Preparation for Research

Nine semester hours of a research practicum course (PSYC 509). This consists of three successive semesters (3 hours per semester) spent gaining experience in research laboratories. Advisors may encourage students to consider taking each semester of PSYC 509 in their first year in the laboratories of separate faculty members.

Predissertation Research. All students must complete a research project involving the collection and analysis of original data or the original analysis of existing data. The project is to be reported in a form for submission toward publication. The Predissertation requirement will be met when the manuscript is: (1) approved by the major professor; (2) reviewed internally by another faculty member in the Psychology Department (chosen by the student and major professor together); and (3) submitted to a convention program or to a refereed journal. A completed Approval of Predissertation Research form, as well as one copy of the manuscript, must be placed on file with the Graduate Programs Coordinator. For students entering with a Master’s degree, the MA thesis may be submitted as the Predissertation research. However, it must be approved in the same manner as the predissertation project. Students completing an MA thesis within the Department receive automatic Predissertation approval. The Predissertation requirement must be satisfied by the end of the student’s second year of graduate training and prior to the formation of a doctoral committee. Ideally, the Predissertation should serve as pilot work for upcoming dissertation research.

Preparation for Teaching

Teaching Skill. This will consist of one 1-credit semester course in college teaching skills; namely, PSYC 528, taken on a Satisfactory/No Credit (S/NC) basis. Students should complete this course during their first year; this course is required if students want to be eligible to teach courses on their own. Failure to complete PSYC 528 within the first year could postpone student’s funding increase and limit the department ability to fill all teaching positions. In general, all graduate students are strongly encouraged to teach one section of an undergraduate course before graduation, either as part of their assistantship duties or in collaboration with a faculty member.