Northern Illinois University
Department of Psychology
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Application deadline: January 15

Our area admits students who are interested in obtaining a Ph.D. with a focus in Social Psychology or in Industrial/Organizational (I/O) psychology.

If you have a B.A. you should apply to the M.A. program. However, the M.A. is only a step along the way to the Ph.D. We assume that all of the students that we admit have the Ph.D. as their goal. Make sure that your statement of purpose clearly identifies the Ph.D. as your ultimate goal and how this degree will fit into your career goals.

If you already have an M.A. with an approved thesis (i.e., a research-based thesis in either Social Psychology or in I/O psychology), you can apply directly to the Ph.D. program. Note, however, that even if you have the M.A. you need to pass the area’s comprehensive exam to be admitted to Ph.D. candidacy. This may require that you take additional coursework.

Admission to the program is competitive. Typically, the Social & I/O area receives 40 to 50 applications and seeks to admit 4-5 applicants each year. Qualifications of successful applicants exceed the University’s minimum admission requirements. Attractive applicants will have qualifications like these, or better:

• Undergrad GPA: 3.50
• Graduate GPA: 3.70

Please note that these standards are in place for a reason. We have done an internal analysis suggesting that students who are not well-qualified have a substantially reduced chance of completing the program and obtaining their Ph.D. Hence, we seek students who have high intellect and who have performed strongly in their past intellectual tasks because such characteristics predict success in our program. Also important is a clear interest in and an intense desire to engage in, research. The production and dissemination of new knowledge is a central feature of our program and if research is your “thing,” you have a good chance of being happy here.

In addition to the above qualifications, the faculty will also weigh the following criteria when reviewing applications:

• Letters of recommendation
• Research experience (even if not related to Social or I/O)
• Difficulty of undergraduate program of study
• Clear statement of career goals
• Fit of student interests/goals with faculty research interests