Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology

Psychology as a scientific discipline aims to describe, understand, and predict the behavior of living organisms. In doing so, psychology embraces the many factors that influence behaviorfrom sensory experience to complex cognition, from the role of genetics to that of social and cultural environments, from the processes that explain behavior in early childhood to those that operate in older ages, and from typical development to pathological conditions. The Department of Psychology at Berkeley reflects the diversity of our discipline's mission covering six key areas of research: Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience, Clinical Science, Cognition, Cognitive Neuroscience, Developmental, and Social-Personality Psychology. Our program learning goals focus on honing methodological, statistical and critical thinking skills relevant to all areas of Psychology research, enabling students with sufficient breadth to retain perspective in the field of psychology and sufficient depth to permit successful independent and significant research.

The following minimum requirements apply to all graduate programs and will be verified by the Graduate Division:
A bachelor's degree or recognized equivalent from an accredited institution,
A grade point average of B or better (3.0),
If the applicant comes from a country or political entity (e.g., Quebec) where English is not the official language, adequate proficiency in English to do graduate work, as evidenced by a TOEFL score of at least 90 on the iBT test, 570 on the paper-and-pencil test, or an IELTS Band score of at least 7 on a 9-point scale (note that individual programs may set higher levels for any of these), and
Sufficient undergraduate training to do graduate work in the given field. Transcripts: Applicants may upload unofficial transcripts with your application for the departmental initial review. If the applicant is admitted, then official transcripts of all college-level work will be required. Letters of recommendation: Applicants may request online letters of recommendation through the online application system. Hard copies of recommendation letters must be sent directly to the program, not the Graduate Division. The Department of Psychology invites applications from students who are primarily interested in research. Applicants for the Psychology PhD are required to specify the area to which they wish to apply: Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience, Clinical Science, Cognition, Cognitive Neuroscience, Developmental, and Social-Personality. Applicants are required to name at least one faculty member with whom they wish to work. Applicants must hold a bachelor's degree or its equivalent from an institution of acceptable standing, and may hold a master in psychology or another field. Previous concentration in psychology is not required. The department does not have an application for a terminal master's degree: PhD only.