How to Apply

Applying to the program

Applications to both programs require submission of materials to both the UWM Graduate School and the Department of Educational Psychology. See below for details regarding the materials and procedures necessary to apply to either the M.S. or Ph.D. programs. Also note that the L&D area reviews application twice a year.

When to apply

The L&D area has two deadlines for admittance into our M.S. and Ph.D. programs:

To be considered for Spring 2014 admission, materials must be received by September 3, 2013
To be considered for Fall 2014 admission, materials must be received by December 10, 2013

Materials to be sent to the Graduate School should be sent to the following address:

Graduate School Office
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
P.O. Box 340
Milwaukee, WI 53201-0340

Materials to be sent to the Department of Educational Psychology should be sent to the following address:

Department of Educational Psychology
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
P.O. Box 413
Milwaukee, WI 53201-0413

M.S. Application Process

Materials to be sent to the UWM Graduate School:

Applicants must complete the Graduate School application form online at graduateschool.uwm.edu. Click on "Apply for Admission" and follow the links to the “Online application”.
Arrange to have one copy of official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate credits (if any) sent to the Graduate School. Transcripts from UW - Milwaukee can be accessed directly by the Graduate School; they do not need to be sent anywhere.
Finally, the Graduate School application also requires a "Statement of Reasons for Graduate Study." There is a space in the online application for this statement; we suggest writing it beforehand and simply pasting the text into the online form. Applicants are urged to take special care in describing long range goals, how they see themselves fitting into UWM's program, which has an urban and multicultural emphasis, and relating experiences which influenced their decision to pursue a degree in Learning and Development.

Note: We do not require GRE scores for M.S. applicants. If you have taken the GRE and wish to submit your scores, please see instructions for doing so in the Ph.D. application section.

Materials to be sent to the Department of Educational Psychology:

Please make sure all materials sent directly to the department are addressed to the attention of "Learning and Development M.S. Admissions".

In addition to the copy attached to the online application, please send your "Statement of Reasons for Graduate Study" directly to the Department of Educational Psychology.
We do not require letters of recommendation for the M.S. program, but we do strongly recommend them. If you do wish to submit letters, please do so from up to three people who can speak to your potential for success in our M.S. program. Academic sources are preferable, though professional sources are acceptable. Recommendations must be sent directly by the authors in signed, sealed envelopes; the letters themselves must also be signed. We must receive hard copies with original signatures: copied, faxed, or digitized letters will not be accepted.

Ph.D. Application Process

Materials to be sent to the UWM Graduate School:

Applicants must complete the Graduate School application form online at graduateschool.uwm.edu. Click on "Apply for Admission" and follow the links to the “Online application”.
Arrange to have one copy of official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate credits (if any) sent to the Graduate School. Transcripts from UW - Milwaukee can be accessed directly by the Graduate School; they do not need to be sent anywhere.
The Graduate School application also requires a "Statement of Reasons for Graduate Study." There is a space in the online application for this statement; we suggest writing it beforehand and simply pasting the text into the online form. Applicants are urged to take special care in describing long range goals, how they see themselves fitting into UWM's program, which has an urban and multicultural emphasis, and relating experiences which influenced their decision to pursue a degree in Learning and Development.
Finally, request that an official copy of your GRE scores be sent to the Graduate School (Institution Code 1473). Scores more than five years old will not be considered. Score reporting options are provided at the time of testing; if you wish to obtain a copy of scores from a previous administration of the GRE, you can request scores by contacting Educational Testing Services at 1-888-GRE-SCORE.

Materials to be sent to the Department of Educational Psychology:

Please make sure all materials sent directly to the department are addressed to the attention of "Learning and Development Ph.D. Admissions".

In addition to the copy attached to the online application, please send your "Statement of Reasons for Graduate Study" directly to the Department of Educational Psychology. If you have not already done so (in your Statement of Reasons submitted to the Graduate School), please articulate your research interests and goals.
Submit letters of recommendation from three appropriate persons who can comment meaningfully and knowledgeably on the likelihood that you can successfully complete an advanced scholarly program of study for the Ph.D. degree. Recommendations must be sent directly by the authors in signed, sealed envelopes; the letters themselves must also be signed. We must receive hard copies with original signatures: copied, faxed, or digitized letters will not be accepted. It is helpful if the majority of references are written by college/university faculty, and at least one reference must be from an academic source. Be sure references are as recent as possible, ordinarily no more than one year old.