Program Admission

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Admit Terms and Deadlines

Students will start the program in the Fall.

Completed applications, letters of recommendation, and transcripts must be received by December 1 for consideration. If the 1st falls on a weekend, materials will only be accepted the next business day. Applicants will be notified by February 15 if an interview is warranted. Following APA guidelines, initial acceptance notices will be made by April 1.

Minimum Graduate School Requirements

For full admission, applicants must have 1) Earned a four-year baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or an equivalent degree from a non-U.S. institution, 2) a minimum cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 2.7 on a 4.0 scale, or 3.0 in the last half of the undergraduate program. Conditional admission may be available to applicants not meeting minimum admission requirements.

Program Requirements

Admission to the program is based on the following criteria:

1. Academic ability as measured by Verbal, Quantitative, and Analytical Writing scores on the GRE. In keeping with other Ph.D. programs in the State and with national criteria, admission typically includes a minimum score around the 50th percentile for each section. However, successful applicants may present much higher scores, given the highly competitive nature of clinical doctoral programs. Applicants are not required to take the GRE Advanced Psychology Test. GRE scores are submitted directly to PSYCAS.
2. Achievement in undergraduate or graduate work. Admission typically includes a minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. Again, successful applicants typically present with higher GPAs. Students may be admitted with either a bachelor’s or a master’s degree. Transfer credits will be determined on a case-by-case basis upon matriculation.
3. Academic background in psychology. Applicants must have completed a minimum of 20 undergraduate semester hours in psychology, including a course in statistics and a laboratory course in research methods/experimental psychology.
4. Personal qualities that predict success in graduate study and professional placement after graduation. To evaluate these, each applicant must submit three letters of recommendation. Personal qualities will also be evaluated in the context of an interview for those who pass the initial file review and are invited to the interview day(s).
5. Fit between applicant and faculty interests. A personal statement describing the applicant’s interests is required. We will be particularly interested in students with research and/or clinical experiences that are a good fit with faculty areas of expertise.

Application

Your application will be submitted using PSYCAS, a Centralized Application Service (CAS) hosted by Liaison. After reviewing the admission requirements, please review the application instructions and use the PSYCAS Portal link on the Psychology Department’s Graduate Admissions Information page.

Application materials submitted to PSYCAS include:

• Personal statement (instructions available within PSYCAS) – 500 words.
• Essay related to fit with the program (instructions available within PSYCAS) – 500 words.
• Diversifying Psychology Essay (instructions available within PSYCAS) – 500 words.
• Writing sample (typically a research paper).
• Curriculum vitae or résumé
• Three letters of recommendation

Transcripts

Applicants must submit official transcripts from all institutions they attended beyond high school. Transcripts must be submitted directly to PSYCAS. Transcripts sent to EMU will not be accepted as official, and the application will not be considered complete. (Applicants should allow 2-6 weeks for PSYCAS to process transcripts.) For additional information regarding transcript submission, please see the PSYCAS website.

International Applicants Before applying, applicants must review the international application/process deadlines at emich.edu/international as they may differ from general program requirements.

For additional information regarding the application process, please see Graduate Admissions or International Admissions.

Questions and concerns should be directed to:

Doctoral Program Associate

Community Behavioral Health Clinic, 1075 N. Huron River Dr. Ypsilanti, MI 48197, psy_doc@emich.edu, 734.487.4987

Department Information

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Psychology 341 Science Complex, 734.487.1155

Natalie Dove, PhD, Department Head

Advisor Information

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Tamara Loverich, PhD, Director of Clinical Training, 341H Science Complex, 734.487.3228

Degree Requirements: 90 hours

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The Clinical Doctoral program requires the completion of 90 graduate credit hours. The master’s degree is earned en route to the doctoral degree, and students must complete a master’s thesis. Students must obtain a B or better in all courses. Students may choose courses required for Board Certification in Behavior Analysis (BCBA).

Students must review the additional program information provided here (Program Information ).

Critical Graduation Information

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Each graduate student is responsible for fulfilling the requirements or their equivalents of the Eastern Michigan University catalog in force at the time of their initial registration or a subsequent catalog, including the one in effect at the time of their graduation.

Students have seven (7) years to complete the requirements for the doctoral degree from the date of first enrollment in the doctoral program at EMU. 

In the event a student does not complete the degree requirements within seven years of the date of their original registration, the student may be required to have their credits re-evaluated by the academic department(s) of their degree in keeping with catalog requirements in force during the year of their graduation.

The following are minimum requirements for all doctoral degrees awarded by Eastern Michigan University. Some programs require more than the minimum in one or more areas below.

• Minimum Credit Hour Requirements
  • A Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree must require a minimum of 90 credit hours post bachelor’s degree.
  • A Ph.D. degree in a program that requires a master’s degree for admission must require a minimum of 60 credit hours post-master’s.
  • A Ph.D. degree in a program that allows a specialist’s degree for admission must require a minimum of 36 credit hours post-specialist’s.
  • Doctoral degrees in clinical or practitioner programs must require a minimum of 75 hours if admitting students post-bachelor’s degree. If admitting students post-master’s degree, a minimum of 41 new hours are required.
• Doctoral programs must require a minimum of 15 total credit hours of research and research support coursework.
• No more than six credits of independent study courses, and no more than 12 credit hours of special topics and independent study courses combined, may be applied to a graduate degree.  
• Residency Requirement - See Academic Policies and Processes—Graduate School for residency requirements. 
• Students must maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA in all graduate-level courses taken at EMU and in their program of study to remain in good academic standing and be eligible for graduation. Students do not need to be registered for classes during the semester of graduation.
• The Graduate School does not permit the use of undergraduate courses (499 and below) to meet degree requirements on graduate programs of study.
• Some doctoral programs require a dissertation. See the Graduate School website for Thesis and Dissertation Manuals, all forms, and information about research and human subject approval. Every completed thesis or dissertation must be submitted to Digital Commons. Any form of graduate student work submitted to Digital Commons must first be approved by a faculty advisor and the Graduate School.