A minimum of 92 semester hours of course work is required in the Ph.D. program in psychology, 45 hours of core requirements, and a minimum of 47 hours in one of two areas of concentration – experimental or clinical psychology. Training in clinical psychology, which is fully accredited by the American Psychological Association, provides students with a broad educational foundation in the science and the practice of clinical psychology. Training in experimental psychology allows students to focus on various aspects of cognitive psychology and language, developmental psychology, and social psychology.

Applicants must satisfy admission requirements of the College of Graduate Studies, the Judith Herb College of Arts, Social Sciences and Education, and the department. Each applicant must submit an application, transcripts of previous academic work, and three letters of recommendation. A statement of purpose, which describes the student’s research interests and career goals, is also required from each applicant.

The purpose of the doctoral program is to prepare students for careers in academia (teaching, research, clinical work), in mental health programs, in clinical intervention settings, as well as in other settings. Doctoral training emphasizes the inculcation of scientific attitudes with regard to the gathering and evaluation of information; the solving of basic and applied research problems; and clinical assessment and psychotherapy. Each student must complete specific course requirements, a master’s thesis, doctoral examinations, and a doctoral dissertation. An individual plan of study is developed by the student in consultation with the academic advisor and advisory committee.

• Concentration in Clinical Psychology 
• Concentration in Experimental Psychology 

Concentration in Clinical Psychology 

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Core Courses
Core Methods Courses		12
PSY 6100/7100	Quantitative Methods In Psychology I
PSY 6110/7110	Quantitative Methods In Psychology II
PSY 6130/7130	Design And Evaluation Of Psychological Research
Advanced Statistics Elective, approved by adviser
Core Content Courses 1, 2, 3		6
Select two of the following:
PSY 6400/7400	Cognitive Psychology
PSY 6500/7500	Developmental Psychology
PSY 6510/7510	Seminar In Developmental Psychology
PSY 6600/7600	Behavioral Neuroscience
or PSY 6070	The Science of Emotion
or PSY 7070	The Science of Emotion
PSY 6700/7700	Social Psychology
PSY 6710/7710	Seminar In Social Psychology
PSY 6720/7720	Social Cognition
Research Requirements		27
PSY 6960	M.a. Thesis
PSY 8960	Phd Dissertation
PSY 7030	Research Practicum
PSY XXXX six hours of advanced research electives.
Other
Qualifying Exam passed by committee
Doctoral disssertation passed by dissertation comittee
Minimum GPA 3.0 2
Concentration Requirements		47
Clinical Area
1. Clinical Core Courses
PSY 6810	Clinical Practicum I
PSY 6240/7240	Assessment I
PSY 6280/7280	Assessment II
PSY 6360/7360	Foundations of Psychotherapy I
PSY 6380/7380	Empirically Supported Interventions and Processes of Change
2. Clinical Practica 5
Select at least 14 hours of the following:
PSY 6820/7820	Clinical Practicum II
PSY 6830/7830	Clinical Practicum III
PSY 6840/7840	Clinical Practicum IV
3. Specialized Coursework/Electives 4
PSY 6250/7250	Seminar In Clinical Psychology
Seminar in Experimental Psychology
Additional Statistics of Methods Courses
Advanced Clinical Seminar
PSY 8940	APA Accredited Clinical Internship
Total Hours		92

 

¹

Students must demonstrate foundational knowledge in the current body of research and methods in each of the following core areas: Affective, Biological, Cognitive, Developmental, Social. This can be fulfilled with the following courses: PSY 6/7070 The Science of Emotion; PSY 6/7400 Cognitive Psychology; PSY 6/7500 Developmental Psychology; PSY 6/7700 Social Psychology. Alternatives to courses in this list must be coordinated with your Faculty Mentor and approved by the DCT. It is very important that the student and their mentor check with the APA C-7 discipline specific knowledge requirements. For the approved alternative, students should complete the Current Student Psychology Discipline Specific Knowledge (DSK) Course Alternative Form (see Appendix C) and place copies of all material in their file. 

²

Students also must fulfill a History and Systems of Psychology requirement. This can be fulfilled by either (1) an undergraduate transcript indicating a grade of B- or higher and the syllabus for a course pertaining to the History and Systems of Psychology, or (2) successfully completing PSY 5000 (History of Psychology) as an elective course in the program.

