Ph.D. in Applied Developmental Psychology Admissions Information

Guidelines and Information

Completed applications to the Ph.D. in Applied Developmental Psychology will include each of the following items:

Resume/CV
Submitted directly via the online application.

Academic Transcripts
To be eligible for admission, applicants must hold a four-year bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in the United States, or the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree from a recognized institution abroad (for some countries, this may be a three-year degree from a member institution within the Bologna Process). If you are applying during your final (senior) year of undergraduate study, you may submit your application with an unofficial transcript that includes all completed coursework to date.

When you apply, you are required to upload unofficial transcripts from the institution where you earned or will earn your bachelor’s degree, and if applicable, master’s degree, including any institutions where transfer credits counted toward either an undergraduate or graduate-level degree. 

If you are offered admission to a GSAS program and accept the offer, you must submit official final transcripts with final grades and the title of the degree conferred. Official transcripts must be received by Fordham GSAS Admissions before the first day of classes.

Official Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Scores
GRE scores are optional for the 2025 - 2026 admissions cycle. Applicants who wish to submit GRE scores may do so, but scores are not required (scores should be sent directly by the testing service to the Office of Graduate Admissions, Fordham University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences – Code #2259). 

Official Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Subject score
Recommended not required, please see above statement on the GRE scores.

Statement of Intent
Up to 900 words, submitted via the online application that provides a response to the following question prompts:  

  1. What are your academic and career goals in seeking doctoral training as an applied developmental psychologist?
  2. How has your previous work (coursework, research, professional work experiences) informed and/or prepared you to achieve these goals?
  3. How will Fordham’s ADP Doctoral Program help prepare you to achieve these goals?
  4. Which specific mentor or research lab is the best fit for your interests/goals, and why?

Supplemental Essay
Statement of up to 500 words, submitted via the online application that provides a response to the following question prompts:

  1. How has your educational, research, professional, and/or personal (e.g., cultural, economic, or social) experiences prepared you to contribute to the ADP Doctoral Program’s commitment to diversity and social justice? 
  2. How will the ADP Doctoral Program help you to learn and grow within the areas of diversity and social justice?

Writing Sample
10 - 30 pages in length, submitted via the online application.

Three letters of recommendation
Submitted directly via the online application. Enter the following information for each of your recommendation providers: name, address, email address, phone number, and institution. Make sure you enter your recommenders' email addresses correctly so that they each receive an automated email instructing them on how to submit their recommendations online. Mark the waiver statement for each recommender you enter.

English Proficiency Requirements

International applicants whose native language is not English are required to complete and submit to GSAS prior to matriculation their official scores from one of the following accepted English language competency exams:

Official TOEFL, IELTS, DET, PTE Academic, or Cambridge English Qualifications scores should be sent directly by the testing service to the Office of Graduate Admissions, Fordham University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (our ETS TOEFL score code #2259). Please consult the English Proficiency page for additional information.  

Minimum score requirements for most programs:

Exam Score
TOEFL iBT 100
IELTS 7.0 band score
DET 130
PTE Academic 68
Cambridge English Qualifications 185 Overall Score on the B2, C1 Advanced, or C2 Proficiency exam

Exemptions to the English Language Requirement

Exemptions are considered on a case-by-case basis and are generally permitted for international applicants who:

  1. are native English speakers from countries where English is an official language (click here to view the list of countries accepted); and/or
  2. have completed, within the past five years, at least two years of study at an undergraduate or graduate institution in the United States or in a country where English is the official language of instruction.
  3. you received an undergraduate or graduate degree from a university in India. (In some cases, we may request language proficiency test scores.)

GSAS reserves the right to require a language proficiency evaluation from any applicant. Requests for exemption from this requirement should be indicated directly within the application. The Fordham English Language Test (FELT), administered by Fordham’s Institute of American Language and Culture (IALC), may be required for those students whose English proficiency scores do not meet GSAS program requirements. Additional coursework may also be recommended by the IALC.

Students are permitted to register for two GSAS courses during the academic term in which they are completing any IALC-recommended coursework, which generally occurs during their first semester of study.

Please note: Tuition costs associated with the learning of English as a second language are the responsibility of the student and will not be covered by a GSAS tuition scholarship. GSAS merit-based tuition scholarships are not applicable to the costs of additional coursework recommended by the IALC.

Contact fuga@fordham.edu with any admission-related questions.