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Ph.D. Course Requirements

First Year Coursework

Statistics
All first-year students, regardless of area, must take two courses in statistics: PSYC 204, Quantitative Data Analysis (fall quarter), and PSYC 214A, Multivariate Techniques (winter quarter).

Proseminar
Students must also in their first year take the two-quarter proseminar sequence for their particular research area in the fall and winter quarters: PSYC 224A and 224B (cognitive), PSYC 244A and 244B (developmental), and PSYC 211A and 211B (social).

Colloquium Series

To aid in the development of their research programs, all graduate students must enroll and participate in the colloquium series associated with their respective research area each quarter.

Area-Specific Course Requirements

Beyond the basic first-year courses, students in each research area are required to take several advanced courses and seminars. Some of these courses should be taken during their first year, while others should be taken in the second and third years of graduate study. The required courses in the three areas beyond those stated above are:

Cognitive course requirements

  • Three advanced cognitive graduate courses. For example:
  • PSYC 227: Contemporary Issues in the Psychology of Language
  • PSYC 220: Special Topics in Human Memory,
  • PSYC 223: Special Topics in Psychological Inquiry
  • A graduate course in developmental psychology
  • A graduate course in social psychology
  • A substantive advanced course in a discipline other than psychology

Developmental course requirements

  • PSYC 225A: Introduction to Developmental Research I
  • PSYC 225B: Introduction to Developmental Research II
  • PSYC 246: Diversity: Issues in Human Development
  • One advanced Developmental graduate seminar courses
  • A graduate course in cognitive psychology
  • A graduate course in social psychology
  • A substantive advanced course in a discipline other than psychology

Social course requirements

  • PSYC 210: Experimental Methods in Social Psychology
  • PSYC 248: Survey Methods
  • PSYC 249: Field Methods and Social Ethnography OR PSYC 255: Qualitative Inquiry in Psychology OR PSYC 261: Participatory Action Research
  • One other advanced social graduate seminar
  • A graduate course in cognitive psychology
  • A graduate course in developmental psychology
  • A substantive advanced course in a discipline other than psychology