DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
GUIDELINES FOR THE OPERATION OF THE GRADUATE PROGRAM
Adopted by the Faculty, April 1993
(Revised May 2008)
PREAMBLE
The present guidelines provide general rules for the graduate study of psychology at The Florida State University. They are not intended to specify the details of graduate education but to establish general guidelines. It is inevitable that exceptions to these guidelines will occur and the student, together with the major professor and with the concurrence of the student’s pre-doctoral supervisory committee or doctoral committee, can arrive at alternative solutions. Major exceptions should be presented to the department’s Graduate Studies Committee.
In recognition of the wide variety of interests and area specializations, the general requirements of the department are kept to a minimum in order to allow areas to educate their students in accordance with each area's own interests and goals. The student should recognize that the requirements specified in this document are minimal and that program areas will, by necessity, require additional coursework, research and/or professional experiences, to achieve their educational goals.
Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the college-wide and university-wide requirements specified in The Florida State University's Graduate Bulletin that is in effect at the time of the student's initial enrollment in the graduate program. A subset of these requirements has been incorporated in this document to assist in this process. Furthermore, checklists for the master's and doctoral degrees are available from the Psychology Department's Graduate Office (209 PSY). The checklists indicate where copies of forms can be obtained and to which office they should be submitted. Copies of most forms mentioned below are available in the department’s Graduate Office. The checklists also summarize university procedures for obtaining the master's and doctoral degrees in greater detail than is provided in this document.
The Florida State University and the Department of Psychology are committed to a policy of equal opportunity and pluralism, thus enhancing diversity and assuring a climate that values and respects the worth and dignity of all persons.
I. GENERAL
A. Students are not ordinarily admitted to the psychology graduate program on a part-time
basis. It is generally expected they will pursue the requirements for a Ph.D. degree full time during their residency at The Florida State University.
B. With the exception of fellows, students who are receiving university checks regardless of
origin (TA, DA, RA, and community agency placements) are required to take full academic loads, which are currently nine semester hours during Fall and Spring semesters. Full academic loads vary during the Summer semester depending on the session. Students receiving Fellowships and those who are not receiving funding from the university are required to take 12 semester hours during the Fall and Spring semesters; full academic loads vary during the Summer semester depending on the session. The university may change the number of hours required for full-time academic loads at any time.
C. Prior to each semester, students should discuss with their major professor and, if desired,
the program area director, the courses they plan to take.
D. Students may change major professors (also referred to as research apprentice sponsors
during the first year of study) at the end of the first semester of the first year or any time thereafter. Another faculty member must agree to serve as the student's new major professor for the change to occur. Notification of the program director and the department’s Graduate Office is required for such changes.
E. Graduate students in good standing who have not been enrolled for two or more terms
(including the summer term) must apply for readmission to the university at the Office of the Registrar, 2315 UCA.
F. If seven years have elapsed since the student's last registration at the university, the
student must make application to the Office of Graduate Admissions.
G. Students seeking a master's degree must complete their program of study within seven
calendar years from the time of initial registration. Doctoral students must complete their degree requirements within five calendar years from the time the preliminary examination is passed. If doctoral students do not meet this deadline, they may either retake the preliminary doctoral examination or, with the approval of their doctoral committee, petition the department and the Dean of Graduate Studies for an extension.
H. Registration shall be required in the final term in which a degree is granted and shall
consist of a minimum of two semester hours of thesis or dissertation credit even if the student has completed the requirements for the degree in previous semesters. This is to reimburse the university for the administrative costs of manuscript clearance and final degree clearance procedures. An exemption may be requested if the student defends and submits the manuscript after the deadline for submission of final copies of the document to the university's Office of Graduate Studies (408 Westcott) but before the beginning of the next term.
I. By July 1 of each year that the student is actively enrolled in the graduate program, the
major professor will write an annual evaluation that will be given to the department’s Graduate Office, which in turn will provide a copy to the student. Evaluations of doctoral students will also be sent to the office of the academic dean. The major professor and/or the student may request a meeting with the pre-doctoral supervisory committee or the doctoral committee to discuss the student's progress if either feels it would be beneficial.
J. When a graduate student is dismissed for academic reasons the major professor may
petition the academic dean and the Dean of Graduate Studies for consideration of special circumstances that the professor thinks constitute justification for an exceptional readmission.
