The Graduate Curriculum

(See sample curriculum on next page)
In the initial year of residence, students take the first course of the social psychology proseminar series, a current topics in social psychology seminar, and quantitative and methodology courses. Also, immediately upon entering the program, students become involved in one or more research programs, working with faculty members. These research affiliations are flexible and it is expected that students will participate in research with several faculty members while completing the doctoral program.
 

In the second year, students take the second course in the social psychology proseminar series, continue to develop their statistical knowledge and skills, and complete and defend an independent research project to be reported as a master's thesis in passing for the M.A. degree. In the second and third year of a student's residence he/she is also expected to enroll in the advanced courses available in the social psychology program. In addition, students are required during their time in the program to take two courses in other areas of psychology, and are encouraged to begin enrolling in other relevant courses within the department and across the university.
 

In the third year, students concentrate much of their effort on the development of a major area paper. Currently, three options for this project exist. One option is to review and integrate a substantive topic in social psychology. This paper follows the model of articles in Psychological Bulletin, Psychological Review, or Personality and Social Psychology Review. A second option is to prepare a grant proposal—often a pre-doctoral fellowship application—for a major federal agency or private foundation. Such proposals may be for a program of basic or applied research. The third option is to perform and report a meta–analysis, a quantitative technique for distilling major findings from existing literature. When the paper has been completed and accepted by the faculty, it becomes the basis for an oral exam that focuses in part on the content defined by the paper and in part on the student's level of preparation within other topics in social psychology and related topics across the entire discipline ("comprehensives”). Upon defending this examination, the student is advanced to Ph.D. candidacy.

The fourth and, typically, fifth years of enrollment in the graduate program is devoted to continuing research projects and the doctoral dissertation. The student may also acquire teaching experience and undertake additional coursework. The program offers a graduate teaching seminar that includes supervised teaching experience that students may take after earning their master's degree. In addition, the formal curriculum is supplemented by a bi–weekly informal research meeting in which all members of the program participate. The whole social psychology group meets in the evening at a faculty member’s home to share ideas about research projects in the formative stages of development. The seminar is highly interactive and lively, providing useful feedback while offering a training ground for young critics.