Curriculum
All students complete a core set of courses and seminars that reflect the shared content and methodology of the PIB field. Included in this core are courses in quantitative methods, research methodology, and psychological assessment that provide students with the foundation they will need to undertake psychological research. In addition, students, in consultation with their graduate advisor, pick one of three academic tracks and design an individualized course of instruction. Students selecting the Personality track receive training in the assessment, nature and real-world consequences of individual differences in personality. Students selecting the Individual Differences track receive broad training in the major domains of individual differences psychology including cognitive ability and personality. And, students selecting the Behavioral Genetic track receive training in molecular and quantitative genetics in addition to their training in psychology.
Students are required to be actively engaged in research throughout their graduate careers. Student research is undertaken in collaboration with the graduate advisor and increasingly reflects students' interests and long-term career goals as they progress through the program. In their first year, all students complete a research project that typically results in a presentation at a professional conference and a submission of a manuscript for publication. In their second year, students undertake a second research project that typically serves as a Masters' thesis. By their third year, students begin to develop a program of research that will serve as the basis of their doctoral dissertation. Throughout their time in the program, students are encouraged to collaborate with students and faculty in related areas including Clinical, Social, Industrial/Organizational, Counseling, and Quantitative Psychology.