Graduate Admissions
The Department of Psychology offers several degree options for graduate students: Doctoral-level students may pursue a PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience, Clinical Psychology, Cognitive Psychology or Social-Personality Psychology. Master's-level students may pursue an MA in General Psychology or an MA in Drugs, Health, & Society.
Application Deadlines
- December 1: All PhD applications
- March 2: General Psychology MA
- August 1: Drugs, Health and Society MA
All applications are reviewed soon after the deadline. Most applicants will be notified via email of the final outcome of their application. PhD decisions are generally made by March 1.
As the MA and PhD programs are research-based, applicants with clear and focused research interests and goals, along with prior research experience, tend to have stronger applications. However, different program areas may be looking for different qualities in applicants. Applicants may contact the respective area head of the degree program of interest to discuss any additional specific criteria.
The department will review applications missing certain application materials, such as one letter of recommendation. However, applications missing all letters of recommendation or undergraduate transcripts will not receive full consideration.
After an application has been submitted for formal review, applicants can view their application along with their supporting documents online by logging back into their application. For questions regarding how to access your online application, please visit the Graduate School.
Admissions Requirements and Process
GRE scores are not required for any of our degree programs. Please review program-specific admissions requirements below.
Non-refundable application fee: $75
After you submit your UB graduate application, you’ll be prompted to make your payment online by credit card or ACH through Nelnet.
U.S. citizens or current permanent residents may request a fee waiver through the application portal after completing the graduate application and uploading all required materials.
Application Instructions
Applicants may apply to only one degree at a time within the same department. Applicants will not be able to apply for both the MA program and a PhD program, nor can they apply to two PhD programs, during the same admissions cycle.
Students who wish to pursue an MA or PhD degree in the Department of Psychology must create an account and submit an online application via our online application system:
All applicants are accepted based on the recommendation of individual faculty. In your application, please list faculty members whose research interests provide the best fit to your own interests.
Instructions for International Applicants
In addition to the above application materials, international applicants must also submit the following:
- Test Scores demonstrating English language proficiency. Accepted test scores and English language proficiency exemptions can be found here. If you submit TOEFL scores, send an official copy from ETS using the Institution Code: 2925.
- Passport Bio-Page
- International Applicant Financial Form (IAFF)
- Financial Documentation (Per the IAFF instructions)
Non- Matriculated Applications
Applicants interested in taking graduate level courses without applying to one of our degree-granting programs should contact us directly at psych@buffalo.edu for instructions on how to access the application. Non-matriculated applicants must have an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 and written instructor permission to take at least one course on the upcoming course schedule to be eligible for consideration. Accepted non-matriculated students can earn no more than 12.0 credit hours total per University policy.
Contact Us
Please contact us with any questions about the application process.