II. THE MASTER'S AND PRE-DOCTORAL PROGRAMS
A. Core Curriculum. A grade point of 2.75 (B-) or better is required for any course being
credited toward the departmental and program area core curriculum. A student must have a 3.0 average or better in his/her courses in order to complete the master's degree.
Students must complete one of the following statistics courses:
STA 5206 - Analysis of Variance & Design of Experiments (3 hrs.)
STA 5207 - Applied Regression Methods (3 hrs.)
STA 5507 - Applied Nonparametric Statistics (3 hrs.)
EDF 5401 - General Linear Model Applications (4 hrs.)
EDF 5402 - Advanced Topics in Analysis of Variance Applications (3 hrs.)
EDF 5406 - Multivariate Analysis Applications (3 hrs.)
EDF 5410 - Nonparametric Analysis (3 hrs.)
PSY 6919 - Multivariate Applications: Observable Variables (3 hrs.)
PSY 6919 – Design and Analysis in Psychology I or II (3 hrs.)
If you do not have the background to take a graduate level statistics course, then it is
recommended that you take one of the following courses prior to taking any of the
courses listed above.
STA 5126 – Introduction to Applied Statistics (4 hrs.)
EDF 5400 - Basic Descriptive & Inferential Statistics (4 hrs.)
B. Research Apprenticeship. Each first year student will be assigned by the appropriate program area committee to a faculty member for a 12 month research apprenticeship that averages 10 hours per week. The faculty member will serve as the student's research apprentice sponsor and academic advisor.
C. Pre-doctoral Supervisory Committee and Thesis and Degree Options.
1. Prior to the end of the first semester of the second year of study, students must
form a pre-doctoral supervisory committee, which will be composed of a minimum of three members; at least one member must be from the student's program area and one from another departmental program area (this member may not be formally affiliated with the student's home program). The Psychology Department areas are (1) Clinical, (2) Cognitive (3) Developmental, (4) Neuroscience and (5) Social. All members must have a minimum of masters directive status. One copy of a signed supervisory committee form must be submitted to the department’s Graduate Office to formally establish the committee.
2. The supervisory committee meets with the student and decides whether the
student must complete an empirical thesis and obtain a master's degree in psychology. If the committee decides to waive the master's thesis and degree, students may still be required by the committee to complete the departmental core curriculum (section II. A). All students are required to complete a research apprenticeship during their first year of study whether or not they pursue a master's degree.
3. If a thesis is not required by the committee, members may specify appropriate
alternatives. The committee may choose to conduct an oral defense of alternative formats.
If the committee decides that the granting of a master's degree would be
appropriate following the completion of an alternative format for the thesis, then the student may apply for a master's degree under a "Course-Type Program". To qualify under this program, the student must also complete a minimum of 32 semester hours of coursework, with at least 21 hours taken on a letter grade basis.
4. If the committee requires the student to complete a formal thesis and obtain a
master's degree, then the following procedures must be followed:
a. The thesis proposal must be signed by all members of the supervisory
committee prior to beginning work on the thesis. Students may collect
pilot data or do preliminary analyses with an archival data set prior to
approval of the proposal by the committee.
b. The student must register for thesis credits each term in which a
substantial amount of work is being done on the thesis. A student who has completed the required coursework and continues to use campus facilities and/or receive faculty supervision but who has not made a final thesis submission shall include in the required full-time load a minimum of two thesis hours per term. Those with underload permission must register for at least two hours of thesis credit per term. The exact number of hours shall be determined by the major professor based on the proportion of faculty/staff time, facilities, and other resources needed to support the student. Students are required to enroll for a minimum of 6 hours of PSY 5973, Thesis.
c. Courses approved by the committee in the Program of Studies must be
completed (see section II. C 5 below).
d. The student must register for PSY 8976, Master's Thesis Defense,
during the semester in which the student plans to defend.
e. Application for the degree (by the deadline posted in the Directory of
Classes) is made at the Graduation Desk in the Registrar's Office.
f. Grade change forms must be submitted to the department’s Graduate
Office by the major professor for any incompletes received in PSY 5973, Thesis. Students are responsible for insuring that other incompletes appearing on the transcript have been resolved.
g. The student gives all members of the supervisory committee a
draft of the master's thesis and notifies the department's Graduate Office and the university's Office of Graduate Studies of the date, time and location of the defense, the title of the thesis, and the name of the major professor at least fourteen days prior to the defense.
i. After the committee approves the final thesis document, the Clearance Advisor (located in 408 Westcott) must approve the final formatting of the thesis before it is submitted electronically to the university’s Office of Graduate Studies. The FSU Academic Calendar provides the deadline date for the submission of the thesis to the university’s Office of Graduate Studies during the semester in which the student plans to graduate.
