Cognitive Psychology: Graduate Curriculum
INTRODUCTION
The Cognitive psychology graduate program (CPGP)
seeks students with the intellectual potential, motivation and
quantitative aptitude to engage in productive scholarship in a basic or
applied area of interest.
Interdisciplinary training is also available in
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Developmental Science
- Aging and Cognition
- Child Language
- Quantitative Methods.
The training program emphasizes the development
of a broad based foundation in theory, research methods, technical
skills, and quantitative analysis for application in a variety of basic
and applied research settings. Areas of focus of current faculty include
memory, cognitive development, language, perception, attention, aging
and cognition. The faculty are listed below. Consult with them for
further information.
PROGRAM FACULTY MEMBERS
Paul Atchley (Program Director)
Ruth Ann Atchley
John Colombo
Joseph Dien
Andrea F. Greenhoot
James F. Juola
George A. Kellas
Susan Kemper
Thomas A. Schreiber
Gregory Simpson
Michael S. Vitevitch
GENERAL PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
(with recommended completion time)
Research Activity (Continuous)
Course Requirements (before Oral Comps)
Master's Thesis and Oral Defense (year 2 or 3)
Written preliminary examination (year 3 or 4)
FLORS (year 3 or 4)
Comprehensive Oral Exam (year 4 or 5)
Dissertation and Oral Defense (year 5 or 6)
Other occasions of evaluation that may be agreed upon are public oral
presentations, as in the CPGP proseminar and at professional meetings,
manuscripts submitted for publication, written examinations on
particular topics preparatory to the oral comprehensive examination,
consulting activities, performance as an intern, and so on. The student
can expect timely feedback from his or her advisor and from other CPGP
faculty members.
Each student will meet annually in the spring semester with their
advisor in order to assess progress toward the degree. At these meetings
all evaluative information about the student will be reviewed. The
results of the meeting will be presented by the student's advisor to the
faculty of the CPGP at it's annual student evaluation meeting. The
director of CPGP will then inform the student, in writing, of his or her
standing in the CPGP.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Statistics/Methods Core (12 units by end of third year)
PSYC 790:
Statistics I
Elementary distribution theory; one-way
analysis of variance, linear trends, contrasts, post hoc tests;
simple regression and correlation; general linear model.
Prerequisite: A beginning course in statistics and graduate
standing, or consent of instructor. LEC |
PSYC 791:
Statistics III
Continuation of PSYC 790. Multiway analysis
of variance for crossed, nested, and incomplete designs; analysis of
covariance; multiple regression and correlation; general linear
model. Prerequisite: PSYC 790 or consent of instructor. LEC
|
PSYC 982:
Professional Issues
Lectures and discussion on issues in the
conduct of a scientific career, with emphasis on practical topics of
special importance in behavioral science. Topics will include the
academic and scientific roles of behavioral scientists, establishing
a research lab, communicating research findings, tenure processes,
gender equity, ethical conduct, and good scientific citizenship.
Discussions will highlight important case studies. (Same as SPLH
982.) LEC
|
PSYC 983:
Methods
Inferential problems in experimental
psychology. Prerequisite: PSYC 790 and PSYC 791 or consent of
instructor. LEC
PSYC 990 Multivariate Analysis (3). Introduction to use of the
general linear model for analysis of behavioral and social data.
Includes multivariate multiple regression, multivariate analysis of
variance, multiple discriminant analysis, and canonical correlation.
