How to Apply

The application deadline for the doctoral program is December 1.

 

The School Psychology faculty reviews applications and calls the top-rated applicants for phone interviews. Following phone interviews, some applicants will be invited to our on-campus interview day, usually occurring in mid-February to early March. Please note that visiting day is by invitation only. Please inquire about funding if you are asked to travel to UM for an interview. Offers of admission will be made shortly after visiting day.

The School Psychology doctoral program requires of each student a minimum of three full-time academic years of graduate study (or the equivalent thereof) and completion of an internship prior to awarding the doctoral degree. At least two of academic training years (or the equivalent thereof) must be at The University of Montana, and at least one year must be in full-time residence (or the equivalent thereof) at The University of Montana-Missoula campus.

Application Materials

When applying to the School Psychology Graduate Program you must complete the following:

  1. Submit an online graduate school application and pay the application fee. The application can be found on the Graduate School webpage.
  2. Submit three letters of recommendation via the online application. If you opt to have your letter writers submit recommendations electronically, you will provide an email address for each on your application and they will, in turn, receive an email with download instructions. Your letter writers may instead choose to send hard copies directly to the department. If that is the case, each letter should arrive in a sealed envelope with the recommender's signature across the seal. If your recommendation writers choose to use the online system please do not also send duplicate hard copies.

  3. Upload a personal statement to the online application. If you opt to include your personal statement via the online system please do not send a duplicate hard copy. Please limit this personal statement to 2 pages, single-spaced. When writing your personal statement, we encourage you to consider including the following topics:

    1. Any relevant applied and/or clinical experiences working with children, schools, and/or families.
    2. Previous research experience (if any) and future research interests, as well as why you are interested in working with a specific school psychology faculty mentor.
    3. Your career goals and how a doctoral degree in school psychology at the University of Montana may prepare you for this career.
    4. Experiences working with culturally and linguistically diverse populations, and/or any activities you have engaged in related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
  4. Upload your Curriculum Vitae to the online application. If you opt to include your CV via the online system please do not send a duplicate hard copy.
  5. Provide official transcripts from ALL undergraduate and graduate schools you have attended. You can upload transcripts to the application or send electronic or hard copies directly to the Psychology Department. Applicants may also email official electronic transcripts. For further information or e-script questions please contact the PsychologyDepartment@umontana.edu . Official transcripts will be required of all admitted graduate students.
  6. Applicants may also upload a writing sample to their application, but it is not required.

Western Regional Graduate Program

The School Psychology PhD program is an approved Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP). This means that a select number of students from any state in the Western Region of the United States are eligible to pay 150% of the in-state tuition rate, which results in a significant reduction in fees for eligible out-of-state students. If you are applying from a WRGP state, please include a note about your interest in the WRGP tuition rate in your application. Please note that only a limited number of students will be eligible for this tuition reduction per year. You can also find additional information at the following website: Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP).

Professional Licensure Disclosure

In compliance with the U.S. Department of Education regulations and because we are located in an institution participating in the State Authorization and Reciprocity Agreement (SARA), the School Psychology Ph.D. Program, which is a program leading to professional licensure, is required to disclose specific information regarding eligibility for licensure. First, we are required to generally disclose whether completion of our program meets state credentialing or licensing board requirements in any U.S. state, district, or territory. In addition, we are also required to make individual disclosures to current students if our curriculum does not meet educational requirements for the state, territory, or district in which they are located or to which they relocate. Finally, we are required to notify prospective students prior to enrollment in our program if we have determined that our curriculum does not meet educational requirements for licensure in the state, territory, or district in which they are located, or if we have not made a determination whether our program meets educational requirements. Please refer to the Provost's Office website for additional information.

Mailing Address

University of Montana
Department of Psychology
Attn: Admissions
Skaggs 143
Missoula, MT 59812

If you have further questions please email us, or call 406-243-4522

Funding Opportunities: University of Montana, Department of Psychology

Every effort is made to find and facilitate funding for graduate students during their time spent on campus. Tuition and fees differ depending on whether a student is designated in-state or out-of-state (non-resident). Please note that it is difficult for out-of-state students to obtain in-state residency over the course of their graduate studies. For more information on tuition and fees.