5. A master's Program of Studies must be signed by all supervisory committee
members for students who will receive a master's degree. The form must be on file with the department’s Graduate Office as soon as possible after the committee has been formed.
Students who plan to receive a thesis-type master's degree must complete the
Program of Studies form and identify 30 semester hours that will be completed prior to the granting of the master's degree, including the core curriculum requirements specified in section II. A of this document. At least 18 of the 30 semester hours must be taken on a letter grade basis. Students must enroll for a minimum of six semester hours of Thesis (PSY 5973); there is no maximum number of thesis hours that can be taken. No more than five semester hours of supervised research and five semester hours of supervised teaching may be taken in the process of obtaining the master’s degree; however, note that only three credits of supervised research and three credits of supervised teaching may be counted toward the master’s degree.
Students planning to receive a course-type master's degree must complete a
Program of Studies form and identify 32 semester hours that will be completed prior to the granting of the master's degree, including the core curriculum requirements specified in section II. A of this document. At least 21 of the 32 semester hours must be taken on a letter grade basis. No more than five semester hours of supervised research and five semester hours of supervised teaching may be taken in the process of obtaining the master’s degree; however, note that only three credits of supervised research and three credits of supervised teaching may be counted toward the master’s degree.
With sufficient time prior to graduation, students should review their Program
of Studies to confirm that all courses approved by the supervisory committee have been completed. If the student has deviated from the Program of Studies, the form should be updated and changes approved by committee members.
Completion of the Program of Studies form by students who will not receive a
master's degree is up to the discretion of the committee.
D. Policies for Students who Enter with a Master's Degree.
Students who have entered the Florida State University graduate program in psychology,
and who have previously completed a master's degree in psychology or a closely related area which has required an empirical thesis, may not have to form a supervisory committee and complete a formal master's degree or thesis at Florida State University. Within the first four weeks of the Fall semester of the first year, students should present two copies of their master's thesis from the other institution, as well as a copy of the official signature page showing approval by the members of the thesis committee, to the Director of Graduate Studies in order that a decision may be reached about the suitability of the prior thesis as a replacement for a master's thesis at Florida State University.
If the thesis and master’s degree from the other institution are accepted by the
department, the student must still complete the one required statistics course specified above in section IIA. The student must complete this requirement prior to completion of the Preliminary Doctoral Exam. The research apprenticeship is required of all students, regardless of whether the thesis from the other institution is accepted by Florida State University.
III. THE DOCTORAL PROGRAM
A. Admission to Doctoral Program. The supervisory committee shall make a recommendation to the program area faculty regarding whether the student may begin doctoral level work following the student's completion of the master's degree or, for those not seeking a master's degree, following completion of any requirements specified by the committee. The research apprentice sponsor (i.e., major professor) of a student entering with an accepted master’s thesis and degree from another institution (see section II.D.) shall make a recommendation to the program area faculty regarding admission of the student to the doctoral program following formal acceptance of the thesis and degree and, if required, completion of the departmental core curriculum. The program area head shall, in a timely manner, indicate whether the area faculty accepts the supervisory committee’s recommendation (or the research apprentice sponsor’s recommendation in the case of a student entering with an accepted master’s degree from another institution). This decision shall be based on the degree to which the student has satisfactorily performed in all aspects of the program, including but not limited to coursework, research, professional and ethical behavior, and, if applicable, clinical work. If the recommendation is not accepted and the student is to be denied admission to the doctoral program, the area head shall write a letter to the Director of Graduate Studies explaining the faculty’s decision. Students will be notified of the decision and will receive a letter of explanation if admission is denied.
B. Doctoral Committee. Within the semester in residence following admission to the
doctoral program, a student must form a doctoral committee with the guidance of the major professor. A doctoral committee will consist of at least five persons (at least three of these members must have doctoral directive status and the others must have a minimum of masters directive status), including the major professor, one member from the program area of the student, one member from another departmental program area (this member may not be formally affiliated with the student's home program), and one member from outside the department who will serve as the university representative (College of Medicine faculty who hold doctoral directive status through the Psychology Department are not eligible to serve as outside members of psychology students’ doctoral committees. For Neuroscience students, the outside person must not be a member of the Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience). The latter person must have doctoral directive status. A formal record of committee members must be on file in the department’s Graduate Office.
