|
The primary focus of the study of psychology is on the individual. Thus,
its scope includes the biological processes of brain growth, development
and functioning; the perceptual and cognitive processes by which information
is acquired, stored, used and communicated; the comprehension, production,
and use of language from a psychological viewpoint; the social, cultural,
and emotional processes by which experience is interpreted and organized;
and the developmental processes that underlie change from infancy through
adulthood. Training emphasizes the conceptual theories that describe and
explain these processes, and the variety of methods that are used to study
them.
Originally founded as the Laboratory of Psychology in 1893, the Department
of Psychology has been for a century a leading center of scholarship,
research and teaching in psychology and related fields. Among its distinguished
faculty and students have been James Rowland Angell, John Dewey, George
Herbert Mead, John B. Watson, the founder of behaviorism, L. L. Thurstone,
a pioneer in psychological measurement, and Roger Sperry, Nobel Prize
winner for his work in cerebral lateralization. The present Department
of Psychology is conscious of its distinguished intellectual forebears
and continues to reflect its heritage in its commitment to research, the
scope of its inquiry, and the diversity of its programs of graduate study.
Moreover, consistent with the interdisciplinary traditions of the University
of Chicago, the Department of Psychology maintains close connections with
other departments in the University. The department's faculty and students
actively participate in courses, colloquia, workshops and joint research
ventures with scholars in related departments, including, but not confined
to, anthropology, biology, computer science, education, linguistics, and
philosophy, and in the University's professional schools of business,
public policy, law, medicine, and social service administration.
The Department of Psychology is organized into specialized training and
research programs that reflect the contemporary state of the discipline
as well as wide-ranging interests of its own faculty. They are currently
the Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience Program, the Developmental Psychology
Program, the Language Program, the Perception Program, and the Social
Psychology Program. The interdisciplinary character of the University
and the Department of Psychology is reflected in the fact that many faculty
members serve on more than one of the department's programs.
Degrees
The course of study offered by the Department of Psychology is designed
primarily to prepare students for careers in research and teaching and
for whatever professional work is necessary as an adjunct to these career
objectives. Programs of graduate study offered by the department lead
to the Ph.D. degree in the Division of the Social Sciences. In order to
qualify for the Ph.D. degree, students must satisfy (1) the University's
residency requirements; (2) the requirements of the Division of the Social
Sciences; and (3) the requirements of the particular program of the Department
of Psychology.
The Department of Psychology does not offer courses of study leading
to the degree of Master of Arts. However, students admitted to doctoral
study who do not already hold a master's degree may take the Master of
Arts degree as an optional step in the doctoral program. Similarly, a
student admitted who must leave the program, for whatever reason, may
apply for a terminal Masters of Arts degree, providing the student has
met the University's residency requirements, the requirements of the Division
of the Social Sciences, and the program requirements of the particular
program of the Department of Psychology.
Psychology-Linguistics Joint Ph.D. Program
A joint Ph.D. degree program in psychology and linguistics exists for
those students who are interested in completing degree requirements in
both fields. Psychology students in the Language Program may apply to
the joint degree program in the second year and beyond, but are not required
to do so.
Certificate in Social Psychology
Students who have already been admitted to a Ph.D. program in the Division
of the Social Sciences Division may pursue a Certificate in Social Psychology
upon application to the Social Psychology area and approval by the Social
Psychology area chair. The certificate will be awarded upon successful
completion of the following requirements.
- Three graduate courses in the Social Psychology Program taken for
qualitative grades.
- A teaching assistantship in a course on a topic related to Social
Psychology under the supervision of a faculty member in the Social Psychology
Program. (Faculty members in the Social Psychology Program include affiliate
faculty whose primary appointment falls outside the Department of Psychology).
- A dissertation on a topic related to Social Psychology under the direction
of a member of the Social Psychology program.
Completion of these requirements will result in the notation "Certificate
in Social Psychology" posted to the student’s transcript.
Admission
Students are admitted by application to the Department of Psychology
to pursue courses of study in doctoral programs that are formulated by
the individual programs. Applicants must specify the program to which
they are applying. Applicants will be considered for admission only if
they have earned a bachelor's degree or its equivalent. Admission depends
upon the strength of the general undergraduate record, scores on the Graduate
Record Examination, letters of recommendation, personal statement and
interests, and relevant laboratory or field research experience. The Graduate
Record Subject Examination in Psychology is also recommended, as is an
example of the applicant's research and writing skills.
