GRADUATE HANDBOOK

(JULY 2009 EDITION)

     This handbook is designed to acquaint you with the departmental and area requirements for obtaining advanced degrees in Psychological Sciences.  It includes (a) an overview of the general policies and standards of the department, and (b) some of the specific procedures that graduate students must follow during their graduate training. Students should be aware that they are also subject to the policies and standards established by the Graduate School, which are set forth in the Policies and Procedures Manual for Administering Graduate Student Programs.  A copy of this Manual is available for inspection in the Graduate Office (PRCE 385B) and online at: www.gradschool.purdue.edu/faculty/resources/policies.cfm.

 A.  General Objectives

     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 emphasis in one of the following eight areas of major concentration:  Clinical, Cognitive, Developmental, Industrial/ Organizational, Learning and Memory, Behavioral Neuroscience, Mathematical & Computational Cognitive Science, and Social.
    
     As part of their training, graduate students must complete the research requirements of both a Master’s and a Ph.D. degree. In addition, all students must perform at high levels of competency in required departmental courses. Flexibility of individual programs of study is nonetheless stressed, with some required courses determined by the student’s area of major concentration.
    
      The primary goal of the program is to produce psychologists committed to the scientific study of behavior, familiar with knowledge about psychological processes, trained in basic research methodologies, and with the background and training to make substantive, future contributions to the field.
    
 
B.  Degrees Granted
    
     The Ph.D. in all areas of major concentration is research-oriented and requires a dissertation. Typically, four to six years of training are needed to complete the requirements for a Ph.D. degree.  This assumes that the student entering the program has an undergraduate background in psychology, including some laboratory courses and statistics.  Incoming students with a master’s degree from another institution should expect to take three to five additional years to complete the requirements for the Ph.D.
    
     Prior to Ph.D. candidacy, the department also requires students to obtain a Master of Science (M.S.) degree with thesis. Students entering the program without a master’s degree must choose the thesis option.
   
    A Master of Science degree without thesis can also be obtained but only under restricted conditions, (see Appendix C). Ordinarily, this degree is awarded to students who, for various reasons, decide not to continue toward the Ph.D. degree after entering the graduate program.  Also, see Appendix D for Master of Science degree without thesis for Political Science doctoral candidates.

     Some policies and procedures for our graduate program are briefly outlined here. More detailed information is described in subsequent sections of this Handbook or can be obtained from Nancy O’Brien in the Graduate Office (PRCE 385B).  A paperwork timeline can be found in Appendix H and summarizes the timeline and paperwork deadlines for the various components of your graduate training.   

A.  Initial Steps

1. Satisfy the conditions listed on your Admission Summary Sheet that was enclosed with your admission letter from the Graduate School.  If you have misplaced this sheet, Nancy O’Brien has a copy in the Graduate Office.

2. Select a major professor (faculty advisor).  At some time during your first semester of graduate study, you should choose a major professor (if you have not already been assigned to one) to supervise your plan of study and your research.  Generally, the major professor will be the faculty person in your area whose research is most interesting to you and who agrees to serve as your advisor.

3. Select an Advisory Committee. In consultation with your major professor, select a master’s advisory committee (see Appendix A) and file a master’s plan of study (see Section VII & Appendix H) during the second semester of study.

- You should have a clear idea of your master’s thesis project before selecting your advisory committee.  Generally, you want to select those faculty who can be most helpful in providing advice regarding your research.

- Faculty must be certified by the Graduate School to serve on advisory committees at certain levels (i.e., as chair, co-chair, member).  When completing your plan of study, please be sure that the faculty members you are interested in including on your committee are certified at the appropriate level.  You may obtain this information from the faculty member themselves, or from Nancy O’Brien, Graduate Coordinator.

- The Graduate School regards the plan of study as an individualized curriculum designed by the advisory committee to assist the student in achieving his or her educational objectives. The absolute deadline for filing it with the Graduate School is prior to the first day of the academic session of degree completion.  Students not meeting this deadline will be asked to register for "Degree Only" for the following session to receive the degree. The plan of study is to be filed electronically via myPurdue.  More specific instructions for filing the plan of study can be found in Section VII and Appendix H. 

B.  Other Responsibilities

1. Familiarize yourself with the requirements specific to your area of major concentration. This information can be obtained from your major professor, or can be found in later sections of this Handbook.

2. Obtain appropriate forms for plans of study, oral exams, substitution of committee members, etc.  These are available online at:  www.gradschool.purdue.edu/students/current/resources.cfm.

- For example, if a request for appointment of examining committee becomes necessary, submit a form (GS Form 8).  www.gradschool.purdue.edu/downloads/facstaff/GS-8.doc.

3. Return forms to the Graduate Office, allowing sufficient time for obtaining necessary signatures, for making necessary copies, and for delivery to the Graduate School prior to their deadlines.

4. Contact all committee members and schedule meeting rooms for all committee meetings.

5. When away from campus, you are responsible for registering, paying fees, processing forms, etc.  Current mail and e-mail addresses and telephone numbers should be on record in the Graduate Office.

6. Familiarize yourself with this Handbook - it contains most of the information you'll need to know to progress smoothly through the program.

A.  Departmental Requirements

     Each student is required to satisfy the following departmental courses requirements.  Each Ph.D. Plan of study must include these courses.  Only courses for which “A” or “B” grades are earned are acceptable in fulfilling departmental requirements.  Students are expected to repeat any required courses in which they receive a grade of “C” or lower.
    
1.  Students must take one course from among the following:

PSY 63100 (Applied Regression)

STAT 51100 (Statistical Methods)

STAT 51200 (Applied Regression Analyses)

and one different course from among the following:

PSY 64600 (Statistical Approaches to Social Psychology Data)

STAT 51200 (Applied Regression Analysis)

STAT 51400 (Design of Experiment)

or students may take:

PSY 60000 (Statistical Inference) and PSY 60100 (Experimental Design) but are encouraged to take PSY 60000 and PSY 60100 as a 2-course sequence in order to cover the  requisite material. 

Six credits in total must be taken.  (This requirement must be met in order to receive your Master’s degree).

2.  Students are required to complete three additional graduate courses outside of their major area of concentration, for a total of nine credits.  These courses are in addition to any courses required by their major area.  At least two of these three courses must be graduate courses offered within the Department listed in Appendix B.  One of these courses may be from outside of the Department (e.g., an Interdisciplinary Neuroscience course, a CDFS course, a Sociology course). These three courses must be approved by a student’s Ph.D. Advisory Committee, as indicated by approval of the student’s Ph.D. Plan of study. 

         Graduate students are expected to work in one of the department's eight areas of concentration in order to develop competence in a specialty within the broad discipline of psychology. Each area is described below, along with their specific course requirements.  Paralleling departmental course requirements, note that a grade of “B” or better is required to fulfill all area course requirements.

Acceptance into one of the department's areas of major concentration is determined by the particular interests expressed by students on their admissions applications and by the area faculty involved in the admissions process.  The procedure for changing an area of major concentration following admission into the department is described in Appendix G, which also includes information regarding research in absentia. 

A.  Behavioral Neuroscience

     This program focuses on the study of the relationships between brain and behavior.  Diverse behaviors are studied, including motivation, perception and learning.  Chemical, electrical, and structural techniques are used in these investigations.  Problems studied by the behavioral neuroscience area include: physiological bases of motivated behaviors (i.e., appetitive, sexual, maternal and drug seeking behaviors), sensory coding, neural and hormonal bases of learning and memory, and molecular and genetic determinants of behavior. 

     A number of interdisciplinary programs exist which provide valuable training for behavioral neuroscience students.  Of particular interest are the Purdue Interdisciplinary Graduate Neuroscience Program and the Ingestive Behavior Research Center.  The neuroscience program brings together investigators from many disciplines who share a common interest in the properties of the brain.  The neuroscience program organizes regular special lecture and colloquium series that bring distinguished neuroscientists to Purdue.  The Ingestive Behavior Center is an interdisciplinary program that offers a variety of training options such as special lecture series and opportunities to participate in collaborative research on bases of ingestive behavior, eating disorders, and obesity. 

1. Preliminary examination/Qualifier: Behavioral Neuroscience has no set requirement for the preliminary examination.  The requirements are set by the individual student's advisory committee in a joint meeting with the student.  The student is expected to submit a proposal for what he/she wishes to do.  Typically, students are involved in directed reading, writing an integrative paper or papers covering some aspect of the student's major area of interest, and an oral examination.  The written review of the literature, which may resemble a Psychological Review article, should be related to, but different from, the dissertation research area.

2.  Final examination committee: The student’s dissertation committee consists of four or five faculty, with at least three from the Behavioral Neuroscience Area.  Frequently, a faculty member from another department is invited to serve on the student's committee.