Note that the representative-at-large must observe the final defense so they can complete the Outside Committee Member Dissertation Defense Report. If it is impossible for the representative-at-large to be present at the final defense, other options include having the representative-at-large participate in the defense via a conference call or observe a recording of the defense.
C. Core Courses. Students take two of the courses below. A grade point of 2.75 (B-) or
better is required for any course being credited toward the departmental and program area core curriculum. A student must have a 3.0 average or better in his/her courses in order to complete the Ph.D. degree.
EXP 5406 - Conditioning and Learning
EXP 5508 - Cognition and Perception
PPE 5055 - Personality Theory
PSB 5056 - Biological Psychology or PSB 5341 Systems and Behavioral
Neuroscience or PCB 5845 Cell and Molecular Neuroscience
SOP 5053 - Social Psychology
PSY 6919 - Cross area seminar
PSB 6059- Behavioral Endocrinology
A combined Social Psychology / Personality Theory course may count toward only one of the two required core courses.
With an exemption by the core course instructor and the student's advisor, a student may substitute an advanced course or DIS in that area for a core course. A memo describing the substitution must be signed by the core course instructor and the student's advisor and submitted to the department's Graduate Office.
D. Program of Studies. As soon as possible after the formation of the doctoral committee, the student should complete a doctoral Program of Studies form and have it approved and signed by committee members. The signed copy should be submitted to the department’s Graduate Office.
E. Residency Requirement. After completing 30 graduate semester hours or being awarded
the master's degree, doctoral students must be continuously enrolled for a minimum of 24 graduate semester hours during any period of twelve consecutive months.
F. Preliminary Doctoral Examination. The preliminary doctoral examination should ordinarily be passed by all graduate
students prior to beginning work on the dissertation. The form of the preliminary examination varies across program areas; all must meet the preliminary examination requirements established by the university. Each area must submit a description of its preliminary examination requirements to the department’s Graduate Studies Committee and have it approved by that body before it can become an official requirement for students in the area.
a. PSY 6656, Preliminary Examination Preparation, must be taken for a minimum of three credit hours.
b. The student must register for PSY 8964, Preliminary Doctoral
Examination, during the semester in which the examination will occur.
c. If an oral examination is required, the student notifies the department’s Graduate Office of the date, time, and location of the defense, the name of the major professor, and, if relevant, the title of the critical review paper at least fourteen days in advance of the oral examination.
d. The oral examination will be open to all graduate faculty, and
following the formal questioning by the major professor and members of the student's committee, other faculty should be accorded the opportunity to direct questions to the student.
e. A Defense Report signed by committee members indicating
the results of the preliminary examination must be submitted by the student to the department’s Graduate Office.
G. Admission to Candidacy. A student who has passed the preliminary examination and
has been certified to the University Registrar by the department’s Graduate Office using an Admission to Candidacy Form, is considered a candidate for the doctoral degree and is eligible to register for dissertation credits. A student must be admitted to candidacy at least six months prior to the granting of the doctoral degree.
H. Dissertation. All students must complete a dissertation.
1. Students may not register for dissertation hours prior to the point of the term in
which the preliminary examination was passed. After the student is admitted to candidacy, the student may retroactively add dissertation hours for that semester in which the preliminary examination was completed.
2. The student who has been admitted to candidacy must register for
dissertation credits each term in which a substantial amount of work is being done on the dissertation. A student who has completed the required coursework and continues to use campus facilities and/or receive faculty supervision, but who has not made a final dissertation submission shall include in the required full-time load a minimum of two dissertation hours per term. Those with underload permission must register for at least two hours of dissertation credit per term. The exact number of hours shall be determined by the major professor based on the proportion of faculty/staff time, facilities, and other resources needed to support the student.
3. The minimum number of dissertation hours for completion of a doctoral degree
is 24 semester hours.
4. The dissertation prospectus must be signed by all members of the supervisory
committee prior to beginning work on the dissertation. Students may collect
pilot data or do preliminary analyses with an archival data set prior to
approval of the prospectus by the committee.
5. At least fourteen days prior to the dissertation prospectus defense, a student
must provide all members of the doctoral committee with a copy of the prospectus. This policy also applies to the final dissertation defense, though students should be aware that the University Graduate Bulletin indicates that academic courtesy requires that a preliminary draft of the dissertation be submitted to each committee member at least four weeks before the date of the oral examination.