Applicants whose native language is not English are required to submit
scores for the Test of English as a Foreign Language. Candidates for admission
are expected to have some background in psychology as well as mathematics
and statistics. Candidates with backgrounds in anthropology, history or
sociology are encouraged to apply to the Language program or the Social
Psychology Program; those with strong biological training and interests
are encouraged to apply to the Perception Program or the Social Program.
Students are admitted through the Division of the Social Sciences. Students
already enrolled in the Department of Linguistics of the Division of the
Humanities who wish to work toward the joint Ph.D. in the Language Program
and in Linguistics must be admitted as well to the Department of Psychology
through the Division of the Social Sciences.
Students who wish to inquire further about the Department of Psychology
should write: Department of Psychology, the University of Chicago, 5848
University Ave., Chicago, IL 60637; telephone (773) 702-8861; fax (773)
702-0886 or email the Student Affairs Administrator, Marjorie Wash at
marj@ccp.uchicago.edu. To receive
an application and information on financial aid, contact Admissions, Office
of the Dean of Students, Division of the Social Sciences, 1130 East 59th
Street, 60637, telephone (773) 702-8415, email ssd-admissions@uchicago.edu.
General Requirements for Doctoral Students
All doctoral students in the Department of Psychology must complete
the Common Graduate Curriculum. In addition, each student must complete
the course requirements specified by one of the department's specialized
training and research programs. In exceptional cases, a student may design
an individual sequence of courses. This sequence must be approved by the
Curriculum and Student Affairs Committee before the student undertakes
it. Completion of these course requirements is a prerequisite for Ph.D.
candidacy.
Common Graduate Curriculum
The common curriculum consists of a maximum of 12 courses. Other requirements
for graduate students will be set by the students' area of specialization.
Proseminar: One quarter course in which faculty members give
a summary of their ongoing research. This introduces new students to
the range of research areas in the department.
Statistics Requirement: Three courses: (1) Statistics 220: Statistical
Methods and Applications, or a more advanced Statistics course. (2)
Psychology 37300: Experimental Design I, (3) Psychology 37900: Experimental
Design II. These courses must be passed with a grade of B or better.
Trial Research Seminar: All graduate students are required to
take a two-quarter trial research seminar. One quarter is taken in the
Spring of the first year, and one quarter is taken in the Autumn of
the second year. The purpose of this seminar is to help students formulate
and complete their trial research projects.
Core Courses: Five core courses will be offered each year .
These courses will be Psych 30300: Biological Psychology; Psych 30400:
Cognitive Psychology; Psych 30500: Developmental Psychology; Psych 30600:
Social Psychology and Psychology 30700: Sensation and Perception. Students
will be required to take three of these five courses.
Minor Area: Student must take three graduate courses that provide
coherent coverage of a discipline outside of psychology that complements
a student's course of study within psychology (e.g., computer science,
neurobiology, linguistics, philosophy, anthropology, mathematics, statistics
beyond the courses required, etc.). These courses should be chosen in
consultation with the student’s advisor, and they may be taken
pass/fail.
Specialized Training and Research Programs in the Department of Psychology
The Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience Program
The curriculum provides training in the areas of cognitive psychology
and cognitive neuroscience. Students can combine elements of these areas
along with computational modeling to provide a strong interdisciplinary
program of study. Overall, there are three elements in the curriculum
of the Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience (CCN) Program in addition
to the common graduate curriculum.
- Within the common curriculum, there are two requirements of CCN students:
- CCN students must elect to take a course in the Cognition area as
one of their three core psychology classes.
- Students must also fulfill the departmental minor area requirement
by taking three courses that provide a coherent grounding in some
aspect of cognitive psychology or cognitive neuroscience or computational
neuroscience. This choice would reflect the relative emphasis of the
different methods used to study cognitive mechanisms and processes.
For example, students interested in cognitive psychology from the
perspective of cognitive science might take three courses from Computer
Science on artificial intelligence, or philosophy of mind, or Anthropology.
Students interested in cognitive neuroscience should take three courses
in neurobiology. These courses are to be decided on in consultation
with the student's advisor, prior to actually taking the courses.
