Department of Psychology
111 Pryale Hall (map)
(248) 370-2300 • Fax (248) 370-4612
www.oakland.edu/psychology

Director of Graduate Training:
Virgil Zeigler-Hill
212A Pryale Hall
(248) 370-2676
zeiglerh@oakland.edu

Program Description

The Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology program will provide graduate students with the knowledge, skills, and experiences necessary to become successful producers of research, investigating the structures, processes, and products of the mind. Psychology is a broad discipline that interfaces with the biological and social sciences. This graduate program is organized around three concentrations that together encapsulate the breadth of psychological science: (1) Social-Personality Psychology; (2) Community and Behavioral Health; and (3) Evolutionary, Comparative, and Cognitive Psychology. These concentrations represent broad areas that focus on phenomena from different orientations in moderately overlapping but distinguishable content areas. Graduate students will have broad exposure to multiple concentrations that will be extended by an intensive inquiry specialized in one concentration. Students will apply for admission in one of these concentrations.

Admission Terms and Application Deadlines

Before an applicant’s file can be reviewed for full program admission, all application documents must be received in Oakland University Graduate School by the semester deadline listed below. Incomplete applications will not be sent to departments for admission review.

All applicants to this program are admitted for the fall semester only. Review of applications will begin on the following dates:

December 1 for fall semester
International students

Application Requirements

To be considered for graduate admission, applicants must submit all Graduate Application Requirements and additional department requirements by the published application deadlines:

Graduate application requirements
Additional department application requirements

Recommendation for Graduate Admission form:
Three recommendations must be from faculty members or professionals in the field who can evaluate the scholarly achievement and potential of the applicant.
An essay (i.e., statement of purpose) describing the applicant’s interest in the program, research interests, and career goals.
Scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).

Admission Review and Assessment

Admission to graduate school at Oakland University is selective. In making admission recommendations to Oakland University Graduate School, the department assesses the potential of applicants for success in the program by examining their undergraduate records, statement of purpose, letters of recommendation, prerequisite courses, and GRE scores.

Degree Requirements

The Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology degree is awarded upon satisfactory completion of 80 credits in an approved program of study and successful completion and oral defense of a doctoral dissertation as determined by the student’s advisory committee.

The normal full-time course load for graduate students is 8 to 12 credits per semester. Students who have previously earned a master’s degree from Oakland University or another regionally-accredited institution may reduce the 80 credits of coursework required for the doctoral degree by up to 32 credits. To be considered for a reduction in required doctoral credits, students must submit a Petition of Credit from Earned Master’s Degree. The advisory committee will evaluate the student’s prior master’s degree work and may reduce the required Ph.D. credits based on the master’s coursework. The decision of the advisory committee is final, but the approved petition and approved plan of study must be on file in the Graduate School by the end of the first year of doctoral study. All candidates must complete at least 24 credits of additional coursework exclusively at Oakland University.

Course Requirements (80 credits)

The total credits required to obtain a Ph.D. in Psychology degree is 80. Approved courses taken as a part of a master’s degree may be used towards satisfying this requirement. Students may also take graduate courses from other departments with the approval of their advisory committee.

a. Required Courses (24 credits)

Required courses:

b. Concentration Requirement (24 credits):

Concentration 1: Evolutionary, Comparative, and Cognitive Psychology

Choose 6 courses from the following:

Concentration 2: Social-Personality Psychology

Choose 6 courses from the following:

course Social Cognition and Interpersonal Processes (4 credits)
course Self and Interpersonal Relationships (4 credits)
course Emotion and Motivation (4 credits)
course Proseminar in Social and Behavioral Processes (4 credits)
course Personality, Individual Differences, and Intelligence (4 credits)
course Intergroup Relations (4 credits)
course Psychology of Human Sexuality (4 credits)
course Cognitive Psychology: Theory and Application (4 credits)
course Neuroanatomy, Brain Development and Neural (4 credits)
course Proseminar in Biological and Basis Processes (4 credits)
course Advanced Topics in Biological and Basic Processes (4 credits)
course Advanced Topics in Methods of Psychological and Behavioral Research Design (4 credits)
course Advanced Topics in Statistics for Psychological and Behavioral Research (4 credits)
course Advanced Topics in Social and Behavioral Processes (4 credits)

