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Program Description

Faculty

Area Requirements

Departmental Requirements

GRADUATE PROGRAM DEPARTMENTAL REQUIREMENTS

Students' graduate work will largely consist of courses, seminars, reading, and research in their graduate area, and all graduate students should discuss their proposed coursework with their area head prior to registration. There are, however, some departmental requirements that everyone must satisfy. These requirements are primarily designed to insure that students acquire a reasonable breadth of experience within psychology.

Departmental Distribution Requirements

Core Courses: All students are expected to take at least one departmental core course from each of the three content groups listed below and one additional core course from any of the content groups. (This requirement may be modified by the addition of content groups and the removal of the requirement of a core course from each group.)

Core Course Content Groups

Group A

Group B

Group C

First year students must take at least two core course on a letter grade bases. Students should complete the core course requirement by the end of the third year. Core courses may be taken on a credit/no credit basis during the second and third years.

Quantitative Courses: All students are expected to take two quantitative (statistics) courses. At least one quantitative course must be taken during the first year. Most first-year students will take PSY 384M-Advanced Statistics: Inferential. The graduate areas may specify which courses should be taken and impose additional quantitative requirements.

Course Load Requirements

First Year: First year students must take at least nine hours of course work per semester. Of these, at least two courses must be departmental core courses, at least one must be a statistics course, and at least one must be a substantive course (which can include other core or statistics courses) that has formal evaluation requirements such as a final exam.

In addition, all students are expected to become involved in research activities during the first year. Areas may require their students to register for the research course (390), area seminar courses, and to take additional courses or seminars as deemed necessary for the education of the student.

Teaching Assistants and Research Assistants: All students employed by the University as a TA or RA must take at least nine hours of coursework each semester that will count towards the graduate degree.

Area Requirements

Courses: Areas may require their students to take certain courses. Some of these required area courses may overlap with the departmental core courses.
Other Area Requirements: Many areas have research or paper requirements.

Evaluations

First Year Evaluation: First year students are formally evaluated by their areas and then the entire faculty at the end of the first year. You will receive a handout ÒProcedure and Policies in the Evaluation of Graduate Students that describes this first year evaluation process.
Competency Evaluation: Each area is required to evaluate its students at the end of their second year or third year to determine competence the their area of specialization. The specific form of this evaluation is determined by the areas and varies widely.

Master of Arts (MA)

The ten course (30 hours) required for the MA degree must include: a core course from each of the three core course content areas; a statistics course; the thesis courses (698A and 698B); two additional courses in the major area; and two courses outside the major area (supporting work). An empirical thesis is required.

Admission to Candidacy for the Doctoral Degree

The Graduate AdviserÕs office has a hand-out, Admission to Candidacy, which you should consult; it contains the departmental requirements and procedures and some of the Graduate School requirements. The required coursework for admission to candidacy includes four core courses, with at least one in each of the three core content areas, two quantitative courses, a set of three supporting work courses that form a cohesive group and are in an area discernibly different from the major area, and appropriate training in the studentÕs area of specialization. Many students use statistics courses for their supporting work and therefore end up with a total of five statistics courses.