Graduate Admissions and Requirements

Introduction

The Graduate Field of Psychology includes 39 faculty members from departments across the university including Psychology, Human Development, and Neurobiology and Behavior. Only Ph.D. candidates are admitted. The Field does not have an M.A. program. The goal of the Field is to educate students to become researchers, scholars, and teachers who will contribute to the future of psychology as a scientific discipline in academic or other research-oriented settings.

The dominant strengths of the Field lie in three broadly defined areas: behavioral and evolutionary neuroscience; perception, cognition and development; and social/personality psychology.

We do not offer training in clinical psychology, counseling, school psychology, community psychology, industrial psychology, or clinical neuropsychology. Applicants with primary interests in these subjects are not admitted.

How to Apply

You must apply directly to the Cornell University Graduate School. You may also want to investigate the Cornell Graduate School site for additional information about applying. Applicants must submit GRE general test scores in addition to transcripts of the undergraduate record, three letters of recommendation, and a personal statement of interests. Applicants are not required to submit scores on the GRE subject test in psychology, or to have had an undergraduate major in psychology. Prior research experience is highly desirable; applicants may submit research reports or work. Persons whose primary interests lie in clinical, counseling, industrial, or school psychology should not apply.

The closing date for applications is December 1, 2018.

The Field Structure

At Cornell, graduate study is organized using a field structure. Fields are composed of faculty members from a number of departments who come together around a shared intellectual interest, and may draw from different campuses or colleges. Graduate students are admitted to fields of study. Within each field, they select major and minor subjects, which are research interests or concentrations.

Fields span departments and even disciplines. It’s possible for a student in the field of economics to include faculty on his or special committee from industrial labor and economics, civil and environmental engineering, and sociology along with the more traditional economics and management.

For example, the Graduate Field of Psychology includes faculty from

human development (College of Human Ecology)
neurobiology and behavior (College of Agriculture & Life Sciences and College of Arts & Sciences)
industrial and labor relations (School of Industrial and Labor Relations)
nutritional science (College of Human Ecology)

Click here for the complete "Fields of Study, Subjects, and Concentrations" in PDF form.