Specific Behavioral Neuroscience Area Requirement

PSY 51200/BIOL 56200 (Neural Systems)

Recommended Course

BIOL 69500 (Introduction to Neurobiology)

B.  Clinical Psychology

     The Clinical Psychology Area works toward expanding knowledge of human adjustment and psychopathology, and preventing or treating psychological disorders among children, adults, and families.  The Area runs a generalist “scientist-practitioner” (“Boulder model”) doctoral Program—continuously accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) since 1948—and created the in-house Purdue Psychology Treatment and Research Clinics (PPTRC) to train graduate students in offering evidence-based specialty psychological services to the community.

     The four primary training goals of the Program are: excellence in the generation of original research, knowledge of the theoretical and empirical bases of the field of clinical psychology, competence in the evidence-based planning and delivery of professional psychological services, and equipping students for ongoing contributions to the field through exemplary professional conduct and contributions. Although science and practice are taught as necessarily mutually informative, the Program emphasizes research competence as the key to building the evidence base of the field as well as to honing the critical thinking capacities that are essential to effective practice.  Students in the Program are educated first as scientific psychologists, second as clinical psychologists, and finally as specialists. 

     There are several important requirements special to the Clinical Area.  One is that each required research project—first-year Project, Master’s thesis, Preliminary Exam, and dissertation—must be written in form and length suitable to submit to an appropriate journal for review.  (Dissertations, which typically are very extensive, potentially might span two or more manuscript-length documents.)  Other unique elements include the following:  

     1. First-year research requirement:  In the context of PSY 67800: Clinical Measurement, PSY 66400/PSY 66500: Research Methods, and in consultation with the Major Professor, each first-year student applies basic design and analytic skills to analyzing an existing dataset and writing up findings.  These also provide the background for designing, proposing, and beginning work on a Masters thesis, which typically involves the collection and analysis of original empirical data.

     2. Preliminary Examination: In the Clinical Area, the Preliminary Examination for advancement to doctoral candidacy consists of a review paper modeled after publications in Psychological Bulletin or Psychological Review. The project should answer some important question by an original, systematic, and critical review of published literature, unifying the area either through narrative conceptual evaluation or through empirical techniques such as meta-analysis.  As soon as possible after successful completion of the Masters thesis, the student selects an area to be reviewed, writes a proposal, and presents this to her/his advisory committee.  Once approved, the student prepares the paper (typically with general input from committee members), and eventually submits it to the advisory committee for final oral examination.  Generally, the student is expected to complete this within one year after the proposal meeting. 

     3. Dissertation: The committee that conducts the student’s dissertation defense and final examination must have at least four members, at least two of whom must be members of the Clinical Area faculty. 

     4.  Clinical Practica:  After sufficient preparation through coursework and Masters research progress, the student begins clinical work with clients in the third year.  Each student must complete three year-long supervised practica in the Program’s in-house clinics (variously titled under PSY 67900), one of which must be child-focused and one of which must be adult-focused.  After fulfilling this requirement, the student may seek additional and advanced clinical training from approved sites around the region.

     5.  Clinical internship:  To complete the Program, each student must apply for and complete a year-long APA-approved clinical psychology internship (PSY 69700).  This experience is the capstone of clinical training, as the dissertation completes research training.

     6. Other specific requirements.  Clinical students must complete the following courses, which also meet APA requirements for training in “individual bases of behavior”:
* PSY 66400 & 66500: Research Methods in Clinical Psych I & II
* PSY 66700 & 66800: Clinical Assessment I & II
* PSY 67000: Principles & Techniques of Psychotherapy
* PSY 67300: Psychology of Behavior Disorders
* PSY 69200/67800: Behavior Disorders-Child
* PSY 67800: Clinical Measurement
* PSY 67800: Clinical Ethics
* Students must also complete two research-focused seminars which vary in content from year to year.

Students also must take additional coursework to meet APA requirements for broad and general training in:
* Biological bases of behavior
* Cognitive and affective bases of behavior
* Social bases of behavior

While infused throughout the curriculum to meet APA requirements, students are strongly encouraged to take additional coursework that might be necessary for licensure in some states, including
* History and systems of psychology
* Human diversity and group differences 

C.  Cognitive Psychology

The term "cognitive psychology" encompasses most topics in human experimental psychology.  It includes the fields of sensory and perceptual processes, attention, human learning, memory, information processing, psycholinguistics, judgment, problem-solving, and human factors.  Research in those areas includes an integration of empirical approaches and quantitative modeling. All students are expected to participate actively in research.  New students should begin research projects with their major professor in the first semester.  New students are expected to present the results of this research in the Cognitive Colloquium in their second semester, and a paper based on their project is due August 1st.

1. Preliminary examination: The preliminary examination in this area consists of either a comprehensive written review paper or comprehensive written examination, each of which is followed by an oral examination. 

Topics and readings for either option are chosen in consultation with the student's Preliminary Examination committee.

2.  Final examination committee: The committee must consist of the Major professor and at least three additional faculty members.  At least half of the committee members must have their primary appointment in the Cognitive Area.

Specific Cognitive Area Requirements

1.  One 3-hour qQuantitative course, in addition to the department's statistics requirement

2.  PSY 62200 (Animal Learning), PSY 69200 (Introduction to Cognitive Neuroscience), OR equivalent

3.  Three of the below:

PSY 62400 (Human Learning & Memory)
PSY 62500 (Complex Cognitive Processes)
PSY 62800 (Perceptual Processes)
PSY 63700 (Human Information Processing)

4.  Three topical seminars of PSY 63900 (Seminar in Cognition)

5.  Students also take between 6 and 10 elective courses during their graduate careers (number of hours varies).

Students must take two statistical/quantitative courses, two cognitive area core courses, and two additional courses (from 2, 4 or 5 above) for their Master’s degree.

Students must also register for PSY 63300 (Cognitive/Learning & Memory Colloquium) every semester.  The Area Coordinator must approve exceptions.

D.  Developmental Psychology

     The basic philosophy of this program is that the student should be (1) capable of creating and evaluating alternative conceptual models of development and (2) knowledgeable regarding a wide variety of methods for obtaining evidence that bears on developmental issues and problems.  Students typically focus either on cognitive or social aspects of development or specialize in a particular phase of development from infancy through adolescence.  The program is designed to provide a flexible framework in which the student and major advisor organize a course of graduate study that will lead to one of the many career options in developmental psychology.

1. Preliminary examination: The preliminary exam in developmental psychology is designed to assess a student's ability to organize, integrate, and utilize developmental research and theory.  The exam consists of an integrative paper that draws upon theories, hypotheses, and data from several areas of developmental psychology.  The student prepares a brief proposal (including references) for approval by a faculty committee; after the proposal is approved, the student has two months to write the paper.  The committee evaluates the completed paper in terms of the success with which the student reviews the relevant literature comprehensively and integrates theory (or theories) with research.

2. Final examination committee: In addition to the Major Professor, who must be selected from the Developmental faculty, the committee consists of three additional members, at least one of whom must be from the Developmental Area.

Specific Developmental Area Requirements

Graduate students majoring in developmental psychology must take no less than two of the developmental area core courses:

PSY 65100 (Development in Infancy and Early Childhood)
PSY 65300 (Social and Personality Development)
PSY 65500 (Cognitive Development) 
PSY 65600 (Developmental Theory)
SLHS 50900 (Language Acquisition)

As opposed to the general rule that all psychology students must take at least three courses outside of their area, one of which can be outside the department.  Developmental area students involved in the Interdisciplinary Program in Cognitive and Language Development (IPCLD) may take two of the three courses from outside the department, as long as one of the two courses comes from the following set of courses:  

SLHS 50100, Neural Bases of Speech and Hearing
SLHS 52300, Language Disorders in Children
SLHS 52400, Infant Communication Disorders

All other course requirements are decided by the student in consultation with their major professor.

E.  Industrial/Organizational Psychology

     This program is composed of two related subspecialties both concerned with understanding the behavior of individuals in organizations and applying psychological knowledge to organizational problems.  Organizational psychology is concerned with topics such as job attitudes, work motivation, leadership, individual and group decision-making, and organizational communication.  Personnel psychology is concerned with performance appraisal, personnel selection and placement, training, and job analysis.  Special emphasis in both of these subspecialties is placed on quantitative techniques and experimental design.  Research experience is an important part of the program.  Students are expected to actively participate in research throughout their training.

1. Preliminary examination: The preliminary examination consists of three parts.  The first part involves a written examination divided into two sessions on one day.  The questions on this exam cover material from the first three years of courses, as well as a supplementary reading list which will be distributed.  There are two options for Part 2 of the preliminary examination.  Part 2 can consist of a second day of testing covering two topic areas chosen by the student.  This examination will test for in-depth knowledge of these areas and will require a greater degree of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation than the first exam. The second option for Part 2 is to write a major review paper on a topic of interest to the student which could be submitted to a journal for publication.  To complete Part 3 of the preliminary examination students will need to submit a first-authored manuscript to a journal to be reviewed for publication.  If the student writes a review paper for Part 2 of the preliminary exam, this paper could be submitted to a journal to complete Part 3.

