Psychology

University of California, Berkeley

About the Program

Psychology as a scientific discipline aims to describe, understand, and predict the behavior of living organisms. In doing so, psychology embraces the many factors that influence behavior—from sensory experience to complex cognition, from the role of genetics to that of social and cultural environments, from the processes that explain behavior in early childhood to those that operate in older ages, and from typical development to pathological conditions. The Department of Psychology at Berkeley reflects the diversity of our discipline's mission covering six key areas of research: Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience; Clinical Science; Cognition; Cognitive Neuroscience; Developmental, and Social-Personality Psychology. Our program learning goals focus on honing methodological, statistical and critical thinking skills relevant to all areas of Psychology research, enabling students with sufficient breadth to retain perspective in the field of psychology and sufficient depth to permit successful independent and significant research.

  • The major academic objectives of the PhD program are for students to:
  • Develop an understanding of the different theoretical and empirical frameworks that have defined and shaped the field
  • Develop an understanding of the central questions and issues in contemporary psychology
  • Develop expertise in one or more relevant research methodologies
  • Build expertise in formulating testable hypotheses and designing appropriate studies
  • Hone ability to critically evaluate scientific research
  • Develop expertise in statistics and advanced data analytic approaches
  • Develop an awareness of the importance of science to humanity while recognizing its limits (i.e., some scientific knowledge is culture-specific and may not be applicable to the human condition universally)
  • Develop competence as a teacher of undergraduates and mentor to graduate students

Students select one of the following concentrations:

Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience: The Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience area encompasses faculty and students united by a common interest in the neurobiological/physiological bases of behavior, including but not limited to circadian and seasonal rhythms, decision-making, sex differentiation and behavior, energy balance, birdsong and animal communication, animal spatial orientation and navigation, gene-environment interactions, selective attention and visual perception, social behavior, attachment, developmental processes, physiological substrates of emotion and stress, and motivation. The methodologies currently employed by faculty and students cover the entire spectrum from the behavioral study of animals and humans to computational, cellular, molecular and neuroimaging analyses.

Clinical Science: Graduate students in Clinical Science combine rigorous research with hands-on clinical experience. In addition, students take courses that cover general areas of psychological science as well as more specialized areas based on a student’s interests. Most students will spend four to six years in residence at Berkeley plus one year at a Clinical Internship site, at or near the completion of the dissertation. Degrees are awarded after completion of the internship, even if the dissertation is completed earlier. The faculty advisor/mentor plays an important role in a student’s training. At the beginning of Year 1, each student is matched with a faculty advisor, usually one of the core Clinical Science Program Faculty, who supervises the student's research. In subsequent years, the student is free to continue working with that person or to seek a new research advisor. In addition to research supervision, the advisor works with the student in planning a program that fits that student's interests, while at the same time meeting program requirements. If a student is conducting research under the supervision of someone other than a core Clinical Science Program Faculty member (e.g., a faculty member in another area of the Psychology Department), then a core Clinical Science Program Faculty member is assigned to advise that student in matters related program requirements.

Cognition: The Cognition Program brings together faculty and students engaged in behavioral and computational investigations of fundamental cognitive processes, including learning, memory, categorization, reasoning, language, and perception. Our interdisciplinary approach borrows methods and insights from the cognitive sciences and other areas within the department.

Cognitive Neuroscience: Programs in Cognitive Neuroscience focus on neuroimaging and neuropsychological approaches to human behavior. Functional neuroimaging techniques, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), electroencephalography (EEG), and intracranial EEG (iEEG) are used to study the neural bases of human behavior. Neuropsychological methods assess varieties of psychological dysfunction associated with brain damage or disease. Areas of specialty within this track include Sensory and Perceptual Processes, Attention and Working Memory, Learning and Memory, Emotion, and Motor Control.

Developmental: Our research goal is to understand how the organism and its capabilities develop throughout the lifespan. Our interdisciplinary approach is multi-species, multi-system, and multidisciplinary in nature. We study change over time in cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and neural processes. Our explanations include both neural accounts of the plasticity that is observed in the developing brain and other systems, and computational and psychological accounts of development. The bi-directionality of these processes is emphasized, with the organism's genetically program development being influenced by its physical and social environments and in turn influencing those environments. Thus, our research is situated at the interface between the fields of developmental psychology, computational modeling, psycholinguistics, cognitive psychology, developmental cognitive neuroscience, social psychology, cultural psychology, and clinical psychology. Our research examines numerous areas of development, plasticity, and change including sensory processes, cognitive capacities, language, reasoning, everyday knowledge of the world, emotions, and social relationships. We examine both typical and atypical development, each providing rich insights for better understanding the other and suggesting new approaches for effective treatments and preventive interventions.