- Basic courses. Three introductory courses, drawn from two different
sub-areas. These courses will serve as introductions to specific sub-areas
of cognition and cognitive neuroscience. The following reflects sub-areas
of cognition from which courses may be drawn. Specific courses offered
in any year may change so course numbers are not shown.
- Cognitive Mechanisms: attention, categorization, learning
and memory, perception
- Higher-level Cognition: language, thinking and decision making,
social cognition
- Computational Modeling: connectionism, artificial intelligence
- Brain Mechanisms: neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, neuropsychology
- Advanced courses and seminars. Students are strongly encouraged to
participate in advanced courses and seminars, particularly in their
sub-area of interest.
The Developmental Psychology Program
- General course: Psych 30500: Psych 30500 is required of all students
in the program except those who have already taken it as undergraduates
at the University of Chicago. This course will also fulfill part of
the core course requirements for the common graduate curriculum.
- An advanced course in each of four areas of Developmental Psychology.
The offerings may change from year to year. Certain seminars may also
fulfill these requirements.
- Cognitive/Intellectual Development: Psych 32500: Cognitive
Development (J. Huttenlocher); Psych 33300: Cognition, Development
and Learning (N. Stein, T. Trabasso); Psych 33600: Development in
Infancy (A. Woodward)
- Biological Development: Psych 31700: Developmental Biopsychology
(M. McClintock); Psych 33100: Introduction to Developmental Neuropsychology
(S. Levine); Psych 34900: Biopsychology of Attachment (D. Maestripieri)
- Language/Communicative Development: Psych 33200: Language
Development (S. Goldin-Meadow/A.Woodward); Psych 35500: Language
Socialization (J. Lucy); Psych 38000: Language and Thought in Development
(J. Huttenlocher)
- Social/Emotional Development: Psych 34300: Topics in Early
Socialization (S. Duncan); Psych 34500: Conflict in Early Parent-child
interaction (S. Duncan); Psych 34700: The Development of Social
Understanding (N. Stein)
- It is suggested that the three minor area courses required by the
common graduate curriculum be chosen from one of the following areas:
linguistics, computer science, computational neuroscience, neurobiology,
statistics, sociology, anthropology, public policy, or human development.
The minor area courses must form a cohesive unit that relates to the
student's program of study.
- Students are strongly encouraged to take advanced courses and seminars,
particularly in their area of interest.
The Language Program
There are four elements in the curriculum of the Language Program.
- Within the common curriculum, there are two requirements of language
students.
- Students in the Language Program must elect to take a course in
the Cognition/Language area as one of their three core psychology
classes.
- Students must also fulfill the departmental minor area requirement
by taking three courses that provide a coherent grounding in some
aspect of language. These courses are to be decided on in consultation
with the student's advisor, prior to actually taking the courses.
It is recommended that students fulfill this requirement through
courses from the Linguistics department, but courses drawn from
anthropology, computer science, human development, or elsewhere
are also acceptable as long as they centrally concern language.
- General course. Psych 38100: Advanced Introduction to the Psychology
of Language (Keysar). This serves as a general introduction to the psychological
study of language.
- Basic courses. Two introductory courses, drawn from different sub-areas.
These courses will serve as introductions to specific sub-areas of language
study.
- Language and Thought: Psych 31900: Language, Culture, and
Thought (Lucy)
- Language Modalities: Psych 32600: Speech Perception (Nusbaum);
Psych 37600: Psychology of Language and Gesture (McNeill)
- Language Development: Psych 33200: Language Development (Goldin-Meadow,
Woodward)
- Discourse, Pragmatics: Psych 45500: Discourse Processes (Trabasso)
- Advanced courses and seminars: Students are strongly encouraged to
participate in advanced courses and seminars, particularly in their
area of interest.
