $60 domestic, $70 International)
• References: Names and email addresses of three professional references. Once your application is submitted, your recommenders will receive an email with instructions. Recommendation letters will be submitted online through the Graduate School Application. The people who submit these recommendations should have direct knowledge of your capacity for graduate work.
• GRE and TOEFL Scores: The GRE is NOT required for the AU25 admissions cycle. If you have taken the GRE and want to submit the Official General GRE Scores, Send to Ohio State (1592). International Students MUST Submit official TOEFL Scores (do not send copies) if they have not graduated from an accredited U.S. university or college. If scores are submitted the Psychology Department will only review GRE scores in the verbal, quantitative, and analytical (written) categories. The GRE is administered nationally by the Educational Testing Service (Princeton, NJ) and may be taken at most universities and colleges. See your local registrar for further information. Historic mean and median GRE scores of past, admitted students can be seen in the list below.
• Program Area First Choice and Second Choice: Choose from the following: Behavioral Neuroscience, Clinical, Cognitive, Cognitive Neuroscience, Decision Science, Developmental, IDD, Quantitative, and Social. You will not be able to submit your application unless you list at least a first choice of area. You are not required to submit a second choice.
• Information on all Psychology Courses Taken: (Course, Instructor, Grade, and Credit Hrs.) There may not be enough room for all your courses, but please try to list them under the appropriate area (General, Developmental, Social/Counseling, Industrial/Applied, Quantitative). We will see your transcript so don't worry if they are not quite correct or don't fit into an area.
• Statement of Purpose: Required of all applicants who wish to be considered for a Graduate School Fellowships. This statement is very important. Please describe why you wish to pursue graduate study, why you chose psychology as your major field of graduate study, and why you are interested in attending Ohio State. You only need to upload this document. It is not necessary to send copies. Your statement of purpose should be uploaded as either a PDF or DOC/DOCX file.
• Curriculum Vitae/Resume: Required of all applicants. You only need to upload this document. It is not necessary to send copies. Also, please do not include writing samples with your CV. Writing samples will be solicited by the area admissions chair to which you are applying if needed. Your CV should be uploaded as either a PDF or DOC/DOCX file.
• Transcripts: Please use the “Upload Transcript” button to send copies (front and back) of official transcripts from ALL institutions attended where college credit was earned – even if you attended while in high school. International Credentials should include certified educational records and degree certificates or diplomas in the original language with English translations.
  • Send an electronic copy of official transcripts issued by your institution’s Registrar or order electronic transcripts. Make sure to mark out all U.S. social security numbers before scanning. Ohio State will not accept web reports, advising reports, self-reported scores, or transfer credit on another school’s transcript.
  • If you are admitted to the university as a graduate student, you will be required to submit final official transcripts. Do not send the Graduate and Professional Admissions Office paper official transcripts unless specifically requested by our office. Transcripts take 2-4 weeks to process once received. Students are responsible for requesting official transcripts from their institutions in plenty of time to allow for OSU to process them prior to the deadline.
  • Include grade point average (GPA) and courses, and the quality of the undergraduate training you received. You must supply complete transcripts of all previous academic training, including the first semester or quarter of the senior year, if possible.
  • We require at least a 3.0 undergraduate GPA to be considered for admission. Very rarely students with undergraduate GPA < 3.0 but with other outstanding strengths (e.g., extensive research experience) are admitted provisionally.

  Waiving Application Fees

  Note that participants in the following programs may be eligible for a fee waiver:

  • ABRCMS/SACNAS (IBGP-PHD applicants only)
  • Americorps (John Glenn School of Public Affairs applicants only)
  • CIC Free Apps
  • City Year (John Glenn School of Public Affairs applicants only)
  • DIKTI
  • Graduate & Professional Student Visitation Day (GPSVD)
  • McNair Scholars Program
  • National Name Exchange
  • PGD Program
  • STARS
  • Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP)
  • Teach for America (John Glenn School of Public Affairs applicants only)
  • USAID

  These guidelines provide information about eligibility and documents that you must submit to prove financial need. If you have already been awarded a fee waiver from the application service or from the required admission testing service (DAT, GRE, OAT, PCAT, MCAT), the Graduate and Professional Admissions Office will automatically waive the application fee. The Department of Psychology does not waive application fees.

  Checking Application Status

  After submitting an application, first-time applicants are sent an email from The Ohio State University’s Information Technology (IT) Service Desk, assigning an OSU ID and username (in a lastname.# format). The username is used to access the self-service page.

  Applicants who have or had an affiliation with Ohio State DO NOT receive the above-mentioned email. They should already have an OSU ID and username.

  New applicants with no prior or current affiliation with Ohio State who know their OSU ID and username must activate their account on MY.OSU. For assistance with the activation process, please contact OCIO.

  For assistance with the activation code request process, please contact:

  IT Service Desk
  Email: 8help@osu.edu
  Phone: 614-688-4357
  Web: 8help.osu.edu