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GRE Psychology Subject Test

Many master’s and doctoral psychology programs require the subject test.

About half of all US doctoral programs — and nearly 1/3 of US master’s degree programs– require prospective psychology students to take the GRE subject test in psychology.

This GRE psychology exam assesses your knowledge of general concepts, along with your ability to analyze and interpret data, evaluate research, and formulate conclusions.

The exam usually contains between 205 and 215 multiple-choice questions (depending on the edition). Each question offers 5 answer options. You will have 170 minutes to complete the exam.

Tests are administered in October, November and April.

What Does the GRE Psychology Test Include?

The GRE psychology test covers three broad categories:

• Experimental or Natural Science Psychology – cognition, sensation, perception, learning and biological issues
• Social or Social Science Psychology - personality issues, social development, abnormal behavior, and clinical psychology
• General Psychology - the history of psychology, research methods, applied psychology, and interpretation of data

Within each category, you’ll be asked to recall information, analyze relationships, interpret data and evaluate research designs.

How Are GRE Psychology Scores Determined?

The GRE psychology exam, like the other eight GRE subject tests, has two scores: a raw score and a scaled score. The raw score is the total number of questions you answered correctly minus 1/4 of the number answered incorrectly. This figure is then converted to a scaled score somewhere between 200 and 990, with the latter being a perfect GRE psychology result. Average scores for the GRE psychology test are 550-770.

In addition, the GRE psychology test has two subscores: an Experimental Psychology score and a Social Psychology score. Subscores are typically provided for your convenience as indicators of particular strengths and weaknesses.

Finally, you will be issued a percentile ranking that states the percentage of students who scored below you. A ranking of 70, for instance, means that 70% of students scored lower than you. This data tells universities how you compare to other applicants.

The GRE psychology test is a rigorous and detailed exam. Focused standardized test preparation can pay off in a high score and college admission offers.