Message from the Graduate Admissions Chair

Dear Prospective Applicant,

Thank you for requesting information regarding our doctoral program in Psychology at the University of California at Riverside. We offer a strong research-oriented Ph.D. program in the areas of:

Cognitive
Developmental
Systems Neuroscience
Social-Personality

Students in our social or developmental areas may also concentrate in Health Psychology (see the research programs of Professors DiMatteo, Friedman, Lyubomirsky, Reynolds, and Yates). We also have a quantitative minor that can be completed within the context of one of the four programs. Our graduates go on to positions in academic institutions, research institutes, government health and social service agencies, and corporate research and consulting.

These are exciting times on our campus. UCR is in the midst of a substantial period of growth. In 1992, there were about 7,000 students. Current student enrollment exceeds 18,000, and an enrollment of 22,000 is expected by 2015. The department has made a number of new faculty hires and we recently moved into the new Psychology building. In the "Rise of American Research Universities" (1997), UCR was ranked #4 as a "rising university" and #11 in social sciences (among public universities). See http://www.psych.ucr.edu/grad/UCRtopranked.pdf for more information about this.

Please note that we DO NOT offer training in Clinical, Counseling, Educational, or School Psychology. Also, although you may acquire a master's degree in the process of getting your Ph.D. degree here, we do NOT offer separate, terminal, Master's programs or distance education. The Graduate School of Education at UCR should be consulted for Educational and School Psychology (http://www.education.ucr.edu).

Up-to-date information about our graduate program information and department is available on the Web at: http://www.psych.ucr.edu. Prior to making an application we encourage you to take a look at the faculty web pages to make sure that we have potential mentors here who engage in the type of research that interests you. We recommend that you personally contact any faculty member who might be a potential mentor before applying.

If you are interested in our Ph.D. program your first step is to return the departmental Express Application to us as soon as possible. Do NOT expect a response to the Express Application; its purpose is to alert relevant faculty to your application.

Your second step should be to make a full (online) application to the Graduate Division. The deadline for the submission of your official application and all supporting documents for the Psychology Graduate Program for admission in FALL 2010 is January 2, 2010 (this deadline is earlier than other University Graduate Division deadlines, so don't get left out!). We only admit students in fall quarters. We look forward to receiving your full application.

A recent federal regulation (the Clery Act) requires that all universities disclose crime statistics to all prospective students. Our campus has a very low crime rate for its size. The U.C. Riverside Campus Security and Crime Report is available at: http://www.police.ucr.edu/securityreport. The Report contains a summary of crimes reported on the campus and in other designated areas during the past three calendar years. It also contains references to University and campus policies concerned with criminal activity and security on campus. Printed copies of the Report are available upon request from the University of California Police Department, 3500 Canyon Crest Drive, Riverside, CA 92521 or by telephone at (951) 827-3853.

Please feel free to email us if you have any further questions. Thank you again for your interest in our programs.

Sincerely,

Christine Chiarello, Ph.D.
Professor, Chair of Admissions
christine.chiarello@ucr.edu

Supporting psychology graduate application materials should be sent to:

The Graduate Advisor
Department of Psychology
University of California Riverside, CA
92521-4026 USA

Important web site addresses all in one place: