Jorge Mendoza, Chair
Lynn Devenport, Graduate Liaison
705 Dale Hall Tower
Norman, OK 73019-2007
Phone: (405) 325-4511
FAX: (405) 325-4737
Internet: http://www.ou.edu/cas/psychology/
Professors Devenport, Gilliland, Gronlund, Mendoza, Mergler, Mumford, Rodgers, Toothaker; Associate Professors Brown, Showers, R. Terry; Assistant Professors Connelly, Cox-Fuenzalida, Day, Hahn, Judice-Campbell, Kismore, Mayeux, Snyder, Steinheider, Thomas.
Information on both undergraduate and graduate programs is included. However, the general information contained in this section mainly covers undergraduate study. For additional information on graduate programs, individual documents detailing each graduate program are available from the Graduate College and their Web site at http://gradweb.ou.edu/. This information is updated yearly and should be referred to for graduate program requirements.
The Department of Psychology was founded in 1928. The primary emphasis of the department is on scientific psychology. At the present time, the department is focused on the areas of cognitive, social/personality, quantitative psychology, animal behavior, developmental, and industrial/organizational psychology.
The teaching mission of the undergraduate psychology program is:
The teaching mission at the graduate level is:
The department provides research training by means of a curriculum that requires graduate students to be involved in research beginning with their first enrollment and continuing every semester thereafter.
The laboratory and teaching facilities of the Department of Psychology are housed primarily in a social science complex of buildings. In this complex, modern research laboratories exist for animal behavior, industrial, developmental cognitive processes, experimental personality, social psychology, and quantitative analysis and measurement. Additional facilities are available for research in animal behavior in conjunction with the Department of Zoology.
The Department of Psychology possesses excellent computing facilities and state-of-the-art electronic instruments for psychological research. The department maintains its own server with local area network capability within the larger university computing network and a wireless network. Our Data Analysis Center is equipped with modern PCs providing a wide range of current application packages for manuscript and presentation preparation, data analysis, instructional support, and Internet access. Laboratories are equipped with over 200 PCs, many networked internally and/or externally.
At the undergraduate level, the department offers scholarships of $350 annually. The TOPS-General Psychology and TOPS-Quantitative Psychology scholarships have a December 1 application deadline for the following year. Students with at least junior standing and a superior record in coursework are encouraged to apply through the department. Outstanding students with a career interest in psychology are strongly encouraged to join the Psi Chi National Honor Society and/or to become student members of one or more of the state, regional and national psychological associations.
At the graduate level, the department has been able to provide financial support to most of those students wishing to be supported in recent years. Summer support is available on a competitive basis. The Charles Gettys award is presented annually for outstanding research by a graduate student in the department.
Students considering a major in psychology should contact the academic adviser in the Department of Psychology.
The Department of Psychology offers two degrees at the undergraduate level, the B.A. and the B.S. in Psychology. The B.A. degree requires a minimum of 34 hours (minimum 22 upper division) in psychological science, and the B.S. in Psychology degree requires 48 hours (minimum 36 upper division) of psychology. Both degrees also require specific courses from other departments. The program of study in psychology that culminates in a Bachelor of Arts degree provides the student with experiences necessary to pursue post-baccalaureate education in psychology and related areas, with the training helpful in securing employment immediately following completion of the undergraduate degree, and with the broad education essential to the formation of an enlightened thoughtful citizenry. The B.A. degree in psychology thus provides the background necessary to continue education in graduate school, to seek employment after graduation, or to become a well-rounded, informed individual. The B.S. in Psychology is designed to provide additional training and experience in research to those students who have demonstrated mastery of the basic scientific concepts and methodology.
Students with strong academic records anticipating careers in psychology or closely related fields are advised to participate in the enriching experience of conducting psychological research under the supervision of a faculty member under course numbers such as 3980, 3990 and 4990. Students planning graduate study should, by their junior year, closely study the annual publication of the American Psychological Association entitled Graduate Study in Psychology, which is available in the department or for purchase at the University Bookstores. This publication describes all psychology graduate programs at universities in the United States and Canada. A publication on career options is also available through the department.
Students pursuing the bachelor’s degree as a terminal degree are encouraged to seek academic counseling on an intensive level with a faculty adviser, and to consult closely with the University’s job placement service.
The faculty of the Department of Psychology believes that undergraduate training in psychology is best accomplished by giving the student an appreciation of the foundations of psychology as a life science and to allow the student to build on this foundation when the student has formulated his or her personal and professional aspirations. Thus, the curriculum leading to a B.A. comprises required courses within the psychological sciences, required courses within the other sciences, electives in psychology and free electives. The electives should be chosen in consultation with an academic adviser.
A. Three courses (10 hours): PSY 1113, 2113, 3114.
B. Two courses (six hours) from: PSY 2213, 2403, 2603, 3703.
C. Three courses (nine hours) from: PSY 3003 or 4023, 3083, 3203, 3303, 3803, 4453, 4753, 4923.
D. Two courses (6 hours) of upper-division psychology electives.
E. One Senior Capstone Course (three hours) from: PSY 4113, 4143, 4153.
Major Support Requirements
The specific courses selected to fulfill the major program requirements, both in psychology and in other disciplines, must be approved by a faculty adviser and the department. Students interested in the Bachelor of Science degree program should, therefore, consult the department for an application for admission to the program and for advice on course selection and planning the degree program.
