Application information

To apply to the Clinical Health Psychology Program, please go to

https://passport.ucdenver.edu/slate/landing.php?sr=ce3d18bd-7d79-453e-908f-bb2caca52ed8

1. You will see two options:

1. "Already started an application?" Log in to continue application or check status
2. "First time here?" Select an option below to start your CU Denver | Anschutz Medical Campus application.

1. After you choose your option and the login process that it requires, you will reach an application page that allows you to “Start New Application” or continue an In Progress application.
2. If you click “Start New Application” you will see a dialogue box that says “University of Colorado Denver Graduate Admissions” and a button to “Create Application”
3. In the “Academic Interest” tab (see hyperlinked options on the upper left side of the page), you will see the question: “Are you interested in applying for a Doctorate or Masters- EdS, Licensures and/or Endorsements?”
4. Choose Doctorate
5. A drop down box will then appear with the header “Doctorate”. Within the options presented to you, choose Clinical Health Psychology (PhD) within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
6. Another drop down box will then appear for “Please select the term you plan to enroll”
7. Choose “Fall, 2021” and “Continue”

Questions about the online application: graduateadmissions@ucdenver.edu

Questions about the CHP Program and admissions process: CHP_Admissions@ucdenver.edu

Application Materials

Although we are not requiring the GRE for applications submitted in Fall 2020, we do encourage them if possible. However, we also understand the GREs may not accurately reflect a person’s full potential. Our program requests a number of application materials, as we utilize each source of information (e.g., letters of recommendation, personal statement) to gain a holistic understanding of each applicant.

• Personal Statement: In the application, you will be asked to identify a core Clinical Health Psychology faculty member who would be a good fit with your research interests. If there is more than one such faculty member, you are allowed to choose up to three such faculty members. The written statement should be a total of 3-4 double-spaced pages in length and should address the following (please use the following four headers in your statement):
  1. Fit- describe your fit with our program. Specifically, discuss your (a) relevant clinical, research, and/or educational experiences, (b) why our scientist-practitioner program in Clinical Health Psychology is a good fit for you, and (c) which core faculty member(s) you most want to work with and why
  2. Accomplishment - Tell us about a project or goal you set for yourself that took you a great deal of time and/or effort to accomplish. What challenges and obstacles did you face and how did you overcome these?
  3. Future Impact - What impact do you hope to have on the field in the long term (after acquiring a Ph.D.)
  4. Diversity - The University of Colorado Denver’s CHP program is committed to promoting diversity and fostering an environment of inclusion within our program.  This is part of our mission to equip future researchers and clinicians to be culturally responsive as they engage in the science and practice of psychology. Please comment on your commitment to fostering a culture of inclusion within the program and growth in cultural responsiveness, and how any of your experiences and/or interests might contribute to fostering a culture of inclusion in the program.
• Resume or Curriculum Vita: Include education, employment, publications, theses, research and other activities related to clinical health psychology. Applicants upload their resume or CV directly into the online application.
• Letters of Recommendation: Three letters of recommendation, at least two of which must be academic references, are required. Once applicants submit their applications, their recommenders receive email instructions from CU Denver on how to upload their letters into the online application. 
• Transcripts: One official transcript from each college and university attended. Transcripts are mostly sent electronically on the applicants' request via the online application or are scanned and uploaded into the online application. If these methods don’t work, you may use the following: Standard mail: The Graduate School, University of Colorado Denver, Campus Box 163, PO Box 173364, Denver, CO 80217. Express Delivery (that requires a receiver signature): The Graduate School, University of Colorado Denver, 1380 Lawrence Street Suite 1251, Denver, CO 80204
• Graduate Record Exam (GRE) Scores: Due to the COVID-19 crisis we are not mandating this for Fall 2020 applications. If you have already taken the GRE, it is optional for you to submit this with your application or not. The GRE Psychology Subject Test is never required, but may be helpful to supplement your application, particularly if you do not have a degree in Psychology. If you are going to submit GRE scores, please take the GRE General Test (verbal, quantitative, analytical writing) at least six weeks before November 15 to ensure that the scores arrive on time. CU Denver's school code is 4875; the Psychology Department code is 2001. 
• Application Fee: $50 for US citizens; $75 for international students. Until the fee is received, your application will not be officially submitted. Students are eligible for an Application Fee Waiver if they are members/participant in a federally-funded program (McNair, MARC U-STAR, IMSD, Bridges to the Baccalaureate, Bridges to the Doctorate, PREP, RISE, or IPERT). Waivers are also possible if students participated in a CU Denver Summer Research Program (see complete list here) or met CU Denver Graduate School representatives at an event and submitted a Request for Information Form. If you have questions about fees/waivers, including the possibility of a waiver based on financial hardship, contact graduateadmissions@ucdenver.edu
• International Students - The additional admissions requirements for international students can be found at CU Denver International Graduate Admissions. Conditional admission is not offered.

The CHP Program does not send individual confirmation to students regarding receipt of applications. We do review all complete applications sent to us from the Graduate School. The admissions committee reviews all applications to the CHP Program from the November 15 application deadline through mid-January. Again, we do not individually notify each applicant that they are being reviewed.

Initial invitations begin mid to late January, but additional invitations may continue to be made through the entire duration of the process (until April 15th). About 20 of the around 200 individuals who apply to the program each year are invited for one of the two interview dates in February. Interview invitations are made by phone calls or emails from faculty directly to those applicants. In typical years, in-person interviews are strongly preferred but telephone interviews can be arranged if necessary. In Fall of 2021, we will do remote interviews due to COVID-19.

After the interviews, 5-6 applicants are chosen to receive an offer of admission to the CHP Program. Offers of admission are made by phone calls or emails from faculty directly to those applicants. Allowing for the time needed for programs to decide upon and issue offers of admission, and for applicants to accept or decline those offers, the CHP Program generally has received acceptance forms and knows the composition of its incoming cohort by late March. However, the final deadline for decisions is April 15th. After April 15th, the program begins to send notices to all applicants regarding final decisions.

A maximum of 24 credit hours of transfer course work may be applied toward the doctoral degree though the program does not guarantee that any transfer credits will necessarily be accepted. Decisions must be made on a course by course, case by case basis. Transfer credit is defined by the Graduate School as any credit earned at another accredited institution in the United States, or credits earned as a non-degree student within the University of Colorado system. All transfer courses must meet the following criteria: 

• The courses are recommended for transfer by the Program Director, the course instructor(s), and the student's primary advisor for transfer and are approved by the Graduate School Dean.
• The courses are graduate level (5000 or above).
• The student received a grade of B or better (no pass/fail or satisfactory/unsatisfactory grades are transferable).
• The courses were completed within five years of the student's request for transfer.

In some instances the Program Director, course instructor(s), or student's primary advisor may accept the transfer of credits only if additional requirements are satisfied that demonstrate the student's competence in the subject matter under consideration. Determination of these requirements is at the discretion of the Program Director, course instructor(s), or student's primary advisor and will be decided on a case by case basis.