Close
Close
Search this website

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.

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. 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
    • Degree: Bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline from an accredited college or university
    • GPA: Applicants must have a 3.0 average or higher during the last two years of the undergraduate program
    • GRE: General test is waived for Fall 2025 applicants following a recent decision from the University Graduate School to waive the GRE requirement
    • 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, 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.
    • 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 additional requirements, consult the Graduate Catalog. If you have questions, contact Program Director Anthony Dick or psygrad@fiu.edu. Contact with a potential faculty mentor is strongly recommended.

    Successful applicants demonstrate a strong interest in cognitive neuroscience, significant research experience and a good fit with proposed faculty in the program. Additionally, successful applicants will demonstrate a record of academic achievement evidenced by a high GPA; show significant professional accomplishments as described in personal statements; and have supportive letters of recommendations from past mentors. All of the admitted applicants had significant research experience at the undergraduate or postgraduate level, and comprehensive recommendations from research advisors.

    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. Interviews usually take place during the last two weeks of January or early February.

    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/

    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:

    1. Name and Panther ID number -
    2. Subplan to which you are applying -
    3. I have financial hardship or difficulty paying the application fee – Yes or No

    2nd fee waiver opportunity: Applicants demonstrating financial need may have the application fee of $30 USD waived by the Graduate School if they do not meet eligibility for the departmental waiver above. Applicants interested in submitting a waiver should select “check” when prompted for application payment and submit supporting documentation by emailing it to Graduate Admissions at gradadm@fiu.edu. The waivers are reviewed by University Admissions and will confirm eligibility. Eligibility criteria generally includes an EFC below 1500 on a FAFSA application; furlough letter; homeless waivers, etc. Applicants may email Graduate Admissions to inquire if they meet eligibility.

  • Preferred Credentials

    You should consider applying to graduate school in the same way you would apply for a job. Understand the job requirements and work to obtain experience in those areas.

    We review applications looking for the following credentials:

    1. Research experience: One of the most important parts of a good graduate application is evidence of substantial research experience. A couple of years of work in a research laboratory is desirable, so start early. Evidence of productivity - authorship on a paper or a poster presentation at conferences - is desirable.
    2. Identify a Mentor: The Cognitive Neuroscience PhD uses a mentor model. This means students are accepted to the program to work in a laboratory with a faculty member in the program. Students should contact faculty ahead of time to determine their fit with the laboratory, and to find out if the faculty member is taking students into the laboratory for that year.
    3. Good recommendations: FIU requires three recommendations, preferably from faculty with whom you have conducted research. A recommendation from a boss at a job is not necessarily desirable, unless they can speak to your work ethic or other relevant qualities. Recommendations from faculty with whom you took one class are not great, either, unless the faculty member knows you well. Recommendations from graduate students, or from faculty in online classes, are not a great benefit to your application.
    4. Masters Degree?: A master's degree can help an application to the extent that additional research experience, recommendations, publications, or course work are positive contributions to the applicant's record. However, it is not required. We definitely consider applicants who have strong credentials right out of a baccalaureate program. Students accepted to the program will obtain a Master's degree along the way to the PhD, so it is not necessary to obtain a Master's to be accepted to the program.
    5. Good GPA: A GPA above a 3.5 is usually desirable, especially if the transcript shows evidence of work in the hard sciences (chemistry, physics) and mathematics. A master's degree can help but is not required.
    6. GRE scores: Neither general nor subject GRE are required.
    7. Evidence of writing competence: Students should show excellent competence with the written word.
  • 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 provided four years of support. Graduate assistantships are on 12-month contracts (stipend $27,550). Most students are funded through their fifth year, contingent upon satisfactory progress in the program.

Apply Now