FAS - Psychology

The Psychology Department offers graduate training leading to the PhD with specialization in the fields of clinical psychology, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, health psychology, and social psychology. The program in clinical psychology is accredited by the American Psychological Association.

Contact Information

Department Chair: Anthony R. Caggiula

Main Office: 405 Langley Hall

Phone: (412) 624-4501

Fax: (412) 624-4428

Web site: http://www.pitt.edu/~psych/

Research

The research interests of the faculty and current graduate students include the following: cognitive and social development; cognitive neuroscience, psychoneuroimmunology, psychopharmacology; verbal processes; memory and cognitive functioning; instructional processes; social conformity; stereotypes; social motivation; attitudes; health psychology; behavioral medicine; and psychopathology.

Facilities

The facilities of the department include experimental laboratories, extensive computer facilities, a small groups laboratory, the Clinical Psychology Center, and the laboratories of the Learning Research and Development Center. These services offer the advanced graduate student opportunities for supervised practicum and research experiences.

The departmental facilities also include cooperative arrangements with many organizations in Pittsburgh engaged in various kinds of psychological work. These include Children's Hospital, Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, the Office of Child Development, St. Francis Hospital, and several local agencies of the Veterans Administration Medical Centers. Collaboration with these organizations consists of part-time instruction by the staffs of these agencies, the sharing of laboratory and clinical facilities, and the appointment in those organizations of graduate students in psychology as clinical assistants, research assistants, or as part-time employees.

Admissions

Applications for admission must be completed by January l of the year for which admission is desired. Admission is in the Fall Term only. Applicants for admission to graduate study in psychology must submit academic transcripts and certified scores on the Graduate Record Examination.

As preparation for graduate study, the department recommends broad undergraduate training including courses in biology, mathematics, the physical sciences, the social sciences, and in effective oral and written expression. The department recommends college level mathematics and 12 credits of psychology, including experimental psychology, statistics, and, for clinical applicants, abnormal psychology. Upon being admitted, students are assigned to faculty advisors.

Financial Assistance

The Department of Psychology provides tuition and stipend support for students admitted to its graduate programs. Support may be in the form of a fellowship, research assistantship, or teaching assistantship. Qualified students are encouraged to apply for relevant fellowships. Historically, the department has been able to continue support for most students throughout their graduate training; however, continued financial support cannot be guaranteed.

Degree Requirements

The minimal requirements established by the Graduate Faculty of the University, as described under General Academic Regulations, and any additional requirements of FAS Graduate Studies described under FAS Degree Requirements, should be read in conjunction with program-specific degree requirements described in the following sections.

Requirements for the Master's Degree

Normally, students are only admitted for graduate study leading to the PhD degree. Students who wish to do so may also obtain a master's degree by submitting an approved master's thesis and fulfilling the additional requirements described in the front of this bulletin under Regulations Pertaining to Master of Arts and Master of Science Degrees. Satisfactory completion of the core courses (see below) constitutes the comprehensive examination for the MS degree.

Requirements for the PhD Degree

Core Courses

Satisfactory completion of a series of core courses is required during the first two years of residence. This series includes two graduate psychology statistics courses and additional courses in the student's area of specialization. Each of the graduate programs has its own series of required courses.

Research

Satisfactory demonstration of competence in research is required. This involves completing a formal master's thesis, or a research paper judged equivalent by a faculty committee. In either case, an oral defense is required.

The preliminary evaluation consists of the completion (or exemption) of appropriate core courses plus the completion of the MS thesis or MS equivalent research paper. (Students entering with the MA or MS degree from another institution must have prior courses evaluated by the program faculty to determine to what extent the core program has been satisfied. If the student has already completed a master's thesis, that thesis must also be evaluated by the program faculty to determine whether or not it meets the research standards of the department.)

Comprehensive Examination

Passing a comprehensive examination in the student's area of specialization is required. This examination (a) must be taken within two calendar years after passing the core courses; (b) must be completed at least eight months before granting of the PhD degree; and (c) must be repeated if the degree is not granted within three calendar years after passing the comprehensive examination. Candidates failing the examination may, at the discretion of the faculty, be permitted to repeat the examination once.

PhD Dissertation

A PhD dissertation, with an oral defense, must be satisfactorily completed.

Internship (for Clinical Psychology Students only)

In addition, students who specialize in clinical psychology are required to complete an internship consisting of one year of experience in an approved agency, or an equivalent amount of part-time, supervised experience.

