Program Overview

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Psychology PhD Program

The Psychology PhD degree program offers advanced study and research training for students seeking to become leading scientists and scholars in the field. The program encompasses a wide array of specialty areas within psychology, including developmental, cognitive, social and personality psychology, and spans the study of both healthy and clinical populations from infancy through older adulthood.

Program Overview

From the start of their training, doctoral students in psychology work closely in research laboratories with faculty mentors. Although the department is highly interdisciplinary, there are three primary areas of research focus:

• Developmental psychology, which spans topics in children's social-emotional, cognitive, and language development;
• Cognitive psychology, including topics in traditional cognitive psychology such as attention, motivation, perception, learning and memory, and face perception ranging from basic science perspectives to applied approaches including interventions to improve cognitive function.
• Social and personality psychology, including work focused on cultural differences in socio-emotional processing, moral decision making, the formation and evolution of interpersonal relationships between romantic partners and friends, and research on health disparities.
• Clinical science, which prepares students to investigate and apply the mechanisms that underlie mental health and behavior through an evidence-first, competency-based, and measurement-guided approach to assessment and intervention.

Degree Requirements

The PhD program in psychology requires a minimum of 75 semester credit hours beyond the baccalaureate degree. Students declare a concentration in developmental psychology, cognitive psychology or social/personality psychology or neuroscience. Students are expected to complete the program coursework and research requirements in four to five years. The research requirements include a qualifying thesis research project and a dissertation research project. Students work collaboratively with their faculty mentor and committee to successfully complete all program milestone projects.

Admissions

The psychology admissions committee evaluates applications using a holistic review, which includes prior GPA, letters of recommendation, and a close examination of the statement of purpose. Admission is contingent on a match between the research interests of the applicant and faculty. Applicants are strongly encouraged to identify faculty with similar research interests and to contact them about current opportunities for admission.

Application Process

Typically, applicants have an average undergraduate cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above, and completion of an undergraduate degree in a related major is advisable. Completion of a master's degree is not required. Applicants without a prior degree in psychology should contact the program head for prerequisite coursework.

Applications to the PhD program must include official transcripts, three letters of reference from people qualified to evaluate your potential for successful doctoral study, and a statement of purpose detailing your previous research and professional experiences, your current research interests, your career goals and the name of at least three potential faculty mentors and why you are interested in working with them.

International applicants must provide proof of English proficiency via TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE meeting University minimum requirements.

Financial Aid

Financial support of full-time doctoral students in psychology is awarded through teaching or research assistantship stipends and tuition scholarships. Admitted students are automatically considered for teaching and research assistant positions.

Career Opportunities

The psychology PhD program is an experimental psychology program and provides training for a career in teaching and research. Former graduates have successfully acquired university faculty positions, as well as research positions in hospitals, school systems, healthcare start-ups, and research institutes. Graduates also have worked in applied research settings, conducting program evaluation research with education and intervention programs.

Program Resources

The PhD student guide provides information on policies and procedures in the PhD programs in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences. Additional resources include forms and information for degree plans, registration, milestones, and annual reporting, as well as teaching and research assistantship forms and FAQs.

Student Achievement Data

View the Student Achievement Data on the Callier Center for Communication Disorders page.

Facilities

The BBS offices and research facilities are located on the Richardson campus and in centers located in Dallas near the campus of the UT Southwestern Medical Center. Facilities at all locations include classrooms and research laboratories for studies of neuroscience, psychology and communication across the lifespan in both typical and clinical populations.

The PhD program in psychology offers exceptional research facilities on the Richardson campus, including state-of-the-art laboratories equipped for studies of event-related potentials, eye tracking, infant visual and auditory preferences, child learning and development, parent-child interactions and adult interpersonal relationships. In addition, the school's Center for Children and Families, housed at the Callier Center-Richardson location, offers an array of clinical and community outreach activities organized around three main initiatives: promoting healthy families, strengthening interpersonal relationships and enhancing children's thinking and learning. Partnerships with area hospitals, clinics, agencies and schools further expand student research opportunities. Students also benefit from working with faculty mentors in the Center for BrainHealth and the Center for Vital Longevity.