TCU College of Science & Engineering | Department of Psychology

Programs

Graduate Program Program in Psychology (undergraduate) Program in Neuroscience (undergraduate) Minor in Psychology of Leadership Course and Calendar Information (via TCU Registrar)

Research

Attitudes Research Laboratory Behavioral Neuroscience Center for Applied Psychology Institute of Behavioral Research Institute of Child Development Perceptual Dynamics Laboratory

About Our Department

Psychology Home Departmental Calendar Faculty/Staff Class Syllabi Contact Us

The TCU Psychology Department awards the Ph.D. degree in general experimental psychology. Formal academic preparation for admittance into the program should cover a broad spectrum of experimental psychology content areas and quantitative methods.

Because the Ph.D. is a research degree, the primary goal of the graduate program is to provide students with competence in psychological research. The department offers excellent research facilities and support; graduate students are expected to develop expertise in a major research area during their tenure in the graduate program, to work in close partnership with graduate faculty in empirical research, and to contribute to publications and paper presentations.

A second goal of the graduate program is to provide students with the tools and experience necessary for teaching in an academic setting; therefore, the department provides graduate students with ample opportunities to lecture and/or lead discussion in undergraduate classes. Additionally, some advanced graduate students may be given sole responsibility for teaching undergraduate courses.

The 1995 National Research Council survey of doctoral departments in psychology reported that the research productivity of the TCU Department of Psychology was at the 80th percentile of doctoral departments in psychology nationally, and that the TCU Department of Psychology published more research per faculty member than any other university in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

The areas of research specialization and the associated graduate faculty are:

Cognition David R. Cross Donald F. Dansereau Timothy L. Hubbard* D. Dwayne Simpson	Learning Mauricio R. Papini* Anna Ingeborg Pétursdóttir	Applied Quantitative Charles F. Bond, Jr.* David R. Cross Donald F. Dansereau Patrick M. Flynn Charles G. Lord D. Dwayne Simpson	Behavioral Neuroscience Timothy M. Barth Gary W. Boehm Brenton G. Cooper Timothy L. Hubbard Mauricio R. Papini Anna Ingeborg Pétursdóttir
Physiological Psychology Timothy M. Barth* Gary W. Boehm Brenton G. Cooper	Social Psychology Charles F. Bond, Jr. Charles G. Lord* Christie Napa Scollon Patrick M. Flynn

* indicates the chair of that area committee

The first students to receive the Ph.D. degree in psychology from TCU graduated in 1963, and since then, a total of 233 students have received the Ph.D. in psychology.

In surveys conducted in 1983 and 1997, graduates of the doctoral program in psychology at TCU were employed as follows:

1983-1997
- 70% in academic positions
- 12% in government positions
- 12% in private industry or business
- 6% self-employed consultants
1963-1982
- 60% in academic positions
- 20% in government positions
- 5% in private industry or business
- 15% self employed consultants

Graduates of the doctoral program in psychology at TCU have received numerous awards and honors, for example:

Don Walker (TCU Ph.D., 1968) Professor, University of Florida: The 1983 VA Research Career Scientist Award
Otto Zinser (TCU Ph.D., 1970) Professor, East Tennessee State University: The 1991 Psi Chi/Florence Denmark National Faculty Advisor Award
Ludy Benjamin (TCU Ph.D., 1971) Professor, Texas A&M University: The 1986 American Psychological Foundation Distinguished Teaching Award
Stephen F. Davis (TCU, Ph.D., 1972) Professor, Emporia State University: The first Psi Chi/Florence Denmark National Faculty Advisor Award, The 1986 American Psychological Foundation Distinguished Teaching Award
J. Arthur Woodward (TCU Ph.D., 1973) Professor, UCLA: The 1976 American Psychological Association Early Careers Award
Michael Robinson (TCU Ph.D., 1991): The 1996 Psi Chi/Florence Denmark National Faculty Advisor Award

All students who wish to apply for Full Time Graduate Studies in Psychology at TCU need to complete the following forms:

An application fee of $50 (paid by personal check drawn on a US bank, money order, or cashier's check and made out to TCU) must accompany all applications for Graduate Study at TCU.

NOTE: Applicants should contact Dr. Charles Lord (c.lord@tcu.edu) BEFORE submitting any application materials, because Dr. Lord can waive the $50 application fee for applicants with promising credentials, but only if they contact him prior to submitting their application materials.

Additionally, students who wish to apply for Full Time Graduate Studies in Psychology at TCU but who are not citizens of the United States of America need to complete the following form:

International Graduate Student Application Supplement

NOTE: All of the above application forms are in pdf format. In order to download them, you will need a pdf reader. A free pdf reader, Adobe Acrobat Reader, is available for download by clicking on the icon below:

If you would have a question or would like additional information, please click here to send an electronic mail message.