Admissions Criteria

The following information is considered when admissions decisions are made for the UTC MSIO degree program:

1. Your official undergraduate transcripts (from all institutions through which you earned college-level credit)
2. Evidence of successful completion of critical undergraduate courses
   • Success in the field of I-O Psychology increasingly requires competence in basic psychological statistical and methodological techniques. The UTC I-O program provides advanced training in both of these areas, but students get the most of this training when they have the background and basic understanding of core statistical and methodological concepts. Through our admissions review process, therefore, preference is granted to applicants who have successfully completed (prior to time of application) an (a) introduction to psychology course, (b) introduction to behavioral or social science statistics course, and (c) introduction to behavioral or social science research methods course. Equivalent courses will also be considered. This is the rationale behind the few prerequisite course requirements we have for applicants (as detailed the Prerequisites for Admission section of this website). 
3. Recommender evaluations with letters of support through an online form that is made available by email to your recommenders when you enter their name and email address during your online application process. Please let your recommenders know that this process involves (a) responding to a few evaluation items about your suitability for graduate study and (b) entering relevant comments or the text of their recommendation letter for you into an open-ended comment box at the end of the recommendation form (either by typing into the online form or by copy/pasting it from a letter they prepare in advance). 
   • Applicants must secure recommendation ratings and comments from at least two individuals. After completing your application, you may add a third recommender through your UTC Application Portal, by selecting the “Add new Record” button under Recommendations. Please note that only three recommendations will be considered when your application is reviewed.
   • Recommenders may not be friends or relatives.
   • At least one of your recommenders should discuss your academic capabilities as a candidate and the other may focus on your work-related capabilities (e.g., from a supervisor or manager). All recommenders should discuss in their written comments information and details about you as a candidate that are not obvious from your academic transcript(s).
   • Applicants should follow-up with recommenders well before the application deadline to ensure that all recommendations information has been submitted in a timely fashion. It is a really good idea to communicate with recommenders before you begin the application process; as soon as you enter their information into your application, they will receive a request to submit their recommendation directly through the system.
4. A personal statement of purpose, which should:
   1. Explain your interest in applying to our program and what qualities and/or experiences you have that will make you successful in this program.
   2. Explain how this graduate degree aligns with your current career goals, and include any other information about yourself that will help us evaluate your application.
   3. Identify and discuss the greatest challenge you think you would have in our program and how you would intend to overcome it.
   • The statement should be typed in advance and not heavily formatted, as during the online application process you will be asked to copy and paste your responses to the above questions into text boxes in the application. Please note that your responses to each of the above questions cannot exceed 750 words. Your overall statement will be evaluated in terms of its overall writing quality and evidence of your general knowledge of I-O psychology and the requirements for success in our M.S. program. In other words, show us you understand what it will take to succeed here at UTC and let us know how you can make a positive contribution to the program and to the field of I-O psychology when you graduate.
5. A resume/curriculum vita 
   • There are no specific formatting requirements for this, other than that you adhere to general standards for such documents and you provide the most current and up-to-date information about your past experiences with work, research, and class-related projects that you feel make you a strong candidate for our program. A functional or hybrid resume is preferred to a purely chronological resume. After completing your application, you will need to upload this resume through your UTC Application Portal, where indicated in the Requirements section of this portal.
6. Finalists will also complete an internet-based video interview with the graduate program director in which several additional predictive factors will be assessed.

The information outlined above is considered as we filter candidates with the help of a validated formula score we compute using your overall, major, and last 60 hours undergraduate GPA (x100), the extent to which you meet/do not meet course prerequisites, and your candidate quality ratings from letter of recommendation writers (detailed below).

• Please note that each year applicants are selected after rank-ordering on the formula score detailed above, and then careful consideration of the top applicants' statements of purpose and letters of recommendation. 

• Exemplary letters of recommendation, a strong personal statement, and/or other evidence of a student’s ability to perform well in the program may positively influence the selection decision.