Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology

The Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology is designed to provide intensive training in Behavior Analysis or Clinical Psychology. The Doctor of Philosophy is a research degree for persons intending to assume leadership roles in teaching, research, and service in a variety of professional and academic institutions.

In addition to meeting the entrance requirements of The Graduate College, applicants are expected to show evidence of interest in and aptitude for conducting research.

Graduate students receive a personal appointment of a doctoral committee chairperson and two faculty sponsors to facilitate the full development of the student’s academic interests within the research programs of the Department and the University. The program is arranged to encourage active participation in the daily conduct of the Department’s academic program and research activities.

Program Requirements

The credit hour requirements of the Ph.D. program are arranged to prepare students for teaching and research. The content areas and credit hours of the individual doctoral programs are listed below and include:

Behavior Analysis (85 hrs.)
Advisor:
James E. Carr,
3758 Wood Hall

Applied Behavior Analysis (6 hrs.)
Experimental Analysis of Behavior (6 hrs.)
Conceptual and Theoretical Issues (6 hrs.)
Research Methods and Statistics (6 hrs.)
Professional Issues (3 hrs.)
Behavioral Electives (12-30 hrs.)
Cognates (0-12 hrs.)
Master’s Thesis or Project (6 hrs.)
Professional Experience (6-12 hrs.)
Doctoral Dissertation (15 hrs.)

Courses count toward the Ph.D. program in Behavior Analysis only after the student has completed all courses in an M.A. program, including the M.A. thesis or M.A. project requirement.

Clinical Psychology (96 hrs.)
Advisor:
Richard Spates,
3538 Wood Hall

Professional Core (3 hrs.)
Clinical Foundations in Psychology (18 hrs.)
Methodology (12 hrs.)
Clinical Psychology Core (2-24 hrs.)
Clinical Practicum (18 hrs.)
Thesis (6 hrs.)
Dissertation (15 hrs.)
Practicum and Internship (21 hrs.)
Research Tools (12 hrs.)

The research activity of the doctoral student is continuous and is encouraged through participation in the apprentice research program, completion of a six credit hour Master’s Thesis, the completion of approved practicum, and completion of a fifteen credit hour dissertation. The student is required to demonstrate competence in two research tools selected from foreign languages, American sign language, computer usage, research methods, or advanced statistics. Such tools may be integral to the program requirements or may be, in some instances, additional requirements. Specific tool requirements differ by program; the advisor will be able to provide complete information. The doctoral candidate will also show evidence of an ability to interpret, integrate, and discuss research data by the satisfactory completion of a comprehensive examination.

The program is arranged to provide formal evaluations of the student as he/she progresses from baccalaureate apprentice to doctoral applicant with the completion of the Master’s Thesis and to doctoral degree candidate with completion of the comprehensive examination. The award of the Ph.D. degree is made following the satisfactory completion of the required hours of approved course credit, demonstration of competence in two research tools, satisfactory completion of comprehensive examination, and the oral defense of the dissertation before the student’s doctoral committee at a public presentation.

The Department of Psychology offers financial assistance through Department assistantships and program fellowships. Additional information concerning financial awards and program requirements may be obtained from the Department office.