Graduate Course Work

Research in the 1st and 2nd years Students are required to demonstrate the ability to carry through to completion rigorous empirical research and to be active in research throughout their graduate career. All students are required to begin research in their first year in the graduate program, under the supervision of a three-person committee. By May of the second year, each student will report orally and in written professional journal format the results of their research.

1st-Year Course Work

Classes for all first-year students include a core set of three courses examining statistical and research procedures. (Neuroscience students may not be required to take all three statistical courses.)

Statistical Core

211 - Statistical Inference
212 - Multiple Regression/Correlation Analysis
213 - Experimental Design and Analysis of Variance

In addition, students take a set of core courses that are specific to their area of specialization. NOTE: You can look for further course descriptions here.

Specialization Cores

Cognitive

203A - Overview of Cognitive Science and Perception
203B - Attention and Memory
203C - Higher-Level Language and Cognitive Processes
233 - Research Methods in Cognitive Science

Developmental

207A - Theories in Developmental Psychology
207B - Social Development
207C - Processes of Cognitive Development
208A - Research Methods in Development

Neuroscience

200A - Fundamentals of Neuroscience
200B - Fundamentals of Neuroscience
200C - Fundamentals of Neuroscience

Social/Personality

225 - Theories and Concepts of Social Psychology
226 - Theories and Concepts of Personality Psychology
227 - Research Methods in Social Psychology
228 - Research Methods in Personality

2nd-Year Course Work

During the second year of graduate study, students satisfy the department's breadth requirements by increasing their knowledge of areas of psychology outside their specialty area or from the perspective of another discipline. The four-course breadth requirement is flexible in order to provide a choice of courses that are conceptually coherent and suitable for graduate education, and appropriate to the student's goals. Breadth is to be a subject of planning with the student's advisor. Courses can be in or out of the department and should preferably be in logical sets of two or more.

The following sets within the department are suggested for breadth, but are not mandatory:

Cognitive: two from 203A, 203B, 203C
Developmental: two from 207A, 207B, 207C, 208A
Social/Personality: 225 and 226 OR 225 and 227 OR 226 and 228
Quantitative: two 259 seminars
Neuroscience: PSYC 120 and one from NRSC 121, PSYC 124, 125, 126, or 127

If the within-department breadth sets listed above are used, only the approval of the faculty advisor is required. All other choices require approval by vote of the faculty within the student's area or by the three-member advisory committee, where one exists, prior to enrollment. Approval forms are available from the Graduate Student Secretary.

Examples of how the requirements of the first two years are usually taken are given on the sample page. Elective seminars which will certainly be taken in Year 2 (and sometimes in Year 1) are not indicated. Such seminars will be chosen according to student interest, student progress, and advisor recommendations.