Do you have questions about Graduate Study in Psychology?
How does the “Save” function work?
The Graduate Study in Psychology database offers a helpful tool to assist you in saving schools of interest. To keep a running list of schools you’d like to refer back to, you can use the “Save” function. To do this, you would search for a program by institution, state/province, degree, or subfield, and then click “Search.” Once the program of interest appears, click the “Save” icon near the top left corner of the program title. The schools you save can be found by clicking the “Show Saved” button on the homepage.
How does the “Compare” function work?
Once you have saved programs that are of interest to you, you can use the “Add to Compare” feature that is located above the “Save” icon. Using this feature allows you to view up to 5 saved programs side by side.
Can I search by different criteria like my state, kind of program, or degree offered?
Yes! Schools and programs can be searched by inputting the institution name or by searching using the state/province, degree sought, or subfield within psychology.
Where can I see what schools and programs are currently listed in the database?
A blank response or a response labeled as “data not provided” means that the program did not report this information. Either the program did not have the information needed at the time it was requested, or this information does not apply to the program. If a program does not use the criteria (i.e., GRE) the information would appear as "not applicable".
What does accreditation mean? What if my school is not accredited?
The APA accreditation process promotes consistent quality and excellence in education and training in health service psychology (HSP) by assuring the public that a program has clearly defined training aims that meet professional scientific standards. These standards support the successful, ethical, and skillful delivery of psychological service. APA accredits doctoral programs in clinical psychology, counseling psychology, school psychology, and combinations of those areas, as well as internships in health service psychology and postdoctoral residencies in clinical psychology and specialty areas of professional psychology. Not all HSP programs are accredited by APA, and both accredited and non-accredited HSP programs are listed in the database. To learn more about accreditation for programs in HSP, please refer to the Commission on Accreditation webpages. Additionally, it is important to note that accreditation does not apply to non-HSP fields (i.e., fields other than clinical, counseling, or school psychology), so none of those programs (e.g., social psychology, quantitative psychology) will show up on the accreditation website or as being accredited in the database because accreditation does not apply to these fields (i.e., it is not within COA’s scope).
I have specific questions about a program (e.g., whether they’ll accept courses I took elsewhere, whether I can do some courses online, etc.) or about my specific situation (e.g., I’m an international student and have questions about visa or internship sites). What should I do?
Once you have determined that you are interested in a particular program, but now have specific questions about it that are not included on their listing in the Graduate Study in Psychology database, please message the listed contact for help with specific questions that pertain to your situation.
Where can I get additional information about applying to grad school? What do I do next? What resources does APA have to help me?
APA offers a variety of resources to aid prospective students in their efforts in applying to graduate school. Whether you are actively searching for a graduate program or you’re already applying to graduate schools, APA offers several helpful resources for this process at Graduate and Postgraduate Education or Application Video Series. You may also want to consider purchasing resource guides like “Getting In: A Step-by-Step Plan for Gaining Admission to Graduate School In Psychology.”
I can’t seem to find the schools I saved, and it appears they have been erased from my profile. How do I retrieve my previously saved information?
Please note that any saved data will be overwritten every year in July during our Graduate Study information transition process. This transition will replace the previous year’s data with the newest data. Starting in June a banner indicating that the transition is in process will appear at the top of your screen once you log in. By mid-July, the transition to the new database will be complete and the saved data will no longer be available. During June and July, we recommend recording the saved information outside of the system before the transition so that you may select your saved schools again. If you have trouble locating your saved schools outside of this timeframe (e.g., August-May), please feel free to contact us so that we can try to assist you.
Not all the programs I am interested in are in the database. Can I receive a refund?
Unfortunately, once you have purchased access to the database, it becomes non-refundable. We have placed a list of all the participating schools on our website so that you know who is included prior to your purchase.