About the Program
Graduate students in Psychological Sciences are expected to become qualified researchers and experts in their selected area of concentration and to acquire a broad and in-depth background of the field in general. The graduate program provides comprehensive training leading to the Ph.D. with one of the following six degree options: Clinical, Cognitive, Industrial-Organizational, Mathematical and Computational Psychology, Neuroscience and Behavior, and Social Psychology.
Cognitive psychology encompasses most topics in human experimental psychology. Faculty research interests in this area include sensory processes, perception, information processing, memory, attention, judgment, thinking, problem solving and human factors. Faculty specializing in mathematical psychology, behavioral neuroscience and animal learning also participate in the cognitive graduate program. Students are expected to actively participate in research. New students typically begin research projects under the close supervision of their faculty mentor and become more independent as their graduate careers progress. Students can receive course credit for research by enrolling in individualized research courses and thesis or dissertation research courses.
Within the cognitive psychology program, faculty also have research interests in several bridge topics, including individual differences, learning and memory, and perception and performance. Cognitive psychology faculty studying individual differences focus on the role of working memory capacity in relation to attention control, fluid intelligence and multitasking. Faculty in the program who focus on learning and memory examine comprehension and knowledge application; the relationship among attention, memory and cognitive control; and cognitive training. Further, perception and performance research investigates human factors, selection and control of action, and how different neural systems mediate linguistic meaning.
Human factors is an interdisciplinary research area jointly operated by the Department of Psychological Sciences’ cognitive psychology program and the School of Industrial Engineering. It focuses on the systematic application of human sensory, perceptual, mental, psychomotor and other characteristics to the design of the many human-made facilities.
A non-thesis MS can also be obtained but only under restricted conditions. Ordinarily, this degree is awarded to students who, for various reasons, decide not to continue toward the PhD degree after entering the graduate program.
Program Website
Required Courses (xx credits)
Statistics Courses (9 credits)
Select statistics courses from either the PSY list or the STAT list.
Students following the Cognitive Pyschology program must take one additional quantitative course.
Seminar Courses (6 credits)
Equivalent course substitutions must be approved by the Area Coordinator.
Cognitive Psychology Courses (12 credits)
Choose four.
Colloquium (xx credits)
Students must register for PSY 63300 (Cognitive Colloquium) every semester. The Area Coordinator must approve exceptions.
Electives (6-10 credits)
At least one of these courses must be a graduate course offered within the department. Two courses may be from outside of the Department (e.g. an Interdisciplinary Neuroscience course, a HDFS course, a Sociology course). Students will typically satisfy the requirement through other topic areas offered within the department. These courses must be approved by the student’s advisory committee.
Dissertation Research (xx credits)
The PhD dissertation is an original research project that typically involves collection of empirical data. It is conducted under the guidance of a final examination committee consisting of the student’s Major Professor and at least three additional faculty members. At least half of the committee members must be in the Cognitive Area.
The PhD process involves a proposal and a defense. The proposal consists of a written document describing a potential research project, and a meeting in which the committee evaluates the project for approval. The defense consists of a written document (the dissertation) describing the completed research project, and a meeting in which the committee evaluates the document and candidate. Program timeline (recommended): Years 4-5.
Additional Requirements
First-year project: Every new student should begin a research project with their Major Professor in their first semester. Students are expected to present the results of this research in the Cognitive Colloquium near the end of their second semester. A paper based on their project is expected to be disseminated to the Cognitive Area faculty for approval and feedback by August 1st.
Master’s proposal and defense: The Master’s thesis is an original research project that typically involves collection of empirical data. It is conducted under the guidance of a three-person committee chaired by the student’s Major Professor. The Master’s process involves a proposal and a defense. The proposal consists of a written document describing a potential research project, and a meeting in which the committee evaluates the project for approval. The defense consists of a written document (the Master’s thesis) describing the completed research project, and a meeting in which the committee evaluates the document and candidate. Program timeline (recommended): Years 2-3.
Students who enter the program with a thesis-based Master’s degree from another institution can request approval to waive the Master’s thesis requirement at Purdue.
