Location: Life Sciences Building, Room 313,
501 S. Nedderman Dr., Arlington, TX 76019
Mailing address: P.O. Box 19528
Phone: 817-272-2281
Fax: 817-272-2364
Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology
The UTA Department of Psychology provides exceptional opportunities to qualified students who are seeking careers in psychology. Our Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology program is a mentor-based experimental research program with concentrations in Psychological Sciences and Health/Neuroscience. Please be advised that we do not offer graduate-level courses or degrees in clinical or counseling psychology.
As a graduate student in our department, you will receive broad training in experimental psychology and will be able to do specialized research in your area of interest in psychological sciences or health/neuroscience as you are matched with a faculty mentor prior to admission. The program has a strong scientific/experimental emphasis in traditional areas of psychology including cognitive, developmental, evolutionary, human learning and memory, neural network modeling, neuroscience, personality, quantitative, industrial/organizational, and social. Graduate students seeking a Ph.D. degree can specialize in the following research areas of our faculty.
Psychological Sciences
- Cognitive Areas (Neural-Net Modeling and Decision Making, Cognitive Neuroscience of Human Memory)
- Social/Personality Areas (Group Processes, Personality, and Social Interaction, Personality and Social Behavior Research Center, Intergroup Relations)
- Industrial/Organizational Areas (Group Creativity and Team Innovation)
- Developmental Areas (Personality and Social Behavior Research Center)
Health/Neuroscience
- Behavioral Neuroscience and Neurophysiology Laboratory
- Animal Behavior / Animal Learning
- Evolutionary Psychology
Our faculty and their graduate students regularly publish in well-known journals (i.e., Perception and Psychophysics, Journal of Neuroscience, Brain Research, Animal Behavior, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Cognition, and others). A large number of our graduate students have had their research published while still in our graduate program. The National Research Council recently ranked the UTA Department of Psychology as the best in North Texas.
Career Opportunities
Many career opportunities exist for experimental and health psychologists. Our students have been successful in obtaining jobs in academia, industry, health facilities, and government. Please visit our LinkedIn page for more details on the diverse career paths of our current and former students.
Master's in Passing
Students who are applying to the Ph.D. program without having earned a master's degree can apply as a degree-bound student and earn a master's in passing as a required milestone while working toward their Ph.D. This will include foundational and core courses from our degree plan as well as 6 hours of the thesis to earn the M.S. and 3 hours of research. Students working towards the Ph.D. are also required to take 12 hours of approved electives, 12 hours of additional research and readings, at least 6 hours of advanced research, and 9 total hours of a dissertation as they complete the appropriate milestones to earn the Ph.D.
Milestones
For more details, a copy of our Milestone Thesis and Dissertation Sheet and the most updated version of the Psychology Graduate Student Handbook can be found here: Graduate Resources - Department of Psychology - The University of Texas at Arlington (uta.edu)
Ph.D. Degree Plan
Graduate students entering the Psychological Sciences or Health/Neuroscience programs are required to complete a minimum of 66 hours to earn their doctoral degree plus at least 12 hours or more of research/readings courses as recommended by the faculty program advisor. Current versions of our PHD degree plan and our Psychology Graduate Student Handbook can be found here: Graduate Resources - Department of Psychology - The University of Texas at Arlington (uta.edu)