2.  Final examination committee: The advisory (and examining) committee consists of at least four faculty, including the Major Professor.  At least two members of the student's committee must be from the I/O area and one member from outside of I/O Psychology.  One non-I/O committee member can be from outside of the Psychology Department.  On occasion, a student may want to constitute a five-person committee in which case the members of the committee must be approved by the I/O area faculty.

Specific Industrial-Organizational Area Requirements

PSY 68000 (Survey of Industrial Psychology) or OBHR 68400 (Survey of Human Behavior)
PSY 68000 (Survey of Organizational Psychology) or OBHR 68300 (Survey of Organizational Behavior)
PSY 68100 (Survey in Research Methodologies of Industrial/Organizational Psychology I)
PSY 68100 (Survey in Research Methodologies of Industrial/Organizational Psychology II)
-or- OBHR 60500 (Research Methods I)
At least 6 hours in I/O psychology graduate seminars (other than the above courses)

F.  Learning and Memory

     The Learning and Memory area specializes in research and theory in instrumental/operant conditioning, Pavlovian conditioning, motivation, and animal perception and cognition.  The area faculty primarily work with non-human animals, and their specific interests currently include topics such as categorization and acquired equivalence, numerosity discriminations, reward memories and outcome expectancies, serial learning, reward schedule effects, modulatory and other conditioning processes in feeding, and the neural substrates of learning and memory. Faculty in other areas (e.g., Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience) have research interests complementing those of the Learning & Memory faculty, thus providing good opportunities for collaborative research and other interactions. 

1. Preliminary examination: The preliminary examination in this area consists of an integrative analysis and review of one area of research mutually agreed upon by the student and his/her committee. A preliminary proposal is required before such an agreement is made. The review should provide a new perspective or new insights into the existing literature.  The written product is followed by an oral exam.
2. Final examination committee: The committee consists of at least four faculty including the Major Professor.  Two members of the committee must be faculty in the Learning and Memory Area, and one member must represent an outside area.

Specific Learning and Memory Area Requirements

PSY 62200 (Animal Learning)
PSY 62400 (Human Learning & Memory)

Two courses from each Set A & Set B below:

Set A:
PSY 62900 (Motivation)
PSY 69200 (Pavlovian Conditioning: Theory & Data)
PSY 69200 (Experimental Analysis of Behavior)
PSY 69200 (other special topics)

Set B:
PSY 52600 (Psycholinguistics)
PSY 61500 (Introduction to Psychobiology)
PSY 62800 (Perceptual Processes)
PSY 63700 (Human Information Processing)
PSY 67700 (Behavior Modification & Therapy)

NOTE:  For the purpose of fulfilling the departmental core requirement of taking “three additional courses outside of the student’s major concentration”, the two courses selected from the Set B list (above) may be used toward satisfying the aforementioned department core requirement.  Thus, students in Learning and Memory must take only one additional non-area course aside from the two Set B courses to fulfill the department requirement.

G.   Mathematical and Computational Cognitive Science Psychology

     Students in the Mathematical and Computational Cognitive Science program acquire a solid background in mathematics, psychology, and statistics to use as a base for creating mathematical models in a wide range of psychological areas.  Academic study within this area includes modeling of psychological phenomena (cognitive psychology, learning, memory, visual and auditory perception, and psychophysics), experimental design, probability, and applied statistics.  Student thesis research is preferably directed toward theoretical and/or methodological problems within a content area of psychology, such as experimental, social, clinical, or industrial psychology.  Students are also encouraged to take advantage of the excellent opportunities at Purdue to delve into neighboring disciplines such as artificial intelligence, neurophysiology, robotics, computer science, systems theory, and linguistics.

1.  First year paper:  During the first year, students will be given the opportunity to participate in an on-going research program, either through background reading, data collection, or data analysis and model fitting.  By the end of the Spring semester, students must submit a short research report (10 pages or more) that summarizes their work on this project.  In some cases, this report will be in the form of a research article and in others it may be a summary of the research literature relating to the student's current area of interest or a proposal/critique of a quantitative model.  The paper will be evaluated by a two-member committee composed of the student's advisor and one other member of the Area chosen by the student.  If the paper is unsatisfactory, the student must submit a revised paper before the end of the Fall semester of the second year.  Students who fail to meet the first year paper requirement by the end of the Fall semester of the second year will be placed on probation and may be dropped from the program.

2. Qualifying examination:  The course curriculum required for the Masters degree is designed to help prepare the student for the Qualifying Examination, which is
required for all students in the program.  Exam questions will be based on material from the Area Core reading list, which is available from the Area Secretary.  Students may wish to review Qualifying Examination questions given to other students in the program. Copies of these (questions only) will be available from the Area Secretary.

The exam will be prepared and evaluated by a committee formed by the student.  The committee will be composed of three members of the Purdue faculty, at least two of whom are primary members of the Area.  The student will designate one member (typically the student's major professor) to head the committee.  The head will be responsible for soliciting questions from the other committee members and preparing the final copy of the exam.  The student must inform the committee of his or her intention to take the exam and then arrange a time and place for the exam at least 10 days later.  Members of the committee will submit questions to the head at least 2 days prior to the exam date.

Students must arrange for a place in which to take the exam without interruptions for four continuous hours.  The exam will be open book and open notes.  Each member of the examination committee will contribute one or more questions designed to take no more than one hour to complete.  The topics of these questions will come from the core reading list and from required courses.  The core list may be updated periodically by the Area.  However, students may choose between the most current list and any prior lists available starting from the year in which the student entered the program.  The committee head should ensure that all members have copies of the core reading list selected by the student.

In some cases, the committee head may decide that the student's handwritten answers should be retyped by the Area Secretary before they are distributed to the committee. Copies of answers to the exam will be distributed promptly to members of the committee by the committee head.  [Note: Copies of the examination questions should be given to the committee for approval before the exam and to the Area Secretary after the exam is completed.]

3.  Preliminary examination:  The Mathematical and Computational Cognitive Sciences Area has no set requirement for the preliminary examination.  Please process appropriate paperwork with the departmental Graduate Office to meet the Graduate School's requirement for this examination.

4.  Ph.D. Candidacy:  A student is admitted into Ph.D. candidacy after obtaining a M.S degree, passing the qualifying exam, and completing the forms for the Preliminary examination.

5.  Final examination committee: This committee must have no less than four members and must include the major professor (from the Mathematical and Computational Cognitive Science Area).  Two or three of the remaining members must also be in the Mathematical and Computational Cognitive Science Area.

Specific Mathematical and Computational Cognitive Science Area Requirements

A student working on a master’s degree through the Purdue Department of Statistics may, with the agreement of his or her advisor, substitute statistics courses satisfying Statistics master’s degree requirements for statistics courses that are specific Mathematical and Computational Cognitive Science Area requirements.

For Masters:

One of the following:
MATH 44000 (Real Analysis)
MATH 50400 (Real Analysis)
MATH 51000 (Vector Calculus)

One of the following:
STAT 51900 (Introduction to Probability)
EE 44000 (Transmission of Information)
EE 48300 (Digital Control Systems Analysis & Design)
MATH 52700 (Advanced Mathematics for Engineers & Physicists I)

One of the following sequences:
PSY 60000 (Statistical Inference) & PSY 60100 (Correlation & Experimental Design)
STAT 51700 (Statistical Inference) & STAT 52800 (Introduction to Mathematical Statistics)
STAT 51700 (Statistical Inference) & STAT 55300 (Theory of Linear Models & Analysis of Experimental Designs)
PSY 51400 (Introduction to Mathematical Psychology)

One of the following:
EE 57000 (Artificial Intelligence)
EE / CS 66800 (Introduction to Artificial Intelligence)
EE 60000 (Random Variables & Signals)
MATH 53800 (Probability Theory I)
STAT 53200 (Elements of Stochastic Processes)
STAT 57600 (Statistical Decision Theory & Bayesian Analysis)

For Ph.D.:

Three course from the following list:
PSY 51400 (Introduction to Mathematical Psychology)
PSY 60500 (Applied Multivariate Analysis)
PSY 60700 (Scaling & Measurement)
PSY 60600 (Seminars)
(PSY 60600 seminars may be repeated for credit)

H.   Social Psychology

 
The Social Psychology program emphasizes a scientific, research-oriented approach to the study of human social behavior and is concerned with establishing general principles and theories of behavior.  Research areas covered within the social area include attitudes and attitude change, close relationships, group interaction, health psychology, sex roles and sex differences, social cognition, social influence, stereotypes/prejudice, and violence.  All students are expected to participate actively in research, at first under the close supervision of their major professor, then with increasing independence as their graduate careers progress.
 
1. Preliminary examination: Students are expected to take the preliminary exam between the second and third year of their program. The prelim has three parts: an in-house written exam, a week-long take-home exam, and an oral defense. A student must successful pass the in-house written exam in order to sit for the oral defense.  Thus, failure to achieve at least the minimum passing grade on the in-house written exam (as described below) is tantamount to failing the entire preliminary examination.  The prelim will be offered once a year, beginning on the Monday one or two weeks prior to the start of the Fall semester, as determined by consensus vote of the students taking the exam in a given year.