- Language and Thought: Psych 33000: Cultural Psychology
(Shweder); Psych 41600: Language and Thought: A Developmental Perspective
(Huttenlocher); Psych 47000-47100: Language in Culture (Silverstein
and Gal)
- Language Modalities: Psych 44800: Communicative Uses of
Nonverbal Behavior (McNeill, Goldin-Meadow)
- Language Development: Psych 35500: Language Socialization
(Lucy)
- Discourse, Pragmatics: Psych 31400: Models of Communication
in Pragmatics (Keysar); Psych 33900: Narrative Analysis and the
Construction of Learning (Stein); Psych 36300: Language, Perspective
Taking, and Communication (Keysar); Psych 36500: Pragmatic Issues
in Language and Communication (Keysar); Psych 34200: Conflict Understanding
(Stein); Psych 43900: Figurative Language Use (Keysar)
The Perception Program
The curriculum for advanced study in perception is described below:
- Psychology 30700: Sensation and Perception is required of all students
in the Perception Program.
- Four advanced courses in several different areas of perception, usually
taken during the first two years. These will be chosen from courses
offered by faculty in the Perception Area. Examples are: Psych 32600:
Speech Perception; Psych 30700: Sensation and Perception; Psych 39000:
Vision; Psych 32000: Color Vision; Neurobio 308: Computational Vision;
Psych 35000: Physiology of Vision
- Three neurobiology/neuroscience courses. These could be chosen from
Systems Neurobiology (Neurobiology 315, 316, 318), Computational Neuroscience
(OBA 344, 345, 346), and Dynamical Foundations of Neuroscience (Neurobiology
331). [The intent is that these courses fulfill the Specialized Training
Area requirement of the Department of Psychology].
- Three quarters of research. Beginning no later than the third quarter
of the first year, the student must register for research with one of
the faculty members in the Perception area. The student will conduct
an independent research project, which should be completed by the end
of the seventh week of Spring Quarter of the second year. This project
is intended to satisfy the trial research requirement of the Department
of Psychology.
- Participation in ongoing seminars and activities of other pre- and
post-doctoral students in the Perception area. Student also are expected
to attend department-wide colloquia in Psychology.
The Social Psychology Program
Curriculum
The curriculum is under development, with its final form determined by
the Psychology Department faculty. The general philosophy of the curriculum
is to provide students with the requisite knowledge and skills to excel
in mainstream, academic social psychology. Consult the Department of Psychology
webpage at http://psychology.uchicago.edu/
for updated information on this program.
- Psych 30600: Social Psychology (General graduate level survey of
research in social psychology)
- Research Methods Sequence (Required in first or second year)
Research Methods (as required by common graduate curriculum)
(Issues and problems in conducting experimental laboratory research)
Research Methods in Social Psychology (Issues in critiquing
and reviewing empirical and conceptual papers in social psychology)
- Content Seminar Sequence. Four required prior to graduation:
- Attitudes and Social Influence (Broad survey of classic and
contemporary attitude theory and research)
- Affect and Emotion (Survey of theory and research on evaluative
processes underlying social behavior)
- Social Cognition (Survey of research on cognitive underpinnings
of social behavior)
- Cultural Psychology (Survey of research on cultural determinants
of social behavior)
- Social Neuroscience (Survey of research on the interface
between the social and biological sciences)
- Social and Emotional Development (Survey of research on developmental
processes underlying social behavior)
- Topics in Experimental Social [repeatable when topic
changes] (In depth analysis of a topic of current interest such as:
attribution processes, group processes, the self, health psychology,
stereotyping, etc.)
- Research and Scholarship Sequence
Enrollment in Practicum is required in each quarter of the first two
years; enrollment in Laboratory is required in each quarter of the remaining
years.
- Special Topics in Social Psychology [repeatable] (Norms,
conventions, ethics, publishing, and other topics of interest in becoming
a social psychologist along with direct experience in laboratory and
field research methods)
- Social Psychology [repeatable] (Current research topics and
issues in social psychology as presented by area faculty and invited
visiting faculty)
Research Requirements
Trial Research Project
Each student in the Department of Psychology will complete a trial research
project under the guidance of a faculty advisor or advisors by the end
of the seventh week of the spring quarter of the second year. Each student's
trial research committee consists of the advisor and two other faculty
members.
Dissertation
Each student in the Department of Psychology will complete a dissertation
under the guidance of a faculty advisor or advisors. The committee consists
of the advisor, two other members of the faculty, and an outside reader.
Evaluations
All students in the Department of Psychology are evaluated at the end
of the spring quarter each year. The evaluation at the end of the second
year is particularly important, as it determines whether a student will
be admitted to candidacy and permitted to conduct dissertation research.
This text was last revised on 6/28/2001.
|