6. At least fourteen days prior to the date of the examination in defense of the
dissertation, the student will provide the dissertation title, the date, time, and location of the examination, and the name of the major professor to the department's Graduate Office.
I. Check Points for the Ph.D.
1. The student should register for PSY 8985, Dissertation Defense, during the
semester in which the defense is expected to occur.
2. Application for the degree (by the deadline posted in the Directory of Classes)
is made at the Graduation Desk in the Registrar's Office.
3. Grade change forms must be submitted to the department’s Graduate Office by the major professor for any incompletes received in PSY 6656, Preliminary Examination Preparation, or PSY 6980, Dissertation. Students are responsible for insuring that other incompletes appearing on the transcript have been resolved.
4. With sufficient time prior to graduation, students should review their Program
of Studies to confirm that all courses approved by the doctoral committee have been completed. If the student has deviated from the Program of Studies, the form should be updated and changes should be approved by committee members.
5. One defense card signed by all committee members must be turned into the
department’s Graduate Office upon the successful completion of the dissertation defense.
6. After the committee approves the final dissertation document, the Clearance
Advisor (located in 408 Westcott) must approve the final formatting of the thesis before it is submitted electronically to the university’s Office of Graduate Studies.
7. A green clearance form should be signed in the following order: (1) major
professor, (2) the department's Director of Graduate Studies, and (3) the Dean of Arts and Sciences, 010 LON. The Dean's office requires that the form be stamped "paid" by the Cashier's Office before they will sign it.
8. The FSU Academic Calendar provides the deadline date for the submission of the dissertation to the university’s Office of Graduate Studies during the semester in which the student plans to graduate.
IV. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE AND TIME TABLE FOR COMPLETION OF DEGREES
A. Students are encouraged to expend every effort to ensure they complete the requirements
for the Ph.D. in a timely fashion. The departmental parameters for timely progress are given below in section B. Each program area may impose a definition of timely progress that is stricter than the department’s definition. Therefore, students should consult their program area guidelines for this information.
B. Every effort is made to provide financial assistance for students who are in good
standing as defined by the department, as well as each program area. Departmental parameters establishing priority for continued financial support are as follows:
1. Students Arriving at FSU Without an Approved Master’s Degree
a. Students should form a pre-doctoral supervisory committee and notify
the department’s Graduate Office of the members of the committee no later than the end of the first semester of the second year of study.
b. Students seeking a master’s degree should complete all requirements
for the degree no later than the end of the spring semester of the student’s third year. The progress of students not seeking a master’s degree will be evaluated by their pre-doctoral supervisory committees. Those deemed to be making satisfactory progress will have priority for funding.
c. Students should form a doctoral committee and notify the department’s Graduate Office of the members of the committee no later than the end of the first semester following admission to the doctoral program (the pre-doctoral supervisory committee recommends students for admission to the doctoral program following completion of the master’s degree or any other requirements specified by the committee; see section III.A).
d. The doctoral preliminary examination should be successfully defended
no later than the end of the fourth semester (including summer) after the master’s thesis or any other requirements established by the pre-doctoral supervisory committee have been successfully completed.
2. Students Arriving at FSU With an Approved Master’s Degree
a. Students should form the doctoral supervisory committee no later than
the end of the second semester after admission to the department (the committee will be considered tentative if the student must first complete the departmental core curriculum; see section II E). The department’s Graduate Office should be informed of the composition of the committee when it is formed.
b. Students should successfully defend the preliminary examination no
later than the end of the spring semester of the second year of study.
Active: student is enrolled in program for one or more credit hours and/or is making progress on his/her research as reported by the major professor in the annual written evaluation.
Inactive: student makes no progress toward degree requirements or has no contact with the major professor for the majority of time during a one year period as reported by the major professor in the annual written evaluation. The student may remain on active status if he/she begins making substantial progress toward the end of the evaluation period.
Leave of absence: a student may request a leave of absence for up to one year. The major professor, area head, and Director of Graduate Studies must approve the leave. At the end of the leave, the student must request permission for an extension of the leave or, as reported by the major professor, must begin making progress toward degree requirements within one month after the leave expires. If one of these conditions does not occur, the student will be classified as having left the program.
Left the program: the student informs the major professor and Director of Graduate Studies that he/she is resigning from the program, or the student does not begin making progress within one month after an approved leave of absence expires, or the student has remained inactive for three consecutive semesters. Students classified as “left the program” would need to re-apply to their program area and, if accepted, would need to be formally re-admitted through the university before continuing to work on degree requirements.