Course Listings

PSY 2000 Research and Thesis for the Master's Degree

PSY 2005 Statistical Analysis 1

PSY 2010 Statistical Analysis 2

PSY 2015 Statistical Analysis 3

PSY 2020 Advanced Experimental Design

PSY 2025 Psychometric Foundations of Assessment

PSY 2050 Advanced Data Analysis

PSY 2100 Research Methods: Social Psychology

PSY 2105 Social Research Seminar

PSY 2110 Topics in Social Psychology

PSY 2125 Social Psychology: Attitudes

PSY 2130 Interpersonal Relations

PSY 2135 Social Perception and Cognition

PSY 2155 Psychology of Small Groups

PSY 2160 Personality

PSY 2200 Research Methods in Clinical Psychology

PSY 2205 Psychopathology

PSY 2210 Clinical Research Practicum

PSY 2220 Practicum: Psychological Clinic

PSY 2225 Advanced Practicum

PSY 2230 Clinical Assessment 1

PSY 2235 Clinical Assessment 2

PSY 2245 Developmental Psychopathology

PSY 2250 Clinical Psychology 1: Psychotherapy Theory and Research

PSY 2251* Cognitive and Behavioral Methods

PSY 2252* Behavioral Medicine Interventions

PSY 2253* Families and Children Therapy

PSY 2255 Clinical Psychology 2: Cognitive and Behavioral Approaches

PSY 2260 Clinical Psychology 3: Biological Basis of Psychopathology

PSY 2265 Interviewing Skills

PSY 2270 Child and Family

PSY 2276 Topics Seminar in Clinical Psychology

PSY 2280 Professional Issues

PSY 2285 Field Study in Clinical Psychology

PSY 2300 Developmental Psychology: Research Methods

PSY 2310 Foundations: Developmental Psychology

PSY 2315 Developmental Psychology: Infancy

PSY 2320 Developmental Psychology: Language

PSY 2325 Developmental Psychology: Social Development

PSY 2330 Developmental Psychology: Cognitive Development

PSY 2335 Developmental Psychology: Social Cognitive Development

PSY 2376 Topics Seminar in Developmental Psychology

PSY 2400² Human Cognition: Research Methods

PSY 2403* Research Seminar Cognitive Psychology

PSY 2405* Foundations: Learning and Conditioning

PSY 2410* Perspectives in Cognitive Science

PSY 2420* Foundations: Behavioral Analysis

PSY 2430* Concepts and Categories

PSY 2450* Human Cognition: Problem Solving and Reasoning

PSY 2455* Human Cognition: Language

PSY 2460* Human Cognition: Learning and Memory

PSY 2465* Perception and Attention

PSY 2470* Human Cognition: Skill Acquisition

PSY 2475 Cognitive Neuroscience

PSY 2476 Topics Seminar in Cognitive Psychology

PSY 2480 Computational Neuroscience Methods

PSY 2495 Psychology of Reading

PSY 2500 Research Methods in Biopsychology

PSY 2505 Program Research Seminar

PSY 2510* Foundations in Perception

PSY 2520 Psychoneuroimmunology

PSY 2525 Introduction to Behavioral Pharmacology

PSY 2550 Physiological Bases of Behavior

PSY 2555 Psychophysiology

PSY 2560 Human Cardiovascular Psychophysiology

PSY 2565 Introduction to Behavioral Pharmacology

PSY 2570 Principles of Behavior

PSY 2575 Topics in Psychology

PSY 2576 Topics Seminar in Biopsychology

PSY 2970 Teaching of Psychology

PSY 2990 Independent Study

PSY 3000 Research and Dissertation for the PhD Degree

Seminars require permission of the instructor. Specific topics covered in a seminar vary with the instructor(s).

PSY 3010 Seminar in Quantitative Methods

PSY 3020 Seminar: Academic Role of the Psychologist

PSY 3105 Seminar in Social Psychology

PSY 3110 Seminar in Topics in Social Psychology

PSY 3130 Seminar: Special Topics in Gender Roles

PSY 3135 Seminar in Social Cognition

PSY 3160 Seminar in Personality and Social Psychology

PSY 3165 Seminar in Evaluation Research

PSY 3200 Seminar in Clinical Research

PSY 3205 Seminar in Behavior Genetics

PSY 3207 Seminar: Psychology of Black Experience

PSY 3215 Seminar in Behavioral Medicine

PSY 3216 Advanced Seminar in Behavioral Medicine

PSY 3220 Seminar in Family Research and Therapy

PSY 3225 Seminar in Emotion

PSY 3230 Seminar in Childhood Disorders

PSY 3235 Seminar in Projective Techniques

PSY 3240 Seminar in Psychotherapy

PSY 3245 Seminar in Addiction

PSY 3255 Seminar in Behavior Modification

PSY 3290 Research in Child Psychopathology

PSY 3295 Seminar in Minority Therapy

PSY 3315 Seminar in Infancy

PSY 3320 Seminar in Language Development

PSY 3330 Seminar in Developmental Cognition

PSY 3335 Seminar in Perceptual Development

PSY 3340 Seminar in Social-Cognitive Development

PSY 3345 Seminar in Social Development

PSY 3350 Seminar in Early Childhood

PSY 3405 Seminar in Animal Learning

PSY 3410 Seminar in Cognitive Processes

PSY 3430 Seminar in Problem Solving

PSY 3440 Seminar in Intelligence

PSY 3455 Seminar in Psycholinguistics

PSY 3460 Psychology and International Relations

PSY 3470 Informal Reasoning and Argumentation

PSY 3485 Seminar in Learning and Instructional Processes

PSY 3490 Advanced Seminar in Learning and Instructional Processes

PSY 3510 Seminar in Perception

PSY 3515 Seminar in Comparative Animal Behavior

PSY 3520 Special Topics in Psychopharmacology

PSY 3575 Conditioning and Physiological Regulation

PSY 3902 Directed Study

PSY 3970 Seminar in Teaching of Psychology

* These course are sometimes offered in seven-week modules.