Primarily a lecture course; practical experience with packaged
computer programs is included. Prerequisite: PSYC 790 and PSYC 791
or consent of instructor. LEC |
Content Core (9 units by end of second year)
PSYC 723:
Advanced Cognitive Psychology
Advanced cognitive psychology reviewing
theories of pattern recognition, attention, working memory, language
comprehension and problem solving. Emphasis will be placed upon the
application of these theories to real-life situations. Prerequisite:
PSYC 104 and six additional credit hours in psychology, or
permission of the instructor. LEC |
PSYC 725:
Cognitive Neuroscience
A survey of the critical issues within
cognitive and behavioral neuroscience. The course will provide
information about neuronal physiology, functional neuroanatomy, and
psychophysiological research methods. Human cognition and the
neurophysiology that subserves the primary cognitive functions will
be discussed. LEC |
PSYC 737:
Psycholinguistics
An in-depth examination of selected topics in
psycholinguistics. Topics may include spoken language processing,
written language processing, neurolinguistics, prosody, and
syntactic processing. May be repeated for different topics. (Same as
LING 737.) Prerequisite: PSYC 735/LING 735 or consent of instructor.
LEC |
PSYC 757:
Perception
A consideration of the facts and theories of
human perception. The emphasis will be on vision, although hearing,
smell, pain, and other senses will also be discussed. Of particular
concern is the question of perceptual modifiability and the response
of the human observer to unusual sensory environments. Prerequisite:
PSYC 104. LEC |
PSYC 831:
Human Memory
An in-depth analysis of current research and
theory. Focus will be on experimental methodology in these areas.
LEC |
Breadth/Depth (12 units before Oral Comps)
Breadth I, II
Depth I, II
Breadth/depth courses may come from a number of sources, depending
upon student interests and advisor suggestions. Students are expected to
use this requirement to gain additional specialization in two areas in
addition to cognitive psychology. Examples include Quantitative (which
will consist of courses in psychology and PRE), Language (including
Linguistics or Speech-Language-Hearing), Neuroscience (including
Psychology, Biology, or Pharmacology), Philosophy, or Computer Science.
These courses can also be used to help fulfill FLORS requirements with
"breadth goals" set out by the advisor.
Seminar (continuous enrollment)
PSYC 902
Seminar in experimental psychology to be
conducted in rotation by the experimental psychologists on the staff
and a monthly visiting experimental psychologist. LEC |
MASTER'S THESIS
The master's thesis process is intended to provide the student
with the opportunity to serve an internship in their chosen lab, with
their chosen advisor. The student is expected to demonstrate competence
conducting laboratory research in their chosen area. As such, the
master's thesis serves as a natural point to evaluate the suitability of
a student for continued progress in the CPGP. Instances of substandard
performance are expected to be rare. The thesis is evaluated by a
committee consisting of three members, two of which must be from the
CPGP. Thirty units of coursework are required before the granting of the
master's degree.
Substandard performance during master's thesis research and master's
thesis defense can include the following specific problems:
- Failure by the student to show adequate
active participation and effort during the completion of the
necessary components of the research project including: research
design, data collection, data analysis, and thesis manuscript
preparation and revision.
- Evidence (as provided in either the written
document or in the oral defense of the thesis) that the student does
not have a reasonable understanding of the theoretical and
methodological issues addressed in the thesis project.
- Evidence (as provided in either the written
document or in the oral defense of the thesis) that the student does
not have the research or analytical skills necessary for the
completion of subsequent phases of the doctoral training program.
During the deliberation of the Master's Thesis Committee following
the Master's Thesis defense, any committee member can propose that the
Master's Candidate has failed to reach standard performance on the
master's thesis project. At this juncture the committee will discuss the
option of dismissal from the program. If the majority of the Master's
Thesis Committee recommend (via hidden ballot) dismissal of the student
from the program then there will be a meeting called of program faculty.
The student will be notified of this recommendation and allowed to
appeal to the faculty prior to the final vote. Following discussion of
the recommendation and a student's appeal, a vote will be held (again
via hidden ballot). If a majority of the faculty present vote for
dismissal of the student then academic dismissal will be effective at
the end of the semester in which notification of dismissal is given by
the program.
