HSP Application Information

Application Deadline

The application deadline is December 1, 2026 for Fall 2027 applications. 

Where to Apply and Send Documents

Apply online at the UMBC Graduate School website.

Electronic Transcripts should be sent to gradschool@umbc.edu.

Paper versions should be mailed to the UMBC Graduate School:

The Graduate School
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
1000 Hilltop Circle
Baltimore, MD 21250

• Graduate School Application – Apply online to the UMBC Graduate School.
• Personal Statement
• Writing Sample – Please submit a writing sample from your past work, preferably on a topic relevant to psychological science. There are no specific parameters or required length for the writing sample. You might submit a class paper, honors thesis, conference submission, journal article for which you are the primary author, or another writing sample that demonstrates your writing, critical thinking, and research skills.
• Transcripts – Unofficial transcripts can be used for admission considerations, however you will be required to submit official transcripts if you are admitted.

• Resumé or CV

• Reference Contact Information – Enter the contact information (name, email address) for 3 Letters of Recommendation.  References are professors or professionals that can speak to your professional experience or educational background. The reference form is sent to your desired references via email only after you have submitted your application.
• International Applicants – More information can be found on the Graduate School’s International Applicant Requirements page.

GREs

• The GRE General Test is not required and will not be considered as part of any application to the Human Services Psychology Program. There is no mechanism allowing an applicant to provide these scores as they will not be accepted in the application process.
• The GRE Subject Test in Psychology is not required. It is not typically allowed to be included with one exception. If an applicant does not have a degree in Psychology or the applicant’s GPA for the degree is less than 3.20, the applicant may submit test scores for the GRE Subject Test in Psychology as one of many possible ways to demonstrate preparedness to begin study in a doctoral program of Psychology. Please see the FAQs document for other methods of demonstrating preparedness to begin study in a doctoral program of Psychology.

• The stipend level is established by the Graduate School and announced during the Spring semester each year.
• We adhere to the Council of Graduate Schools April 15th Resolution. Students are under no obligation to respond to offers of financial support prior to April 15; earlier deadlines for acceptance of such offers violate the intent of this Resolution.
• Student loan information is available through UMBC’s Office of Financial Aid.

College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Dean’s First-Year Fellowship.

For both the 2025 and 2026 incoming classes, the HSP program will select one incoming student to receive a special fellowship from the Dean’s office which will include a 12-month stipend (First-Year). All admitted students will be considered for this fellowship, which will be awarded on the basis of information provided in the admissions application and interview process.

Graduate Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement (G-RISE)

The HSP program participates in UMBC G-RISE, which offers fellowship support and supplemental academic and professional development opportunities for highly qualified applicants. G-RISE is funded through a training grant from the National Institutes of Health and aims to prepare a diverse pool of scientists for careers in the biomedical research workforce.

ADVANCE / AVANCE Maryland

This program supports Advancements in Integrated, Culturally and Linguistically Competent Behavioral Health Services for Children, Adolescents and Young Adults in Maryland’s Underserved and Rural Communities.

The HSP program offers a number of fellowships to advanced doctoral students studying in the Clinical Track along with focused training opportunities to support and enhance their capacity to serve culturally and linguistically diverse youth and young adults. ADVANCE / AVANCE is funded by a grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and is a collaborative project with the University of Maryland School of Social Work.

• Applicants who meet the criteria highlighted above are invited to interview with the HSP Faculty following the first-round review – Visit Day.
• Applicants invited to Visit Day will be contacted in late January for availability and scheduling.
• Interviews will be held virtually in early February 2027. Specific date to be announced later.
• Formal admission offers to the program are typically extended within two weeks following Visit Day.
  • If you attended Visit Day and have not heard from us within two weeks, please contact your inviting faculty mentor if you are entertaining an offer from another program.

Notification of applicants declined admission ideally takes place in two phases:

1. 1. Applicants who are not competitive for the program are ideally notified at some point following the first round review.
   2. Applicants deemed acceptable, but not ranked highly enough following Visit Day to warrant an offer are notified after all admission decisions have been made.

The HSP program adheres to the CUDCP Policy for Graduate School Offers and Acceptances

• The HSP program is committed to training psychologists to serve a diverse population and welcomes applicants from diverse cultural, racial, ethnic, and sexual
  orientation/gender identity backgrounds.
• All applicants to the HSP program receive a comprehensive evaluation by a minimum of two faculty members (usually the individuals with whom the applicant expressed interest in working) on the following dimensions:
  1. Compatibility of applicant’s goals and interests with the purposes and values of the program.
  2. Ability (relative to expected graduate school performance). (In general, we seek students with GPAs >3.2 but consider the entire application and the student’s life circumstances in making these evaluations).
  3. Preparation (relative to expected graduate school performance), including coursework, evidence of independent scholarship, supervised research, and practical experiences.
  4. Strength of support letters, personal statement, and maturity.
  5. Interest match with faculty member/potential mentor.