 

³

For clinical students, one 3-hour elective course used to fulfill this requirement must be a core content course not previously fulfilled in the above list. For example, if the student has taken 6/7400 and 6/7700 to fulfill the core content course requirement above, one of the electives to fulfill the elective requirement must be 6/7500, or a course equivalent as described in footnote ‘1’ to the core course requirements.

⁴

A student in the Clinical Program may elect to substitute up to 4 hours of Clinical Practicum III or Clinical Practicum IV with up to 4 hours of Research Practicum.

⁵

For clinical students, up to 6 credit hours of PSY 6/7030 (not used to fulfill the "research practicum" requirement above) may be taken to fulfill the elective requirement.

---

Concentration in Experimental Psychology

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Core Courses
Core Methods Courses		12
PSY 6100/7100	Quantitative Methods In Psychology I
PSY 6110/7110	Quantitative Methods In Psychology II
PSY 6130/7130	Design And Evaluation Of Psychological Research
Advanced Statistics Elective, approved by adviser
Core Content Courses 1		6
Select two of the following:
PSY 6400/7400	Cognitive Psychology
PSY 6500/7500	Developmental Psychology
PSY 6510/7510	Seminar In Developmental Psychology
PSY 6600/7600	Behavioral Neuroscience
or PSY 6070	The Science of Emotion
or PSY 7070	The Science of Emotion
PSY 6700/7700	Social Psychology
PSY 6710/7710	Seminar In Social Psychology
PSY 6720/7720	Social Cognition
Research Requirements		27
PSY 6960	M.a. Thesis
PSY 8960	Phd Dissertation
PSY 7030	Research Practicum
PSY XXXX six hours of advanced research electives.
Other
Qualifying Exam passed by committee
Doctoral disssertation passed by dissertation comittee
Minimum GPA 3.0
Concentration Requirements		47
Experimental Area
1 Specialty Seminars
Select three of the following:
PSY 6410/7410	Seminar In Cognitive Psychology
PSY 6510/7510	Seminar In Developmental Psychology
PSY 6710/7710	Seminar In Social Psychology
2. Teaching
PSY 7040	Teaching Practicum
3. Research Practicum
PSY 6030/7030	Research Practicum
4. Experimental Core Courses
Select two of the following not already taken
PSY 6400/7400	Cognitive Psychology
PSY 6500/7500	Developmental Psychology
PSY 6700/7700	Social Psychology
PSY 6600/7600	Behavioral Neuroscience
PSY 6070/7070	The Science of Emotion
Total Hours		92

 

¹

For the core content courses, experimental students should take Cognitive (PSY6400), Developmental (PSY6500), Behavioral Neuroscience (PSY6600), Social (PSY6700), or Science of Emotion (PSY6/7070).

---

• PLO 1: Ethical and Legal Standards Demonstrate knowledge of and operate in a manner consistent with the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct as well as with all relevant laws, regulations, rules, and policies regulating the scholarly and professional activities of psychologists.
• PLO 2: Professional Values and Attitudes Act in a professional manner, employing and demonstrating self-reflection, an openness to constructive feedback on scholarly products, and the ability to apply and integrate constructive feedback in scholarly activities.
• PLO 3: Communication Skills Create oral and written communications that are well-integrated and informative to the field of study. Evaluate oral and written communications of peers and professionals in the field.
• PLO 4: Interpersonal Skills - Demonstrate effective interpersonal skills with relevant colleagues, supervisors, and organizations.
• PLO 5: Research Comprehension - Critically evaluate research and other scholarly activities.
• PLO 6: Research Production - Formulate and produce research and other scholarly activities (including critical literature reviews and theoretical papers) at a level that can contribute to the scientific literature. Disseminate research and other scholarly activities via peer-reviewed journals and local, regional, and national conference presentations.
• PLO 7: Knowledge of Individual and Cultural Diversity Describe and discuss how personal and cultural history, attitudes, and biases might influence interactions with, or research examining, persons of dissimilar histories, attitudes, and biases.
• PLO 8: Integration of Individual and Cultural Diversity - Integrate knowledge of individual and cultural differences into research and other scholarly activities.