A. The in-house written exam will be the same for all students taking the exam in a given year and will consist of six questions selected from a pool of questions contributed by the Social faculty. Students will be expected to answer all questions. This in-house component of the exam is closed-book and is six hours in length, beginning at 9:00 a.m. and ending at 4:00 p.m. with a one-hour break. The faculty will provide facilities such that answers will be written using a word processor on a computer. Each question will be graded by two Social faculty members, with the intent of matching question content to faculty expertise. Questions are graded on a 4-point scale (4 = Outstanding, 3 = Acceptable, 2 = Marginal, 1 = Unacceptable) and students must receive a minimum average grade of 2.25 on the six questions in order to pass the written exam and sit for the oral defense.

B. The week-long, take-home portion of the exam will consist of two questions also selected from a pool of items generated by the Social faculty. One question is expected to be especially comprehensive and integrative; the answer to it should be no less than 15 and no more than 20 typed, double-spaced pages.  The second question will require the review of a journal article; the answer (review) should not exceed 6 double-spaced pages.  Students are free to use any and all sources in answering these questions with the exception that all work that is submitted must be done independently of other students (past and current).  The take-home questions will be distributed to students immediately following the in-house exam and will be due at 4 p.m. the following Monday.  Answers to each question will be graded by two Social faculty members.
 
C.  The third and final component of the preliminary exam is the oral defense.  As noted above, students must receive an average of 2.25 on their in-house written exam to sit for the oral defense.  The oral defense can be scheduled any time after the student has received his or her grade on the in-house written exam.  A faculty committee, consisting of the student’s major professor and three randomly selected additional Social faculty members, will convene to ask questions of the student. The defense will be used to clarify answers on the written portion of the exam and/or to probe the student’s ability to converse about social psychology in general. The oral exam will be scheduled for 2 hours.
 
Following the oral defense, pass or fail determination for the entire preliminary exam will be made on the basis of grades from all three parts of the exam. If a student is determined to have failed the exam, all three parts of the exam can be taken on one additional occasion. If the oral defense is not conducted prior to when the next in-house examination is offered, the student must retake all three parts of the preliminary examination.
 
3. Final examination committee: At least four members, including at least three from the Social Area, are required for both the Ph.D. Advisory and the Final Examination Committee.
 
Specific Social Area Requirements

PSY 64000 (Survey of Social Psychology)
PSY 64600 (Research Methods of Social Psychology)
 
Must take both of the following courses at least once for a grade, and for a total of at least three additional semesters on a pass/fail basis:
 
PSY 64600 (Current Readings in Social Psychology)
PSY 69200 (Current Research in Social Psychology)
 

Must take at least two courses from the following list:
 
PSY 64300 (Attitudes & Attitude Change)
PSY 64400 (Close Relationships)
PSY 64500 (Social Cognition)
PSY 64700 (Group Processes & Social Influence)
PSY 64600 (Stereotyping & Prejudice)
 
Must also take 2 additional social courses or seminars.

A.    General Principles
 
All credit work done by students at Purdue University beyond the Baccalaureate degree is administered by the Graduate School.  The registration of a graduate student should reflect the nature and amount of the student’s study and research activities as accurately as possible.

1. Full-time Study

Full-time study is based on the number of credit hours in a given semester. Eight credit hours is the full-time certification standard for graduate students during the Fall and Spring semesters.  Six credit hours is the full-time certification for the summer semester.  Various fellowships and sponsoring agencies may have differing definitions of full-time status.

2. Responsibility for Registering

The registration of a graduate student is the responsibility of the student and the student’s department.  Registration must be accomplished according to schedules and procedures established by the Bursar, Registrar and the Graduate School.

B.      Registration Procedures

1.    Registration for All Students   

With the advice of a departmental advisor (generally the major professor), each graduate student submits their registration by the registration deadline for the upcoming semester.  Early registration is recommended, as late registration will result in additional fees and may result in unavailability of desired courses.  This is particularly true for STAT courses, which fill up very quickly. 

Students may register for some courses themselves, utilizing the on-line registration system myPurdue.   There are several courses for which you may not register yourself such as, (variable credit courses, courses that require instructor approval, research hours, etc.).  To register for these courses, you must submit an Office of the Registrar Form 23, (Schedule Revision Request) to the Graduate Program Coordinator, (Nancy O’Brien).  These forms are available in the Graduate Office. 

2.    Registration for Graduate Staff Appointment and Fellowship Students

To be eligible to hold a graduate staff appointment during any session, an individual must be enrolled as a graduate student in a degree program and be registered for at least three credit hours of graduate-level course and/or research work during the entire appointment period. 

Any student (whether on appointment or not) must be registered during each semester or summer session when doing research utilizing faculty direction or consultation and/or requiring the use of University facilities.  Research includes literature reviews and thesis writing.  A student’s research registration should be proportional to the amount of time devoted to research activities, with 18 semester hours representing the maximum registration. 

It is important to keep in mind that underregistration for research is likely to result in the accumulation of insufficient resident study credits. (At least 30 total credit hours are required for award of the Master’s degree, and at least 90 credit hours are required for the Doctoral degree). 

Students must also be registered for any semester or summer session in which they plan to hold a preliminary or final examination.

C.    Registration in the Final Academic Session

1.    Registration in the Session of Graduation

a. All students must be registered in the session of graduation.
b. Students with outstanding incomplete grades for courses listed on their plan of study will not be permitted to graduate.


2.    Privileged Registration

a. Examination Only Registration

A student who has completed the Graduate School’s residency requirement (30 hours for Master’s degree; 90 hours for a Ph.D. degree) and who has finished all degree requirements except for the final examination and depositing the thesis/dissertation prior to the first day of the academic session of graduation, may request registration for “Examination Only” at a reduced fee.  If approved, this registration will remain valid only if both a positive Report of Final Examination and a Thesis Receipt are received in the Graduate School by the eighth week of the semester (fourth week of a summer session).  Otherwise, the registration for the current session will be converted automatically to one hour of research, and the student will be billed for the additional fees. 

b. Degree Only Registration

A student who has completed the Graduate Schools residency requirement (30 hours for a Master’s degree; 90 hours for a Ph.D. degree) and who has finished all degree requirements except depositing the thesis/dissertation and for whom a positive Report of Final Examination has been received in the Graduate School prior to the first day of the academic session of graduation but who has not been awarded the degree may request registration for “Degree Only” at a reduced fee.  If approved, this registration will remain valid only if a Thesis Receipt if received in the Graduate School by the eighth week of the semester, (fourth week of a summer session).  Otherwise, the registration for the current session will be converted automatically to one hour of research and will be billed for the additional fees.

D.    Registration Limits for Student Loan Eligibility

The Office of Financial Aid should be contacted for current information on eligibility and minimum hours of registration required to qualify for a graduate student loan.

E.      Registration for Clinical Internship

    While on clinical internship, students must register for PSY 697, Clinical Internship.  This is a variable credit course that may be taken for 1-12 credits.  The cost for this course is set at a “flat-rate”, of approximately $800 per semester, regardless of the number of credits taken.  Student who register half-time or more, (5 credits), may qualify for federal financial aid while on internship.

 

A.  Master of Science (M.S.) Degree

     The M.S. degree usually takes two to three years to complete. The M.S. degree with thesis, a requirement for the Ph.D. degree, entails a minimum of 24 hours of course work plus 6 hours of research and a successfully defended thesis.

     The M.S. degree without thesis requires 36 semester hours of course work and is permitted only if a student later decides not to pursue the Ph.D. (see Appendix C). In other words, this degree is not intended to be a primary goal for an entering student. 

1.  Master's Committee.  When filing a plan of study for the master’s degree, the student must designate three faculty members who will serve on his/her Master's Advisory Committee (see Appendices A & H).  These faculty normally serve on the Master's Examining Committee as well (see Appendix A).  All plans of study are now done online and the forms are accessible through myPurdue.  Allow extra time for routing and electronic signatures of advisory committee members.  Your Master’s Plan of study must reach the Graduate School prior to the first day of classes in the semester in which the degree is to be received.

2.  Master's Examination

A. For defense of the thesis, the student and Examining Committee must establish a mutually agreeable date and time for the exam.  Three members of the committee should be present at the oral examination and at least two of these must be members of the student's Advisory Committee. 

B. The student is responsible for formally scheduling his/her exam by filing Request for Appointment of Examining Committee (GS Form 8). This form must be received by the Graduate School no later than ten (10) working days prior to the examination date. If the Graduate School does not have 10 working days, they will return the paperwork to you with a note to reschedule the exam.  They are very firm about this rule.  When the request is approved, the Graduate School will return an exam reporting form (GS Form 7) to Nancy O’Brien, who will provide it to the student.