The Human Services Psychology Program is an innovative, integrative conceptual structure, encompassing three component specialty tracks in behavioral medicine, clinical psychology, and community psychology. Within the HSP Program’s conceptual framework, these tracks are regarded as differing primarily in their particular focus within the human services matrix and in how they conceive of and approach the generic problems of diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of psychological and physical disorders.

The Applied Developmental Psychology Program encompasses three tracks in early development/early intervention, socioemotional development of children within and across cultures, and educational contexts of development. There is flexibility both within and between tracks. The ADP Program is designed to prepare its graduates for careers as practitioner researchers concerned with the design, evaluation and improvement of ways of enhancing the quality of human life. The ADP Program does not offer a degree in Clinical Psychology.

All students in the HSP Program must have an HSP mentor. Sometimes HSP and ADP faculty will “co-mentor” a student whose research interests match both faculty members.

Recent graduates from our Human Services Psychology Program have found initial career placements in a variety of settings which involve psychological services, teaching, and research. Approximately 30 percent have moved into direct service provision in private practice settings. The majority have found employment in a variety of state and university institutions as staff psychologists, research associates and assistant professors. Recent employment settings range from Johns Hopkins University, NIH, and medical schools, to community hospitals, schools or correctional institutions.

Students may pursue multiple tracks within the HSP Program. These multiple track subspecialties span the differing tracks and include: Clinical/Behavioral Medicine, Clinical/Community, and Behavioral Medicine/Community Psychology.

The Human Services Psychology Program does not offer a Child Clinical track, but does include a Child Clinical sub-track. Though this sub-track is not formally designated nor accredited as a specialty track (i.e., as are the Clinical, Behavioral Medicine, and Community tracks), it is designed to prepare students for careers in Child Clinical Psychology. As with pursuit of multiple tracks within the HSP Program, it is also possible to combine a Child Clinical sub-track with either the Behavioral Medicine (Child Clinical/Behavioral Medicine) or Community (Child Clinical/Community) tracks.

For students entering with a baccalaureate degree, the program is designed to take the equivalent of 5-6 years of full-time study to complete. This includes a one-year internship for clinical psychology students, which is usually taken in the student’s fifth or sixth year.

The program is designed to be completed on a full-time basis by all students. While there have been rare instances in which students need to pursue the requirements on a part-time basis, these instances have been associated with extenuating circumstances and need to be approved by the full HSP faculty.

No. The Human Services Psychology Program only admits students into a Ph.D. program; a Master’s degree is typically earned en route to completion of the Ph.D. The HSP Clinical, Community, and Behavioral Medicine tracks are not appropriate for students who want a terminal Master’s degree.

No, we only accept applications for entrance in the Fall semester.

The admissions application can be completed online at the UMBC Graduate School website (https://gradschool.umbc.edu/admissions/apply/). Please note that the deadline for application is December 1. (IMPORTANT: In the event that any other deadline date may be mentioned, the application date is December 1). A checklist of application materials is provided below (submitted materials); the UMBC Graduate School website also includes a checklist of application materials.

Policy on Acceptance of Prior Graduate Coursework

On the basis of previous graduate coursework, matriculated students can petition to waive specific program requirements, providing a rationale for the waiver along with relevant course syllabi. Such waivers must be approved by the student’s advisor, the HSP program director, and the faculty member who teaches or oversees the course in question.

Depending on how many classes are waived, matriculated students may require less time to complete the program, or may have time to take additional courses of interest. Additional details can be found in the HSP Handbook that is available on our website.

Program Completion Rates

The median time to degree completion, including internship, is six years for students in the APA-accredited Clinical track (including students taking combined training in Clinical and either Behavioral Medicine or Community Psychology). The expected time to degree completion for HSP students who are not in the Clinical track is 4-5 years. Students who are admitted with a master’s degree may be able to complete the program requirements faster than students who enter with a bachelor’s degree. However, having completed prior graduate coursework does not guarantee more rapid completion of the HSP program.

Matriculation Rate

• The matriculation rate is 2.5%

Other Frequently Asked Questions About Graduate Courses

• We do not offer online courses.
• Applicants cannot take HSP graduate courses prior to admission to the program.
• Admissions are only for the Fall semester. We do not enroll new students in Spring semester.
• We do not accept non-degree seeking students.