COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY
Program Description
The Community Psychology Graduate Program
We believe there is a need to equip students with psychological skills that are targeted toward non-individually oriented topics, such as community and organizational change, and evaluators of social policy. Students in the Community Ph.D. program will be trained in research methodologies to be applied to social and community interventions. These students will gain an understanding of social-community change from a public health perspective rather than a traditional individual-counseling orientation and will be collaborating with either community agencies, not-for-profit groups, or grass-roots organizations. Their principle roles are in research, evaluation, program development, and other non-clinical activities.
The Community psychology program utilizes a unique approach toward training graduate students. The program will stress training community professionals who work in the public or private sector with diverse gender, ethnic, racial, and sexual orientation populations. This program exemplifies the mission of DePaul University through its strong emphasis on "service to others." An objective of training will be to provide graduate students with educational and practical skills for scientific and leadership development as community advocates of social justice and empowerment. The Community faculty and supervisors have both an intra- and interdisciplinary orientation, including but not limited to, social, experimental, and feminist psychology, plus sociology and public service.
The Community program seeks to achieve four inter-related goals in training, specifically:
- Goal 1: provide students with a breadth of knowledge in the content of community psychology
- Goal 2: provide statistical and methodological foundations in general psychology to demonstrate competence in core areas within the discipline
- Goal 3: provide the means to contribute to new developments in the field of community psychology and the social basis of behavior
- Goal 4: provide for the specific needs of the students and the communities they will serve
Since the community program has an ecological-community orientation that emphasizes a public health model rather than a clinical or medical model, those who have no specific interest in this area would be better served by another program. In particular, those having interests in traditional clinical work would not find the Community program a good fit. Students accepted in the Community program are ineligible to transfer into the Clinical program.
Community Admission Requirements
All applications are processed and reviewed within the Psychology Department. The Community faculty evaluates all application materials carefully and emphasizes the following criteria:
1. Completeness of Credentials: When important pieces of information, such as transcripts, are lacking, the faculty is compelled to reject the applicant. Applications must be complete by January 10. The process of evaluation begins shortly after this date and interviews for invited candidates take place in late February and in March. Applicants will be notified if they qualify for an interview. In-person interviews are preferred; however, phone interviews can be arranged if necessary.
2. Graduate Record Examination Scores and Grade Point Average: Combined Verbal and Quantitative GRE scores of about 1200 are expected; Advanced Psychology Subject scores are generally in the 600's. Typically, successful applicants to our program have undergraduate GPA's of 3.2 or better. If the student is particularly strong in one area but not another, these criteria are not followed rigidly. *Note: The GRE subject exam is strongly recommended, but not required.
3. Undergraduate Preparation: Students are expected to have had courses in statistics, experimental psychology, and other areas of psychology to permit advanced study in this field. The minimum requirement for admission is 32 quarter hours (24 semester hours) in psychology. Although not required, history & systems, social and community psychology, computer, and math courses are viewed positively. In addition, applied and research experience will be an important consideration in the selection process.
4. Letters of Recommendation: The letters of recommendation are reviewed carefully. Reference writers should be selected who can address the applicant's academic abilities, potential for conducting research, and ability to work with others.
5. Match to the Program: As the DePaul Community program is highly specialized, the match of a student's career goals and experiences to the program objectives is also a significant consideration in the admission evaluation process.
6. Minority Status: The community faculty encourages applications from minority students.
7. Disabled Students: The clinical faculty encourages applications from disabled students.
Curriculum
Students will achieve the successful completion of a minimum of 120 quarter hours of graduate credit beyond the bachelor's degree and will complete either a traditional Master's Thesis or Capstone Research Project (an applied project focused on community-based interventions and prevention), and a Doctoral Dissertation. A typical course is 4 quarter hours.
Community Core
Psy 354 Community Psychology
Psy 492 Principles of Consultation
Psy 493 Principles of Community Psychology
Psy 495 Grant Writing in Psychology
Psy 568 Seminar in Prevention and Intervention Methods
Psy 569 Seminar in Program Evaluation
Psy 585 Field Work in Clinical Psychology (2 quarters required)
Statistics and Methodology
Psy 410 Advanced Statistics I
Psy 411 Advanced Statistics II
Psy 416 Methods in Qualitative Research or Mps 555 Alternatives to Traditional Public Policy Analysis
Psy 418 Multlivariate Statistical Analysis or Psy 419 Factor Analysis and Path Modeling
Psy 420 Advanced Research Methodology
Other Psychology and Interdisciplinary
Psy 361 History and Systems of Psychology (or equivalent course or qualifying exam)
Psy 404 Learning and Cognitive Processes or Psy 406 Physiological Processes or Psy 437 Advanced Personality
Psy 430 Advanced Social Psychology
Psy 445 Advanced Training and Development in Organizations or Mps 523 Evaluation of Organizational Effectiveness
Psy 500 Professional Ethics
Psy 520 Principles of Human Diversity
Psy 550 Seminar in Teaching Psychology (3 quarters required)
Psy 561 Advanced Psychology of Women
Psy 597 Thesis Research or 592 Directed Research
Psy 599 Dissertation Research (12 hours required)
Soc 420 Urban Sociology or Soc 423 Urban Cultural Areas or Mps 573 Urban and Community Analysis
Funding
Students may be associated with a faculty member's external grant, but such arrangements would be made on a case-by-case situation. Students may also be hired on a part-time basis for paid community practica. Furthermore, students who are awarded their M.A. degree may have the opportunity to teach part-time at the university. Student loans and federal grants are also available. In addition, students may receive tuition reimbursement from their employer.
Other Program Requirements
Although an applicant is accepted into the M.A./Ph.D. community program, formal acceptance and admission to doctoral candidacy depends upon the student's satisfactory progress in meeting the various demands of graduate education and professional training.
Field Work and Practicum Students will need to be placed at Chicago-area community sites in order to gain vital field work experience in community psychology. Metropolitan Chicago has a large population of community sites to draw upon as resources for assisting in placing students in practica and job-related sites.
Master's Thesis/Capstone Requirement It is expected that the student's proposal for the Master's Thesis or Capstone Research Project will be approved by January 15th of the winter quarter of the second year in the program.
Doctoral Comprehensive Exams The student is expected to take doctoral comprehensive examinations in the area of community psychology in the Fall or Spring quarters of the third or fourth year in the program. These examinations cannot be taken until the student has completed the master's thesis.
Dissertation For the dissertation, 12 hours of Psy 599 (Dissertation Research) are required. The student should form a dissertation committee and begin work on the dissertation proposal during the third or fourth year.
Department Office
Necessary supporting documents and application fees should be sent to the address below. Be sure the applicant's name, social security number and program being applied to are noted.
Graduate Psychology Program
DePaul University
2219 North Kenmore Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60614-3504
For More Information
Contact the DePaul University Graduate Psychology Program:
1. On-line: Complete the Contact Us form
2. E-mail: Send an e-mail message to gradpsych@depaul.edu.
3. Call: (773) 325-7887 or toll free 1-800-4DEPAUL (outside Illinois)
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