2013–2014 The Bulletin - USS at Tufts - Tufts University

Psychology >
Quantitative Economics >
GRADUATE ProgrAM
The Department of Psychology offers both a
master’s degree and a doctor of philosophy degree in
general experimental psychology. To be considered
for graduate work in psychology, a student must
have a bachelor of arts or bachelor of science degree
from an accredited college or university. Most
students will have majored in psychology, but this
is not a requirement. The student must, however,
have had at least a one-semester course in statistics
and at least six semester hours of experimental
psychology or comparable research experience.
Students having a master’s degree in psychology
may apply for the doctoral program directly if their
master’s degree included an empirical thesis.
Graduate students are expected to develop
overall breadth in psychology, as well as an emphasis
in a specialty area. Emphasis areas within the
department include cognitive psychology; experimental
psychopathology; physiological psychology
and psychopharmacology; social psychology; and
cognitive, social, and affective neuroscience.
Considerable emphasis is placed on the student’s
ability to undertake research. These skills are
demonstrated in connection with course work,
independent research, and the thesis and/or
dissertation. All graduate students are expected to
participate in supervised research each semester, as
well as periodic teaching activities.
General Program Requirements
The program is based around five major annual
milestones:
Year 1: A first-year project
Year 2: Completion of the Master’s thesis
Year 3: Publication/Grant Submission
Year 4: Conceptual Presentation at Department
Conference and Mini-Review
Year 5: Completion of Dissertation
There is no formal language requirement for
either the master of science degree or the doctor of
philosophy degree.
Master of Science
The requirements for the master of science degree
include ten credits (eight course credits and two
research credits) distributed as follows: completion
of the graduate sequence in statistics (Psychology
107 and 108), one area core course, two upper-level
psychology courses or seminars (100 level or higher),
one additional 200 level core or seminar course, one
independent reading/research course or other course
credit, one professional preparation course, and
successful completion of the first-year project (one
credit) and the master’s thesis (one credit).
No more than two graduate-level courses, which
have not been used to count toward another
graduate degree, may be transferred from another
institution toward the Tufts program.
The master’s thesis must be an empirical research
study in psychology, which will be presented in
written form and on which the candidate must take
an oral comprehensive examination.
Students holding Tufts’ teaching and research
assistantships are advised to register for five courses
per year and should plan to spend more than one
year in completing the degree. Only under exceptional
circumstances should it require more than two
years for completion. The department does not
encourage part-time participation in the program.
Doctor of Philosophy
The doctor of philosophy degree requires ten credits
(eight course credits and two research credits)
beyond those required for the master’s degree.
These must include: One additional core course,
two 200-level seminars, one additional professional
preparation course, four elective courses or independent
reading/research courses, a credit associated
with completion of the 3rd year publication/grant
submission, and a credit associated with the 4th
year Conceptual Presentation at the Department
Conference and Mini-Review. Additionally, when
writing the dissertation, students must sign-up for
the zero-credit Dissertation course to track progress.
The doctoral candidate must submit a dissertation
on his or her original empirical research and
must take an oral examination in support of the
dissertation.
In general, the student’s program of study is
worked out with a faculty advisor, taking into
account the student’s interests and background.
For more detailed information, please visit the
website http://ase.tufts.edu/psychology.
Quantitative Economics
(FOR DEGREE REQUIREMENTS, SEE econoMICS.)
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