Description of the Graduate Program
The graduate program in psychology is designed for students seeking the Ph.D. Students enrolled in the Ph.D. program may elect to receive an M.A. degree when they have completed the M.A. requirements. Students entering without previous graduate work usually require at least four years to complete the program; those entering with previous graduate training usually require three to five additional years in the department, depending on the nature of the earlier preparation.
The Ph.D. program has a strong emphasis on preparation for research, teaching, and scholarly endeavor, whether in academic settings or in industrial, governmental, or medical institutions. The intent is to produce graduates who are deeply committed to the study of psychology, familiar with fundamental knowledge about psychological processes, well trained in the methods and techniques for careful investigation of basic and applied problems, and determined to make contributions to the discipline of psychology and to society.
Graduate training is organized in six broad training areas: behavioral and cognitive neuroscience, clinical psychology, cognition and perception, developmental science, health psychology and personality and social psychology. Each entering student is expected to identify one of these as his or her primary area and to follow a program that develops thorough understanding of the substantive material and methods of investigation central to that sub-discipline. The Health Psychology area also offers a secondary track for students wishing to obtain a formal specialty in that area, but intend to obtain their Ph.D. in one of the other training areas. While pursuing specialty training, all students must meet course requirements in statistics, research methods, learning, and several content areas other than their primary one.
The training area programs are sufficiently flexible to permit students to develop substantial competence in a second training area. Several joint programs have been formulated and others can be developed as student interest dictates. A joint program involves mixing course work in two areas, and research supervision or co-supervision by faculty members from both areas.
Training Areas
Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience
Coordinator: Amy Poremba (email) • Department Website
Clinical Psychology
Coordinator: John Knutson (email) • Department Website
Cognition and Perception
Coordinator: Andrew Hollingworth (email) • Department Website
Developmental Science
Coordinator: Larissa Samuelson (email) • Department Website
Health Psychology
Coordinator: Susan Lutgendorf (email) • Department Website
Social Psychology
Coordinator: Paul Windschitl (email) • Department Website