Psychology, PhD

Application Requirements

Entering students are accepted only for fall semesters. The department does not usually consider applications that fail to meet the minimum criteria of 3.00 undergraduate GPA, 3.25 GPA in psychology course work, and combined GRE scores of 1,100. Applicants who meet this minimum receive continued consideration for the final candidate pool on the basis of experience, letters of recommendation, objective test scores, and (in some programs) an interview. No specific set of qualifications guarantees admission.

In addition to admission materials required by the university, applicants must submit the following:

• Completed Department of Psychology form
• Three letters of recommendation from individuals who have firsthand knowledge of the applicant’s academic capabilities or work experience
• A two- to three-page typewritten personal statement describing professional goals, training history, and reasons for seeking the PhD
• GRE results taken within the past five years and before the application deadline. Applicants should take the GRE by October because applications cannot be processed until these scores are received. Scores must be sent directly from Educational Testing Service, P.O. Box 955, Princeton, NJ 08541. Only the aptitude scores are required, but scores for the Advanced Test in Psychology may also be submitted.

Applicants are responsible for ensuring that all materials arrive before the application deadline. Also, applicants in the final candidate pool may be required to participate in an interview.

In addition to fulfilling admission requirements, applicants are expected to have the following:

• For the PhD with a concentration in industrial/organizational psychology or in human factors/applied cognition, at least 15 credits in psychology, including a statistics course and a laboratory course in psychology. A tests and measurements course is recommended.
• For the PhD with a concentration in clinical psychology, at least 15 credits in psychology, including a statistics course, laboratory science course, and abnormal psychology. Courses in developmental psychology, personality, physiological psychology, and tests and measurements are desirable.
• For the PhD with a concentration in applied developmental psychology, at least 15 credits in psychology, including statistics and a laboratory course in experimental psychology. Courses in personality, abnormal psychology, developmental psychology, and tests and measurements are also required for applicants to the school psychology concentration within the MA program.
• For the PhD with a concentration in biopsychology, at least 15 hours of psychology, including physiological psychology, statistics, and a lab course in experimental psychology.

Reduction of Credit

For students entering the doctoral program with a master’s degree, the number of credits required may be reduced by a maximum of 30 credits subject to the approval of the program faculty and the dean. Requests for reduction of credit are reviewed by a committee only after acceptance to the PhD program.

Core Courses

Core course requirements cover the basic subject matter identified by the profession as essential to doctoral training: biological bases of behavior, social bases of behavior, cognitive bases of behavior, individual behavior, and history of psychology.

Specialty Courses

The 700-, 800-, and 900-level courses provide doctoral candidates with greater depth of study in specific content areas.

Practica

The purpose of the practica is to provide a broad range of experiences in settings related to the students’ concentrations.

Advancement to Candidacy

To advance to candidacy, students must complete all required, nonelective course work on their approved program of study. Students must also successfully complete and pass written and oral comprehensive exams.

Dissertation

The dissertation requirement is designed to demonstrate the student’s ability to apply psychological principles to research problems. Students must take at least 3 credits of proposal (998) and 3 credits of research (999), and have at least 12 credits of 998 and 999 combined. (No more than 12 credits of 998 and 999 may be applied toward the degree.) Once enrolled in 998, a student must maintain continuous registration in 998 or 999 each semester until the dissertation is submitted to and accepted by University Libraries.

Student Evaluation

Students in the doctoral program are evaluated on the basis of grades, comprehensive exams, research, and communication skills. In doctoral courses, A and B are the only acceptable grades. Students in the doctoral program must successfully complete comprehensive exams administered each year.

Degree Requirements

In addition to satisfying the requirements for all doctoral degrees, students must successfully complete 72 – 74 credits of required course work chosen in one of five concentrations. Each concentration consists of four educational components: core courses, upper-level specialty courses, supervised practica, and dissertation.