Admission FAQs
If you are applying to the Counseling program, please visit the Counseling Admissions Guidelines page for the required application materials.
If you are applying to the Industrial-Organizational Psychology program, please visit the I-O page for the required application materials.
UWF Graduate Admissions
11000 University Parkway
Building 11
Pensacola, FL 32514
To confirm that all your materials have been received and to check the status of your application, log in to your application portal. Your checklist will show a green check mark next to each document that has been received. You can also view your application status directly in the graduate application portal.
A UWF ID will be provided for you once your graduate admissions application has been processed. You can locate your UWF ID when you activate your account at MyUWF. Click on "Activate your account - New to UWF" to start the activation process.
Yes, the UWF Graduate School also offers a Graduate School Campus Visit that is a walking tour of the campus and includes a visit to our department and an opportunity to meet our department chair or our academic coordinator.
The Department of Psychology provides financial support with scholarship funds and graduate assistant positions. Information on these types of support are provided with the acceptance package to the program. More information about other types of financial aid can be found on the Graduate School website.
Our graduate programs are designed for full-time students who can attend classes on our campus. A typical, full load for graduate study per semester in our department is 3 courses. It may be possible to attend part-time, but doing so impacts time to degree completion. Online or hybrid options are not available as we believe one of our primary departmental strengths is interpersonal connection and engagement with students.
No, but be assured that we do a holistic review of your submitted materials, and your qualifications and accomplishments are all considered and discussed relative to other applicants when making the admissions decisions to our programs.
Yes, but a full-time job is highly discouraged. Once accepted, please talk with your faculty advisor on the appropriate level of work commitment to ensure success in the program. While a ten hour per week position is manageable for most full-time students in the program, a position of 20 or more hours is often very challenging.
In your letter of intent (also called a personal statement), you should identify what area of psychology you are applying to, as well as any subfield or particular topic(s) within that area that you would like to focus on.
Summarize what you have done as an undergraduate. What sort of research have you been involved in? Have you ever had any publications or presentations at a conference? Did you have a leadership role in a university student organization? Did you complete a volunteer experience as part of your undergraduate curriculum? Do you have work experiences related to the field/program of interest to you? Identify experiences that would set you apart from other applicants.
If there was a major issue that affected your grades (serious illness, family emergency, etc.) you can mention it as an explanation for the drop in your academics, but make sure to state it briefly and succinctly.
The Industrial-Organizational Program has specific requirements for the letter of intent (under “your personal statement”). You can submit a general statement as well as addressing the specific prompts listed.
Almost all successful applicants have achieved a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 on a 4-point scale, or at least a 3.0 GPA over the last 60 hours of coursework in the baccalaureate degree. The admissions committee reviews applicant materials and experiences holistically, and does not use a specific GPA score to disqualify applicants.
If the international applicant's native language is not English or the applicant is from a country in which the primary language is not English or the applicant does not hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited U.S. institution, he or she must take one of the following tests before consideration of admission.
- Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)
- International English Language Test System (IELTS)
- Michigan English Language Assessment Battery (MELAB)
Minimum scores required by the University are listed in the table below.
| Test Type | Basic Score | Listening / Comprehension Score |
|---|---|---|
| Paper-based TOEFL | 550 | 53 |
| Computer-based TOEFL | 213 | 20 |
| Internet-based TOEFL | 79/80 | 19 |
| IELTS | 5 | 7 |
| MELAB | 78 | not applicable |
English proficiency test scores are considered official only when they are sent directly to the Graduate School from the Educational Testing Service, Box 6151, Princeton, New Jersey, 08541-6151, USA. English proficiency test information and registration forms are available in many locations outside the U.S., usually at U.S. embassies and consulates, at offices of the U.S. Information Agency (U.S.I.A.), from U.S. educational commissions and foundations, at Binational Centers, and from many private organizations such as the Institute of International Education (IIE), American-Mideast Educational and Training Services, Inc. (AMIDEAST), and the African-American Institute (AAI).
Our Master’s program has two specializations: Counseling and Industrial-Organizational. We usually accept between 15-25 students per specialization, but this varies based on the quality of the applicant pool. We typically receive over 100 total applications per year, thus admission is selective.
Yes, however you must have completed the following prerequisites for the program before you can register for any 6000-level course. In addition, certain graduate courses have specific undergraduate prerequisites. Please refer to the Academic Catalog for this information.
Prerequisites to our program include:
- An introductory general psychology course
- An introductory statistics course
- An experimental or research methods course, typically in psychology
- A psychology course in the areas of intended master’s emphasis (e.g., Abnormal Psychology for the Counseling Program)
The tuition for the University of West Florida includes base tuition and mandatory fees. The schedule of tuition, fees and other special fees applies to all regularly enrolled students at the University of West Florida. Required fees are established by the Florida Board of Governors, Florida Legislature, and UWF’s Board of Trustees and are generally updated each fall semester. The University will make every possible effort to advertise any changes in fees when and if they occur.
Current information on tuition and fee costs can be found in the Tuition and Fees section of the Academic Catalog.
Yes. Approximately 1,788 students reside on campus in the University's several residence halls in the heart of campus including the Argo, Pace and Martin Residence Halls, and University Village Student Apartments. Please refer to Housing and Residence Life for more information.
To find out more about specific faculty, please visit our faculty page.
If you have reviewed our website thoroughly and cannot find the answer to a question that you have regarding the application process or the program, please contact Anika Moore (amoore4@uwf.edu), our graduate admissions coordinator, and we will try to get an answer for you.
