Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology - Social and Cognitive (Cognitive Track)

The Cognitive Psychology Ph.D. is designed for students who have interests in human information processing and cognition, such as perception, attention, and memory. We encourage applications from students whose research interests align with or complement those of current faculty and students. Cognitive topics include: visual attention, perception, and oculomotor behavior (Dodd), development of spatial cognition and memory (Schutte), autobiographical memory, eyewitness memory, and errors of memory (Belli, Bornstein, Dodd), interactions between perception and reflection (Johnson), cognitive and evolutionary perspectives in decision making (Stevens), individual differences in cognition (Belli, Dodd), cognitive neuroscience (Dodd, Johnson) cognitive aspects of survey responses (Belli), suggestibility and neuroimaging (Belli), legal and medical decision making (Bornstein, Wiener), development of cognition across the lifespan (Bornstein, Schutte), and applications of cognitive psychology to teaching (Garbin). Other psychology faculty members whose interests include aspects of cognition are Scott Stoltenberg (Neuroscience and Behavior), William Spaulding (Clinical Psychology), and John Flowers (Professor Emeritus, Cognitive Psychology).

One set of transcripts.
If International: upload copies of all college- or university-level transcripts or mark sheets (records of courses and marks earned), with certicates, diplomas, and degrees plus certied English translations.* Official documents are required from all students who are admitted and enroll. Photocopies of certied records are not acceptable. International students enrolled in other U.S. institutions may have certied copies of all foreign records sent directly to the Office of Graduate Studies by their current school's registrar office. Previous research and clinical involvement (clinical only)
Three recommendation letters
Personal Statement: Your personal statement should address the following questions:
What are your interests in Psychology (or Psych and Law, if applicable)?
What are your long-range career goals? In other words, what kind of work do you hope to be doing in 10 to 15 years?
What are your research interests? What research experiences have you had? Be sure to indicate any faculty in the psychology department with whom you share research interests and with whom you would be interested in working.
Are there internships, jobs, practicum, or other experiences relevant to your application?
Are there any other unique factors that we should consider in evaluating your application?
Faculty: Identify at least one (max 3) faculty members in this department with whom you would like to work. English Proficiency: Applicants to the Office of Graduate Studies whose native language is not English are required to submit a Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score of at least 550 on the paper-based TOEFL, 79 on the Internet-based TOEFL or an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) overall band score of at least 6.5.