EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
Program Description
The Experimental Psychology M.A./Ph.D. program prepares students for future employment in a wide variety of scientific, academic, and applied settings. The Experimental faculty consists of members from each of the following major experimental areas: developmental, social, learning and cognition, quantitative, and the psychology of gender, with multiple faculty in social and cognitive.
Research experience is an integral part of the training and begins in the first year under the guidance of an advisor. During their second year, students plan and conduct research toward their Master's thesis, and research for the dissertation is usually conducted during the third year. The program incorporates research skills within a major content area in psychology, and thereby qualifies students to work in a broad range of academic, research, and business settings.
Experimental Admission Requirements
1. Completeness of Credentials: When important pieces of information, such as transcripts, are lacking, the faculty is compelled to reject the applicant; therefore, applications must be complete by February 15.
2. Graduate Record Examination Scores and Grade Point Average: Combined Verbal and Quantitative GRE scores of about 1100 are expected, and Subject scores are expected to exceed 500. (The GRE psychology subject exam is strongly recommended, but not required.) The undergraduate grades of applicants are expected to average substantially higher than "B" in psychology courses. Typically, successful applicants to our program have undergraduate GPA's of 3.5 and combined GRE scores of about 1100. If the student is particularly strong in one area, but not another, these criteria are not followed rigidly.
3. Undergraduate Preparation: Students are expected to have had courses in statistics, experimental psychology, research methods, 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. Science, computer, and math courses are seen as positive indices. Emphasis is placed on the applicant's personal statement regarding commitment, motivation and experience in the area of experimental psychology.
4. Minority Status: The Experimental faculty encourages applications from minority students.
5. Students with Disabilities: The Experimental faculty encourages applications from students with disabilities.
Curriculum
The student is required to complete a minimum of 120 quarter hours beyond the bachelor's degree, including required courses in core content areas of experimental psychology, statistics and research methodology, and advanced specialty topics. For a current list of required courses, please see the DePaul Graduate Catalog at http://arc.depaul.edu/bulletin.
First year students may take courses that contribute to their area of specialization in addition to their required core courses. The second and succeeding years are primarily devoted to the student's area of specialization and to developing a research program under the supervision of one or more faculty members. Students also must demonstrate a knowledge of history and systems of psychology, by satisfactory performance either in a history and systems course or on an examination in that area. Satisfactory completion of a minimum of 48 quarter hours (including four credit hours of thesis research) is required for the master's degree.
Other Program Requirements
Thesis and Dissertation
For the M.A., four hours of PSY 597 (Thesis Research) are required. For the Ph.D., 12 hours of PSY 599 (Dissertation Research) are required. The topics of both the thesis and dissertation must be relevant to the field of Experimental Psychology. However, they may also draw upon knowledge from other areas of psychology. The second year of graduate study should culminate in a master's thesis. The student ordinarily would begin the dissertation during the third year of graduate study.
Doctoral Comprehensive Exams
Comprehensive examinations are designed to assess the student's knowledge of experimental psychology and the student's specialty area and are required for all Ph.D. students. Ordinarily, these are taken in the third or fourth year of graduate study after the student has completed the thesis and before work has begun on the dissertation. The examination covers the major areas of experimental psychology and requires the student to integrate multiple sources of information.
Additional Information
All students are evaluated annually and are provided feedback about their progress in the program. In addition, the student is urged, but not required, to teach a psychology course during the third or fourth years of study.
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)
4. Visit our department Web pages: http://www.depaul.edu/~psych
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