All students in the program are considered doctoral students because only students who plan to earn the PhD are admitted. This section of the handbook describes requirements for the PhD, including requirements for the Master of Arts and the General Examination and, for clinical students, the pre-doctoral internship, all of which are prerequisites for the PhD.

Master of Arts Degree

Master's Coursework

For the MA degree students must complete a minimum of 33 semester hours of graduate coursework, which includes

• 15 semester hours of departmental core courses
• 12 semester hours of other psychology courses
• 6 semester hours of Master's Thesis Research (Psyc 8999)

Master's Thesis and Committee

The thesis is completed under the direction of a committee consisting of a chair (the thesis advisor) and at least two additional members. The chair must be a faculty member in the Psychology Department who is a member of the Graduate Faculty. At least one of the other members must be a faculty member from the Department of Psychology. The third member may be a person who has a faculty appointment in another department at GeorgiaState University or another university or research institution. A student who wishes to have someone serve on his or her committee who does not meet these criteria may add that person as a fourth member.

When working on their theses, students enroll for at least six semester hours of Psyc 8999, Master's Thesis Research. The thesis must be defended satisfactorily in an oral examination. It is expected that the thesis will be successfully defended within 2½ years of entering the program (see Progress Guidelines later in this handbook).

It is the student's responsibility to let the Assistant to the Director or Director of Graduate Studies know when the MA committee is formed, when the committee accepts the thesis proposal, and when the thesis is successfully defended (see Updating the Student's Master Record later in this handbook).

Transfer of a Master's Degree from Another University

Students who enter Georgia State University with a master's degree from another institution may be allowed to waive the 33 semester hours required for a MA. To do so, they must ask the Director of Graduate Studies to evaluate their master's degree before the end of their first semester at GSU, providing appropriate information and documentation. Three outcomes are possible.

1. If the Director of Graduate Studies, in consultation with the Graduate Program Committee, finds that the course work and the written thesis are essentially equivalent to those required at GSU, then GSU master's requirements are waived. The student need only satisfy the hours required for the PhD.
2. If the Director of Graduate Studies, in consultation with the Graduate Program Committee, finds that the course work is essentially equivalent to that required at GSU but the master's thesis is not, then the hours required for an MA are waived except for the six thesis research hours, and the student must complete a master's thesis equivalent. The same standards apply as for a master's thesis (including registering for six hours of Psyc 8999), except that the final copy does not need to be bound or submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies, College of Arts and Sciences. Instead, one copy of the thesis equivalent must be submitted to the Director of Graduate Studies.
3. If the Director of Graduate Studies, in consultation with the Graduate Program Committee, finds that the course work and the written thesis are not essentially equivalent to those required at GSU, then the student must satisfy GSU master's requirements.

Doctoral General Examination

Students are required to take and pass a doctoral general examination stressing psychological knowledge and conceptual and integrative skills. The exam may take different forms across programs, as described below, but in each case is intended to be an independent demonstration of integration and competence.

General Examination Committee

Doctoral general examination committees comprise at least three members, at least two of whom must be faculty members in the Psychology Department. The chair of the committee must be a member of the Graduate Faculty. Committees of students who are jointly enrolled in both clinical and community or clinical and NBN programs must have representatives of both programs on their committees; at least two must be members of the clinical program. Similarly, students who elect to have a minor should have members of both major and minor programs represented on their committee.

When preparing for their general exam, students enroll for at least nine semester hours of Psyc 9980, Readings for General Examination. Before students can enroll, a chair must be named and the Assistant to the Director or Director of Graduate Studies informed.

Students may not sit for the Doctoral General Examination until the Audit for the Doctoral Exam has been completed. At least one semester before students plan to sit for their exam, they should ask the Assistant to the Director of Graduate Studies to initiate the audit. Students must have completed all departmental and program requirements before they request the audit. Exceptions for up to two program requirements may be made by the chair of the student's program, although the student will remain obligated to complete these requirements before graduation. For students in the clinical program, the two required advanced electives are also not required before sitting for the general exam.

It is expected that the general exam will be passed within five years of entering the program (see Progress Guidelines later in this handbook). According to College of Arts and Sciences Policy, a student who fails the general examination the first time may retake the examination once following a minimum interval of six months; a second failure results in a dismissal action being initiated. The exam must be passed at least one academic year prior to conferral of degree.

It is the student's responsibility to let the Assistant to the Director or Director of Graduate Studies know when the chair of the committee is named, when the audit is requested, and the outcome when the General Exam is taken (pass or failure; see Updating the Student's Master Record later in this handbook).

