ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES FOR THE DOCTORAL PROGRAMS:

1. CATALOG - The student should be familiar with regulations governing doctoral study contained in the Catalog.
2. APPLICATION PROCEDURES - Submit prior to deadline dates a graduate application form accompanied by the appropriate fee with the Office of Admissions. Foreign students must bring an official evaluation of academic credentials by an authorized agency.
3. OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS - Request that official transcripts of all undergraduate and all previous graduate study be sent directly to the Office of Admissions. Failure to report previous college and/or graduate work attempted constitutes a falsification of application and subjects applicants to a loss of all credits earned and may result in dismissal.

Applicants to doctoral programs must have obtained a BA, BS or MS  from an institution accredited by the Puerto Rico Council of Higher Education. Degrees or credits taken outside of Puerto Rico must have be taken at an institution accredited by a regional accrediting body recognized by the Council of Postsecondary Accreditation of the United States; or an institution of higher education located outside of the United States, which, at the time the applicant was enrolled, maintained a standard of training substantially equivalent to the standards of training of those institutions in the United States which are accredited by a body recognized by the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation. Please take note that six weeks typically elapse between the filing of an application and receipt of all supporting documents.

In the case of the Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, only applicants with an MS or MA in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from an accredited institution will be considered for admission.  From said master’s degree, UCA can accept for transfer up to 42 credits.  The total number of credits accepted for transfer will be certified by the Program Director once the student is already enrolled in the Program and have submitted a completed Credit Transfer Application to the Office of the Registrar.  Once the credit transfer application has been approved by the Program Director, if the student decides to accept it, in order to make it official he/she will have to satisfy the applicable credit transfer fee at the Finance Office (Please verify credit transfer fee in effect at the moment of satisfying the payment.).  This same rule applies when applying for transferring practice modules.

4. GRADE POINT AVERAGE - A minimum GPA of 3.25 for the Ph.D. and Psy.D. Clinical Psychology Programs or 3.00 for all other Ph.D. Programs or its equivalent is required.  This is the general cumulative GPA, not the concentration or graduation GPA.
5. RECOMMENDATION LETTERS - Three (3) recommendation letters, preferably from past professors, are required. Students who have applied to graduate programs and have taken the pre-requisite courses must submit only two (2) recommendation letters from the professors with whom they took the courses.  Applicants are required to use UCA’s official Recommendation Letter Form.
6. BILINGUALISM CERTIFICATE - Sign the Bilingualism Certificate.  This document is part of the Admission Application.  Applicants are expected to have adequate reading, writing and conversational skills in English and Spanish.
7. HEALTH CERTIFICATE – Submit a current health certificate (no more than six months old) and evidence of vaccination for hepatitis-B.  This requisite does not apply for the Ph.D. in General Psychology.
8. RESUME/VITAE - Submit a current resume or curriculum vitae that contains at least:  name, current address, high school attended and graduation year, colleges and universities attended and graduation year (if applicable), work experiences (if any), personal interests and emergency contact.
9. ADMISSION PRE-REQUISITES FOR PSYCHOLOGY PROGRAMS - Applicants to graduate psychology programs with a bachelor degree other than psychology, will be required to approve courses in five specific areas: Experimental Psychology, Statistics, Physiological Psychology, Personality Theories and Abnormal Psychology. These courses may be taken as pre-requisites at SJC or any other accredited institution. Applicants to the Industrial/Organizational Program that does not meet the minimum criteria of 3.00, may opt to take those pre-requisites not previously taken at the bachelors level and which, if approved with a grade of A or B, will improve his/her grade point average to the required minimum. 
10. ADMISSIONS COMMITTEE - The doctoral programs of the San Juan Campus require an interview with the Admissions Committee. Only applicants who give evidence, in the judgment of the Admissions Committee of possessing intellectual, emotional and social qualities necessary to successfully complete the requirements of the Master's programs will be considered for admission.
11. PRE-ADMISSION ACADEMIC WORK - Transfer courses must have been taken at an institution which is fully accredited by a regional or national accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education or an institution of higher education located outside the United States, which at the time the applicant was enrolled maintained a standard of training substantially equivalent to the standards of training of those institutions in the United States which are accredited by a body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
12. PRE-ADMISSION TESTS - Carlos Albizu University requires that every applicant to a graduate program submits the results from the G.R.E. or EXADEP.  Even though these results are not used for admission purposes, the Faculty and Administration use them for research, statistical and accreditation purposes.  This requisite does not apply for the Ph.D. in General Psychology.  The student will be considered a debtor of documents until he or she complies with this requirement.
13. ADDITIONAL REQUISITE FOR THE PHD IN GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY - Applicants to the General Psychology Program must be licensed to practice psychology in Puerto Rico. In addition, it is required that the applicant have three (3) years of paid experience in the area of psychology after licensure to be eligible for admission. 
14. IDENTITY VERIFICATION - For identity verification purposes the applicant will be required to present a current ID card subsequent to admission