The Department of Psychology offers graduate programs leading to a Doctor of Philosophy degree. Only applicants who plan to earn their PhD degree at GSU will be considered for admittance; applicants without a prior Masters will earn that degree en route to the PhD. Students take a general examination in their area of specialization and complete a dissertation. Some areas require internships or practica. Students work toward becoming scholars, researchers, teachers, and depending on their program, applied practitioners as well.

The facilities of the department permit work in cognition, normal and atypical development, neuropsychology, behavioral neuroscience, learning and memory, infant behavior, sensation and perception, learning disabilities, personality, assessment, health psychology, individual psychotherapy, group therapy, family therapy, behavior therapy, social psychology, and community psychology. Students may work with both human and nonhuman populations. Nonhuman populations include several species ranging from hamsters to the great apes.

The graduate offerings are structured into programs that conform to major subdisciplinary boundaries within psychology. All applicants must apply to a primary graduate program. Applicants may also apply jointly to the Clinical and the Neuropsychology and Behavioral Neuroscience programs or the Clinical and the Community Programs. The five programs are (for further information, click on the program name):

Clinical Psychology Program
(Accredited by the American Psychological Association)
Frank Floyd, PhD, Chair and Director of Clinical Training

This program is designed to provide a broad education in clinical psychology that prepares its students for careers in research, teaching, clinical practice, or any combination of these. The program admits only those applicants who plan to earn their PhD at Georgia State University. Those clinical applicants who wish to prepare for careers combining clinical and community psychology should apply to the joint Clinical & Community Psychology Program. Those who wish to prepare for careers in clinical neuropsychology should apply to the joint Clinical & Neuropsychology and Behavioral Neuroscience Program. The faculty in the joint clinical and NBN program have a strong interest in developmental neuropsychology. For more information, please see the Research Labs page and individual faculty websites.

Community Psychology Program
Gabriel Kuperminc, PhD, Chair

This program focuses on psychological research and application in a wide range of community and organizational settings. Applicants best suited to the program are those who seek to apply psychological theory and methods to the solving of social problems or to increasing our understanding of how individuals and their communities influence one another. Those community applicants who wish to prepare for careers combining clinical and community psychology should also apply to the Clinical Psychology Program. Applicants interested in community psychology who do not have an interest in being licensed as a clinical psychologist should apply only to the Community Psychology Program.

Developmental Psychology Program
Rose Sevcik, PhD, Chair

This program is designed to provide its graduates with the conceptual, methodological, and teaching skills for careers in academic or applied developmental research positions or, as is becoming increasingly common, for an appropriate postdoctoral placement. The primary focus of the program is on understanding processes of normative development as well as aspects of atypical development. Emphasis is on research and scholarship, with the expectation that any practical applications will follow from this basic expertise.

The Joint Community and Clinical Psychology Option (CLC)
Roderick J. Watts, Ph.D., Director

This program draws together two specialty areas, Clinical and Community psychology, and therefore it requires its students to fulfill all requirements for both. It is designed for applicants whose career interests require comprehensive training in both specialties. Those whose primary interest is in becoming a licensed clinical psychologist are advised to apply to the clinical program only and supplement their training with courses from the Community area. The training competencies for community clinical psychology can be viewed here.

Neuropsychology and Behavioral Neuroscience Program (NBN)
Aras Petrulis, PhD, Chair; Tricia King, PhD, Associate Chair

This program draws together two specialty areas, Neuropsychology and Behavioral Neuroscience. Those applicants interested in training as clinical neuropsychologists should apply to the joint Clinical Psychology/NBN Program. Applicants with an applied or basic science interest who do not have an interest in being licensed as a clinical psychologist should apply only to the Neuropsychology and Behavioral Neuroscience Program. The faculty in the joint clinical and NBN program have a strong interest in developmental neuropsychology. For more information, please see the Research Labs page and individual faculty websites.

Cognitive Sciences Program (CGS)
Michael Owren, Ph.D., Chair

The Cognitives Sciences (CGS) Program blends traditional areas of cognitive and social psychology. The program deals with human and animal cognition, emotional responsivity, personality, and social thought and action. Faculty research deals broadly with processes that underlie decisions and action in real-life contexts. A principal aim of the program is to help students develop an integrative view of issues and possibilities that bridge traditional areas of psychology. Toward this end, each student must select a primary and a secondary emphasis from among the social and cognitive foci of the program. Students must state their primary and secondary interests by the end of the first year, and applicants should state tentative primary and secondary interests when applying for admission.

A disclaimer: Although we believe that the information presented here is current and accurate, it does not have official status. Students admitted to the department are governed by the requirements in effect at the time they begin their graduate coursework and are bound by the rules and regulations set forth in the Graduate Program Handbook that they receive in their first semester of study.