General Exam for Clinical Students

The doctoral examination is designed to offer students the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to analyze and synthesize what they have learned through their coursework, practicum, and research experiences in the clinical program. To prepare for the exam, students should rely upon the syllabi, readings, notes, and related materials from the courses that they have taken, as well as on their clinical and research experiences. A list of expected core competencies in the areas addressed in the exam, theory, research design, clinical applications, ethics, and diversity issues, will be made available to students to assist them in preparing for the exam. Students are expected to take the exam at the end of their third or the beginning of their fourth year after completion of their thesis and required coursework. Each student must select a chair for his or her examination from among the clinical faculty. The questions are written by the clinical faculty who function as the doctoral examination committee. The questions will be the same for all students sitting for the exam in a given semester. Typically, the exam will be offered twice during the academic year, during the 10th week of the fall and spring semesters; however, at least two students must commit to take the exam in order for the exam to be offered in a given semester. Students wishing to sit for the exam in the fall semester must inform the Director of Clinical Training in writing by the middle of preceding semester. Students are cautioned to take the required nine hours of Psychology 9880 across two or more semesters in order to not create a registration overload.

The exam is composed of written and oral elements. In the written portion students respond to one of two alternative questions in each of four domains (theory, clinical applications, research methods, and ethics). Multicultural issues will be explicitly addressed in two of the four domains. Students are allotted eight hours to complete the written portion. Clinical faculty members will grade the written exam on a scale of one to five; a score of three is passing. Students must pass three of the four domains of the written exam in order to take the oral portion of the exam. The oral portion of the exam typically occurs two to three weeks after the written exam and is administered by the student's chair and two other clinical faculty members. This examination allows the student to elaborate and remediate those questions, or parts of questions, that were not answered satisfactorily, and also may include an elaboration of answers that were satisfactory as well as an overall exploration of the breadth of the student's knowledge and ability to integrate answers. At the conclusion of the oral portion of the examination, the committee meets and determines whether or not the student has passed the examination.

General Exam for Community Students

Prior to the general examination, and during the fourth year of the student's career, the student will submit a paper entitled, "The Making of a Community Psychologist," otherwise known as the fourth year paper. This paper will allow students a chance to identify scholarly and personal influences that have contributed to their identity and self-definition as community psychologists. Rather than assessing knowledge, competency and ability to complete doctoral work, this paper is a process and product designed to help students reflect on their identities at a critical juncture in their careers, as well as a means for the faculty to better understand the students, including their past, present and future selves. On rare occasions, students may be asked to revise or clarify this statement, but it is not an examination per se.

The general examination will occur over a one week period. On the first two days, students will respond to a series of integrated questions focused around a specific issue or situation. Students will discuss theoretical, practical, political, methodological (research), and ethical aspects of the situation. The entire set of questions will be presented the first day. The ethical issues raised will be briefly listed, but not discussed in the examination. The student will be on the honor system and may not consult either written materials or colleagues during the exam.

One week later students will engage in a discussion with her or his committee regarding the written examination. Again, students should not discuss their examination with others prior to this part of the examination, nor should they consult written materials. The exception to this prohibition will be the ethics questions and issues, for which students may use any resources to prepare for a discussion during the oral portion of the exam. During the oral portion, faculty will be given the opportunity to ask for clarification and students will have the opportunity to elaborate or expand their answers to the questions. The ethics question will be given more complete attention during the oral exam. Faculty may also ask related questions regarding the student's knowledge and competencies.

The student will earn one grade (pass-fail) for the entire written and oral examination. If the student does not pass the test, he or she will be given a second opportunity to complete the entire examination. A second failure would result in a dismissal action being initiated.

General Exam for Joint Clinical and Community Students

The structure and domains of the written and oral portions of the general examination are the same as that of the general exam for clinical students (see preceding section on General Exam for Clinical Students). The joint clinical and community students are responsible for the same core competencies addressed in the clinical general exam and for a reading list in the area of Community Psychology. In addition, readings that address the integration of Clinical and Community Psychology will be provided. The student’s general exam committee is co-chaired by a faculty member from the Clinical and from the Community Psychology Programs, and two other faculty, one from each program also serve on the committee. Faculty from both programs prepare a set of questions for the jointly-enrolled students that allow them to demonstrate their competence in both fields and their understanding of the differences and the points of convergence between the two areas.

General Exam for Developmental Students

The student and general exam committee together develop and agree to a list of readings on which, in large part, the examination will be based. Once the examination is scheduled, committee members submit questions to the chair, who then, in consultation with committee members, prepares an examination. To provide choice, questions may be asked in groups, with the student required to answer only some questions from each group. The examination will cover developmental theory, methods, contemporary empirical work in a specified area, and ethics. The examination itself occurs across an eight hour period. One to two weeks after the student has completed the written examination, a two-hour oral defense of the examination is given. This examination allows the student to elaborate and remedy those questions, or parts of questions, that were not answered satisfactorily, and also may include an elaboration of answers that were satisfactory as well as an overall exploration of the breadth of the student's knowledge and ability to integrate answers. At the conclusion of the oral portion of the examination, the General Examination Committee meets and determines whether or not the student has passed.

