Psychology, Ph.D.

Requirements

The Ph.D. program in psychology prepares students for university teaching/research, and applied positions in universities, hospitals, industry, or government.  Successful completion of the Ph.D. requires completing course requirements, successfully defending a master’s thesis if required by the faculty, passing the preliminary evaluation vote by the full faculty, passing a qualifying examination that has both written and oral components to advance to doctoral candidacy, and defending a Ph.D. dissertation. Students are admitted to the program to start in the fall semester only. Most applicants have a B.A. or B.S. degree in Psychology, or related field. Students who have completed a thesis-based master’s degree at an accredited institution can also apply.

Applicants should complete/submit: (a) the online application (https://www.applyweb.com/tcug/index.ftl); (b) application fee; (c) resume/CV; (d) personal statement of purpose (i.e., essay – 1,000 words or less that describe your motivation and goals for graduate study, career ambitions, and the specific ways TCU fit those); (e)unofficial transcripts of all colleges attended. An English translation of all international transcripts is also required; (f) GRE scores (option, not required); (g) psychology department supplemental application (https://cse.tcu.edu/psychology/graduate/index.php); and (h)official TOEFL/IELTS scores for international applicants. For evidence of English proficiency, a minimum TOEFL score of 80 (internet based) or 550 (paper based) is required, or a minimum IELTS score of 6.5.

The annual application deadline is January 1st. Admission decisions are holistic and based upon review of all materials.

The usual timeline for the Ph.D. involves completing required course work; completing the M.S. thesis, when required, by the end of the second year; passing the preliminary evaluation vote by the end of the third year; passing the qualifying examination to advance to doctoral candidacy by the start of the fourth year, and successfully defending the Ph.D. dissertation within six years after advancing to doctoral candidacy.

Students who are admitted into the Ph.D. program are encouraged to complete their non-terminal M.S. in psychology by proposing, completing, and defending a thesis.  M.S. requirements are usually completed by the second or third year of study.  In some cases, with the approval of the area committee, a student who enters the program with a M.S. degree that included the completion of a thesis may substitute a TCU research project (based on research conducted by the student at TCU) that has been submitted for publication.  The student will be the first author on the research report and a member of the full-time psychology graduate faculty must be a co-author.  The manuscript must be approved by the student’s area committee.

Requirements

The Ph.D. in psychology requires an additional 36 hours (at minimum) of coursework beyond the 30 or 36 hours required for non-terminal M.S. and M.A. degrees, respectively. Students must pass (with a grade of "B-" or higher).  Coursework includes:

   Approved Electives 24 hours