A student who fails to maintain the required 3.00 grade point average and/or fails to satisfy the other Bachelor of Science in Psychology degree requirements will receive the Bachelor of Arts degree pending satisfactory completion of its requirements.
A. Four courses (13 hours): PSY 1113, 2113, 3114, 4913.
B. Two courses (six hours) from: PSY 2403, 2603, 3703.
C. Four courses (12 hours) from: PSY 2213 or 3203, 3003 or 4023, 3083, 3303, 3803, 4453, 4753, 4923.
D. Three courses (9 hours) of upper-division psychology electives.
E. Five hours of supervised Independent Study.
F. One Senior Capstone Course (three hours) from: PSY 4113, 4143, 4153.
Major Support Requirements
Students seeking a minor in psychology are required to complete 18 credit hours, nine of which must be lower-division and nine upper-division. Psychology 1113 is required and the remaining six lower-division hours are electives. All upper-level courses are eligible for completing the upper-division hour requirement, except those involving independent instruction or variable credit. Prerequisites for courses taken by minors are the same as those required of majors, except that similar courses taken in another department may be substituted for the listed psychology course prerequisite if approved by the instructor.
The department has many areas of specialization including cognitive psychology, industrial/organizational, animal behavior, developmental, social-personality, and quantitative psychology. The department also offers a master’s degree in organizational dynamics at the OU-Tulsa campus. Those interested in that degree should consult our Web page under Tulsa campus degree programs.
The programs of training in the department are designed to produce experimental psychologists who are capable of assuming positions in academics, industry, and government. In a rigorous but cooperative and congenial atmosphere, high-quality research psychologists are trained to contribute to the body of knowledge of scientific psychology, as well as to disseminate and apply psychological knowledge.
In order to be considered for admission to the psychology graduate program, one must:
1. Have a minimum undergraduate grade point average of 3.00;
2. Present scores from the GRE verbal and quantitative tests;
3. Submit transcripts;
4. Submit evidence of research experience;
5. Complete a departmental application including: (a) departmental application form; (b) three letters of recommendation; and (c) a personal statement.
Applicants who not only present strong academic credentials but also show evidence of substantial involvement in research as undergraduates are especially sought. Ethnic minority students are especially desired, within a philosophy that their graduate training will prepare them for careers which may significantly impact upon other minority and majority members and hence contribute in highly effective ways toward the long-term resolution of societal problems.
In addition to meeting the general requirements of the Graduate College, the student should have the following undergraduate psychology classes:
1. Introductory statistics;
2. Experimental methods;
3. An adequate sampling of courses from physiological psychology, cognition, learning, social-personality, animal behavior and developmental.
Students with deficiencies in any of these areas may be required by the Admissions Committee to take remedial coursework, (psychology courses numbered 3000–4000 which do not count for graduate credit).
Information about the doctoral program, graduate assistantships, and/or admission procedures may be obtained by writing the chair of the Graduate Admissions Committee for the department.
The Department of Psychology offers an innovative Master of Arts degree program in Organizational Dynamics at the Schusterman Center at OU-Tulsa. The program emphasizes research combined with practical application. After completing core courses, students specialize in one of three general tracks: Human Resource Management, Project Management, or Knowledge Management. The admission requirements and participation requirements for this program are different from other graduate degree programs in psychology. Students interested in this program should consult with faculty members at OU-Tulsa.
The M.S. degree is conferred as: a) a mark of progress toward the Ph.D., or b) as a terminal degree. In the former case, it is earned after a student has completed 30 hours of coursework (including 5003, 5013, and 6073), a master’s thesis, and a final oral defense of the thesis. In the case of the terminal M.S., the student may earn the degree after satisfying the same requirements as above; or, the student may, with departmental approval, earn a nonthesis M.S. by completing 32 hours of coursework (including 5003, 5013, and 6073), and passing written and oral comprehensive examinations.
In order to complete the Ph.D. in psychology a student must meet all graduate college requirements and (in approximate chronological order):
1. Complete the department’s prescribed first year including a first-year research project, and 5901 and 5911;
2. Choose a major professor;
3. Complete a three-semester statistics sequence;
4. Participate in an advisory conference in order to plan the coursework;
5. Complete a master’s thesis and oral defense;
6. Complete the General Examination;
7. Complete at least 90 hours of coursework beyond the bachelor’s degree;
8. Complete a doctoral dissertation and final oral examination.
A continuing involvement in directed or independent research is expected to be a part of the student’s program of doctoral study. The department has no foreign language requirements, but a student’s Advisory Committee may recommend the development of competence in other areas of study (e.g., computer science, industrial engineering, mathematics, philosophy of science, history of science, physiology) of potential benefit to the student’s particular professional development and interests.
As a vital part of the graduate training program in psychology, all graduate students are required to be engaged in a training assignment each term. These assignments vary according to the needs and professional aspirations of the student. They are designed to supplement the more formal coursework by a variety of pre-professional activities such as assisting in research, teaching, etc., under faculty supervision. The training assignment increases in responsibility as the student progresses. The amount of time required of the student varies from 10–20 hours per week, depending upon level of progress, the type of assignment, etc. The purpose of these assignments is to train the student in some of the types of activities that the student will ultimately be engaged in after the degree is received.
A student’s progress toward the Ph.D. degree is evaluated annually. Additionally, first-year students are evaluated after the first semester. The purpose of these evaluations is to provide feedback to the student and to assess the student’s proficiency based on academic coursework, progress in research, and potential for significant contributions to the profession.