C. Thesis format approval must be obtained from Julie Smith in PSYC 3183A.  See Julie for guidelines and deadlines.

D. You must deposit your completed thesis electronically, at least 24 hours prior to your mandatory final deposit appointment with the Graduate School's Thesis/Dissertation Office.  A complete thesis deposit checklist, forms and instructions can be found at: www.gradschool.purdue.edu/thesis.cfm.

B.  The Ph.D. Plan of Study and the Ph.D. Advisory Committee

     In consultation with your Major Professor, select your Ph.D. Advisory Committee (see Appendices A, H & L) and prepare your Ph.D. plan of study as soon as possible following the master's degree. The Graduate School regards the plan of study as an individualized curriculum designed by the Advisory Committee to assist the student in achieving his or her educational objectives. It must be filed with the Graduate School prior to submitting a request for the appointment of a Preliminary Examination Committee.  As mentioned earlier, all plans of study are submitted online using myPurdue.  Allow extra time for routing and electronic signatures of advisory committee members.

C.  The Preliminary Examination

     Upon a recommendation for continued graduate study by the Master's Examining Committee, students are eligible to take the preliminary examination.  This examination takes a variety of forms (e.g., a series of written essays, a lengthy review-and-critique paper, etc.), depending upon the student's area of major concentration. Refer to section V, Area Requirements.  The examination should be scheduled as soon as possible following completion of the M.S. degree and must be completed at least two semesters before the expected date of the doctoral final examination.  For example, a student taking the preliminary examination in the fall semester could schedule their doctoral final examination, at the earliest, during the subsequent fall semester.  Please note that preliminary exams taken between the Fall and Spring semesters are considered spring semester completions rather than a fall completion, and therefore, you would not be eligible to complete your final examination until the following spring.  Please also note that passing the preliminary examination is a prerequisite for formal admission to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree. The Preliminary Examination Committee (see Appendix A), which may evaluate the student on written and/or oral presentations, reports the results of the examination to the Graduate School with a recommendation for admission to Ph.D. candidacy, continued preparatory study, or discontinuation from the program. 
        
     If a student does not pass the preliminary examination, a reexamination cannot be scheduled until the following semester or later.  Should the prelim be failed twice, students are not permitted to take a third exam, except upon the recommendation of the Preliminary Examination Committee and with special approval of the Graduate Policy Committee.

1.  The Nature of the Preliminary Examination.  The specific nature of the preliminary examination varies from area to area.  Generally, it is intended to assess the student's ability to organize, integrate, and utilize information central to his/her major area of concentration.
    
2.  The Preliminary Examination Committee.  Three faculty members are required to serve on this Committee.  At least two of these must be members of the Ph.D. Advisory Committee.

3.  Request for Ph.D. Preliminary Examination Meeting.  Students must schedule a Ph.D. preliminary examination date, time, and room using GS Form 8.  This form is due at the Graduate School at least ten (10) working days prior to the exam, and is available at: www.gradschool.purdue.edu/downloads/facstaff/GS-8.doc.

- When the request is approved, the Graduate School will return an exam reporting form (GS Form 10) to Nancy O’Brien, who will provide it to the student.

D.  Dissertation

     The special research carried on as part of the doctoral work is expected to make a definite contribution to the candidate's chosen field of knowledge, a contribution of sufficient importance to merit publication.  Students must, therefore, prepare a dissertation showing the results of their research and must successfully defend the dissertation by demonstrating to their Examining Committee that they have all the capabilities for which the Doctor of Philosophy degree is awarded. 
    
1. The Ph.D. Examining (Final Examination) Committee.  This committee (see Appendix A) shall consist of no fewer than four members. Departmental rules require that at least two members of the Final Examination Committee must be members of the student's Ph.D. Advisory Committee.  Each area also has rules for Committee composition. Refer to section V, Area Requirements.   All members of your Final Examination committee should be present at the exam.

2. The Ph.D. defense. The department requires at least two semesters of research after admission to Ph.D. candidacy before the dissertation defense.  This means that at least two semesters must intervene between the preliminary and final examinations. (For example, if the prelim is passed by the end of the summer session, a student can defend the dissertation in the Spring semester of the following academic year.) After the research has been completed and the dissertation written, the candidate shall be given a final examination in which s/he defends the dissertation to his/her examining committee.

3. Scheduling Procedures:

A. The student and Examining Committee must establish a mutually agreeable date and time for the dissertation defense.  The four members of the committee should be present at the defense.

B. The student must formally schedule the defense by filing Request for Appointment of Examining Committee (GS Form 8).  This form must be received by the Graduate School at least ten (10) working days prior to the proposed exam date.  If the Graduate School does not have 10 working days, they will return the paperwork to you with a note to reschedule your exam.  They are very firm about this rule.  When the request is approved, the Graduate School will return an exam reporting form (GS Form 11) to Nancy O’Brien who will forward it to the student's major professor.  After the defense, the reporting form must be returned to Nancy, allowing sufficient time for it to be received (through campus mail) by the Graduate School by the deadline indicated on the Graduate Student Information display case and online at: www.gradschool.purdue.edu/calendar/calendar.cfm?type=Deadlines.

C. Thesis format approval must be obtained from Julie Smith in PSYC 3183A.  See Julie for guidelines and deadlines.

D. You must deposit your completed dissertation, electronically, at least 24 hours prior to your mandatory final deposit appointment with the Graduate School's Thesis/Dissertation Office.  A complete dissertation deposit checklist, forms and instructions can be found at:  www.gradschool.purdue.edu/thesis.cfm.

E. All course work and incomplete grades must be completed before the end of the session in which you hope to receive your degree.

     Graduate students are expected to progress through the entire Ph.D. program within 6 years.  Student evaluations, conducted biannually by the faculty in the student's area of major concentration, will in part reflect this progress (see below).  Note also that the Graduate School has a separate "FiveYear Rule" for courses:  "Course credits earned by a student whose graduate study has been inactive for five or more years cannot be used in a plan of study for an advanced degree."
     
A.       Grades and Index Requirements.  Only grades of "A" or "B" are acceptable in fulfilling departmental and area course requirements on any plan of study.  Pass/no pass grades are not acceptable in fulfilling degree requirements. A graduate student is expected to maintain a minimum cumulative index of 3.0.

B.      Student Evaluation Procedures.  The faculty in each area meet once each semester to evaluate the progress and standing of their graduate students.  The area coordinator or another area faculty member then provides a written summary of the area's deliberations along with an overall evaluation (see categories below) to each student.  A copy of the evaluation letter is given to Nancy O’Brien and to the student's major professor.

The following categories are used to provide an overall evaluation:

1. In good standing.  This category is used for any student who is judged to be progressing with graduate work in a fashion satisfactory to the standards of the area.

2. On probation.  This category is used for any student whose progress is not meeting the standards of the area but who is judged as worthy of the opportunity to improve his/her performance.  A student should not be placed in this category for more than two consecutive semesters.

3. Not in good standing.  This category is used for any student whose performance is judged to be sufficiently unsatisfactory to warrant being dropped from the program.  A student judged to be not in good standing is not permitted to continue in the program beyond the semester to which the evaluation refers.  Immediate notification of this decision is given to students placed in this category.

C.     Timely Completion of the Ph.D. Degree.  Our department’s graduate program is structured so that students should be able to complete their doctoral degree within 6 years of admission (not including one year of internship for clinical students).  Accordingly, students are expected to complete their graduate training by the end of that time.  Any student who does not complete doctoral degree requirements after a total of 6 years in the program must provide reasons for the delay to the Graduate Policy Committee in the fall of their seventh year and on an annual basis thereafter. The reasons for delay, to be submitted in written form to Nancy O’Brien by the end of the first week of the fall semester, will be reviewed by the Graduate Policy Committee, who may request that the student attend a Graduate Policy Committee meeting to discuss their situation. Based on the student’s academic record, stated reasons, and input from the student’s major professor and area faculty, the Graduate Policy Committee will make a recommendation to the Department Head by the end of each fall semester regarding whether or not the student should be dismissed from the graduate program. Dismissal decisions are made by the Department Head.

D.    Dropping Students from a Program and from Department.  It is the policy of the department that all students shall be affiliated with one of the recognized Areas of Major Concentration (see Appendix A). Dismissal of a student from any area by the faculty of that area is tantamount to dismissal from the Department of Psychological Sciences.

The only exception to this policy is when a student who has been dropped by an area is subsequently permitted, by special approval of the Graduate Policy Committee of the Department, to remain a student in good standing in the Department of Psychological Sciences without an area affiliation.  Such students will be considered to be in General Psychology and it will be the responsibility of the student's Advisory Committee to carry out formal evaluations of the student's progress each semester. Students are placed in this category only under unusual circumstances, and those desiring to explore this possibility must contact the Director of Graduate Studies who will, when appropriate, convene the Graduate Policy Committee to consider the student's request.

E.    Grievances.  Grievances or appeals with respect to any aspect of a student's graduate program may be submitted to the Graduate Policy Committee.  In hearing such cases, the Committee may be supplemented by a voting graduate student from within the department. The decision on whether or not to add a graduate student to the Committee will be made in consultation with, and with approval by, the student filing the grievance or appeal.  The student representative to such a hearing will be selected in consultation with, and with approval by, the student filing the grievance or appeal.