Social-Personality Psychology: The social-personality program is devoted to training graduate students for careers in research and teaching. The program faculty and several affiliates conduct research and provide intensive training in six core areas of the field: (1) Self and identity; (2) Social cognition; (3) Emotion, emotion regulation, and affective neuroscience; (4) Personality processes and adult development; (5) Interpersonal, intergroup, and intercultural processes; and (6) Power, hierarchy, and social class. In addition to training in these core areas, the program encourages graduate students to develop their own research interests and build an independent research program. The program is characterized by considerable breadth and diversity. It provides students with special research opportunities, such as access to unique longitudinal databases, multi-method approaches (self-report, observational, archival, life-data, physiological), and biological perspectives on social behavior (e.g., evolutionary, neuroimaging). 

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Admissions

Admission to the University

Applying for Graduate Admission

Thank you for considering UC Berkeley for graduate study! UC Berkeley offers more than 120 graduate programs representing the breadth and depth of interdisciplinary scholarship. A complete list of graduate academic departments, degrees offered, and application deadlines can be found on the Graduate Division website.

Prospective students must submit an online application to be considered for admission, in addition to any supplemental materials specific to the program for which they are applying. The online application can be found on the Graduate Division website.

Admission Requirements

The minimum graduate admission requirements are:

  1. A bachelor’s degree or recognized equivalent from an accredited institution;

  2. A satisfactory scholastic average, usually a minimum grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0 (B) on a 4.0 scale; and

  3. Enough undergraduate training to do graduate work in your chosen field.

For a list of requirements to complete your graduate application, please see the Graduate Division’s Admissions Requirements page. It is also important to check with the program or department of interest, as they may have additional requirements specific to their program of study and degree. Department contact information can be found here.

Where to apply?

Visit the Berkeley Graduate Division application page.

Admission to the Program

The Department of Psychology invites applications from students who are primarily interested in research. Applicants for the Psychology PhD are required to specify the area to which they wish to apply: Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience; Clinical Science; Cognition; Cognitive Neuroscience; Developmental; and Social-Personality. Applicants are required to name at least one faculty member with whom they wish to work.

Applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent from an institution of acceptable standing, and may hold a master in psychology or another field. Previous concentration in psychology is not required. The department does not have an application for a terminal master’s degree: PhD only.

Doctoral Degree Requirements

Normative Time Requirements

Normative Time in the Program

Normative time in the Department of Psychology for doctoral degree completion is 10 semesters, and normative time in candidacy is 4 semesters. (See departmental website for details.)

Step I: Students take courses, narrow down their interests to particular areas of specialization, and begin research projects. This takes approximately 1 year.

Step II: Students complete the majority of course requirements and prepare for their written and oral Qualifying Examination. This takes approximately 1-2 years.

Step III: Students undertake research for the PhD dissertation under a 3-4 person committee in charge of their research and dissertation. Students do original research and write up the dissertation based on their results. On completion of course requirements and approval of the dissertation by the committee, students are awarded the doctorate. This takes approximately 2-3 years.

