Admissions Information

The deadline for receipt of all required admissions materials is December 1 for admission beginning the following Fall semester.

Note: Applications that are submitted by applicants on or before the deadline (even if incomplete because in need of receipt of a letter of recommendation or transcript) will be considered once all materials are received. However, it is imperative that applicants have completed all components that they directly upload and have submitted their application by 11:59 PM Central time on December 1st, when the online application system closes for submissions.

New students are admitted at only one time annually to begin Fall semester. Although students in the graduate program who do not enter with a masters degree in psychology will earn a masters degree en route to the doctoral degree, the masters degree is not considered a terminal degree. That is, only students who apply for and expect to complete the doctoral program are considered for admission. There is no provision for a person seeking only a master’s degree in clinical psychology. Admission is contingent upon passing a background check required of all incoming graduate assistants.

Important Links:

• Online Graduate Application
• Graduate School 
• Graduate School Bulletin
• Information on Admitted Students

You can also contact the USM Graduate School directly at 601.266.4369. 

Review all directions on the Graduate School Admission website to ensure accurate completion and submission of your application. On the Online Graduate Application page you will need look under the "Graduate Application" heading and select the term of enrollment (i.e., Fall 2019) and click "submit" [Note:  You will have to create an account and login. You will be prompted to create your account and load your supporting documents. You may return to the application to complete it at a later time. When complete, go to the "submit" tab and follow the directions.]

 In addition, please note the following:

• We require that you submit a personal statement of professional goals and objectives, which explicitly states your preference for the child or adult concentration area. The personal statement has no specific required length but most are 2-3 pages long. It should be an attempt by you to outline (1) your personal and professional goals during and after graduate school and (2) why you represent a research match for one or more specific faculty members in the clinical program. Students are accepted to one of the two clinical concentration areas (child or adult), and research supervisor assignments are made following admission to the program. 
• We require that you submit a vita or resume of accomplishments.

• If available, you are encouraged to submit evidence of scholarship demonstrated through participation in research leading to presentations, scholarly publications, or some other demonstration of original scholarship. However, provision of such a sample is not required. This document must be directly submitted to the Chair of Clinical Admissions (michael.anestis@usm.edu).

• We require that your application includes three letters of recommendation from faculty members familiar with your academic performance. Letters from current, recent faculty mentors and professors are more advantageous than letters from individuals outside of the field. In addition to the online checklist, we ask that your references provide us with an actual letter, on electronic letterhead, as a letter of recommendation. An electronic file can be uploaded directly into the online system when providing your reference. There is an option to request a fourth letter of recommendation as well, but we only require three letters of recommendation for this program. 

• The graduate school requires that you send in official copies of transcripts in order for your application to be processed as complete.  Unofficial transcripts will not suffice, even at the earliest stages of the application process.  The clinical psychology program requires that you submit official applications from each institution of higher learning that you have attended, including those from which you did not receive a degree.
  

• The Graduate School will also collect your official GRE transcript as well as your application fee.

If you have questions about the application process, please contact the Chair of Clinical Admissions:

 

Michael Anestis, Ph.D.

Associate Professor and Chair of Clinical Psychology Admissions

The University of Southern Mississippi

Department of Psychology

118 College Dr., #5025

Hattiesburg, MS 39406-5025

Phone: 601.266.6742

michael.anestisFREEMississippi

 

If you have questions about the doctoral program in clinical psychology, please contact the Director of Clinical Training:

 

Sara S. Jordan, Ph.D.

Director of Clinical Training

Associate Professor

The University of Southern Mississippi

Department of Psychology

118 College Dr., #5025

Hattiesburg, MS 39406-5025

Phone: 601.266.4587

sara.jordanFREEMississippi