F.       Plagiarism Policy.   The faculty members of the Department of Psychological Sciences at Purdue consider academic integrity to be the cornerstone of our collective efforts to further psychological science.  Accordingly, we view any lapse in academic integrity to be a very serious transgression.  One particularly egregious breech of academic integrity is plagiarism. (see Appendix E for department plagiarism policy).     

G.      Appropriate Professional Conduct.  In activities related to the teaching, service, and research functions of the department, each graduate student is expected to conform to reasonable standards of academic and professional conduct.  The university has developed a statement on Integrity in Scholarship and Research (see Appendix F) that applies to both students and faculty.

     There are two general sources of financial support: internal (e.g., departmental teaching assistantships and graduate instructorships, and Purdue Research Foundation Grants) and external (e.g., research assistantships funded by grant money obtained by the student's major professor, and pre-doctoral fellowships obtained by the student from agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation).

         The students with the highest priority for departmental teaching assistantships (TAs) and graduate instructorships (GIs) are regular, full-time students who are in good standing at the time awards are made. Students in or beyond their fifth year of graduate training, and students with master's degrees from elsewhere who are in or beyond their fourth year of training, may have a lower priority for continued support than new students or other continuing students. Decisions regarding priority for departmental support are made by the faculty in the student's area of major concentration, subject to approval by the Head.  Please see below for criteria for assigning extra .25 TA appointments to Graduate Students.

     Students who have completed the M.S. degree, who have a graduate index of 3.5 or above, and who are actively working towards their Ph.D. are eligible for a Purdue Research Foundation (PRF) Grant. These grants offer 12 months of support and are awarded on a competitive basis. They require submission of a research proposal by the student's major professor or in that person's name (i.e., the student can write the proposal). The call for PRF proposals is typically made to the faculty early in the Fall semester. The departmental deadline for submission of these proposals usually falls between mid-November and early-December.  Awards are announced in February or March.

     A limited number of Graduate School Research Grants are available to post-master's-degree students for summer support.  In addition to completion of the degree requirements for the M.S., students must have a graduate index of 3.25 or higher and have held only a TA or GI position with an FTE of ½-time or more during both semesters of the preceding academic year.  (Students who have held a fellowship appointment or a research assistantship in either semester are not eligible.) Students are nominated for these grants by the faculty in their area. The nominations are then rank ordered by the departmental Admissions and Awards Committee and are forwarded to the Graduate School. Awards are announced by the Graduate School toward the end of the Spring semester.
    
     Research assistantships funded by external research grants require the student to conduct research related to the grant award.  The award of these assistantships and their length of support are decided by the faculty member whose grant money funds the award.

     First-year graduate students who do not have a master's degree are eligible to apply for National Science Foundation (NSF) pre-doctoral fellowships. These competitively awarded fellowships provide 12 months of support for 3 years and require formal application to NSF.  (Fellowship support is not provided for clinical research or for animal models of clinical conditions/treatment.) The deadline for applications is in early November, with awards announced in March. Application materials may be obtained directly from the NSF Web site at http://www.nsf.gov.

     All students are eligible for National Institutes of Health (NIH) pre-doctoral fellowships to support a wide range of research at both the master's and Ph.D. levels. These fellowships provide up to 5 years of support and require submission of a research proposal with supporting letters of recommendation.  Proposals are assigned to, and reviewed by, one of the NIH Study Sections at one of their three yearly meetings.  Application deadlines are April 8, August 8, and December 8.  Earliest possible start dates for funded proposals are approximately five months following the application deadline. Application materials may be obtained directly from the NIH Web site at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/424/index.htm.

     The terms and conditions of employment of all graduate staff are governed by University policies and procedures.  Those policies and procedures are summarized in the Graduate Student Employment Manual.  The manual is available in the Graduate Office (PRCE 385B) and online at: www.gradschool.purdue.edu/faculty/publications.cfm.    

      Graduate students in good standing in Psychological Sciences who are in their first 5 years of training will be eligible for up to $300 per fiscal year (July 1 to June 30) to support their travel to a conference (or conferences) where they will be presenting their research.  Both primary authors and supporting authors are eligible fro the award.

To receive reimbursement of conference expenses, each student needs to provide Ruth Simpson in the business office (ruthie@purdue.edu) with:  

 1.  complete Purdue Form 17.  Form 17 must be completed prior to the conference.

 2.  evidence that his or her paper or poster was accepted for presentation at the conference (e.g., confirmation e-mail, copy of the program, etc.).

 3.  evidence of conference registration..

Criteria for Assigning Extra .25 TA Appointments to Graduate Students in the Department of Psychological Sciences

From time to time the department has resources available to fund graduate students for an extra .25 Teaching Assistantship (TA) assignment (i.e., in addition to a standard .50 appointment).  When such situations arise, we will use the following criteria to help determine which students are awarded those extra assignments.  This is not a ranked list, but a set of general criteria used to help guide decisions about extra assignments.  

Preference for extra .25 TA assignments will be given to:

 
1) Students in their first 5 years of training and in good standing in the department;

2) Students whose advisor or area coordinator has approved the assignment;

3) Students with a background (teaching or research) making them particularly well-suited for the assignment;

4) Students who are making strong progress towards Ph.D. degree completion and have a record of peer-reviewed publications and/or submissions;

5) Students who have a history of covering particularly difficult or challenging TA assignments in the past;

6) Students with a track record of good departmental citizenship; and

7) Student seniority. 

Finally, when all other factors are equal (i.e., there are multiple students who identically meet the above criteria), assignments will be made based on random selection.

A.  Keys.  Keys to the Psychological Sciences (PSYC) Building and Peirce Hall (PRCE), the lounge, and specific offices and labs in PSYC and PRCE are kept in the Duplicating Room (see Phyllis Zickmund in PRCE 360).  However, before she can sign out keys to graduate students, the students must get the approval of their major professors or area coordinators.  If the key is to a laboratory room, the professor in charge of that lab must give approval.  Under no circumstances should an individual have a university key duplicated. All keys must be returned to Phyllis prior to leaving the university.

B. Business Office.  The staff of the department's Business Office are located in PRCE 359, 367, 369 and 371.  Stephanie Johnson, PRCE 369, handles monthly payroll.  You should see her to get put on the payroll if you are a teaching assistant, research assistant, or on a fellowship.  You also pick up your checks from her.  For assistance with purchasing and travel please see Ruth Simpson in PRCE 359.

C. Duplicating Facilities.  One photocopy machine is located in PRCE 360 under the supervision of Phyllis Zickmund (open 7 AM4:45 PM MonFri).  Teaching assistants may copy handouts or other material for classes with permission from the professor responsible for the course.  The professor in charge of the course can give you the account number to use.  Research assistants can copy material with permission of the professor they are assisting if the research is funded, in which case a grant account number must be used.   

D.  Computer Support. In addition to the resources provided by the University, there are several computer resources available within the department, to include Internet connectivity for your personal computer, which is available in all departmental offices.  There are also some labs throughout the department that are equipped with computers.  To find which lab or facility has the resources you need, contact your major professor, area coordinator, or a member of the Psychological Sciences Electronics Shop staff.

E.  Shop Facilities.  The departmental Electronic Shop is located on the basement floor of the Psychological Sciences Building (PSYC B130).  Shop staff are trained to assist with electronics, technology, and computing issues and are available from 8:00 a.m. to 11:45 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. for questions and project requests.  The Shop is equipped with electronic test equipment and computers for use by shop staff and department staff as determined by instructional, research, or project needs.  A color inkjet printer and a wide-format poster printer are housed here with access from three computers in the shop.  Additionally, some electronic and computing equipment is available for use outside the shop by faculty, staff, and graduates. This loan equipment can be reserved and picked up from the shop by stopping by, calling 49-46867, or writing to psych-help@psych.purdue.edu.

F.  Travel Support.  The department provides limited funds for student travel to conferences and conventions.  Ask your area coordinator about the availability and the amount of these funds.

The faculty who serve on the following committees are selected by the student in conjunction with the major professor.

Master's Advisory Committee.  The three-member committee designated on the student's master's plan of study, and the first committee listed with the Graduate School.  Advises the student on appropriate course work in preparation for the master's degree and on the formulation of an appropriate thesis project. 


Master's Examining Committee.  The three-member committee that evaluates the master's thesis proposal and/or the thesis itself, and conducts the oral examination of the master's thesis.


Ph.D. Advisory Committee.  The four-member committee designated on the student's Ph.D. plan of study.  Advises the student on appropriate course work in the preparation for the Ph.D. degree and on the formulation of the dissertation.


Preliminary Examination Committee.  The three-member committee that evaluates the student's performance on his/her preliminary examination.


Ph.D. Examining (Final Examination) Committee. The four-member committee that evaluates the dissertation proposal and the dissertation itself, and conducts the oral examination of the dissertation.