WRITTEN PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION
While the master's thesis is the opportunity for a student to
demonstrate competence in conducting laboratory research, the written
preliminary examination is the opportunity for the student to
demonstrate their ability to become independent, critical thinkers in
their chosen research area. The expectation is that students will
demonstrate the ability to think carefully about the literature in their
chosen field, and independently generate an evaluation of the field.
They are further expected to be able to express themselves cogently in a
written format. The written preliminary examination committee consists
of three members, two of which must be from the CPGP.
Unlike other requirements, this requirement is required by the CPGP
and not the Graduate School. Thus, the form of this written examination
varies depending upon the desires of the student, their advisor and
their written preliminary examination committee. Formats have included
an extensive review paper of a chosen research area, multiple smaller
papers on a variety of research areas, or a grant proposal which may be
later submitted to a funding agency.
FLORS REQUIREMENT
The Graduate School's FLORS requirement may be fulfilled by CPGP
students in the following ways: The student may complete the foreign
language option or the computing skills option as specified by the
Graduate School. In consulting with his or her advisor and advisory
committee, the student may satisfy the FLORS requirement by
demonstrating competence in areas such as quantitative methods,
including psychometrics or mathematical modeling of psychological
processes, beyond the required course sequence in statistics and
methodology; cognitive science beyond cognitive psychology, such as
artificial intelligence, computer simulation of cognitive processes, or
programming skills; or neuroscience techniques, such as brain imaging
and mapping, or mastery of physiological data collection. Lastly, the
student may propose a research skill not covered above by petitioning
the CPGP, which, if it approves, will seek approval of the Department of
Psychology and the Graduate School.
ORAL COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION
The Program recommends students entering without a Master's degree
to take the oral comprehensive examination before the end of the fourth
year. For those entering with a Master's degree, the recommendation is
by the end of the third year. Prior to asking the Department to request
the Graduate Division of the College to schedule the comprehensive
examination, the student must (1) have taken all the required courses,
(2) have been accredited with a research skill, (3) have obtained a
Master's degree, (4) have passed the written preliminary examination or
an approved alternative (CPGP) and (5) have met the residency
requirements. The oral comprehensive examination committee is made up of
five faculty members, at least one of whom is from outside the
Department and represents the Graduate School. The exact form of the
examination is not specified by the Graduate School, but is intended to
cover the student's major area and should review the student's plans for
a doctoral dissertation. The Program requires the student to prepare a
written dissertation proposal and to distribute it to the committee
prior to the scheduled examination. The committee shall judge the
student's performance as satisfactory or unsatisfactory. If the
performance is judged to be unsatisfactory, the student may request
another examination at the end of 90 days. This examination may not be
taken more than three times. Unsatisfactory performance on the third
occurrence means termination from the Program and loss of
doctoral-student status in the Department.
CANDIDACY
After passing the oral comprehensive examination, the student
becomes a candidate for the doctoral degree. At this point, a
dissertation committee of three members of the Graduate Faculty is
formed, the Chairperson of which is authorized by the Graduate School to
chair dissertations. From this point onward, the student must be
continuously enrolled until the degree is earned. Enrollment must be 6
hours every semester and 3 hours in the summer until 18 hours of credit
have been accumulated. Beyond this, the number of hours should reflect
the workload of the faculty involved with the dissertation and the use
of University resources.
FINAL ORAL EXAMINATION
The dissertation must be written in final form and orally defended
before the dissertation committee, plus two additional members of the
Graduate Faculty, within eight years. (Notes: (i) The final oral
examination may not be scheduled until five months have elapsed since
passing the oral comprehensive examination. (ii) The three-person
dissertation committee must have formally approved the dissertation
typescript as ready for defense prior to the scheduling of the final
oral examination.)
NOTE ON COMMITEES (CPGP)
The committees for a student's Master's thesis, oral comprehensive
examination, and doctoral dissertation will ordinarily consist mostly of
faculty members of the Program. Each such committee must include at
least two faculty members of the program and be composed of a majority
of faculty who are members of the department.