How do I apply to Educational Psychology?

Follow the links below to step through your application to the Department of Educational Psychology. International students should make special note of additional materials you may have to submit.

Admission FAQ's

Are you Applying to the Correct Department?

Educational Psychology is one of six departments in the College of Education at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus. The other five departments are Curriculum and Instruction, Educational Organization and Leadership, Educational Policy Studies, Human Resource Education, and Special Education.

If Educational Psychology is the correct department for your application, you will need to specify one of the four areas of study within Educational Psychology – Child Development, Cognitive Science of Teaching and Learning (CSTL), Counseling Psychology, and Studies in Interpretive, Statistical, Measurement and Evaluative Methodologies for Education (Queries).

Where the application asks for "Proposed Program," select "Educational Psychology."  Then under "Degree," select "Educational Psychology - PhD." Where it asks for "Field of Specialization," indicate one of our areas of study.

The Department of Psychology is a completely separate campus unit.

What degrees programs do we offer?

We have two programs, an on-campus Ph.D. program and an online Ed.M. program for working K-12 teachers. Click here for information about the Ed.M. program.

Along with other departments in the College of Education, Educational Psychology can also confer the CAS, MA, and MS degrees. However, we do not have a formal terminal MA or MS program. MA and MS degrees are usually awarded to Ph.D. students who join our department with a bachelor's degree; they are required to get the master's degree as the first step in their doctoral program. You don't need a master's degree to apply for our Ph.D. program.  You can apply with a bachelor's degree.  Therefore, virtually all applicants to our on-campus program are Ph.D. candidates.

We also do not have a formal CAS program. CAS degrees can be conferred in specific situations, but the department rarely admits a student as a CAS candidate.

Who is a Ph.D. Applicant?

You don't need a master's degree to apply for our Ph.D. program.  You can apply with a bachelor's degree.  Before receiving a Ph.D. you will need to complete your master's degree, but you can do that as part of your overall doctoral program.  Therefore, virtually all applicants to our program are Ph.D. candidates.

Our Counseling Psychology, Child Development, and CSTL areas of study will only accept Ph.D. applicants.

Deadline for Application

Our Ph.D. program only accepts admissions for the Fall semester. For Fall 2010, our application deadline is December 1, 2009.

Departmental recommendations concerning admission for graduate study to begin in Fall 2010 will be mailed on or before April 15, 2010.

The CTER on-line Ed.M. program admits students for Fall, Spring, & Summer enrollment.  If you are applying to CTER, please click here  to find their deadlines and other application instructions.

The Application Process

Apply online at http://www.grad.illinois.edu/admissions/apply/.

There is a $60.00 nonrefundable application fee for domestic students and a $75.00 (US Dollars) fee for international students. You may pay your application fee by credit card during on-line application.

If you are a current or former University of Illinois graduate student from a department other than Educational Psychology, go to http://www.grad.illinois.edu/admissions/apply/reentry.htm for instructions about how to petition to change curriculum. Re-entry instructions are also included for students who have not been recently enrolled.

For information about supporting materials for your petition, contact edpsy@illinois.edu.

Required Supporting Materials for All Applications

The following materials are required for all applicants to the Educational Psychology department. There are no additional or different requirements for any of our four areas of study. For example, applicants to the Counseling Psychology program need to follow the same instructions as applicants to any other doctoral program in our department.

(International applicants should also read Additional Required Materials for International Students and Important Information for International Applicants about Assistantships.)

Submit All Supporting Materials to the Department

All supporting materials should be sent to the Department of Educational Psychology.  Depending on specific instructions, either e-mail materials to:

edpsy@illinois.edu

or mail hard copy materials to:

Admissions
Educational Psychology
1310 S. Sixth St.
226 Education Building
Champaign, IL 61820

Do not send any materials to Graduate Admissions.

