Admission to the University

Persons wishing to be admitted to the I/O program must meet all general requirements for admission to the Graduate Division of The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga AND must be recommended for admission by the Department of Psychology. Applicants who meet the Graduate Division's minimum standards may be admitted as provisional graduate students. This provisional status in no way assures admission to the Department of Psychology. Provisional students may take up to nine (9) hours of graduate course work for which they have (1) met the prerequisites and (2) obtained approval from the department chair or the program coordinator. These courses can be applied to the student's graduate program of study, contingent on the adviser's approval. However, successful performance in these classes in no way assures final admission to the department.

Admission standards and procedures for the Graduate Division are detailed in the Graduate Catalog.

Admission to the Department

Applicants are required to submit the following information. (Please note: All completed application forms should be sent to the UTC Gradute Office. Application material should not be sent directly to the Department of Psychology.) Admission decisions are made by a faculty committee. Applicants who have high undergraduate GPA's and GRE scores have a higher probability of being admitted to the program. Click here to see an example and description of how this quantitative information is combined and considered.

Prerequisites

Students must have had the following three undergraduate courses (or their equivalent) prior to the start of graduate course work: Introduction to Statistics, one additional psychology course, and a computer literacy course. Computer literacy may be demonstrated by evidence of experience working with personal computers. (Note: Lack of these prerequisite courses does not preclude consideration of your application. If you are accepted without having completed the prerequisites, you will need to take these courses before starting graduate course work.)

In addition, students are required to take an undergraduate course in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. If this course (or its equivalent) has not been taken during a student's undergraduate program, it must be taken during the first year (preferably the first semester) of graduate work. Students in this category can receive graduate course credit for this course.

Admission Schedule

Students are usually admitted to the I/O program to begin in the Fall semester. Applicants who wish to maximize their probability of admission should be sure to have their application materials complete by March 15. The admissions committee will make its first set of decisions shortly after that date. However, applications may continue to be considered through July 15 if space exists.

Exceptionally well qualified students may be admitted for the Spring semester, although course sequencing makes it unlikely that a student entering in the Spring will be able to graduate in fewer than five semesters. In any event, applicants need to have their application files complete at least one month prior to the beginning of the semester term for which admission is desired.

Applicants who have been denied admission to the I/O program at some earlier date may reapply if they so desire. It is the applicant's responsibility to be sure that the Graduate Office still has the completed file and is aware of the applicant's desire to be reconsidered.