Carnegie Mellon University

Psychology Ph.D. and Cognitive Neuroscience Ph.D. Admissions

Admission to our program is extremely competitive: each year, the psychology graduate program admits about 10 of 120 applicants.  We do not have "cut-offs" for QPA or GRE scores. Students entering our program generally receive GRE scores from 149-170 in quantitative; and 158-170 in verbal components, writing GRE scores of 4+, and a GPA of 3.5+. The reason we do not have "cut-offs" is because we know that there are many other factors involved including applicants academic background (e.g., the schools attended, the classes applicants have taken), and whether or not applicants had research experience and/or publications. The extent to which applicants research interests match those of faculty members is also a significant part of the admissions decision.

Application Requirements

GRE Information

UPDATE 10/19/2022: We are no longer requiring applicants to submit GRE scores.  If you decide to send in your scores, the institution code for CMU is 2074, and the psychology code is 2016.

Test of Spoken English Requirement

As of September 2020, TOEFL, TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition, and online Duolingo English Test results will satisfy the English Language Proficiency requirement.

If your native language is not English, then you are required to submit an official report from the TOEFL or Duolingo (160 point exam).  If you are currently working on or have received a bachelors and/or a masters degree in the US and your native language is not English, the English proficiency requirement will be waived.

For Duolingo,  the official report of scores must be reported directly to Carnegie Mellon University, Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

For TOEFL, the official report of scores must be reported directly to Carnegie Mellon University code 2074 and our department code is 08.

QPA/GRE Cut Offs

We do not have "cut-offs" for QPA. The reason we do not have "cut-offs" is because we know that there are many other factors involved including your academic background (e.g., the school you attended, the classes you have taken), and whether or not you have research experience and/or publications. The extent to which your research interests match those of faculty members is also a very significant part of the admissions decision. With this in mind, you may wish to contact faculty members directly to determine whether they are accepting graduate students in the following year and whether your research interests overlap with theirs.

Transcripts

List all the Colleges and/or Universities you have attended from which a degree was obtained. Upload a copy (in English) of your most recent transcript(s) in PDF format. Any other format will not be accepted. A copy of your Transcripts must be uploaded by December 1. Since fall grades are not required, please submit your transcripts NOW. 

Letters of Recommendation

Three letters of recommendation are required. At least two should be from faculty or recent employers. Recommenders should know you relatively well and be able to evaluate the quality of your academic and professional abilities. Please send the email requests to your recommenders as early as possible and well before the application deadline

Missing Materials

Our admissions will contact you if there are any missing pieces of your application materials (application, fees, letters, transcripts, etc).