Curriculum Vita (Resumé)

The on-line application asks you to provide the following information in specific statement areas:

  • Non-academic Training Experience
  • Memberships in Honor Societies and Learned and Professional Organizations
  • Scholarships, Prizes or Other Recognition
  • Publications, Major Papers, Theses

If your vita or resumé covers these topics, you can choose to upload it directly into this area of the application. Otherwise, please complete the above sections and send your vita to us as an e-mail attachment. The electronically submitted document is sufficient. Please do NOT send an additional hard copy.

Personal Statement of Interest

Please provide a statement of interest that is two or three double-spaced pages. You can choose to upload your statement directly into the “personal statement” area of the on-line application (please note word-count limitations for uploads), or you can send it to us as an e-mail attachment. The electronically submitted document is sufficient. Please do NOT send an additional hard copy.

Department Personal Information Form

The Department Personal Information Form is available as a protected word document. Please complete this form by tabbing to each field and typing the appropriate information. If you have selected the Queries area of study, please specify your sub-specialty on the Personal Information Form. For any of our four areas of study, please specify the faculty member you prefer to work with in question 5. This information assists the various areas of study to make admission decisions. 

The reading statement requested by question 6 is a separate document from your personal statement of interest. Question 6 specifically focuses on readings that have influenced your academic and career interests.

When you are finished, you have two options:

1) If you haven’t yet submitted your university application:

         a) Save the completed form and the readings statement as PDF documents

         b) Go to the section of the application for Program Specific Questions and upload each document separately.

2) If you have already submitted your university application, save the completed form and the readings statement as PDF documents. Name them using your last name, i.e., lastname_pif (example: zheng_pif), and e-mail them as attachments to edpsy@illinois.edu

Letters of Reference

The on-line application asks you to enter three recommenders who have direct knowledge of your academic performance and potential for graduate study. You can mark them as either off-line or on-line recommenders. We prefer they be on-line.They will be sent an automatic email with instructions for submitting their recommendation. They do NOT need to provide additional hard copies of electronically submitted recommendation letters.

Transcripts

Provide one complete official transcript from each school where you received a graduate or undergraduate degree, or where you expect to receive a degree before the entry term of your application . Each official transcript must be in its original sealed envelope but you may send it to our office in a packet with other materials. Also, if a transcript does not show the degree earned, a separate certificate of degree must be provided. 

Former students of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign only need to send non-UIUC transcripts. We will print your academic history from the university database.

Preferred department standards for grade point average is 3.5 on a 4.0 scale calculated on the last two years of undergraduate study and all years of graduate study.

Graduate Records Examination (http://www.gre.org/)

You must submit verbal and quantitative test scores taken within four years of date of desired enrollment. We do not require the GRE Psychology Exam. We prefer scores of 600 each for the verbal test and quantitative tests, or a combined Q+V score of 1200. Applicants with lower scores are sometimes admitted, but must show compensatory strength in other aspects of their preparation to be considered.

You will need to ask the Educational Testing Service (ETS) to electronically submit official scores to the university database.  When ETS asks for destination codes, put 1836 for the institution.  If you are asked to designate a department, according to the most current information on the ETS website you should input 3403 for Educational Psychology. Regardless of the department code, however, scores will not actually be sent to our department. All scores will be electronically reported to the university and placed in a central database for department access.

You can also send copies of your ETS score reports directly to our department, in case the electronic reporting is delayed.

If it is impossible to complete the Graduate Record Examination in your home country, qualified international applicants may be evaluated on the basis of the TOEFL scores (see international applicant requirements) during the admission process.

Financial Support for Educational Psychology Students

We do not have a separate application for financial assistance. Applicants who apply by the December 1 deadline will be considered for fellowship nomination for a university award. All applicants will be considered for both admission and for assistantship availability. While we cannot promise support to everyone, each year a substantial percentage of our new students receives an offer of financial assistance along with their admission offer. Virtually all of our students who want assistantships are able to find them during and after their first year of study, both within our department and elsewhere in the university. Most assistantships include a full tuition waiver for the term of employment. In addition, every semester the department awards three tuition waivers to continuing students, and there are other fellowship opportunities throughout each academic year. 

