Admissions Process

Applying for admission to the UTC MSIO degree program involves working through the following steps: 

1. Check to make sure you understand and can meet all criteria and prerequisites for admission.
2. Work through the application process for the UTC Graduate School within the yearly admissions cycle (which runs from early October to March 1 for this program):
   • Go to the UTC Graduate School's online application system and follow all instructions as you work through the various required components. Make sure to select the appropriate student type (Graduate and/or International) and the appropriate term for which you are applying (i.e., the subsequent fall semester, given that we only start one cohort of students in the fall semester of each year).
   • If you want to be considered for a Graduate Assistantship or other form of financial aid/scholarship, complete the necessary forms available through UTC's Graduate School scholarship/financial aid web-site
3. Submit your online application when you see that you have completed all of the required portions (as shown in the online UTC Application Portal).

Checking on your Application

Make sure to allow sufficient time before the admissions deadline for your materials to arrive and be processed at UTC. This includes time for your transcripts and recommendation forms to be submitted and received by our Graduate School. A general best-practice is to plan on having all of your application complete and submitted by mid-February. You can check the completion status of elements to your application through the online UTC Application Portal. If you need more detail or have questions about any element to your application, please contact the Graduate Program Liaison for Psychology through the UTC Graduate School.

Admission to the I-O program

Applications are reviewed as they are received beginning in early October, but final admissions decisions are not made until mid-March each year. All applications fully submitted by March 1 of each year will be considered. Candidates with application materials that indicate they are likely to successfully complete and make a positive contribution to the program and the field of I-O psychology are most likely to be accepted. There are a limited number of seats in each cohort (typically around 20); only the strongest and most well-rounded candidates will be accepted. Official notice of acceptance is sent quickly to accepted candidates, and a commitment to enroll in the program is expected soon after. Typically, initial offers are open to accepted applicants through April 15. 

Provisional Admission

Applicants who meet the Graduate School's minimum standards, but do not quite meet the I-O program's standards are sometimes admitted by the Graduate School as "provisional" graduate students. This provisional status does not assure admission as a degree-seeking student into the MSIO degree program. Normally, students applying to either of our department's graduate programs will not be allowed to take courses while they are on provisional status. Provisional status is merely an indication that the student has met the Graduate School's standards for graduate students. The decision on admission to the MSIO degree program is a separate decision made by the MSIO program faculty.

Under some circumstances, students may want to enroll in graduate courses if provisionally admitted. Provisional students may take up to nine (9) hours of graduate course work for which they have (a) met all prerequisites and (b) obtained pre-approval from the department chair and/or the graduate program director. If a student is subsequently admitted as a degree-seeking student, 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 does not assure admission as a degree-seeking student. More information on admission standards and procedures for the Graduate Division can be found in the most current version of the university's Graduate Catalog, available through UTC's Graduate School website.