How to Apply

Applicants to Duke’s Department of Psychology and Neuroscience apply to one of five graduate training areas. On Item 9 of the application form, complete "the Proposed Department/Program" with Psychology and Neuroscience. Complete the space following "Special Field" with one of the five graduate training areas: Clinical Psychology, Cognition & the Brain, Developmental Psychology, Social Psychology, and Systems and Integrative Neuroscience.  When selecting your area, please consider the faculty who admit in each of the areas.

Applications

To be considered for Fall 2025 admission, applications must be received by December 2, 2024 regardless of training area.

The list of application materials required by the Duke Graduate School can be found on their Admissions website. For an application to be considered complete, the Graduate School requires ALL of the following:

  • Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores – general test is currently optional.  The GRE Psychology Subject Test is not required, but is recommended for Clinical Applicants who were not psychology majors. NOTE: GRE scores cannot be more than 5 years old.
  • A completed Duke Graduate School electronic application for admission
  • The application fee ($95 USD)
  • Three (3) or more letters of recommendation
  • Transcripts from all undergraduate institutions you attended, including any exchange student study.
    NOTE: You can send in unofficial transcripts with your application, but if accepted you will need to supply official transcripts.
  • For international students, TOEFL exams scores. (see Duke's English language proficiency requirements). TOEFL scores can only be 2 years old at the time the application is submitted.
  • To be eligible for a TOEFL waiver, you must have studied full time for two years or more at a college or university where the sole language of instruction is English. The two years of study must be completed prior to application submission.
  • For reporting GRE and TOEFL scores use:
    • 5156 – Duke University's institution code

Application materials must be sent directly to the Duke Graduate School. Make sure to plan your GRE test dates so that your scores will be reported in time to make the December deadlines.

What if I want to apply but cannot afford to pay the fee? Does The Graduate School ever waive application fees?

The Graduate School offers an application fee waiver option to support prospective students from various populations, including those who may be experiencing economic stresses. There are a limited number of application fee waivers each cycle. As such, fee waiver requests are “first-come, first-serviced.” We strongly encourage you to apply early, regardless of the application deadline for the program.  More information about how to apply can be found here.

Questions

For questions about or issues with the application procedure, you can contact the Assistant to the Director of Graduate Students, Wendy Stocum, at wendy.stocum@duke.edu.

For general admissions questions or questions about the university requirements, you may also contact the Duke Graduate School at  grad-admissions@duke.edu.