Admissions

All application materials should be submitted to the Office of Graduate Admissions via the online Graduate Application. Use the graduate admission checklist to get started. Please note that the checklist may not reflect our program’s deadlines and requirements; follow the information on this page.

All inquires about application materials and the admissions process should be directed to Dr. Elisa Trucco, Associate Director of Clinical Training.

FALL 2025 GRADUATE STUDENT RECRUITMENT
The following faculty will be accepting new students for Fall 2025:
• Elisa Trucco, PI of the ReACH Lab, Research on the etiology of adolescent substance use and vaping cessation programming

• Daniel Bagner, PI of ECBL, Research on psychosocial interventions for early childhood behavior problems

• Jeremy Pettit, PI of CAPP, Research on depression, anxiety, and suicidal behaviors

• Yael Dai, Research on early diagnosis and intervention for autistic children

• Dana McMakin, PI of REMEDY, Research on reward and emotional processing as it relates to early adolescent depression and sleep

• Raul Gonzalez, PI of the SUN Lab, Research on neurocognitive differences for substance use risk

• Kat Hart, PI of the READY Lab, Research on school readiness and evidence-based early interventions

• Victor Buitron, Research on youth suicide prevention 

• Jonathan Comer, PI of the MINT LAB, Research on pediatric anxiety disorders, irritability, disruptive behavior problems, and traumatic stress

APPLICATION FEE WAIVER for Fall 2025 applicants: The Department of Psychology has made available a select number of application fee waivers for PhD applicants in financial need and from underrepresented backgrounds. Please visit the "Requirements" panel below and scroll to the "Application Fee Waiver" section for more information.

• Deadlines

  Fall: Apply by December 1, 5 p.m. EST

• Requirements

  Our program is committed to providing an opportunity for admission to a diverse range of applicants. As such, we implement a holistic application review that considers several factors, including academic record, relevant research experience, statement of intent/personal statement and letters of recommendation. Following a recent decision from the University Graduate School to waive the GRE requirement, providing scores on the GRE is now optional. The intent of our holistic review is to increase the diversity of our student body and identify applicants with the maturity, passion, and prior experience to do well in our program. We carefully considered and extensively discussed whether or not to include the GRE. We decided to include it, while considering its limitations, because the GRE has allowed some students to stand out when they may have other disadvantages (e.g., went to a university that did not allow them to network with experts in the field or had fewer opportunities). As noted, our holistic application review considers the GRE as only one part of a larger application package; an outstanding record in some parts of the application may offset a less competitive record in other parts.

  • Degree: Bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline from an accredited college or university
  • Research Experience: Applicants who have been accepted into the program have had significant research experience and worked or volunteered in clinical/applied settings
  • Statement of Intent/Personal Statement: Discuss motivations and career goals; research experience, skills and plans; and faculty with whom you hope to work if admitted (consistent with what is stated on the departmental application – see below), making note of research interests and relevance, skills and goals. Statements should not exceed three typewritten, double-spaced pages. Statement should be uploaded to the graduate admissions portal
  • Curriculum vitae or resume: This includes pertinent information on previous experience, education, honors, awards, interests, community service and achievements.
  • Letters of Recommendation: Three letters written on official letterhead. Ideally, at least two letters would be from faculty evaluating the student's potential for graduate work. Letters of recommendation are uploaded online by the recommender. Letter writers will be asked to provide additional information when they log in to submit their letters. Letters of recommendation must be submitted or sent directly by the letter writer to Graduate Admissions at gradadm@fiu.edu.
  • GPA: Most applicants who have been accepted into the program have had an undergraduate and/or graduate GPA of 3.0 or higher
  • GRE: General test is optional.
  • Departmental Application: Fill out the Graduate Programs in Psychology application and upload it through the online admissions application portal
  • Transcripts: Submitting Transcripts. This includes university/college official transcript from all institutions previously attended in a sealed institution envelope. Addresses and other methods of submitting your transcripts can be found clicking here. If you graduated from FIU, you do not need to request transcripts  unless you attended another institution afterwards. Students who have received an education from non-English speaking countries must have their transcripts translated when sent to FIU. If sending electronically, institutions can have transcripts emailed to Graduate Admissions at gradadm@fiu.edu.
    Foreign Applicants: Please note you must provide a copy of your transcripts to graduate admissions and a translation from a recognized translation agency or official translator. Some suggested agencies are listed here.
  • Additional Requirements:
    • Completion of an undergraduate or graduate research methods course as a prerequisite
    • Two writing samples - academic or professional, no length requirement
    • Ability to work full time toward the degree
    • Previous research experience preferred
    • International graduate student applicants whose native language is not English are required to submit additional information. These requirements are provided here.

  For more about requirements, consult the Graduate Catalog or contact Associate Program Director Elisa Trucco or psygrad@fiu.edu. Contact with a potential faculty mentor is strongly recommended.

  Top applicants will be interviewed remotely by two to three faculty members, including the applicant's potential advisor. The purpose of the interview is to give applicants an opportunity to further gauge their "fit" with our program by talking directly to faculty, and to learn more about our various mentorship models.

  Information on Judicial Holds

  Although we are required to include questions in our application that ask about previous experiences with disciplinary charges and criminal offenses, we do not want these questions to discourage anyone with these experiences from applying to our programs. Responding “yes” to these questions does not preclude applicants from being considered for admission to our programs. It does place a “judicial hold” on the application that can be resolved through the Admissions Clearance Process. Moreover, responses to these questions will not be shared with faculty reviewing applications—regardless of the applicant’s responses—so as to maintain confidentially and reduce bias throughout the review process.
  
  Instructions for resolving judicial holds can be found here: https://admissions.fiu.edu/admissions-clearance/

  If you have any questions about this process, please contact the Admissions Office.

  
  Application Fee Waiver

  For applicants for the Fall of 2025: The Department of Psychology has made available a select number of application fee waivers for PhD applicants in financial need. To find out if you are eligible for the department application fee waiver, email the Psychology Department PhD Programs Coordinator at psygrad@fiu.edu, answering the following questions:
  Name and, if applicable, Panther ID number -
  Subplan to which you are applying -
  Do you have a financial hardship or difficulty paying the application fee? Yes or No

• Student Body

  The clinical science program embraces the goal of cultivating a climate of inclusion in which everyone is valued as an individual and whose members (both faculty and students) are committed to the development and improvement in issues of diversity and inclusion within the program, especially as they relate to research, practice, and service. Please refer to the Student Resources for information about and links to several resources, such as funding and training opportunities available to students from groups underrepresented in academia, a list of campus resources and other resources meant to foster the recruitment, retention, and flourishing of a vast student population.

• Funding

  Admitted students are provided with a graduate assistantship. GAs are classified as Graduate Assistants, Graduate Teaching Assistants or Graduate Research Assistants. A graduate assistantship provides a stipend, tuition waiver and health insurance. Additionally, students may be funded through Center for Children and Families clinical assistantships, and awards and fellowships.

  Admitted students who maintain good academic standing are guaranteed four years of support. Graduate assistantships are on 12-month contracts (stipend $28,000). Most students are funded through their fifth year, contingent upon satisfactory progress in the program.

  • Cost of attendance
  • CASE Scholarships & Fellowships
  • Funding for minority students
  • University graduate fellowships
  • External funding for graduate students