All students must meet the Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree.
Overview
The Ph.D. program in Experimental Psychology admits students in 4 broad areas of concentration ("clusters"): Biobehavioral Psychology; Developmental Psychology; Social Psychology; and Behavioral Psychopharmacology.
The Ph.D. program in Clinical Psychology places equal emphasis on research and clinical training. The Clinical Psychology program is fully accredited by the American Psychological Association.
The Ph.D. program in Clinical/Developmental Psychology provides students with training in the area of developmental psychopathology. Students completing the Clinical/Developmental degree meet the requirements of the Clinical program and those of the Developmental cluster in the Experimental program.
Additional clinical, research, and adjunct faculty supervise students in clinical and research placements.
Further information about graduate programs can be obtained electronically from the Department of Psychological Science website, which contains details of requirements, specialty areas, ongoing research, and faculty.
Applicants interested in the Ph.D. must apply for the Ph.D. degree only. Students whose goal is a terminal master's degree should apply through the M.A. program.
Specific Requirements
Minimum Degree Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
The Experimental program requires 75 credits and the Clinical program requires a minimum of 80 credits, including the following required courses:
| Requirement Description | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| Statistics | ||
| PSYS 6000 | Adv Statistical Methods I | 3 |
| PSYS 6005 | Adv Statistical Methods II | 3 |
| Proseminars | ||
| PSYS 6400 | Biobehavioral Proseminar | 3 |
| PSYS 6600 | Developmental Proseminar | 3 |
| Assessment | ||
| PSYS 6710 | Child & Adolescent Psyc Assess | 3 |
| PSYS 6725 | Adult Psychological Assessment | 3 |
| Intervention | ||
| PSYS 6715 | Behavior Therapy: Children | 3 |
| PSYS 6730 | Adult Cognitive & Behav Thrpy | 3 |
| Psychopathology | ||
| PSYS 6720 | Adult Psychopathology | 3 |
| PSYS 6010 | Seminar in Psyc Research Meth | 3 |
| PSYS 6740 | Professional Affairs & Ethics | 3 |
| PSYS 6990 | Special Topics (History of Psychology) | 3 |
A minimum of 20 credits must be accumulated in dissertation research and the remainder in 6000-level course credits from the psychology curriculum, or acceptable courses at 6000-level from other curricula. The Clinical Ph.D. program requires satisfactory completion of a 1-year pre-doctoral internship. Detailed information on courses of study is available on the department website. Satisfactory performance on the department final oral examination (dissertation defense) is required. There is no foreign language requirement. Although the requirement differs, both programs have a required master’s and a required preliminary examination.
Comprehensive Examination
In the Experimental Psychology program, the comprehensive exam ("preliminary exam") is taken following the successful defense of a master's thesis. The examination consists of a 2-day written examination on select primary literature within the student's broad research area. The details of the examination are decided upon by a committee of faculty members within the student's research area.
In the Clinical Psychology program, the comprehensive exam is proposed following the successful defense of a master’s thesis. The examination consists of an oral defense of an independently developed research project proposal. Students in the Clinical/Developmental program complete the comprehensive exams for both the clinical and developmental programs.
Requirements for Advancement to Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
For the Experimental program, satisfactory completion of the minimum degree requirements for the Master of Arts degree or equivalent; for the Clinical program, satisfactory performance on the Ph.D. comprehensive examination.