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 Successful
applicants are notified in writing of their offer
of admission to the department as well as to a specialty
area of psychology by April 15. At this time, students
will be assigned a faculty advisor. Students should
plan to meet with their advisor at registration and
periodically thereafter, as necessary. It
is not until this time that applications will be reviewed
for possible credit transfer and/or thesis acceptance.
This department offers training in the following
primary specialty areas: Biological Psychology, Clinical
Psychology, Cognitive and Developmental Psychology,
Industrial/Organizational Psychology, & School
Psychology. By mutual agreement between the student,
the major professor and the department, it is also
possible to arrange study in a subspecialty area not
readily subsumed under the five major ones listed.
In the unusual case that you desire specialty training
in an area other than the one to which your original
application was made, you must submit all credentials
for consideration in competition with all new applicants
to that graduate program. Please note that
transfers from any other area into the clinical area
are actively discouraged and highly unlikely to occur.
All students, regardless of specialty area, will
begin their education with coursework in general areas
of psychology. Students must demonstrate proficiency
in the core areas of psychology and statistics &
methodology by passing the core courses and 2 statistics/methods
courses. The Qualifying Core Courses* are: Biological
Basis of Behavior (7034), Cognitive Basis
of Behavior (7030), Social Basis of Behavior
(7040), History of Modern Psychology
(4008), and two of the four following statistics and
methodology courses: Intermediate Statistics
(4111), Measurement of Behavior (7020), Advanced
Statistics (7111), and Methodology and Research
Design (7117).
*Additional basic coursework information and requirements
are available with each specialty area’s program
descriptions.
These courses must be completed with a grade of “A”
or “B.” Each course is generally offered
once a year and each student will be required to complete
this core of courses by the end of their second year.
Students with particularly strong background in one
or more of the four core areas, can take the final
exam in any course and will be considered to have
satisfied the core requirements if they earn a grade
of “A” or “B” on this exam.
A letter stating the exam grade must be presented
for inclusion in the student’s file, as evidence
of satisfying this requirement. Whether or not the
core course or examination option is exercised, the
qualifying process must be completed in two years.
Students who do not complete the Qualifying Core Courses
in the first two years will be dismissed from the
program. One and only one Qualifying Core Course may
be re-attempted with in the two year time period to
remain in the program.
After completing the required Qualifying Core Courses,
students may begin the coursework for their specialty
area to which they were admitted. Seminar and practicum
classes are stressed at this level to provide you
with experience that will strengthen both specialty
area and research skills. During this and subsequent
years, you may wish to expand your educational background
by completing work in a related minor field. At some
point, you will normally gain teaching or research
experience as a teaching assistant or laboratory assistant.
In addition, you must complete both a master's-level
thesis and depending on the area, a second independent
investigation (“intermediate project”)
before beginning work on a doctoral dissertation.
It is your responsibility, in consultation with your
major professor, to make certain all requirements
of the department and the Graduate School are fulfilled.
The departmental secretary in charge of graduate student
records maintains a file for each graduate student.
Summary of
Degree Requirements
• Course Work
Each student is provided with a wide variety of courses
from which to choose in devising a program of study.
A minimum of 72 semester hours of course work are
required for the Doctor of Philosophy degree. The
department has a policy of continuous registration.
It is required that all students enroll for a minimum
of three credit hours each regular semester while
in the program. Prior to completing the General Examination
and Program of Study, each student must register full
time in every fall and spring semesters (9 credit
hours).
• Master’s Thesis
A master's thesis, or its equivalent, of publishable
quality under the direction of a major professor,
is required. A student obtaining a Master of Arts
degree must fulfill Graduate School requirements,
including writing a thesis and passing an oral final
examination. The committee will consist of three committee
members (the major professor, another professor in
their specialty area and another professor pertinent
to the project). A major professor for a master's
degree need not be the same as the major professor
for the doctorate. If you choose not to formally be
awarded the Master's degree, an equivalent research
project with oral defense is still required.
Students may petition for acceptance of a thesis awarded
at another school as fulfilling LSU requirements.
This petition may or may not be granted, depending
upon the topic and merit of the research.
• Intermediate Project
An intermediate or middle research project (under
the direction of a faculty research supervisor who
may or may not be the major professor) is required
for the Cognitive/Developmental and Industrial/Organizational
areas. This research can be performed any time after
the Master’s degree is earned and is must completed
before the General Exam. Degree credit for this research
can be obtained by signing up for courses in independent
or project research in the appropriate areas. This
research may be part of a joint project or entirely
independent.