In addition to meeting the statistics course requirement specified in Section IV, Part A, all students are required to complete three additional graduate courses outside of their major area of concentration, for a total of nine credits.  These courses are in addition to any courses required by their major area.  At least two of these three courses must be graduate courses offered within the Department listed below.  One of these courses may be from outside of the Department (e.g., an Interdisciplinary Neuroscience course, a CDFS course, a Sociology course). These three courses must be approved by a student’s Ph.D. Advisory Committee, as indicated by approval of the student’s Ph.D. plan of study. 

Behavioral Neuroscience:
PSY 59100 - Brain and Behavioral Development
PSY 61500 - Introduction to psychobiology
PSY 61600 - Seminar in physiological psychology
PSY 61900 - Sensory coding mechanisms
PSY 62300 - Behavioral and therapeutic effects of psychoactive drugs *
PSY 63200 - Neuropsychology
PSY 69200 - 3-credit special-topics courses taught by Behavioral Neuroscience faculty only)

Clinical:
All 50000- and 60000-level clinical psychology courses except:  PSY 66700 (Clinical assessment I), PSY 66800 (Clinical assessment II), PSY 67900 (Practicum in clinical psychology), and PSY 69700 (Clinical psychology internship)

Cognitive:
PSY 62400 - Human learning and memory
PSY 62500 - Complex cognitive processes
PSY 62800 - Perceptual processes
PSY 63700 - Human information processing
PSY 63900 - Human factors

Developmental:
PSY 53500 - Psychology of death and dying
PSY 65100 - Development in infancy and childhood
PSY 65300 - Social development
PSY 65500 - Cognitive development
PSY 65600 - Development theory
PSY 66000 - Cognitive functioning in the elderly
PSY 66100 - Personal-social functioning in the elderly

Industrial/Organizational:
All 50000- and 60000-level courses except:  PSY 68100 (Seminar on methods in industrial/organizational psychology) and PSY 68100 (Research methods in industrial/organizational and social psychology)

Learning & Memory:
PSY 62200 - Animal learning
PSY 62900 - Motivation
PSY 69200 - Pavlovian conditioning
PSY 69200 - Experimental analysis of behavior

Social:
PSY 64000 - Survey of social psychology
PSY 64300 - Attitudes and attitude change
PSY 64400 - Close relationships
PSY 64500 - Social cognition
PSY 64600 - Seminar in social psychology (check with instructor first)
PSY 64700 - Group processes and social influence
PSY 64900 - Social psychology of health

Cross-area courses:
PSY 54000 - History of psychology
PSY 59100 - Perception Based Engineering
PSY 58000 - Psychology and the law
PSY 63300 - Evolutionary psychology
PSY 69200 - Evolution & Behavior
PSY 63300 - Psychology and the Philosophy of Science
PSY 66200 - Personality Theory

* Clarification: Behavioral and Therapeutic Effects of Psychoactive Drugs (PSY 62300) may be counted toward fulfillment of departmental requirements for Behavioral neuroscience area students.

Course substitutions will be considered by the Graduate Policy Committee on an individual basis and must be approved by a student’s Ph.D. Advisory Committee.  Contact the Director of Graduate Studies to begin this process.

The Department of Psychological Sciences offers a non-thesis master's degree under the following conditions1:

1. The student is a terminal master's candidate (i.e., the student will not continue in the program beyond the M.S. degree).

2. The faculty in the student's area of major concentration agree to the non-thesis option.

3. The student has previously filed a plan of study and has selected a master's committee.

4. The student has taken 36 hours of graded, graduate-level course work, with no more than 6 of those hours in research courses (PSY 69000 or 69800).

5. The department core courses are included in the 36 hours of course work.

    In cooperation with the Department of Political Science at Purdue University, the Department of Psychological Sciences offers a non-thesis master's degree for advanced graduate students in political science who meet the following conditions:

1. Student must obtain the consent of both Departments.  Consent from the Department of Psychological Sciences may be obtained from the Director of Graduate Studies, who will indicate approval by being listed as the Advisory Committee Chair on the student's master's plan of study.

2. Student must have an M.A. in Political Science and must have been admitted to the Ph.D. Program in Political Science.

3. Student must take a total of 10 graduate courses, including 7 from the Department of Psychological Sciences and 3 from the Department of Political Science.  The following course options apply:

        From the Department of Psychological Sciences

            PSY 64000:    Survey of Social Psychology
            PSY 64600:    Research Methods in Social Psychology
            PSY 64300:    Attitudes and Attitude Change
            PSY 64400:    Close Relationships
            PSY 64500:    Social Cognition
            PSY 64600:    Inter-group Relations
            PSY 64700:    Group Processes & Social Influence
            PSY 64600:    Psychology and Law
            PSY 62400:    Human Learning and Memory
 
Note that the 7 required courses in Psychological Sciences must include PSY 64000 and PSY 64600.  Other 60000-level graduate courses with relevance to political psychology may be considered on a case-by-case basis, with requests considered by the Graduate Policy Committee. 



For those students who have not successfully completed 2 or more graduate-level statistics courses (such as POL 60500) with a grade of "B" of better, the following courses may be included among the 7 courses:

            STAT 51200:     Applied Regression Analysis
            STAT 51400:     Design of Experiments

        From the Department of Political Science

            POL 61001:     Research Seminar in American Government (Electoral Behavior and Political Involvement)
            POL 61500:     Pro-seminar in Electoral Behavior and Political Socialization (Public Opinion)
            POL 61600:     Research Seminar in Political Behavior (Mass Media)
            POL 66000:     Research Seminar on Public Law and Judicial Behavior (Judicial Behavior)

Satisfactory completion of the above requirements, with grades of "B" or better in all courses, will earn the student an M.S. in Psychological Sciences upon completion of the Ph.D. examinations in Political Science.

Approved by the Graduate Policy Committee, June 2006
 

The faculty members of the Department of Psychological Sciences at Purdue consider academic integrity to be the cornerstone of our collective efforts to further psychological science.  Accordingly, we view any lapse in academic integrity to be a very serious transgression.  One particularly egregious breech of academic integrity is plagiarism.  Below we provide a definition of plagiarism.  We require that our graduate students familiarize themselves with this definition and work to ensure that they not plagiarize others’ work.

As discussed in the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (EPPCC) published by the American Psychological Association (2002), plagiarism is defined as an individual presenting portions of another’s work as the individual’s own work.  Section 8.11 of the EPPCC indicates that evidence of intent to deceive is not needed in order to identify plagiarism: “Psychologists do not present portions of another’s work or data as their own, even if the other work or data source is cited occasionally” (p. 12).

Whether the writer deliberately copied material from another source and attempted to present it as his or her own, or if the writer simply failed to properly attribute the source of another writer’s original work, the outcome is still plagiarism.  Any work that involves material originally constructed by another writer that is not properly cited and/or is presented as one’s own work will be considered to be an act of plagiarism.

As discussed in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th Ed., 2001), “[q]uotation marks should be used to indicate the exact words of another” (p. 349). In addition, “[e]ach time you paraphrase another author (i.e., summarize a passage or rearrange the order of a sentence and change some of the words), you will need to credit the source in the text” (p. 349). Even if the writer makes minor changes in a source’s wording of phrases or sentences (e.g., moving a clause from one part of a sentence to another, changing prepositions or pronouns, etc.), it is still considered plagiarism if you do not properly credit the originating author.

As the faculty views plagiarism as the academic equivalent of theft, it will be treated as an extremely serious violation of departmental, college, and university regulations as well as a breach of the APA EPPCC standards.  Any allegation of plagiarism will be adjudicated by a student’s area faculty.  If a majority of a student’s area faculty agree that plagiarism has occurred, the student will be terminated from the Graduate Program of the Department of Psychological Sciences.  The student may appeal the area faculty’s finding to the Graduate Policy Committee, who will make a non-binding recommendation to the Department Head regarding dismissal.  The decision of the Department Head will be final.

All students in the Graduate Program of the Department of Psychological Sciences will be required to sign a statement indicating their knowledge of the definition of plagiarism offered above as well as their understanding that any act of plagiarism will result in dismissal from graduate studies in the Department of Psychological Sciences.

     Integrity in scholarship and research is an essential part of Purdue University's intellectual and social structure and adherence to its spirit and principles must be maintained.  These principles include commitment to truth, objectivity, fairness, honesty, and free inquiry.
    
     Although serious violations of honesty in scholarship and research may be rare, those that do occur strike at the very heart of the enterprise.  Advances in scientific knowledge depend on trustworthy data and honestly reported conclusions.  Advances in humanistic studies depend upon gathering and interpreting legitimate information in a manner which other scholars; operating in good faith, can judge and replicate.  Artists present portfolios and performances, which reflect a unique artistic statement and point of view. Anything less will seriously undermine the total enterprise and erode public confidence in those responsible for its conduct.  Moreover, in any academic institution dedicated to education, scholars and researchers have a special obligation to exemplify the very best qualities and the highest standards of personal and professional conduct.
    
