Program Overview

Introduction to the Personality Psychology (Ph.D.) Program

The Personality Psychology (Ph.D.) program is designed to provide students with a comprehensive education in the field of personality psychology. The program aims to equip students with the knowledge, skills, and expertise necessary to pursue careers in research, academia, and practice.

Degree Requirements

The degree requirements for the Personality Psychology (Ph.D.) program include:

• Required coursework
• Qualifying examination
• Graduate School writing proficiency requirement
• Graduate School Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) requirement
• Dissertation
• Final oral examination

Breadth and Minor Areas

The program offers breadth and minor areas in:

• Developmental Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Neuropsychology

Research Areas & Interests

The faculty research interests in the program include:

• The psychology of race and racism
• Humanization and human expression
• Narrative personality psychology
• Identity, motivation, personalized goals
• Individual differences in responses to psychological challenges
• Intersectionality of race and gender on identity saliency
• Impact of racism and stress on the health of African-Americans
• Organizational design and personal transformation to promote women's career advancement
• Informal STEM educational design and computational thinking
• Effects of stress management practices on academic performance among African American students
• Behavioral, psychological, and social factors that influence adjustment to life after cancer including, fear of recurrence, depression, symptom distress
• Effects of identity development on stress via physiological responses to stress-induced situations that are central to self-identification
• Personalized goals and well-being in the lives of professional athletes
• Narrative personality psychology

Faculty Areas of Specialty

The faculty areas of specialty include:

• Dr. Jules P. Harrell: individual differences in physiological responses to psychological challenges; stress and coping in people of African descent; behavioral medicine
• Dr. Cynthia E. Winston-Proctor: narrative psychology, organizational design and personal transformation to promote women's career advancement and healthy living; informal STEM educational design and computational thinking; and qualitative inquiry in Psychology

Program of Study

The program of study includes:

Core Courses

• PSYC 203 First Year Research I
• PSYC 219 First Year Research II
• PSYC 207 Statistics I
• PSYC 208 Statistics II
• PSYC 206 History & Systems
• PSYC 205 General Research Methods
• PSYC 223 Personality Theory I
• PSYC 251 Personality Theory II
• PSYC 239 Personality Assessment

Breadth & Minor Courses (18 CR)

• Select three breadth courses (9 credits)
• Select three minor area courses (9 credits)

Research Seminars

• PSYC 241 Seminar in Personality
• PSYC 242 Seminar in Personality Research

Dissertation

• The dissertation is a required component of the program

Admission to Candidacy

Students are admitted to formal candidacy by the Graduate School when they have completed the required coursework, passed the qualifying examination, submitted an approved topic for research, and been recommended by the Department. Candidates must also have satisfied the Graduate School writing proficiency requirement and Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) requirement.

Graduate Funding

Admitted students may be eligible to compete for graduate school competitive awards, which provide tuition remission and a stipend during the academic year. Additionally, graduate research or teaching assistantships may be available at the department level. Research assistants and teaching assistants work no more than 20 hours a week under the program's direction, usually in support of faculty research or in support of assigned courses.