Judith Herb College of Arts, Social Sciences and Education

At the University of Toledo, it is necessary to secure admission to both the Department of Psychology and the Graduate School. You must upload your completed application package directly to the Graduate School, not to the Department of Psychology. Applications are received in the Graduate School and processed there before being made accessible to faculty in the Department of Psychology.  

All materials must be received by December 1. Admission is for the fall term only. There are no spring semester admissions. You can sign in and check the status of your application to ensure all your materials have been recieved and processed at the Graduate Apply webpage. 

Requirements for a Complete Application  

An applicant must submit the following material in order to be considered for admission to the Doctoral Program in Experimental Psychology.  Online submission is done by following instructions below (do NOT submit these materials by mailing them). Specific instructions on how to submit application materials to the College of Graduate Studies can be found on their website. 

1. Apply for graduate admission
   1. A graduate advisor ranking form will be included in the application. 
2. At least three letters of recommendation - submitted electronically by letter writers. Instructions for sending electronic letter of recommendation requests are available at the application webpage. Letters should reflect your suitability to obtain a Ph.D. degree in experimental psychology. It is best to select letter writers who can adequately describe your academic work and research experiences. 
3. An application fee of $45.00 paid by credit card with the online application. 
4. A statement of purpose of no more than two pages. The applicant’s name should be indicated at the top of each page. After you create your document, save as a PDF.
   The statement of purpose should address the following areas:
   • Your professional plans or goals. As specifically as possible, indicate what you see yourself doing 5 or 10 years from now. 
   • Your background or experience relevant to experimental psychology. 
   • Your interests within the field of psychology. Please describe any specific interests in experimental psychology. Please indicate one or more particular faculty members with whom you would like to work and how they may assist you in developing your areas of interest further.
5. A curriculum vitae. The applicant’s name should be indicated at the top of each page. After you create your document and save as a PDF before uploading. 
6. College transcripts (and graduate school transcripts, if applicable) showing all previous academic work and degrees. (An up-to-date unofficial transcript may facilitate consideration, but an official transcript is needed).

Arrange transcripts to be sent well in advance of the application deadline if possible.  Transcripts should be sent to the following address: 

Graduate Admissions (Experimental Psychology) 
College of Graduate Studies University of Toledo 
MS 933 - Main Campus 
2801 West Bancroft Toledo, Ohio 43606-3390 

Student Selection Information 

When selecting applicants, we consider the student's academic qualifications (GPA, research experience, etc.) and match to our program in terms of research interests, career plans, and interest in working with particular faculty members. We do not have a specific cutoff level for GPA. However, students can consult the section below on the Nature of Students Accepted in the Program (see below) for a general reference.

Interviews

The top 10 applicants are typically asked to come interview. We will be conducting interviews over two days in February, and applicants are invited to join us on one of those designated days. Invitations for interviews are typically sent by the end of January each year. 

Nature of Students Accepted into the Program

Typically, 3-5 students are accepted into the program each year from an applicant pool of approximately 30-50 students. Students accepted possess a bachelor's degree or master's degree, and they come from all regions of the country. Students accepted over the last five years (2016-2021) had an average undergraduate GPA of 3.74.  

Forms and Information

All the forms and information needed to submit an application are listed above. However, if you have any additional questions, please contact our Experimental Coordinator, Dr. Jason Rose, by email (Jason.Rose4@utoledo.edu).