• Minor
The student may choose a minor in a related field—usually
comprising 9 to 15 hours. Intradepartmental, as well
as interdepartmental, minors are acceptable, consistent
with the student's training objectives. Thus, a student
in the cognitive area could choose a minor in the
industrial/organizational area, and so forth. A minor
in the clinical area is not available.
• General Examination
This examination is a major written and oral examination,
which emphasizes the place that area occupies in the
broad science of psychology. All students must pass
this examination before formally presenting a doctoral
dissertation research prospectus. The General Exam
is typically the most rigorous examination in the
program. This examination will be assessed by a committee
consisting of a minimum of four members agreed upon
by the department (at least two of these must be in
the student’s major area and one will be the
minor professor, if applicable) and a 5th member,
appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School (Dean’s
Rep). An examination of the minor subject must be
completed at the same time as the General Area Examination
when a minor is part of a student's degree program.
All five committee members will attend and participate
in the oral examination. Students may have no more
than two attempts at passing their general exam. A
second failure will result in immediate dismissal
from the program.
• Doctoral Dissertation
After passing the General Examination, each student
should present a dissertation prospectus to his or
her doctoral committee headed by his or her major
professor. The committee is typically similar to the
General Exam committee, including a minimum of four
members (including the minor professor, if applicable)
and the previously appointed Dean’s Rep. At
this presentation, the committee need not limit itself
to questions on the prospectus. After the advisory
committee has approved the prospectus, students may
begin the proposed dissertation research. Once the
research has been completed, the student will defend
the research in an oral examination by the student's
doctoral committee, which is concerned primarily with
the dissertation and related topics. In the event
that a student fails the final exam, she/he will be
dismissed from the program. Only at the discretion
of the student’s committee may a single, additional
attempt be made.
Completion
of Degrees
Time to Complete the Master's Degree:
All graduate students obtaining a M.A, are required
to have a formal master's thesis prospectus meeting
by the tenth class day of their fourth semester in
the program and to have successfully passed a master's
degree prospectus meeting by April 1 of their fourth
semester (or November 1 if their fourth semester is
in the fall). Failure to hold a prospectus meeting
by the deadline will result in the removal of funding
for at least one semester.
Graduate students are required to complete the master's
thesis (defined as submitting signed examination cards
to the Graduate School) by the last day of final examinations
of the fifth semester. Failure to do so will result
in loss of financial support for at least one semester.
In addition, the student may be terminated from the
doctoral program at the program area faculty's discretion.
Time to Complete the Ph.D. Degree:
It is possible for students who have a B.A. or B.S.
degree to proceed to the Ph.D. degree in four years
(five for clinical & school students, counting
the internship requirement). The maximum time allowed
from entrance to the completion of the Ph.D. is seven
years. Failure to complete the Ph.D. program within
the seven-year period will result in termination from
the program. A statement of “satisfactory progress”
showing expectations at each level of study is provided
below.
Timely Progress
Calendar for students entering with a B.A.
or B.S. degree
First Year: Work on Qualifying Core
Courses and begin master's thesis
Second Year: Submit master's prospectus
(3rd semester in program); complete Qualifying Core
Courses1and complete master’s thesis (4th semester
in program).
Third Year: Take specialty courses,
intermediate project (if applicable), and take the
General Examination (6th semester in program)
Fourth Year: Submit the dissertation
prospectus, complete the dissertation (one year after
generals), and receive the Ph.D.(2) for non-clinical
& non-school students).
Fifth Year (for clinical and school
students): Complete the internship and receive the
Ph.D.(2)
Calendar for students entering with an M.A. or M.S.
degree
(with thesis approved by the LSU Psychology Department)
First Year: Work on Qualifying Core
Courses and begin the intermediate project (if applicable).
Second Year: Take specialty courses,
complete Qualifying Core Courses,(1) complete the
intermediate research project, if applicable.
Third Year: Take the General Examination
at the beginning of the year, submit the dissertation
prospectus, complete the dissertation and receive
the Ph.D. 2 (for non-clinical students).
Fourth Year (for clinical and school
students:) Complete dissertation & internship
and receive the Ph.D.(2)
Note: A student must complete the Ph.D. within
7 years after admission.
(1)Upon completion of the Qualifying Core Courses,
the Program of Study must be submitted to the Graduate
School. This document will start the clock for the
residence requirement of one academic year of full-time
registration (see also the LSU General Catalog).
(2)The Ph.D. must be received within four years of
the General Examination. One year must elapse from
passing the General Examination to defending the dissertation.
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