Additional Required Materials for International Applicants

English Proficiency

Most international applicants must submit test scores that demonstrate adequate English proficiency to succeed in graduate study at this university. The test scores can be from the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or the IELTS (International English Language Testing System).  

Minimum TOEFL scores required for full-status admission are:
iBT --  greater than 102  
Paper-based test -- greater than 610
Computer-based test -- greater than 253

Minimum IELTS scores required for full-status admission are: greater than 6.5 overall score AND 6 in each sub-category   Both TOEFL and IELTS exams must have been taken within two years of desired enrollment.

Students who are accepted with lower scores will be required by the University to enroll on a limited status basis for at least their first semester.

Bologna-Accord Degrees

The Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign invites applicants from countries with new degree structures adopted by the Bologna Accord.  Recipients of 3-year undergraduate degrees from the Bologna Accord may be eligible for conditional admission, and will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Financial Information

YOUR FINANCIAL INFORMATION MUST BE INCLUDED WITH YOUR SUPPORTING MATERIALS. THE UNIVERSITY WILL NOT ADMIT ANY INTERNATIONAL STUDENT WITHOUT THE FOLLOWING:

  • Verification that you have the funds to cover the first year of study.
  • Commitment from your family, or another sponsor to provide funds for the remaining expected term of study.

Click here for a detailed explanation of the financial documentation you will need to supply.

If you don't have enough personal or other funds, it might be possible to receive fellowships or research assistantships to cover the costs.

Important Information for International Applicants about Assistantships

If you do not have funds available to pay for your graduate education at this university, you can request departmental funding. If funding is available, it will usually be provided by an assistantship and tuition and fee waiver. Sometimes these assistantships will not equal the total amount of money required by the university for the first year’s expenses.  If you don’t receive enough financial aid to cover the first year’s expenses, you will need to verify that you have enough money to pay the difference. You will also need funds for travel and living expenses until you get your first paycheck.

In addition, since all international applications are due by December 1, 2008, they will also be eligible for fellowship nomination.

Most of the available assistantships will be teaching assistantships (TA), though you can be considered for other types of support.  In order to qualify for a TA position during your first semester, you must have scored 24 on the speaking section of the iBT or 8 in the speaking sub-section of the IELTS.  Without a passing score in the speaking sub-section, you will not be eligible for teaching assistantships at admission. Therefore, we highly recommend that you take this test several months before the application deadline, so that your speaking sub-section score will be included in your supporting materials.  Also, even if you don't need a current overall TOEFL or IELTS score for admission, if your most recent exam did not include the speaking sub-section you might want to consider taking a new exam in order to have that score.

During your first semester and each semester thereafter, you will have the opportunity to take a free on-campus Speak Test (which is comparable to the TSE). If you receive a passing score of 50 or above, you will then be eligible for future TA positions.  The university allows a student to take the Speak Test up to three times and has an appeal process for failing scores.

IN GENERAL, IT IS MORE LIKELY THAT THE DEPARTMENT CAN HELP AN INTERNATIONAL APPLICANT GET AN ASSISTANTSHIP AFTER ENROLLMENT, AND MUCH LESS LIKELY THAT WE CAN PROMISE ONE AT THE TIME OF ADMISSION.

Application Processing Tips

Here are a few tips to help you with the application process:

Make sure your application fee is applied correctly.

If you do not pay your application fee with a credit card when you submit your on-line application, you will need to send a check or money order to Graduate Admissions.   If you, a friend, or a relative send the application fee separately, make sure your name, birthdate, and desired department are clearly indicated on the payment.

We cannot create your application file until we receive your application.

Often applicants send us supporting materials before they submit their applications. If our department receives such materials from you, we will hold them until the university application becomes available to us.  At that point, we will create your application file and contact you about any other materials we need to complete your file.

Let us know that your materials are already here.

