Application Procedures

For M.S. in Behavioral and Brain Sciences in Psychology

*Students interested in the Clinical Counseling program please see information on the Doctor of Philosophy below.

To assure that all graduate students receive the appropriate level of mentoring and supervised training no more than 6 - 8 students are admitted per year. Students are admitted once a year for Fall Semester only.

Applicants should specify with which of the following faculty they would most like to work, and why, in their Statement of Purpose (see below). Only faculty from this list may be listed.

Applicants should submit their materials by February 15 to this online web portal.

If you are a first-time applicant to the University of South Alabama Graduate School, then you will first need to create an account.

You will need to prepare these materials:

1. A Statement of Purpose: Detailing the applicant's relevant experiences, career and future plans, and with which faculty mentors they would most like to work (from the list above).
2. Non-refundable application fee.
3. Official transcripts of all college-level course work.
4. General GRE test scores are requested, but not required.
5. TOEFL scores (for international students only).
6. Students should be prepared to provide the names and email addresses of three recommenders. The recommenders will then be contacted separately and submit their recommendations in a dedicated portal.

Applications completed after February 15 will be considered only if space is still available.

If you have questions regarding the application process, the graduate program secretary, Mrs. Milliner, can answer most questions. 

For Accelerated Bachelor’s to Master’s (ABM) Program in Behavioral and Brain Sciences

Interested undergraduates should first check their eligibility (> 3.3 GPA; verifiable scores on the ACT, SAT, or GRE) before applying. Students need to be on target to complete at least 90 credit hours prior to entry in the ABM program. 

Entry can only occur in the fall semester, and students are advised to apply during the spring semester of their junior year. The following materials should be submitted to the Graduate Coordinator:

1. A Statement of Purpose detailing a) relevant experiences and interests, b) how completion of the MS degree contributes to the applicant’s career goals, and c) identification of the faculty mentor(s) the applicant intends to work with if accepted into the program.
2. Two letters of recommendation from professional and/or academic references; the two referees should email their letters directly to the Graduate Coordinator.

For Doctor of Philosophy
In Combined Clinical and Counseling Psychology

Please see the CCP Program Admissions page for information on applying to the CCP Program.

Financial Aid

A limited number of Graduate Assistantships for both the masters and doctoral programs are available on a competitive basis.

Please see the CCP Financial Aid page for information about financial aid and other forms of support for the doctoral program. 

BBS Program

For the BBS Program, Graduate Assistantship application forms are available on the web or from the Department of Psychology Office.

UCOM 1000
75 South University Blvd.
University of South Alabama
Mobile, AL 36688-0002
Phone: (251) 460-6371

Assistantship application forms should be sent to the Office of Admissions. No assistantship application is required for the master's program, although candidates should express their interest in writing to the Graduate Coordinator during the interview process. 

Information concerning other forms of financial aid such as student loans and work-study programs is available from the Office of financial aid (251) 460-6231.