Of the 250 psychology departments in the U.S. that have graduate programs, our department consistently is ranked in the top 10-20% in nationwide, including by the National Research Council and the US News and World Report. 

Since 1950, the graduate program in our department has offered advanced training leading to the Ph.D. in Psychology. Graduate training follows a mentorship-based model, in which students train directly with one or more faculty members whose research interests are aligned with their own. They also take advanced courses in topics that span all five of the department’s training areas: 

Students in any of the five training areas also have the option to pursue the Graduate Minor in Psychological Statistics and Methods. 

The goal of the Ph.D. program is to prepare students for careers in academic research and teaching, professional research and data science positions in industry, or in some cases, clinical positions in health-care settings.  Recent graduates of our program routinely go on to successful careers in each of these professions.   

Graduate Applications and Admissions

Our application deadline is December 1, 2022 for students who plan to begin graduate training in Fall 2023. Applicants must submit all application materials through the Graduate School's online application system (click here to access the online application) before the December 1, 2022 application deadline.  

We use a mentorship model for graduate education. Our faculty interest document (click here to access the document) notes faculty members who are recruiting new graduate students for Fall 2023.

Click below to learn more about the application process and to get answers to common questions about our graduate program.  Questions can be sent to Dennis Miller, Director of Graduate Studies, at millerden@missouri.edu.