If you have sent materials ahead, please e-mail us at edpsy@illinois.edu when you submit the application to make sure we match your application with your materials. Let us know if materials have a different name than the one on your application (for example, transcripts in a maiden name).

Supporting materials are necessary for evaluation.

Please remember that if your application is here by the deadline but your supporting materials are not, our faculty will be unable to evaluate your file. Try to get your supporting materials to us well ahead of the deadline.  Materials that arrive on or near the deadline may not be put in your application file until well after that date due to the volume of last-minute applications and materials.  Other factors being equal, a file that is complete and available for review by the departmental deadline will have a better chance for admission.

Identify and organize your supporting materials.

When a form or statement has more than one page, staple the pages together and put both your first and last names on each page.  This will help ensure that pages that belong together will be correctly combined and not attached to other, unrelated items or be put in another applicant's file.

Our Counseling Area of Study does not train school psychologists.

Please note that our Counseling area of study does not have a program for training to become a school counselor or school psychologist. At this time there is no such program at this university.

Send only official transcripts.

Transcripts must arrive in our department sealed in their original envelopes from the institutions that provided them. If you send a packet of materials that includes your transcripts, DO NOT remove them from their envelopes. We MUST open the envelopes ourselves in order to consider the transcripts as official.

Do not wait to send transcripts.

If you are currently enrolled in college study, do not wait until the end of the semester or quarter to have transcripts sent. We will calculate your GPA with your grades up to the current term. If you are admitted, the Office of Admissions and Records will then request a new transcript showing the last completed term.

Request letters of reference early.

For your online recommenders, you may send a note along with the recommendation request that is sent to your recommender.  Please ask that your recommendation be submitted at the earliest possible time. Our faculty reviewers need your transcripts and recommendations to evaluate your application.

Use your complete proper name.

Please use your complete, proper name in all of your correspondence with the Department and with the University, especially if you are an international applicant.  If you sign a letter or an email with an American nickname, or with only a first or last name, we may not be able to match it with your application file.

Keep your e-mail address and contact information current.

Email us if your e-mail address or mailing address changes during the application process.  Without an e-mail address we can only write to you via regular mail, which may cause serious delays.  Also, make the contact information changes in the "Update Profile" section of the online application.

E-mail us to check your application status.

If you wish to check whether your application file is complete, contact the department by e-mailing edpsy@illinois.edu.

No separate financial aid application.

There is no separate financial aid application. Educational Psychology faculty consider financial needs as part of the applicant review process. (International students, please see Important Information for International Applicants about Assistantships.)

Limited Status

Admission on limited status may be granted to applicants with low grade point averages or low English Proficiency scores.  All conditions of limited status will be specified, including duration.  Limited status has no immediate effect on your graduate study. Courses you take while on limited status will count toward your degree requirements.

Requirements for obtaining full status vary according to the reason for limited status.

Deadlines for Acceptance of Offers for Admission and Financial Aid

In fairness to our graduate program as well as the other applicants seeking admission, you are strongly urged not to hold more than one offer of acceptance at a time. To protect a candidate against premature decision, however, we allow applicants until April 15 for a final decision.

If you, as an actual or prospective graduate student, accept an offer of financial aid (such as graduate scholarship, fellowship, traineeship or assistantship) for the next academic year, you have completed an agreement which both you and the graduate school are expected to honor. If you accept the offer before April 15, and subsequently desire to withdraw, you may submit in writing a resignation of the appointment at any time through April 15. However, an acceptance given or left in force after April 15 commits you to not accept another offer without first obtaining a written release from the institution to which a commitment has been made. This policy is based on the 1965 resolution of the Council of Graduate Schools in the United States. A copy of this Resolution will accompany every scholarship, fellowship, traineeship, and assistantship.

These procedures are consistent with those outlined in the American Psychological Association guidelines for Rules for Acceptance of Offers for Admission and Financial Aid.


Semantic Microformats for Addresses

College of Education
1310 S. 6th St.
ChampaignIL 61820, USA
(217) 333-0960
Fax(217) 333-5847
40.101432-88.230257