Admissions Process

Discover Biobehavioral Health

We welcome you to come and see for yourself what  the Biobehavioral Health Ph.D. and our Dual-Title Ph.D. programs are all about. Find a great faculty mentor among our experts.  Meet fellow students. Check out our research labs and initiatives. And learn about how our graduate students are funded.

What does the admissions process look like?

• Applications are due December 1st

  • All applications completed by this time are guaranteed full review

  • Note, applications submitted after this date may be considered; however, eligibility for certain fellowships happens very early in December

  • The GRE is optional. Choosing not to submit your scores will not adversely affect admissions decisions. When GRE scores are submitted, no formal cut-off is used and scores are considered as part of a holistic review process.

  • Applications are initiated online

• We aim to make initial interview offers no later than the end of December

• Interviews happen ~mid-January

  • Interviews will be handled remotely this year

  • Those offered an interview meet with multiple faculty, including those in whom they had expressed interest.

  • Matches and offers are made by the department, and take into account multiple factors including student promise but also other factors related to faculty interest and space in the program (see Admission Requirements).

• Each incoming class has lately ranged from 5-9 graduate students per year

Ready to Apply?

• All applications to Penn State are handled by Graduate Admissions. Create a Penn State account and apply now. 

• All applicants must complete the student interest form below and upload it to the online application. 

  BBH Student Interest Form

• Remember, for guaranteed full consideration, please submit all application materials for the BBH graduate program (to start Fall semester) by December 1. 

Questions?

Questions about the Graduate Program can be directed to both Dr. Jennifer Graham-Engeland (Professor-in-Charge of our graduate program) at jeg32@psu.edu, and Ms. Shannon Anthony (graduate program assistant) at sls9@psu.edu. For questions about the application process itself, please email Ms. Shannon Anthony, at sls9@psu.edu.

Phone
814-865-7793

Address
Biobehavioral Health Graduate Programs
The Pennsylvania State University
219 Biobehavioral Health Building
University Park, PA 16802

Mark your calendars for the prospective graduate student remote visit day (by invitation only) - January 17-18, 2024