Popular Searches
Skip to content

Admissions

We have a small cohort each year to help us provide you with the most effective and meaningful educational, research, and mentorship experiences. This makes admission into the MA in General Psychology competitive. Here, you can learn more about what we’re looking for in a candidate, admissions requirements, deadlines, and how to apply.

What Are We Looking For?

In reviewing and evaluating applicants, we consider the following in a holistic fashion:

  • Academic history and proficiency, including overall and major GPAs
  • Experiences in scientific research and/or internships
  • Potential for completing a rigorous program
  • Desire to enhance individual critical thinking skills and knowledge of evidence-based psychological theory
  • Career aspirations/goals and “fit” with the MA Program training model and mission
  • Personal and professional maturity, as evidenced in letters of recommendation and personal interview. Personal interviews and letters of recommendation are very important in our admissions process.

We welcome applicants who are recent college graduates, current graduate students, working professionals, and those embarking upon new careers. Every individual has their unique career journey.

Program Prerequisites and Admissions Requirements

To be considered, at minimum you’ll need:

  • Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university
  • Bachelor’s GPA of 3.0 or greater
  • Undergraduate major or minor in psychology or specific coursework. You do not need to have an undergraduate psychology major or minor, but keep in mind that if your undergraduate degree is in an area other than psychology, you will need to have a minimum of 6 credits (2 courses) in psychology, including Introduction to Psychology/General Psychology, and Statistics or Research Methods. Special consideration may be given for other coursework and/or experience.

Please see the “What you’ll need for you PSYCAS application” for the full list of what you will need to submit as part of your application (e.g., letters of recommendation, transcripts.)

GREs are not required. If you have taken the GRE General and/or Subject section(s) and would like your scores to be considered as part of your larger application packet, you are welcome to submit official GRE scores as part of your PSYCAS application.

My undergraduate GPA is lower than the required 3.0. Can I still be considered, or enhance my application in other ways to increase my chances of acceptance?
We take a holistic and multi-faceted approach to the application review process, and believe that human growth is a journey, not a destination. Though we cannot promise the acceptance of students who do not meet initial criteria, we do consider aspects such as undergraduate academic growth over time; overall, major, and minor GPAs; explanations of academic struggles in the personal statement; letters of recommendation; optional GRE scores; and the admissions interview (if applicable) in our overall evaluation of an applicant. You may also consider enrolling in and successfully completing courses as a non-matriculating student in order to demonstrate your ability to succeed in graduate-level coursework.

Admissions Timeline & Application Deadline

15th
May

The preferred application deadline is May 15th.
Additional applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. This program has a fall start only.

  • Interviews and application decisions will occur on a rolling basis throughout the summer. We encourage prospective applicants to apply as early as possible.
  • Waitlist notifications may occur throughout the summer.
  • Deadline for accepted applicants to confirm their decisions is two (2) weeks after the acceptance offer is received.
  • A $300 non-refundable deposit is required upon accepting our admissions offer to the program.

How to Apply

The MA in General Psychology utilizes the Psychology Centralized Admissions System (PSYCAS) for our admissions process. PSYCAS is a centralized application service supported by APA and Liaison International. Instructions on how to use the system and how student documents will be uploaded and delivered to PSYCAS for processing can be found on their website.

To apply for the MA Program, you can create a PSYCAS account for free, and pay $75 to submit your first application. If you apply to other programs that use PSYCAS for their admissions process (i.e., most doctoral programs and many master’s programs in psychology), each additional application is $55. Applicants who belong to specific service organizations, or meet income qualifications, may be eligible for a PSYCAS fee waiver. Further details can be found on the PSYCAS website.

No application materials should be mailed directly to Touro University. Everything is submitted through your PSYCAS application.

What You Will Need For Your PSYCAS Application

The following are required for your MA application and you will submit these materials as part of your complete PSYCAS application:

  1. Official college transcripts from all undergraduate and (if applicable) graduate institutions, and proof of a bachelor’s degree from an accredited 4-year institution. 
  2. Three (3) letters of recommendation from academic/clinical/research work sources (at least two of these must come from academic faculty).
  3. A two-page personal statement of career/professional interests and why you are a good fit for Touro’s MA program.
  4. A detailed CV/Resume.

You will also have the opportunity to provide a sample of scholarly work (no longer than 30 pages) if desired. This is optional and can be easily uploaded in the "additional document" section of the PSYCAS application.

Important Note on PSYCAS Submission and Verification Timeline

Once you submit a completed application to PSYCAS, they verify all the information and notify Touro when the verification is complete. In order for your application to be considered, Touro must receive this notification from PSYCAS. The PSYCAS verification process takes considerable time and cannot be started until PSYCAS has received all documents from the applicant. Because the verification process can take 4-8 weeks or longer, especially if a foreign transcript is involved, please make sure to submit all materials with plenty of time for this process to occur. Remember, a “completed” application includes every required component of the application, and this occurs prior to PSYCAS’ extensive review and verification process. Applications not completely verified by PSYCAS can not be considered, and unfortunately, exceptions cannot be made.

Additionally, while applications are welcome on a rolling basis, we strongly encourage applicants to apply to the program by May 15th, and we will begin sending out interview invitations and admissions decisions as soon as possible after receiving applications. As such, plan to submit complete application materials to PSYCAS at least 6-8 weeks prior to your intended application review by the Touro MA admissions team.

Final Decisions

Our admissions team will make final decisions from the pool of interviewed applicants. A waitlist will also be established. Waitlisted applicants may receive an offer up to the beginning of the academic year to which they applied.

Transfer Credit Policy

Up to 6 graduate credits (2 courses) are potentially eligible for transfer. Graduate courses with a “B-” grade or higher from an accredited college may be considered for transfer credit. Any courses must be taken within the last 7 years to be eligible for transfer credit. It is important to note that approved course transfers will not shorten the overall length of the program, but will reduce course load in applicable semesters.

You will be required to submit the syllabi for graduate courses you would like to be considered for transfer credit. Courses may come from master’s programs in general psychology, social work, mental health counseling, school psychology, industrial-organizational psychology, etc.

However, please note that there is a strict course transfer policy, and courses with similar names may not necessarily be transferable. Content must be substantially equivalent. For transfer credits to be granted, you must demonstrate that you have completed work which is substantially equivalent to that required by Touro’s MA Program. Appropriate faculty will review the submitted syllabus to ensure substantial overlap of course content, defined as a 75% content overlap between the syllabus of the course to be transferred and the most recent syllabus of our program’s course. Faculty will then make a transfer/no-transfer recommendation. The Program Director will then review the faculty recommendations and make a final course transfer decision.

Taking Classes as a Non-matriculated or Visiting Student

You may take courses in the MA program as a non-degree-seeking (non-matriculating) student. Non-matriculating requests are considered on a case-by-case basis. Please email our department manager, Savannah Wiza, at swiza@touro.edu, with the subject line: “Seeking non-matriculating MA coursework”. Acceptance will be considered on a rolling basis, dependent on the applicant’s needs for coursework and cohort numbers.

Questions?

If you would like additional information about the MA Program, upcoming open houses, the admissions process, or would like to receive admissions cycle alerts, please email our department manager, Savannah Wiza, at swiza@touro.edu, with the subject line: “MA Gen Psych Program Information”.