The Doctoral Program and Its Invitation to Others

We invite applicants to join us in blending alternative perspectives into a new pluralistic vision. Bringing together the deep commitments and methodological traditions founded in humanistic psychology, we take seriously the contributions of those who would integrate the psychological and spiritual, the mind and the body, and the social and the subjective. Our doctoral program is committed to challenging the binaries that plague psychology through a rigorous dialectic of practice and reflection. If this is part of your passion, you will be interested in our program. We invite applicants with strong theoretical backgrounds and social justice interests to engage in human science research under the guidance of our nationally known and diverse faculty.

Please review a comprehensive list of Admissions Requirements.

Qualities We Look for in Ph.D. Candidates

• A student with background in research and strong writing skills (or demonstrated potential).
• Someone with psychological interests outside of mainstream psychology, but capable of dialoging with traditional assumptions of the discipline.
• Professionals who wish to deepen their theoretical background and re-engage with new forms of knowledge and research skills and to cultivate a different orientation toward their work.
• We invite those interested in integrative traditions, from those inspired by William James to those following the works of Western, Eastern, and African spiritual traditions, as well as those working within significant continental traditions, including phenomenology, discourse studies, and current cultural studies.
• Those with an interest in combining social justice with psychological work, e.g. feminist, liberation, and participatory action research.
• Those seeking to learn about humanistic, critical, and transpersonal traditions from a broad, contextual, and integrative approach.

Because we are seeking students that can develop an innovative edge to their thinking, we do consider applicants without a psychology degree although they may be asked to take some additional coursework in the discipline. The coursework required is decided according to their transcript(s) and faculty discretion. Because the GRE scores are most predictive when used in combination with other indicators, we do not have an absolute cut-off, but weigh the GRE scores alongside other aspects of the full applicant portfolio, including an interview for a chosen set of applicants, the letters of recommendation, and the two samples of writing that we ask you to submit.

If your GPA is lower than 3.5 (GPA) or your GRE scores are lower than 140 on Verbal and Math, and 3.5 on the analytic writing, please provide a short explanation in your cover letter. Applicants with a Master’s degree are strongly preferred. Only exceptional students with a B.A. or B.S. will be considered and are rarely accepted.
You should find all materials clearly delineated in the checklist. Please click the checklist link below and use the guide to apply.

Financial aid is available. The exact amount, however, is dependent upon University funding and will include tuition waivers (some fees will still need to be paid) and research and teaching assistantships. Such determinations will be made after acceptance into the program.