The Application Process

Thank you for your interest in our doctoral program in Counseling Psychology. We are currently in the process of streamlining our application process. It is our hope that this short guide will provide you with all the information you need to submit a complete online application by our deadline of December 15th.

A complete application is comprised of a Graduate School Application, the Counseling Psychology Supplemental Application Form, the Statement of Goals Form, official transcripts for all undergraduate and graduate work, three letters of recommendation, and your scores on the Graduate Record Exam (verbal, quantitative, analytical). With the exception of your transcripts and GRE scores, the most efficient means of submitting the required information is online. Official copies of your GRE scores must be sent directly from ETS. The University of Maryland College Park's institutional code for the GRE is 5814. You must submit an official transcript for each and every institution you attended, at which you earned 9 or more credits, to the following address:

University of Maryland College Park

Enrollment Services Operations

Application for Graduate Admission

Rm 0130 Mitchell Building

College Park, MD 20742

The online application process has two parts: a general part and then a program specific part that allows you to upload all additional forms mentioned earlier. The general part is the Graduate School Online Application. This part is completed and submitted first. Within two to three days after submitting the first part, you should receive an email with detailed instructions on how to login and complete the second part located at the Apra/Maryland Electronic Graduate System (MEGS) website. This site will also allow you to track the status of your application.

To begin the process, go to the Graduate School Online Application and create an account. An email message with your account information will then be sent to the address you specified during account creation, followed by your automatically being logged in. You can now save your progress at anytime, log out, then return to your application.

Pay special attention to the Educational Intent section, selecting either the Department of Counseling and Personnel Services or the Department of Psychology depending on where the faculty you would like to work with are located. Although the web application will sometimes allow you to select an educational objective other than Doctor of Philosophy, the Counseling Psychology department only considers candidates interested in pursuing a doctoral degree on a full-time basis. For area of specialization, make sure you have filled in Counseling Psychology. The application will not alert you if you forget to do so, the result of which could be your application is not directed to the appropriate reviewers.

After all sections are complete, you are given the option to submit your application and pay the associated $60 fee. You have now successfully completed the first part of the application.

For the second part you will need the following forms.

Please either complete these forms directly or copy and paste their contents into whatever program you prefer. Whichever method you choose is fine as long as the end result is a word document or a pdf file. It would also be of great help to the reviewer if the file's name was a combination of your first and last name as well as few words indicative of it's contents.

After you have been emailed instructions to do so, login to the Apra/Maryland Electronic Graduate System (MEGS) website.

Once logged in, you will be prompted for additional information as well as given the opportunity to upload your completed forms. Part of the additional information collected will be the names and email addresses of each of your recommenders. They will then be sent instructions on how to submit their letters online. Upon completion, both you and your recommenders will be notified.

Summary of the Application Process:

Pick the side of the program to which you want to apply, selecting either the Department of Counseling and Personnel Services or the Department of Psychology depending on where the faculty you would like to work with are located.
Complete the Graduate School Online Application. Educational Intent section PhD CAPS or PSYC with specialty area Counseling Psychology.
Send all official transcripts to: