Admission Policies
Provisional Admission
The university reserves the right to offer provisional admission to students who fail to meet all the specified admission criteria. In such cases, the Admissions Committee specifies the additional requirements necessary for full admittance and the time limit for completing them. Failure to meet these requirements may result in dismissal from the doctoral program.
Policy Regarding False Information
Students are advised that admission is contingent upon the truthfulness of the information contained in the application files. Discovery of false information subsequent to admission is, at the university's discretion, grounds for immediate dismissal at any point in the student's course of study. Such dismissal shall result in forfeiture of all charges paid and academic credits earned.
The full fraudulent records policy may be obtained from the Office of the Graduate Registrar in the Graduate Center.
Transfer Credit
The Psy.D. Program requires 100 semester units beyond the M.A. degree, as well as completion of clinical training and a clinical dissertation. Of these, 91 must be earned at APU, while 12 equivalent doctoral units may be transferred from other institutions. Applicants to the Psy.D. Program may have an existing master’s degree in psychology or a closely related discipline. These degrees will be evaluated according to the list of required prerequisites. Some remediation or additional coursework may be required for students from other institutions to satisfy these requirements.
Students entering directly into the Psy.D. Program with a suitable master’s degree from another institution must audit the Pre-Psy.D. integration sequence during the first year in the Psy.D. Program.
Transcripts
From Other Schools
Official transcripts are required for all degrees, certificates, and credentials earned prior to application to APU. Official transcripts for other college course work not leading to a degree, certificate, or credential may be required by the department for program acceptance consideration. An official transcript is must be received directly from the institution(s) and bears an official seal. Transcripts must indicate a B.A., B.M., or B.S. degree for an applicant to be considered for admission to a graduate program. The baccalaureate degree transcript is required even if an applicant has earned a master's degree prior to applying to APU.
International transcripts must be translated into English, certified by an authorized official, and include the posted degree. International transcripts must be evaluated by an approved agency, which creates an official Degree/Transcript Equivalency Report to verify that the international degree is comparable to a degree from a regionally accredited college or university in the United States. An official copy of this Degree/Transcript Equivalency Report is submitted with a student's official transcript for university admission consideration. Contact the Office of Graduate Admissions in the Graduate Center for a list of approved agencies.
Once filed, transcripts are subject to the provisions of applicable federal and state laws and regulations and cannot be returned to the applicant or forwarded to other educational institutions.
From APU
Graduate program applicants who earned their baccalaureate degree at APU, either through the Center for Adult and Professional Studies or traditional undergraduate programs, do not need to submit a request for official transcripts from one of the Offices of the Registrar at APU.
Conditional Admission
Some applicants have high academic ability but have not yet achieved English proficiency. For these applicants, conditional admission is offered. Those given conditional admission must either complete their English requirement prior to beginning their program at APU, or they may study in the American Language and Culture Institute (ALCI) at APU prior to studying in their program. Conditional admission is not available for the Master of Arts in TESOL and Doctor of Physical Therapy programs.
Waivers
Some departments permit waivers of certain courses. Contact the appropriate department for details on specific waiver procedures. Unlike transfer credit, waivers fulfill course requirements only; no units are awarded. Students with waived courses must choose alternate elective courses to satisfy the unit requirements of their degree program.
