The general mission of our graduate program is to provide graduate education to highly talented, carefully selected individuals who want to pursue a career as a Ph.D. psychologist. We seek to train people who will pursue careers as basic researchers and/or as scientist-practitioners. Our graduates will be prepared to approach basic and applied problems from an empirical, scientific perspective that is not restricted by any particular cultural or ethnic point of view. Further, they will be aware of their ethical responsibilities as professional psychologists.

The overall goals of the Department of Psychology's graduate program are: (1) to provide students with advanced training in psychological theories, research findings, and the methods that are used by both basic and applied psychologists; (2) to produce graduates who will use their training as research scientists to contribute substantially to the body of knowledge in psychology; (3) to produce graduates who will use their training as scientist-practitioners to contribute substantially to the solution of pressing human problems; and (4) to produce graduates who are aware of and practice the ethical principles of their profession.