Concentration 3: Community and Behavioral Health

Choose 6 courses from the following:

course Emotion and Motivation (4 credits)
course Proseminar in Social and Behavioral Processes (4 credits)
course Hormones and Human Behavior (4 credits)
course Psychology of Human Sexuality (4 credits)
course Biopsychosocial Factors of Health and Wellness (4 credits)
course Health Behavior Change (4 credits)
course Analysis of Psychopathology (4 credits)
course Cognitive Psychology: Theory and Application (4 credits)
course Conditioning, Learning and Memory (4 credits)
course Neuroanatomy, Brain Development and Neural (4 credits)
course Proseminar in Biological and Basis Processes (4 credits)
course Advanced Topics in Biological and Basic Processes (4 credits)
course Advanced Topics in Methods of Psychological and Behavioral Research Design (4 credits)
course Advanced Topics in Statistics for Psychological and Behavioral Research (4 credits)
course Advanced Topics in Social and Behavioral Processes (4 credits)
course Special Topics in Behavioral Health (4 credits)

c. Elective courses (16 credits)

Choose 4 courses from the following:

course Social Cognition and Interpersonal Processes (4 credits)
course Self and Interpersonal Relationships (4 credits)
course Emotion and Motivation (4 credits)
course Proseminar in Social and Behavioral Processes (4 credits)
course Personality, Individual Differences, and Intelligence (4 credits)
course Intergroup Relations (4 credits)
course Animal Cognition (4 credits)
course Evolutionary Psychology and Animal Behavior (4 credits)
course Hormones and Human Behavior (4 credits)
course Psychology of Human Sexuality (4 credits)
course Current Directions in Evolutionary Psychology (4 credits)
course Biopsychosocial Factors of Health and Wellness (4 credits)
course Health Behavior Change (4 credits)
course Analysis of Psychopathology (4 credits)
course Seminar in Cognitive Development (4 credits)
course Cognitive Psychology: Theory and Application (4 credits)
course Conditioning, Learning and Memory (4 credits)
course Neuroanatomy, Brain Development and Neural (4 credits)
course Proseminar in Biological and Basis Processes (4 credits)
course Advanced Topics in Biological and Basic Processes (4 credits)
course Advanced Topics in Methods of Psychological and Behavioral Research Design (4 credits)
course Advanced Topics in Statistics for Psychological and Behavioral Research (4 credits)
course Advanced Topics in Social and Behavioral Processes (4 credits)
course Special Topics in Behavioral Health (4 credits)
course Independent Study (1 to 4 credits)
course Doctoral Dissertation Research (1 TO 16 credits) (up to 8 credits above the 16 credit minimum requirement)

d. Dissertation (16 credits)

course Doctoral Dissertation Research (1 TO 16 credits)

Good academic standing

All graduate students are expected to remain in Good Academic Standing throughout the entire course of their graduate program. To be in good academic standing, a graduate student must make satisfactory progress toward fulfilling degree requirements, including the completion of critical degree milestones as set forth by the academic program. The student must also maintain a minimum semester and overall GPA of 3.0.

Good academic standing is a requirement for:

Holding a Graduate Assistantship
Receiving a fellowship or scholarship
Advancing to candidacy for a graduate degree
Going on a leave of absence
Obtaining a graduate certificate or degree from Oakland University.

Related Program information

Academic Advising and Advisory Committee

Upon admission, students will work with the Director of Graduate Training to plan their coursework for the first semester. After their fall registration, the role of academic adviser will be assumed by the major professor, who will serve as the mentor and academic adviser for the student as well as the chair of the Master of Science Thesis and/or Doctoral Dissertation Committees. Within the first year of study, the student is required to select an advisory committee consisting of their major professor and two additional faculty members. The advisory committee will (1) assist the student in developing and implementing a plan of study, (2) meet at least annually to evaluate the student’s progress, (3) approve and grade the student’s Master of Science thesis, (4) construct and grade the student’s comprehensive examination, and (5) will usually serve as the student’s doctoral dissertation committee.

Plan of Study

Upon admission, students must develop a plan of study in consultation with their major professor and the Director of Graduate Training. As soon as the student forms an advisory committee, the committee will review and update the plan of study. The plan of study must be submitted to Oakland University Graduate School.

Enrollment

At least 24 credits of graduate coursework, excluding the dissertation credits, must be completed at Oakland University. Further, all students are required to register for at least 1 credit every fall and winter semester in every academic year, after their admission to the program.