     The integrity of the process of research and scholarship must depend largely on selfregulation; it is the responsibility of all who engage in the search for knowledge.  Advances are gleaned from vigorous application of scientific and scholarly methods and in compliance with ethical codes rooted in intellectual honesty.
    
     Dishonesty is an unfortunate response to environmental temptations, and detection in advance of those who are most susceptible is difficult, if not impossible.  Therefore, major attention should be directed toward establishing the best research and scholarly environment.  To accomplish this goal, each scholar, researcher, and academic unit has an obligation to participate in and focus attention on:

1. encouraging intellectual honesty;
2. discouraging "success at any cost";
3. acceptance by research directors and other mentors of responsibility for integrity;
4. maintaining professional interpersonal relationships;
5. establishing and maintaining welldefined research protocols;
6. appropriate assigning credit and responsibility.

The arrangements for investigating allegations of dishonesty will be on an ad hoc basis depending on the apparent circumstances.  However, the following principles should guide the investigation.

     1.  All members of the academic community have a responsibility to report what they believe to be a lack of integrity in scholarship and research.  Persons receiving and acting on such reports have a duty to hold them in confidence.  Persons giving information in good faith about questionable conducts should be protected against reprisals.

     2.  Since personal relations may make objectivity difficult or impossible, investigations of deviation from integrity should not be handled by associates of the person whose work is under investigation.  Anyone appointed to investigate allegations of fraud must be objective and must possess the special competencies necessary to understand the scholarship or research in question.

     3.  The mere suspicion or allegation of wrongdoing, even if totally unjustified, is potentially damaging to a person's career.  Confidential handling of information about an investigation must be the responsibility of all involved.  If the investigation concludes that no wrongdoing occurred, all suspicion and allegations should be obliterated from memory.

     4.  Academic colleagues should expect data and interpretations to be challenged routinely in a scholarly context.  However, a colleague under investigation for dishonesty may be reluctant to cooperate in providing access to data and procedures, and such reluctance will not in itself be considered evidence of guilt.  The individual under investigation should have opportunity to communicate with the investigator or investigating committee in the course of the inquiry and prior to the formulation of conclusions.  The individual under investigation should be advised of any decision to disseminate information about the investigation or to seek information about the research or scholarship from others.

     5.  The Vice President for Research must be informed of any investigation.  The university has an obligation to notify external granting organizations, which may be associated with the scholarship or research when there is substantial reason to believe that fraud has occurred, even if the investigation has not been completed.  The Vice President for Research will make this determination with appropriate consultation.

Changing Areas of Major Concentration

     It is recognized that a student's interests may change, particularly during the first year of graduate work, and that this change might sometimes be accommodated by a change in area.  However, a change in area of concentration cannot be automatically approved because it involves questions about availability of faculty supervision and sources of financial support.  Consequently, a change of area generally requires the approval of the faculty in each area involved, the Director of Graduate Studies, and the Head of Department.  See the Director of Graduate Studies to begin consideration of a change of areas.

Research in Absentia

     A doctoral student who has completed the preliminary examination and wishes to leave the University and to continue his/her Ph.D. candidacy must register for research in absentia.  With the approval of the major professor and the Director of Graduate Studies, a student must complete a Request for Research in Absentia (GS Form 12) and submit it to the Graduate School at least one month prior to the beginning of the initial session for which absentia registration is sought.  To be eligible, students must have completed their course work and prelim exam; have made significant progress on the thesis research topic; and have established, in coordination with their major professor, a plan for accomplishing research at the absentia location.

         If approved, the registrar will automatically register the student for each spring and fall semester if fees were paid in the previous semester. The student must be registered for every regular semester (spring and fall, but not summer) until the degree has been granted, until the absentia privilege is rescinded, or until the student withdraws from the University.  The bursar will automatically send the student a bill.  Late payment will be subject to the usual additional fee.  It is the student's responsibility to keep the bursar informed of his or her current address.  Nonpayment of absentia fees will terminate the student's registration and cancel the absentia privilege.  If a student intends to obtain an August degree, s/he is responsible for his/her registration for the summer session. The student will not automatically be registered or billed for that session.

 Throughout your enrollment there will be various Graduate School forms that need to be completed at particular times.  Below is the sequence and timeline in which these forms are to be completed.

1) Master’s Plan of Study:   

The Master’s plan of study is submitted electronically via myPurdue, and should be completed as soon as possible.  It must reach the Graduate School no later that the last business day prior to the semester in which your degree is to be awarded.  For example, if you plan to receive your degree in August, and the first day of the summer session is Monday, June 10, the Graduate School must receive your plan of study by Friday, June 7.  Also keep in mind that each member of your advisory committee and the Director of Graduate Studies must electronically approve it before it flows on to the Graduate School, so please allow enough time for this process and consider faculty member availability. (see Section VII; paragraph A, 1 for further instruction).   

2) Master’s Final Examination:

Once you have selected a date to hold your Master’s final examination/thesis defense, you must submit a G.S. Form 8, Request for Appointment of Examining Committee. (see Appendix G).  This form must reach the Graduate School at least two weeks prior to the date of your exam.  (see Section VII; paragraph B, 1 for further instruction).

3) Ph.D. Plan of Study:

The Ph.D. plan of study is also submitted electronically via myPurdue, and should be completed as soon as possible following the Master’s degree, and must be submitted prior to submitting your request for appointment of examining committee for your preliminary exam.  (see Section VII, Paragraph B for further instructions).

4) Preliminary Examination:

The preliminary examination should be scheduled as soon as possible after completion of the Master’s degree and must be completed at least two semesters before the expected date of final doctoral examination.  (For example: a student who successfully completes the preliminary examination in Fall 2008, would first be eligible to schedule their Ph.D. Final Examination, in Fall 2009.)Once you have selected a date for your preliminary examination, you must submit a G.S. Form 8, Request for Appointment of Examining Committee.  This form must reach the Graduate School at least two weeks prior to the date of your exam.  (see Section VII, paragraph C. for further instructions).     

5) Ph.D. Final Examination:

Once you have selected a date for your Ph.D. final examination/dissertation defense, you must submit a G.S. Form 8, Request for Appointment of Examining Committee. This form must reach the Graduate School at least two weeks prior to the date of your exam.  (see section VII, paragraph D. For further instructions.)  

6) Graduation Deadlines:

Each semester the Graduate School publishes graduation deadlines on their web page for:

a. Declaring Candidacy
b. Passing the Final Examination
c. Submitting Report of Final Examination
d. Depositing Thesis/Dissertation
e. Delivering the Thesis Receipt 

You may access this web page at www.gradschool.purdue.edu/calendar/calendar.cfm?type=Deadlines.      

     Each graduate student admitted to a degree program must file a plan of study (POS). A formal plan of study should be created as early as feasible in the student’s career because it guides a student’s academic degree progress.  A plan of study is an academic contract between a student, the faculty members of the advisory committee, and the Graduate School.  All departmental and Graduate School policies related to the filing of a plan of study must be adhered to explicitly.
    
     Students filing their plan of study should complete their plan electronically.  Access to the electronic Plan of study Generator (POSG) is via MyPurdue. 
    
     When you have completed your plan of study and feel it is ready for review by your advisory committee, submit your plan as a Draft.  While your plan is in Draft status, review the information with you advisory committee and your departmental coordinator to ensure that it satisfies department and Graduate School policies.  Use your draft as a basis to discuss your academic and research goals with your advisory committee members.  Once your entire committee has verbally accepted your plan of study, return to the POSG and submit your plan as “Final.”  The plan of study form will be electronically routed, reviewed and, if approved, signed by the department coordinator, your advisory committee and the graduate school.  You may check the status of your plan at any time by returning to the POSG and click on the Display Submitted Plan of study link.

     Once the Graduate School has approved your plan of study, you should check it following every semester to monitor your academic degree progress.
    
     Please note that if you entered the doctoral program with only a Baccalaureate degree, you will need to complete both a Master’s plan of study and a Ph.D. Plan of study.  Of the 90 required credits needed for award of the Ph.D., only 30 can be carried over from the Master’s degree to toward meeting the Ph.D. requirements.  In other words, you must complete at least 60 credits (Post-Master’s).  Also, please keep in mind that pass/fail courses, such as clinical practicum, do not count toward meeting the credit hour requirements. 
    
     The following rules pertain to the completion of both the Master’s and Ph.D. plans of study:

1) Only 50000-level or above courses should be included.
2) Only courses for which a grade was (or will be) received should be included (i.e., no pass/fail or satisfactory/unsatisfactory courses).
3) Must have 2 statistics courses from departmental requirement list.
4) Must have 3 additional courses (beyond courses required by your area of major concentration) from Appendix B.
5) Must list all specific area requirements listed in your areas section of the handbook.

*NOTE:  For the Master’s plan of study, the department requires only items 1-3, however, be sure to check your area requirements.  All five items apply for the Ph.D. Plan of study.