The GRE is required
The programme page states it plainly.
Doctoral · Dartmouth Psychological and brain sciences
Dartmouth Psychological and Brain Sciences PhD: GRE required, with a specialisation
The Dartmouth Guarini School page for Psychological and Brain Sciences says the GRE is required. Applicants write a 1000-word essay, provide three recommendation letters, indicate the faculty they would like to work with and choose a research specialisation. The page carries no entry-year label.
Official information · no entry-year label on the page
What Dartmouth asks for in Dartmouth Psychological and Brain Sciences PhD
Taken from the Dartmouth Guarini School Psychological and Brain Sciences programme and application-requirements page and read on 2 November 2026. The page carries no entry-year label, so every value below is treated as previous-cycle evidence for a 2028-29 start; Dartmouth's requirements, dates and funding for 2028-29 are awaiting publication, and none is stated here.
Faculty and specialisation
Applicants indicate faculty they would like to work with and a research specialisation.
Three letters
Three are required and up to four are accepted.
Official sources
Read on 2 November 2026 on the Dartmouth Guarini School Psychological and Brain Sciences programme and application-requirements page, which carries no entry-year label. The application portal, deadlines, funding and the English-test scores were not used and are not stated. No deadline, fee, funding amount or place number is stated.
The decision
Does your record fit what the programme page asks?
This guide concerns only the Dartmouth research degree. The reading below is Avandy's judgment (heuristic), built from what the programme page says.
It fits if
you can take the GRE, know which research specialisation fits you and can name faculty whose work you want to join.
Think again if
you were expecting the GRE to be optional, as it is in some Dartmouth programmes. The page says required.
Check the page
The Graduate School's programme page is the source; deadlines, funding and score thresholds change by cycle and are not stated here.
How the application is read
What the programme page lists
The page lists a 1000-word personal statement, three recommendation letters, a resume, unofficial transcripts and a programme supplement asking for faculty and a research specialisation. It says the GRE is required and that TOEFL, IELTS and Duolingo are accepted for English proficiency. This guide states no deadline, fee or funding term.
How the programme runs
Focus and working pattern
The programme page describes a PhD-only programme with specialisation chosen at application among three research areas. These pages carry no entry-year label.
Avandy's judgment
Where an application can go wrong
These points are Avandy's heuristic reading of the page. They are not Dartmouth rules and carry no probability.
Assuming a Dartmouth-wide GRE policy
Other Guarini School programmes treat the GRE as optional or not accepted; this page says required.
Choosing a specialisation casually
The supplement asks for a research specialisation at application.
Naming faculty you have not read
The supplement asks which faculty you would like to work with.
Next steps
A sensible order of work
The order is Avandy's suggestion, built from the page's own steps.
Check your record
Compare your coursework and experience with the stated expectations.
Prepare the written work
Draft the statements and writing sample the page asks for, in the formats it lists.
Plan the tests
Check which tests are required, optional or not accepted.
Read the current page
Read the programme page for the cycle you apply in.
Planning for 2028-29 entry
Planning for 2028-29 entry: what carries over and what awaits publication
Dartmouth's programme page carries no entry-year label. A start in 2028-29 means applying under rules Dartmouth has not yet published. Each item below is either read on the page and treated as previous-cycle wording, which may change, or awaiting publication for 2028-29 entry.
The structure of the programme and the application
The expectations, the written work and the test policy are described on Dartmouth's programme page, which carries no entry-year label. Dartmouth has not published the following cycle.
Deadlines, places, funding and fees
This guide states none of them. Dartmouth publishes them per cycle; read the page again for the cycle you apply in.
What to do now
Check your record against the programme page, prepare the written work it lists and plan any required test.
Support
Independent support with the research statement and fit
Avandy provides independent academic and admissions support. It is not affiliated with Dartmouth College or any of its departments, and it has no relationship with any member of staff. Support sits within the Avandy Trinity Advisory Model: a Strategic Admissions Consultant and a PhD-level Academic Mentor help the applicant test a research idea against the department's published research areas and plan their own statement. Support here is limited to testing a research idea against the department's published research themes and planning the applicant's own statements; it does not extend to contacting staff on the applicant's behalf. Avandy does not write or submit any part of an application, cannot arrange a supervisor and promises no outcome or funding.
Questions
Questions applicants ask
What does the Dartmouth Psychological and Brain Sciences PhD ask for?
The personal statement is a brief essay of at most 1000 words.
Is a test required?
The programme page says the GRE is required. It accepts TOEFL, IELTS and Duolingo for English proficiency from non-U.S. citizens, with exceptions for applicants holding degrees from certain institutions.
Does this guide state a deadline?
No. The page carries no entry-year label and this guide states no deadline, fee or funding. Check the programme page for the cycle you apply in.
Does the programme include funding?
This guide did not use Dartmouth's funding sections and states no funding.
Students and families
Talk to us about the Dartmouth Psychological and Brain Sciences PhD
Tell us about your degrees, your research experience, the research question you want to pursue and the supervisors or groups you have in mind. A senior adviser will review the academic profile before recommending how to develop the research statement.