Frequently Asked Questions

Should I submit a curriculum vita (CV)?Updated

Yes, you should submit a CV as part of your application. This will be used to help understand the experiences you have talked about in your personal statement. It does not replace the information you provide in your personal statement that describe the experiences that have helped prepare you for graduate school, but can complement it. This should not be in the form of a standard business resume. If you are not familiar with what is included in a CV, please review this webpage from APA >

Should I submit a writing sample?

Writing samples are not required, but are encouraged to be submitted. Writing samples should be an example of writing related to the science of psychology and could be a full empirical paper or a literature view. Some writing samples that would work well are a paper you wrote for a psychology course, a senior honors thesis or capstone project, or a manuscript you were a primary author on.

I have already earned an MA in clinical psychology. What coursework will transfer?

We require all students to take the core clinical coursework, so that we can be confident in your training. This includes the didactic coursework (e.g., Adult Psychopathology, Theories in Psychotherapy) as well as the applied practica. However, graduate level coursework in statistical and foundation courses (e.g., Developmental Psychology, Social Psychology) will be reviewed after admissions and often can fulfill these program requirements.

I have already earned an MA. Will I be admitted to the PhD program directly?

If you completed a master's thesis based on an empirical research project in psychology (any area of psychology), you will be considered for admission directly to our PhD program. Those with a MA outside of psychology or those with an MA in Psychology but without an empirically-based thesis should apply to the MA program (see below about this process). After acceptance to the program, students who have already completed a thesis based on empirical research will need to have the Director of Clinical Training and their research mentor review their thesis to determine if additional training is needed before proceeding to working on candidacy exams for the doctoral program. At times an additional research project is required to ensure research skills have been developed that are comparable to students completing their thesis from our program.

Why must I indicate in my Graduate School application that I am applying to the MA Program, when I am interested in a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology?

All our students complete their master’s degree in clinical psychology before completing their PhD. Thus, they are admitted to the Master’s Program through the Graduate School. Students are expected to complete all requirements for their MA degree including a master’s thesis based on an empirical research project that they develop with their research mentor prior to formally being admitted to the doctoral program. However, after completion of the MA, admission to the PhD program is a seamless process, with no further application needed.

Would you like me to provide you with my clinical hours?

While previous clinical experiences may help prepare you for some aspects of our clinical psychology program, as we review applications we are more focused on the research experiences that you have had. Thus, providing specific information about clinical hours is not needed.

How much research experience will make me competitive for your program?

Students who have no research experience typically are not seriously considered for our program, given the need to be able to start working on your thesis project in the first semester of graduate school. Competitive students usually have more than one year of research experience in psychology. Furthermore, students who have been involved in research at a more conceptual level are more likely to be seriously considered (e.g., independent honors thesis, presenting a poster at a college-level, regional or national research conference). Thus, more experiences (both in terms of number of semesters and depth of involvement) will increase the competitiveness of your application.

Who should I ask to write my letters of recommendation?

Letters of recommendation should be submitted from professors who can speak to your potential success at Graduate School. Professors with a Ph.D. in Psychology (not necessarily clinical) would be excellent choices if they know you well. In addition, professors who are familiar with your research experiences are preferred.

Do you consider part-time students?

No, students must be committed to being a full-time student while in our program. Required coursework is offered during daytime hours throughout the week; thus, part-time study would not be feasible.

Can I come to campus for a visit?

Unfortunately, we do not have the resources to arrange individual visits for potential applicants given the number of students who apply each year (typically over 200). Student who are being seriously considered for admission are invited to our Open House in mid-February, where they will get to meet with faculty and current graduate students, see the facilities and get to know our program in more depth. In the meantime, we encourage prospective students to utilize the webpage to learn more about our program and specific faculty's research many faculty members have lab webpages that may be of interest to you. In addition, feel free to email questions to the faculty member(s) with whom you are considering applying to work. In addition, you may contact the Director of Clinical Training, Laura Pittman (lpittman@niu.edu) with more program level questions not addressed on our website.

How do I apply for a graduate assistantship?

All graduate students accepted to the clinical psychology program will receive graduate assistantships. Given that, we do not expect students to do the formal application until they are accepted into the program. If you were to be accepted, you would receive that application at the time of acceptance.

Contact Us

Department of Psychology
Psychology-Computer Science Building room 400
815-753-0372

Director of Graduate Studies
Kevin Wu, Ph.D
kevinwu@niu.edu

Graduate Studies Assistant
kwest1@niu.edu

Admission Questions
clinicalpsychologyadmissions@niu.edu