General University Requirements

See current University catalog.

Departmental Requirements

Students admitted to the graduate program are required to pursue their studies as full-time students. It is the policy of the Department that students register for twelve (12) or more hours per semester during their first year of graduate study. Following the first year, the student must register for a minimum of nine (9) hours during each semester of the academic year until admitted into candidacy and a minimum of six (6) dissertation hours each semester until the degree is confered. During internship periods, students are required to register for a minimum of three graduate hours per term while away from the University.

Students seeking a reduction in course loads below these minimal requirements on the basis of financial hardship or other personal reasons must submit such requests through their advisor to the Chair of the Department for approval in advance of the semester during which they will carry a reduced load. (Forms for requesting reduced hours are located in the mail room with other graduate forms.)

University Tools of Research Requirement

All graduate students must complete a series of three courses that satisfy the University requirement of "research tools" for all Ph.D. programs. The minimum coursework necessary to meet this requirement is three advanced methods courses from present departmental offerings, including: Field Research Methods, Factor Analysis, Psychometrics, Multivariate Statistics, SAS Programming, Advanced ANOVA, Causal Modeling. Course credit will count toward meeting the 90 credit hour requirement for the Ph.D. degree.

Under normal circumstances, graduate students should select their tools requirements from the courses listed above. Students who wish to satisfy the research tools requirement in other ways, such as foreign languages or equivalent courses in other departments, may submit such requests to the Graduate Program Committee for review and approval. However, student petitions should be carefully considered, well documented, fully justified in writing, and approved by the student's Ph.D. committee before submission to the Graduate Program Committee.

Department of Psychology Graduate Minor Requirement

A minor program of study, defined below, is required by the Department of Psychology for admission to Ph.D. candidacy.

1. The Minor consists of an area of graduate study outside of the Ph.D. program area in which the student is enrolled.
2. The Minor requirement may be met by the satisfactory completion of two graduate-level courses (6 hours), with a minimum grade of "B" in each course.
3. A Minor concentration of study may consist of:
   • graduate study in a Department program or programs other than the student's own.
   • graduate study outside the Department of Psychology.
4. Prior graduate work in some specialty area will normally not be accepted as meeting the requirements of the graduate minor. The Department of Psychology offers the following list of approved Minor concentrations for the student's consideration. The list is not exhaustive, but rather a sample of possible Minor concentrations considered to be appropriate and acceptable for students in different program areas. Please note that a variety of different courses may be used to construct some of these Minor concentrations.
   • Organizational Psychology
   • Behavioral Medicine
   • Cognitive Psychology
   • Computer Techniques in Psychology
   • Medical Psychology
   • Health Psychology
   • Biofeedback Techniques and Applications
   • Industrial Psychology
   • Environmental Psychology
   • Human Factors/Engineering
   In addition to these Departmental Minors, the student may, of course, minor in study programs in other departments in the University, providing the Minor program is appropriate to the goals of the student at the doctoral level of study.
5. A minor advisor from the area or department of the represented specialty must be selected, who must approve the proposed course of study prior to its submission to his/her committee.
6. Before commencing work on the Minor, the student must submit a detailed description of the proposed Minor course of study to his/her M.A. or Ph.D. committee for approval. This proposal will contain descriptions of courses and/or other work planned, an explanation of the relationship of the proposed Minor to the primary course of study, and will indicate an appropriate time for completion of the Minor. It is expected that the student will complete the Minor requirement in about one year. A copy of the approved course of study must then be submitted to the Graduate Program Committee for its review and approval.