Master of Science Thesis

Typically, with the consent of their advisory committee, students will complete and defend a Master of Science (M.S.) thesis in the second or third year of the program. The successful completion of original research–demonstrating competence in design, conduct and analysis, the creation of a M.S. thesis–effectively and accurately characterizing the research, communicating the findings and placing the research in context, and the oral defense of the thesis are major features of the M.S. degree. The advisory committee will approve and grade the student’s M.S. thesis and will be responsible for guiding this process and approving the products (i.e., the research, the thesis, and the defense of the thesis). Ordinarily, students will not sit for the comprehensive examination in the same term that they complete and defend their M.S. thesis. Acceptance of the thesis by Oakland University Graduate School requires favorable recommendations by the advisory committee. All theses must conform to university standards (see Thesis and Dissertation).

Comprehensive Examination

Typically, with the consent of their advisory committee, students will sit for the comprehensive examination in the second or third year of the program. If two of the three members of the advisory committee approve (P) the student’s performance on the comprehensive examination, the student will be considered as having successfully completed the examination. If the student does not pass the examination, the advisory committee may allow the student to retake the examination within one year. Failure to pass the examination within two attempts shall constitute failure in the Ph.D. program. Ordinarily, students will not sit for the comprehensive examination in the same term that they complete and defend their Master of Science thesis.

Dissertation Committee

Upon successful completion of the comprehensive examination, each student will be expected to identify a dissertation committee. The dissertation committee will be chaired by the student’s major professor and include two additional faculty members from the Department of Psychology. The student’s advisory committee typically will comprise the dissertation committee. When it is appropriate to the student’s plan of study and approved by the student’s major professor, an outside scholar or expert may be substituted for one of the faculty members from the Department of Psychology. The dissertation committee will guide the student’s dissertation research and creation of the dissertation. A majority of the members must approve the dissertation before it can be defended by the candidate. In addition, the dissertation committee, acting as the defense committee, must approve the candidate’s defense of the dissertation by a majority vote.

Dissertation and Defense

The successful completion of original research-demonstrating competence in design, conduct and analysis, the creation of a doctoral dissertation-effectively and accurately characterizing the research, communicating the findings and placing the research in context, and the oral defense of the dissertation are major features of the doctoral degree. The dissertation committee will be responsible for guiding this process and approving the products-the research, the dissertation, and the defense of the dissertation. Acceptance of the dissertation by Oakland University Graduate School requires favorable recommendations by the doctoral dissertation committee. All dissertations must conform to university standards (see Thesis and Dissertation ).

Additional Requirements

Students will be encouraged to participate in research teams involving faculty researchers, M.S. students and undergraduates. Although the major focus will be on increasing the quality and variety of research experiences available to undergraduates, this activity is designed to provide graduate students with directed mentoring experience, particularly when combined with course Instruction in Psychological Science .

Residence

All students are required to fulfill a residency requirement for this program. Although students may complete some of the program on a part-time basis, continuous full-time enrollment is highly preferred. The minimal residency requirement shall be full-time residency (8 credits per semester) for at least three consecutive full semesters with at least two of these devoted primarily to the student’s research project.

Continuous Enrollment

The continuous enrollment policy for doctoral students requires continuous registration of for at least 1 credit each semester in the academic year to maintain active graduate student status. This includes semesters in which the comprehensive exam is taken, defense of the M.S. thesis, and each subsequent term (fall and winter) until the degree requirements are met, and the dissertation is submitted to Oakland University Graduate School.

Some agency and graduate assistantship eligibility may have course load requirements that exceed the minimum registration requirements of the Continuous Enrollment Policy (e.g., Veterans Affairs, Immigration and Naturalization for international students, and federal financial aid programs). Therefore, it is the student’s responsibility to register for the appropriate number of credits that are required for funding eligibility and/or compliance as outlined by specific agency regulations under which they are governed.

Time Limits

Students generally will be expected to complete the degree program within five years. The maximum time limit for completing a Ph.D. degree is no more than 10 years from the term of the first course enrollment in the doctoral program. The time limit for completing a Ph.D. Degree policy requires a student to achieve candidacy within six years from the first course enrollment in the doctoral program. After being advanced to candidacy, a student is expected to complete the remaining degree requirements within four years (including the dissertation defense). If a student is deemed inactive, he or she may be dropped out of the program despite the petition for extension.

Psychology

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