General Exam for NBN Students

Behavioral neuroscience (Track II) students, in concert with their general exam committee, must select one of the following options for satisfying the written component of the general exam:

1. Area exam. The student will delineate a major topic area and prepare an extensive reading list which will be approved by the committee. The chair of the committee will generate an exam from a list of questions submitted by each of the members of the committee, and the student will have one day to answer those questions.
2. Area paper. The student will write a publication-quality review of the major area. This paper can be used as the introduction to the dissertation proposal, if appropriate.
3. NRSA (or other grant) application. The student will write a predoctoral grant proposal. This proposal may or may not actually be submitted to the appropriate granting agency, depending on the assessment of the committee, but it should be prepared as if it is to be submitted.

Each of the above options is followed by an oral exam scheduled by the committee. The purpose of the oral exam is to give the committee a chance to address potential shortcomings in the written component of the exam. In the case of the predoctoral grant application, the committee may generate a reading list with which the student is expected to be familiar. In all cases, the committee shall assess the depth and breadth of the student's knowledge of behavioral neuroscience and psychology as it relates to the major area.

General Exam for Joint Clinical and NBN Students

The general exam for clinical neuropsychology (Track I) students will be the standard general exam for clinical students. The relevant basic neuroscience and neuropsychology knowledge of these students will be assessed separately during the oral defense of the dissertation proposal.

General Exam for Social/Cognitive Students

The doctoral examination is designed to offer students the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to analyze and synthesize what they have learned through their coursework, directed readings, and research experiences in the social-cognitive program. To prepare for the exam, students should rely upon the syllabi, readings, notes, and related materials from the courses that they have taken, as well as on their research experiences. In addition, the examination committee may provide a more specific reading list. Students are expected to take the exam at the end of their third or the beginning of their fourth year after completion of their thesis and required coursework. The general exam committee consists of a chair and at least two other faculty members selected by the student and approved by the program faculty. Typically, the exam will be offered twice during the academic year, during the 10th week of the fall and spring semesters. Students wishing to sit for the exam must inform the Chair of the Social-Cognitive program in writing by the middle of preceding semester. Students are cautioned to take the required nine hours of Psychology 9880 across two or more semesters to avoid a registration overload.

The exam is composed of written and oral elements. In the written portion, students respond to five questions from a subset of questions across three domains--cognitive psychology, social psychology, and research and quantitative methods (including ethics). Three of the questions will come from the student’s major concentration (i.e., social or cognitive psychology), one question will come from the student’s minor concentration (i.e., social or cognitive psychology), and one will come from research and quantitative methods. Committee members will generate the questions for each exam and may focus the questions comparatively or biologically (e.g., toward comparative cognition or social neuroscience) when appropriate for a student’s interest, training, and professional goals. Students are allotted eight hours to complete the written portion. Committee members will grade the written exam on a scale of one to five; a score of three is passing. Students must pass four of the five questions of the written exam in order to take the oral portion of the exam. The oral portion of the exam typically occurs two to three weeks after the written exam and is administered by the student's chair and two other social-cognitive faculty members. This examination allows the student to elaborate and remediate those questions, or parts of questions, that were not answered satisfactorily, and also may include an elaboration of answers that were satisfactory as well as an overall exploration of the breadth of the student's knowledge and ability to integrate answers. At the conclusion of the oral portion of the examination, the committee meets and determines whether or not the student has passed the examination.

Doctor of Philosophy Degree

Doctoral Coursework

For the PhD degree students must complete a minimum of 62 semester hours of graduate coursework beyond the MA, which includes

• 33 semester hours of program requirements and electives
• 9 semester hours of Reading for the General Exam (Psyc 9980)
• 20 semester hours of Doctoral Dissertation Research (Psyc 9999)

Dissertation Committee

The dissertation is completed under the direction of a committee consisting of a chair (the dissertation advisor) and at least three additional members. The chair and at least two of the other members must be faculty members in the Psychology Department who are members of the Graduate Faculty. The fourth member may be a person who has a faculty appointment in another department at Georgia State University or another university or research institution. At least one member of the dissertation committee must be someone who has not previously served on either the student's master's thesis committee or general examination committee. A student who wishes to have someone serve on his or her committee who does not meet these criteria may add that person as a fifth committee member.