Time to Advancement

Curriculum

Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience Concentration
Courses Required
Department-wide Core Courses
PSYCH 205Data Analysis3
PSYCH 292Introduction to the Profession of Psychology2
PSYCH 293Second-Year Seminar on Professional Development (Includes 2nd-Year Research Poster requirement)2
PSYCH 375Teaching Psychology2
Courses Required for Concentration
PSYCH 210BProseminar: Cognition, Brain, and Behavior (Biological Bases of Behavior)3
Plus one of the following Proseminars
PSYCH 210AProseminar: Cognition, Brain, and Behavior (Cognitive Neuroscience)3
PSYCH 240AProseminar: Biological, Cognitive, and Language Development3
PSYCH 240BProseminar: Emotional, Social, and Psychopathological Development3
PSYCH 230Proseminar: Clinical Psychology3
PSYCH 290 Series Topic Seminars (3 semesters)
Clinical Science Concentration
Courses Required
Department-wide Core Courses
PSYCH 205Data Analysis3
PSYCH 292Introduction to the Profession of Psychology2
PSYCH 293Second-Year Seminar on Professional Development (Includes Second-Year Research Poster requirement)2
PSYCH 375Teaching Psychology2
Courses Required for Concentration
PSYCH 230AProseminar: Developmental Psychopathology2
PSYCH 230BProseminar: Clinical Psychological Science2
PSYCH 230CProseminar: Context, Culture, and Diversity Issues in Clinical Science2
PSYCH 237HIntervention: Introduction to Clinical Methods3
PSYCH 233AClinical Assessment: Theory, Application, and Practicum3
or PSYCH 233B Clinical Assessment: Theory, Application, and Practicum
PSYCH 239Clinical Seminar1
Speciality Clinics to be taken concurrently:
PSYCH 236Specialty Clinic3
PSYCH 237EProfessional Development in Clinical Science3
PSYCH 237GIntervention: Specialty Clinics1,2
Cognition Concentration
Courses Required
Department-wide Core Courses
PSYCH 205Data Analysis3
PSYCH 292Introduction to the Profession of Psychology2
PSYCH 293Second-Year Seminar on Professional Development (Includes Second-Year Research Poster requirement)2
PSYCH 375Teaching Psychology2
Courses Required for Concentration
Select two of the following 210x Proseminars:
PSYCH 210AProseminar: Cognition, Brain, and Behavior (Cognitive Neuroscience)3
PSYCH 210BProseminar: Cognition, Brain, and Behavior (Biological Bases of Behavior)3
PSYCH 229ACognition Colloquium1
PSYCH 290 Series Topic Seminars (3 semesters)6
COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE CONCENTRATION
Courses Required
Department-wide Core Courses
PSYCH 205Data Analysis3
PSYCH 292Introduction to the Profession of Psychology2
PSYCH 293Second-Year Seminar on Professional Development2
PSYCH 375Teaching Psychology2
Courses Required for Concentration
Select two of the following 210X Proseminars and one pre-approved proseminar replacement:
PSYCH 210AProseminar: Cognition, Brain, and Behavior3
PSYCH 210BProseminar: Cognition, Brain, and Behavior3
PSYCH 229ACognition Colloquium1
or PSYCH 229B Cognitive Neuroscience Colloquium
PSYCH 290 Series Topic Seminar (3 semesters)6
Developmental Concentration
Courses Required
Department-wide Core Courses
PSYCH 205Data Analysis3
PSYCH 292Introduction to the Profession of Psychology2
PSYCH 293Second-Year Seminar on Professional Development (Includes 2nd-Year Research Poster requirement)2
PSYCH 375Teaching Psychology2
Courses Required for Concentration
PSYCH 240AProseminar: Biological, Cognitive, and Language Development3
PSYCH 240BProseminar: Emotional, Social, and Psychopathological Development3
PSYCH 249Developmental Colloquium1
PSYCH 290 Series Topic Seminars (3 semesters)6
Social-Personality Concentration
Courses Required
Department-wide Core Courses
PSYCH 205Data Analysis3
PSYCH 292Introduction to the Profession of Psychology2
PSYCH 293Second-Year Seminar on Professional Development (Includes Second-Year Research Poster requirement)2
PSYCH 375Teaching Psychology2
Courses Required for Concentration
PSYCH 260AProseminar Course in Social and Personality Psychology3
PSYCH 260BProseminar Course in Social and Personality Psychology3
PSYCH 250DPrinciples and Pragmatics of Personality Measurement3
PSYCH 259Personality Seminar1
PSYCH 269Social Seminar1
PSYCH 290 Series Topic Seminars (3 semesters)6
Additional Program Requirements
  • Second-Year Poster Presentation
  • Third-Year Paper Requirement
  • Qualifying Examination
  • CITI Protocol Course Certifications
  • Internship, Field Work, or Practicum–Clinical Science only
  • Clinical Practice–Clinical Science only

Time in Candidacy

  • Dissertation Proposal
  • Dissertation
  • Dissertation Presentation/Exit Talk

Professional Development

  • Presentations
  • Teaching
  • Professional Conference Attendance
  • Workshops

Courses

Psychology

Contact Information

Department of Psychology

2121 Berkeley Way

Phone: 510-642-5292

Fax: 510-642-5293

Visit Department Website

Department Chair

Serena Chen, PhD

3316 Berkeley Way West

serchen@berkeley.edu

Department Vice Chair

Ozelm Ayduk, PhD

3430 Berkeley Way West

ayduk@berkeley.edu

Department Vice Chair

Lance Kriegsfeld, PhD

G71A Koshland

kriegsfeld@berkeley.edu

Student Services Director

Harumi Quinones

2210 Berkeley Way West

Phone: 510-642-7097

harumi@berkeley.edu

Graduate Student Affairs Officer

Christine Mullarkey

2130 Berkeley Way West

psychgradadvisor@berkeley.edu

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