Admissions Criteria

• A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution including the following six prerequisite psychology courses (*see note below):   

1. 1. Introduction to Psychology
   2. Abnormal Psychology
   3. Developmental or Lifespan Psychology
   4. Personality Psychology (sometimes referred to as Theories of Personality)
   5. Statistics
   6. Research Methods in Psychology (e.g., Experimental Psychology, Research Methods in Psychology)

• Academic transcript(s) showing a 3.00 overall grade point average (GPA) for your undergraduate degree work. 
• Experience, either on a paid or volunteer basis, in the area of counseling or human services of 600 hours. Detailed information on this requirement can be found here.  
• A resume describing your relevant educational, work and volunteer experience. 
• A beginning understanding of Existential Phenomenological Psychology as the minimum.  
• A writing sample such as an undergraduate paper.  
• A personal autobiographical essay (of roughly six pages in length). This essay should include information on your present and future interests in the field of psychology. This essay should give the reader a concrete sense of your personal, as well as your vocational and intellectual development. It should include an account of human services work or volunteer experiences, influential courses, readings, personal events and changes that help to explain why you are interested in training as a psychotherapist, and why you are applying to our specific program with its focus in existential phenomenological psychology.  
• Three letters of recommendation from individuals who can speak to your qualifications for doing graduate academic work, and/or your experiences in counseling or human services, and/or beginning understanding of existential-phenomenological psychology.  

• Applicants who reach the final screening stage in the admissions process will be invited to complete an in-person, telephone, or online interview with a MAP faculty member.  
• Information about tuition, fees, and financial aid is available through the Office of Graduate Admissions.  
• Request more information about the Master of Arts in Psychology (MA in Psychology) program.  
• Start the online application process.  

*Note: These six prerequisite psychology courses must be completed before class begins in the Fall Quarter. If you have not yet completed all six you may still apply as long as you outline a plan for completing them before beginning work in the program in September. To be competitive in the application process, however, applicants should have completed at least half of these prerequisite courses at the time of application.