When nominating the members of the dissertation committee, the student, in consultation with his or her committee chair, will submit a Nomination of Dissertation Committee form (see Updating the Student's Master Record later in this handbook) specifying the manner in which the members will satisfy the department's intent that committees include: (a) expertise in content areas relevant to the dissertation topic, (b) expertise in methodology relevant to the research plan, and (c) a range of philosophical or theoretical orientations. The form should be accompanied with a curriculum vitae for any person not holding a regular appointment in the Department of Psychology. The Graduate Program Committee will review the composition of each dissertation committee to ensure that it complies with the requirements of those guidelines.

When working on their dissertation, students enroll for at least 20 semester hours of Psyc 9999, Doctoral Dissertation Research, 3 hours of which may be taken before the dissertation committee is approved.

Dissertation Proposal

A written dissertation proposal is required and must be formally approved by the committee meeting as a whole. Students must first pass the General Exam in order to be permitted to have a dissertation proposal meeting. The proposal often assumes the proportions of a major paper and details the rationale, methods, and procedures for the proposed work.

Dissertation and Defense

Each dissertation committee will insure that the dissertation, in whole or in part, be presented in publishable form. Two formats are endorsed by the department (see Departmental Dissertation Guidelines) but typically dissertations contain a review of the literature in a format that is endorsed by the dissertation committee. In addition dissertations must follow all guidelines specified by the College of Arts and Sciences (see College of Arts and Sciences Dissertation Guidelines).

The student’s oral defense of their dissertation is scheduled by the Assistant to the Director of Graduate Studies. Dates and times for dissertation defenses are designated the semester before the defense is to occur and students are asked to indicate their choices of the available dates and times; this must be done no later than the first week of the semester involved. A schedule of a semester’s dissertation defenses is posted early each semester.

The dissertation oral defense is open to all faculty, students, and other interested individuals. The defense begins with a formal presentation of the dissertation. After members of the dissertation committee have asked their questions, questions are sought from members of the audience. At the close of the orals, the committee will confer in private to consider approval of the dissertation and its defense.

It is the student's responsibility to let the Assistant to the Director or Director of Graduate Studies know when the PhD committee is formed, when the committee accepts the dissertation proposal, and when the dissertation is successfully defended (see Updating the Student's Master Record later in this handbook).

Thesis and Dissertation Guidelines

General Guidelines for Theses and Dissertations

The College of Arts and Sciences Office of Graduate Studies requires that each student assume full responsibility for the correctness in content and form of the thesis or dissertation (see College of Arts and Sciences Dissertation Guidelines). These guidelines specify standards with respect to composition, typography, and certain Graduate Board policies and requirements. For form and style, students are also required to follow the current edition of the APA Publication Manual.

Currently, the department accepts two different styles of dissertations (see Departmental Dissertation Guidelines). Theses and dissertations of previous graduate students are available in the university library for study and present good models of acceptable work as well as the standards of the department, the university, and the profession.

To complete the process, five copies of dissertations and theses are provided the College of Arts and Sciences Office of Graduate Studies. These copies must meet all Office of Graduate Studies requirements in all respects (format, type of paper, etc.). Students should also inform themselves as to the dates by which acceptable copies must be provided in order to graduate a given semester.

Policy on the Use of Consultants for Dissertations and Theses

Doctoral dissertations must be the product of the student to whom the degree is awarded. A doctoral committee's approval of a student's dissertation is not only an approval of the manuscript and of the research described in it but also a certification that the student is qualified to conduct research in the areas examined. Basic to that certification is the knowledge that the student was primarily responsible for designing the study, analyzing the data, and discussing the results, with minor help from his or her advisor, committee members, and others.

Hiring someone to conceptualize, design, analyze, or write up a dissertation or thesis undermines the purpose of a dissertation and is inconsistent with the mission of a research university. With regard to the use of consultants, no student is allowed to obtain help with the design and analysis of his or her thesis or dissertation without prior approval from his/her committee. Paid assistance for any aspect of the preparation of the thesis or dissertation (e.g., data collection or editing) should be agreed upon in advance in writing by the student's committee. Violation of this policy may result in the student's dismissal from the department and revocation of the degree, if already received. The student's committee should ensure that the student is capable of conducting the research and carrying out the analyses described in the research proposal. At the very least, this will mean that the student has taken the necessary coursework or obtained adequate training to carry out the research appropriately.

Publication of Theses and Dissertations

Theses and dissertations are expected to provide important contributions to knowledge, which is one of the purposes of a PhD program. The department affirms the importance of submitting these contributions to peer evaluation for possible sharing with the scholarly community at large. To this end students are strongly encouraged to submit papers based upon thesis and dissertation research to scholarly journals for possible publication.

Students should collaborate with their committee chairs to submit their work for publication. If a student does not make the effort to publish and if the committee chair has a strong investment in the research effort and its findings, the chair may prepare articles based on the research. Students and faculty should be mindful of APA guidelines pertaining to authorship and other credits as prescribed in the APA Publication Manual.