Founded in 1923 and located in the North Texas city of Lubbock, Texas Tech University is an expansive college that offers around 300 different degrees at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels.
Recent population for the college puts the student body at an impressive 35,158, but Texas Tech University is just one of several huge schools in the Lone Star State.
Students who enroll at Texas Tech will study in one of 10 colleges including the Whitacre College of Engineering, Visual and Performing Arts, and Human Sciences, as well as several others.
Students who are athletically inclined and participate in Texas Tech sports will play for the Big 12 athletic conference as the Red Raiders.
The school is distinctive in that the college houses a major university, medical school, and law school on the same campus.
Texas Tech University Accreditation Details
Texas Tech is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award degrees at the bachelor’s, graduate, and doctoral levels. Attending a properly accredited school ensures a student can qualify for transfers, memberships, and job-related registrations after graduation. The school’s Psychological Sciences Department also offers a variety of specializations that each boast unique accreditation.
For example, the Human Factors Psychology program is fully accredited by the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. Further, the Clinical Psychology doctoral program is fully accredited by the American Psychology Association (APA), as is the doctoral program in counseling psychology. The curriculum of accredited programs has been peer reviewed by industry experts and veterans.
Texas Tech University Application Requirements
Admission to Texas Tech University requires that students submit the traditional application materials including high school or college transcripts, SAT or ACT scores, the official school application, and an application fee of $60. The school recommends that students apply after having taken at least four units of English, four units of math, four units of science, and two units of a foreign language.
Texas Tech University is a public school, and students are automatically admitted if they offer the right combination of application materials, test scores, and class rank. For example, a student in the top 10% of his or her class and an SAT of 1140 is assured admission. Meanwhile, a student who graduates in the lower third quarter of his or her class must have an ACT score of 29 or an SAT score of 1270.
Students interested in graduate school in psychology at Texas Tech must apply to both the graduate school and the Department of Psychological Sciences. Application requirements include the official application, the application fee, and three to four letters of recommendation. Future students must also have their GRE scores forwarded to the college. Deadlines for application to the graduate school are in December.
Tuition and Financial Aid
The cost of a student’s education at Texas Tech depends on whether the student lives on campus, their level of education, and whether the student is a resident of Texas or is a non-resident. Students who live in Texas, as well as the bordering states of New Mexico and Oklahoma are eligible for resident tuition.
Yearly Resident Tuition Costs:
- Undergraduate: $24,870
- Graduate: $24,262
- Law School: $39,321
- Border State (NM & OK): $25,770
Yearly Non-Resident Tuition Costs:
- Undergraduate: $35,730
- Graduate: $31,502
- Law School: $49,281
Since Texas Tech is an accredited University, students who enroll are eligible for federal student aid from the Department of Education. Students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form before March 15th in the year in which they wish to begin classes. In addition to federal student aid, students may also apply for scholarships offered through Texas Tech, as well as outside scholarships and private student loans.
Studying Psychology at Texas Tech University
The Department of Psychological Sciences at Texas Tech University houses several programs including Clinical Psychology, Counseling Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Human Factors Psychology, and Social Psychology. The school describes its programs as competitive and bases admittance upon test scores and transcripts, but the school also considers letters of reference and the student’s statement of goals and interests.
Psychological Sciences has been undergoing recent growth and expansion with plans to increase faculty, student numbers, and the amount of space dedicated to classrooms and facilities. The department has around 120 graduate students and 900 undergraduate students and plans to increase tenured faculty to 32 in the coming years. Also, the school expects to add 6,000 more square feet of additional research space available to students.
While enrolled at Texas Tech University, counseling and clinical psychology Ph.D. students will spend time in the Psychology Clinic, which is an active research center that offers services to campus residents, as well as the City of Lubbock and the neighboring communities. These programs are each accredited by the American Psychological Association, and students benefit greatly from their ability to participate in a working clinic.
For the undergraduate program in psychology, students will follow a core program that features six groups of classes that include Learning & Cognition, Individual Differences, Personality, & Social Processes, and Biological Bases of Behavior, as well as a handful of other groups. The curriculum is designed to offer students a broad base of knowledge in experimental, theoretical, and applied psychology. To graduate with a degree in psychology, students must maintain grades C or above in all psychology classes.
Graduate programs offered by the university include the Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology, Doctor of Philosophy in Counseling Psychology, and the Doctor of Philosophy in General Experimental Psychology. The clinical psychology and counseling psychology programs usually take around five to six years to complete, and the degree in general experimental psychology also offers a terminal master’s degree option.
Concentration areas available for students in the general experimental psychology program include social psychology, human factors, and cognitive/applied cognitive psychology. Sample classes in the graduate program include Advanced Correlation Methods and Factor Analysis, Lifespan Development, and Social Psychology and Emotion.
The faculty and staff of the Psychological Sciences Department describe their learning facility as one that is diverse and competitive. Students who are accepted to the program will learn through the scientist-practitioner training model, and students benefit from the variety of concentrations available at the college. Students interested in a quality psychology program will want to visit the campus at Texas Tech University and meet with faculty members to see if the program and the university is a good fit.