Admissions Deferral Policy

The Psychology Department faculty has implemented an admissions deferral policy concerning instances when applicants to our master's and doctoral programs are offered admission and later indicate they wish to defer admittance to the program for a period of time.

This policy is based upon the reality that admitting an applicant to one of our graduate programs has clinical ramifications (i.e., accreditation and licensure), which only the Psychology faculty can adequately assess. Further, the graduate program's admittance deferral process is guided by the Council of Counseling Psychology Training Programs (CCPTP) Guidelines for Graduate School Offers and Acceptance. These guidelines indicate that applicants seeking an admittance deferral must reapply to the graduate program with formal approval by program faculty when they are ready to attend.

An applicant to one of our graduate programs who is offered admission to the program is offered admission only for the academic year indicated by the applicant on the application form. If that applicant later decides to defer entry into the program until the academic year following that listed on the application form, the Psychology faculty may offer to maintain the applicant's file for a year so that the applicant will not have to resubmit application materials. However, the Psychology faculty will require the applicant to indicate in writing the following year her/his desire to come into the program and to submit an updated curriculum vita.

When that written expression of interest and updated CV is received, the Psychology faculty will schedule another admissions interview with the applicant and decide if the applicant is suitable to be admitted to the program. In addition, the faculty may request additional information from the applicant to support the deferral review.

An applicant wanting to defer admittance for one academic year is required to submit an Admissions Deferral Request to the Director of the master's or doctoral program stating the reason for the request and providing any applicable supportive information. In consultation with program faculty, the program directors will review the request and notify the student of its decision in writing. Requests for admissions deferral for two or more academic years will be denied.