Now Accepting Applications for Spring 2010!

Students must have a bachelor’s degree from a regionally-accredited or state-approved institution. SBGI does not require standardized tests, e.g. the Graduate Records Examination (GRE).

Ph.D. program applicants may possess a Master’s Degree or Bachelor’s Degree. If the student is applying to a Ph.D. program with only a Bachelor’s Degree, they may earn the Master’s Degree along the way.

While maintaining rigorous standards for admission relative to professional and personal attributes, the Institute’s admission process emphasizes those qualities that measure a student’s aptitude for success in the program. Focus is on the personal interview, letters of recommendation, past educational and career performance, and written work by the applicant, including the admissions essay.

The Institute welcomes applications from international students. They must submit transcript evaluations prepared by a professional agency, such as Educational Credentials Evaluators, Inc. or World Education Services. All classes are conducted in English. If English is not their native language, students must also submit the results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). A score of 550 paper-based or 213 computer-based or above is required for admission. No visa services are offered at this time.

We welcome applications from all qualified persons regardless of race, color, gender, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability, marital status, age or religion. The Institute does not discriminate in any of its admission policies or procedures, or any other academic activity.

Santa Barbara Graduate Institute seeks students who:

• Are mature learners, self-motivated and capable of graduate inquiry, process and scholarship
• Are self-reflective and have participated in some form of self-development such as personal therapy, growth seminars and/or spiritual practice
• Are capable of contributing to and benefiting from a community experience
• Show an ability to benefit from and successfully complete the program

Required for Admission:

• Completed application form (with current photograph)
• Official transcript(s) from an accredited or state-approved school(s), sent directly to the Institute, Office of Admission
• MA applications: Two letters of recommendation (professional and/or academic)
• Ph.D. applications: Three letters of recommendation (two professional and one academic)
• Sample of written work by the applicant (previous academic or professional writing, four to seven pages)
• Personal Essay
• Statement of educational and professional goals
• Current resume or curriculum vitae
• Non-refundable application fee of $60 – check or money order payable to Santa Barbara Graduate Institute in United States funds
• Personal Interview to be arranged after all materials have been received by the Office of Admission either in person or via telephone.

Personal Essay

This 3 to 5 page essay should discuss the key personal and professional experiences that have contributed to and shaped your interest in the field of clinical, prenatal and perinatal psychology or somatic psychology.  Your essay should include:

• Your general history as it relates to your family of origin. Your prenatal and perinatal history — conception, prenatal, birth and infancy — as you understand how it relates to later life experiences, and to your interest in clinical psychology, prenatal and perinatal psychology, or somatic psychology
• Significant body experiences – illnesses, traumas, insights, or patterns – as they relate to your interest in clinical psychology, prenatal and perinatal psychology, or somatic psychology
• Any professional development, training, or educational experiences that have informed your decision to undertake graduate work in clinical psychology, prenatal and perinatal psychology, or somatic psychology
• Other key events, situations or patterns that have had a major impact on your life
• The present focus of your personal growth
• The personal strengths and challenges that you consider relevant to your future endeavors as a graduate student at SBGI

Statement of Educational and Professional Goals

This one-to-two page essay should outline:

• Your current professional goals (including activities and goals outside of graduate school)
• What you hope to gain from graduate study in clinical psychology, prenatal and perinatal psychology, or somatic psychology
• How you might apply a graduate degree to your future work

All essays should be typewritten and double-spaced.

Application Calendar for Spring 2010 Admissions:

SBGI offers rolling admission based on space available.  Students applying for Spring Enrollment are recommended to submit their applications no later than March 15th, 2010.

Application Calendar for Fall 2010 Admissions:

All admission materials received after March 31 will be considered on a space available basis.

Transfer of Credit
Master’s program applicants who have earned graduate-level credits in a regionally accredited program may transfer up to six semester- or nine quarter-units toward the master’s degree, provided these credits were earned within the past ten years and are comparable to the required courses offered at SBGI.

Doctoral program applicants may transfer up to 30 semester- or 45 quarter-units, provided these credits are comparable to the required courses offered at SBGI.

Students interested in transfer of credit must submit a transfer of credit form to their program chairperson along with the syllabus of each course taken at their previous institution for which they wish to receive SBGI credit. Approval of transfer credits is at the discretion of the Education Council.

Advanced Standing (for PhD students only)
Admission with advanced standing is available to PhD degree applicants who have completed a master’s degree or a minimum of 50 graduate units in at a regionally accredited school within the last 10 years and earned a grade point average of 3.0 or higher. See transfer of credit above.

SBGI will invite applicants who may qualify for advanced standing to meet with their program chairperson to review the applicant’s graduate school transcripts to determine which units, if any, may be counted toward the student’s course of study at SBGI. Students will need to provide their program chairperson with the syllabus of each course taken at their previous institution for which they wish to receive SBGI credit so that a determination of the comparability of courses can be made.

The maximum number of transfer credits students with advanced standing can apply toward their degree is 30 semester- or 45 quarter-units. Students who are granted credit for all required SBGI first-year courses will enter as second-year PhD students.