Our department has various types of funding opportunities, described in more detail below. By convention, our funding opportunities are labeled assistantships.

Incoming, funded students assigned TA positions can be assigned to a variety of positions. Most will serve as traditional TAs for large, undergraduate courses. These assistantship assignments are for the duration of the new students' first academic year. In subsequent years, students will apply for open departmental or clinical positions--see below for further information.

The Psychology Department has 20 departmental assistantships available each year for allocation across our Clinical, School and Experimental graduate programs. Each year, the positions are thoughtfully distributed to our incoming and existing students based on a range of criteria; in particular, we attempt to fund all students as fairly and as evenly as possible. Duties for the assistantships vary, but the typical expectation is that departmental TAs work approximately 20 hours per week.

Compensation: Departmental TAs receive a stipend of $16,000 for the academic year as well as a fee waiver based on their credit load. Certain fees are not included in the waiver: registration, facilities, equipment, and athletic fees. Student health insurance is not waived, but students with other coverage may opt out of university insurance.

Departmental assistantship examples (not an exhaustive list):

  • Psychology 100 Instructor (Introduction to Psychology)
  • Psychology 222 TA (Psychology Statistics)
  • Psychology 320 TA (Undergraduate Research Methods III)
  • Psychology 400 TA (History and Systems)
  • Psychology 520/521 TA (Graduate Statistics)
  • Psychology 525/583 (Psychological Evaluation I/Academic Assessment and Interventions)
  • Psychology 530/526 (Clinical and Diagnostic Interviewing/Psychological Evaluation II)
  • Clinical Psychology Center Assistant

Several campus-based organizations, as well as Missoula and surrounding area agencies employ our students in research or clinical capacities. Students apply for open positions in the spring and typically begin work in the fall of the following academic year.

Currently, the department offers 2 to 4 grant-funded research assistantship opportunities. Research schedules are worked out individually with the faculty supervisor and do not come with clinical duties.

Clinical assistantships are only available to trained and more advanced graduate students from our applied programs (i.e., Clinical and School). Typically, these outside agencies have a contract with the University to employ our students. Work at clinical assistantships usually occurs two days a week, with the expectation that the students spend the majority of this time working in the respective settings.

Compensation: Community-based clinical assistantship compensation varies from site to site. In many cases, the positions will enable students to pay tuition equivalent to in-state resident students, offer a partial tuition waiver, as well as a lodging stipend, if applicable. The department describes assistantships that pay at least $14,800/academic year as offering a “Full Stipend;” assistantships that pay hourly or offer less than the full stipend are described as offering a “Partial Stipend.”

Research Assistantship examples (non-clinical positions):

University of Montana Rural Institute: Center for Excellence in Disability Education, Research, and Service: Pending funding availability the Rural Institute employs graduate students to assist in a variety of research-related activities. 

Community-based assistantship example:

Counseling Services at the UM Curry Health Center: Clinical or school graduate students provide supervised individual and group psychotherapy, crisis intervention, and couples work to a diverse population of university students. Counseling services trainees perform assessments, conduct initial consultations, generate treatment plans, record progress in an electronic records format, and render psychological diagnoses. 

Teaching Opportunities

Each year additional funding opportunities come from sabbatical or vacancy replacement teaching, as well as teaching openings during Summer Session and online courses. Reimbursements are as follows:

  • $1,300/credit hours in summer session
  • $1,300/credit hour for online teaching

Assignments are made based on teacher ratings, perceived competency and financial need (priority is given to students not receiving full tuition waivers and/or tuition support).

Please note: The information in this document is purely descriptive, subject to change, and does not represent a contract of any sort. Although we have a history of providing funding for students, the uncertainty in the marketplace makes it impossible for us to guarantee funding for any particular student. Funding decisions are made year to year, depending on multiple factors, including the students performance at assistantships, timely progress in the programs, and the Montana State Legislature.

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