2018-2019 Graduate Studies Bulletin [Archived Catalog]
Psychology
|
|
Douglas H. Wedell, Department Chair
Graduate Directors
Each graduate director chairs the graduate faculty committee responsible for degrees in a given area.
Mark D. Weist, Director, Graduate Program in Clinical-Community Psychology
Steven B. Harrod, Director, Graduate Program in Experimental Psychology
Jane E. Roberts, Director, Graduate Program in School Psychology
Overview
The Department of Psychology offers programs leading to the degrees of Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy. There are three graduate programs in the department, including clinical-community psychology, experimental psychology, and school psychology. Faculty in all three areas are available to each graduate student in every program. Detailed information concerning each of these programs (including details of admission procedures and degree requirements not included in this bulletin) may be obtained directly from the department, the director of each graduate program, and the graduate admissions office.
The clinical-community psychology program offers the Ph.D. degree for students who seek to be clinical scientists and researchers/scholars. In addition to formal courses, supervised training in diagnosis and intervention, and supervised research experience, the program offers a wide range of clinical skills and community-based intervention experiences. Applicants for the Ph.D. program in clinical-community psychology who do not already have a research-based master’s degree in psychology are required to earn the M.A. in Psychology in the course of earning their Ph.D. degrees. Graduates are employed in providing services within public and private institutions and service organizations, are engaged in independent practice as psychologists, and are employed as faculty members in colleges and universities. The program is fully accredited by the American Psychological Association as a doctoral program in clinical psychology.
The experimental psychology program offers the Ph.D. degree for students who seek to be research scientists and scholars. Many students also complete the M.A. degree as they progress toward the doctoral degree. Specializations include behavioral neuroscience, cognitive psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and developmental psychology. Graduates are employed as faculty members in colleges and universities and research psychologists within public agencies and private industry.
The school psychology program offers the Ph.D. degree for students who seek to be practitioners and researchers/scholars. In addition to formal courses, supervised training in diagnosis and intervention, and supervised research experience, the program offers a wide range of experiences in the public school systems. Graduates are employed in providing services within public schools as well as other public and private institutions and service organizations, are engaged in independent practice as psychologists, and are employed as faculty members in colleges and universities. The program is accredited by the American Psychological Association.
The Department of Psychology also participates in the Certificate Program in Gerontology, which is administered by The College of Social Work, and in the Certificate Program in Drug and Addiction Studies, which is administered by the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice. These certificates are interdisciplinary in nature and are open to qualified graduate students in psychology and other participating departments.
It is important to note that graduate training in psychology includes all of the following: core content courses in the discipline, training and supervision in delivery and application of professional skills, and integration of these components as part of a formal program. Although didactic courses are open, under appropriate conditions, to students not in the psychology degree programs, such students do not have access to professional skills courses and practica or to the integrative program as mentioned. This is to clarify that individual course work is a necessary component of professional training, but such course work is not appropriate for professional applications unless taken by a degree-seeking student in one of the graduate programs in psychology.
Admission
Graduate students are permitted to begin programs only in the Fall term. The application deadlines for all three programs is December 1.
To be admitted to full graduate standing, a student should have an undergraduate major in psychology or a closely related discipline with a minimum of 18 semester hours of psychology courses. Admission is competitive and is based upon the content of undergraduate and prior graduate courses taken in degree-seeking programs; performance in those courses (grade point average of better than 3.00 in all courses, and 3.50 or better in psychology course work is desirable); performance on the GRE (successful applicants in the past year have had an average of 1175 quantitative and verbal GRE combined scores); three letters of recommendation; prior research involvement; and (for clinical-community psychology and school psychology programs) prior work and volunteer experiences relevant to the program practice area. The GRE Advanced Psychology test is recommended but not required for applicants to all three programs: the clinical-community program, experimental and school psychology programs. Applicants also are asked for a written statement of career goals and educational expectations. Criteria are somewhat compensatory (that is, high performance on one criterion can compensate for somewhat lower performance on another).
Programs and Courses
Programs
CoursesPsychology
|
Twitter
YouTube