Admissions
Dear Potential Applicant,
Thanks for your interest in pursuing a Ph.D. in the Department of Psychology at
USF. Here you will find
general information describing the department, the nature of our programs, the requirements,
and application procedures.
As a way to convey to you our philosophy, we present our department's mission statement:
The Department of Psychology is a Community of Scholars dedicated to the creation
and dissemination of knowledge. The department is committed to furthering our understanding
of the mind and behavior by the methods of science, as well as to the development
of applications of the science of psychology to better the human condition and that
of individual persons. In keeping with the mission of the University of South Florida,
the department is committed to helping its students to acquire knowledge of psychological
theories, research findings and the methods used by both basic and applied psychologists.
The department sees as its mission serving the general student body, its majors
and its graduate students by providing these students with an understanding of the
importance of the scientific approach in addressing issues of human behavior. The
department also sees as its mission the training of graduate students as independent
scholars who will dedicate themselves to the pursuit of knowledge, even as they
are using their training as scientist-practitioners or as clinical scientists to
contribute substantially to the solution of pressing human problems. We see it as
an important part of our mission to assure that our students internalize the cannons
of ethics of the discipline and profession, of Psychology. The Department of Psychology
values and promotes diversity of its members and students.
We see graduate training as essentially an apprenticeship process in which our students
are colleagues in training as they affiliate with one or more of the broad spectrum
of research programs of the faculty. If you are driven by intellectual curiosity
and by a fascination with the elucidation of the human mind by the methods of science,
we would be very pleased to consider your application.
You will note that we currently admit students in one of three Areas (Clinical Science,
Industrial/Organizational, and Cognition, Neuroscience, and Social). The programs
are full-time, combined M.A./Ph.D. programs (not terminal masters programs ; although
an M.A. degree is awarded on the way toward receiving the Ph.D., you may not enter
the program with the intention of obtaining only a master’s degree ). Please take
a moment to review our Graduate Brochure
and FAQ’s that
provide information about our programs as well as the admissions process.
If you have further questions, do not hesitate to contact the admissions coordinator
for the Area of your choice. Again, thank you for your interest.
Sincerely,
Emanuel Donchin, Ph.D.