The graduate training program at Purdue consists of exposure to all areas of social psychology. All graduate students obtain extensive training in research. Within this framework, a great deal of flexibility exists with respect to the specific courses and specific areas of research pursued. Students are closely supervised by a committee consisting of social faculty member to help ensure that research goals are met. Furthermore, each student will be encouraged to teach undergraduates at some point in their graduate career in order to gain practical experience in teaching methods. A variety of teaching opportunities are available.

Area and Departmental Course Work:

One component of graduate training at Purdue is course work. Each social psychology graduate student takes the following courses. These courses are ordinarily taken in the first year and should be completed by the end of the student's second year: Specific Social Area Requirements PSY 640: Survey of Social Psychology PSY 646M: Research Methods Must take both of the following courses at least once for a grade, and for a total of at least three additional semesters on a pass/fail basis: PSY 646R: Current Readings in Social Psychology PSY 692G: Current Research in Social Psychology Must take at least two courses from the following list: PSY 643: Attitudes and Attitude Change PSY 644: Close Relationships PSY 645: Social Cognition PSY 647: Group Processes and Social Influence PSY 646i: Intergroup Relations Must also take 2 additional social courses or seminars.   Departmental Course Work: Each student is required to satisfy the following departmental course requirements: 1.  Students must take one course from among PSY 600, STAT 511, and STAT 512; and one course from among PSY 601, STAT 512, and STAT 514. Six credits in total must be taken. The social faculty recommend that social students enroll in STAT 512 followed by STAT 514. 2.  Students are required to complete three additional graduate courses outside of their major area of concentration, for a total of nine credits. These courses are in addition to any courses required by their major area. At least two of these three courses must be graduate courses offered within the Department listed in Appendix B of the Graduate Handbook. One of these courses may be from outside of the Department (e.g., an Interdisciplinary Neuroscience course, a CDFS course, a Sociology course). These three courses must be approved by a student's Ph.D. Advisory Committee, as indicated by approval of the student's Ph.D. Plan of Study. Only courses for which "A" or "B" grades are earned are acceptable in fulfilling area and departmental requirements. Students are expected to repeat any required courses in which they receive a grade of "C" or lower. Click here to see a summary of the suggested course sequence.

Major Professor and Committee:

Upon arriving at Purdue, each student should become acquainted with all members of the social faculty . The first semester course "Survey of Social Psychology" (PSY 640 ), taught by all area faculty, is designed to facilitate this process. By the end of the first two semesters, the student should select a research adviser (called the "major professor"). Subsequent changes in the selection of a major professor are always permissible. In cooperation with the major professor, the student should select a committee for work on the M.S. and the Ph.D. degrees. Three committee members are required for supervision of work leading to the M.S. degree, with at least two from the social faculty. Four committee members (including three from the social faculty and one from another area or department) are required for work toward the Ph.D. degree. The committee will supervise the student's progress, advise the student on the thesis and dissertation research, and evaluate the student's performances.

Preliminary Examination:

All students are required to take a Preliminary Examination. This exam is generally taken between the second and third years of graduate training.  Click here for more specific information about the Preliminary Examination.

Oral Examinations:
 

Oral examinations for the M.S., Preliminary Exam, and Ph.D. research are held by the student's respective committees upon satisfactory completion of these works. These examinations are specifically concerned with the student's research and with related work reported in the psychological literature.

First Year:	Orientation into the program Course work Research courses and/or research experience Selection of major professor, committee members, and area of interest for master's research (file master's plan of study by the end of the second year)
Second year:	Completion of master's requirements: collect data, write thesis, take master's oral examination Additional course work (e.g., departmental core requirements, social core courses, seminars, research courses) Begin preparing for preliminary exam
Third year:	Complete preliminary exam File doctoral plan of study early in year Teaching experience, if desired All requirements except the dissertation should be completed by the end of the third summer
Fourth & fifth years:	Dissertation proposal, research, and final oral examination Job-hunting only when everything but dissertation is completed Although completion of the graduate program in four years is possible, most students take five years. A five-year program generally allows students to conduct more research and therefore yields a stronger set of credentials for obtaining an academic position at the end of the program.