Seeley G. Mudd Building 501
(213) 740-2203
FAX: (213) 746-9082
www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/psychology

Chair: Gerald C. Davison, Ph.D.*

William M. Keck Chair in Biological Sciences: Richard F. Thompson, Ph.D.

Harold Dornsife Neurosciences Chair: Irving Biederman, Ph.D.

Milo Don and Lucille Appleman Professorship in Biological Sciences: Larry Swanson, Ph.D. (Biological Sciences)

Mendel B. Silberberg Professorship in Social Psychology: Norman Miller, Ph.D.

Robert Grandford Wright Professorship in Psychology: Adrian Raine, D. Phil.

Professors: Gerald C. Davison, Ph.D.*; Michael E. Dawson, Ph.D.; Margaret Gatz, Ph.D.; Ernest Greene, Ph.D.; Joseph B. Hellige, Ph.D.* (Vice Provost); Victor W. Henderson, M.D. (Neurology; Gerontology); John L. Horn, Ph.D.; Jerald Jellison, Ph.D.*; Bob G. Knight, Ph.D. (Gerontology); David G. Lavond, Ph.D.; Franklin R. Manis, Ph.D.*; Gayla Margolin, Ph.D.; Sarnoff A. Mednick, Ph.D. (Director, Social Science Research Institute); Beth E. Meyerowitz, Ph.D. (Dean of Faculty); Adrian Raine, D.Phil.; Stephen J. Read, Ph.D.; Rand Wilcox, Ph.D.

Associate Professors: Laura A. Baker, Ph.D.; Kathleen C. Chambers, Ph.D.; Mitchell Earleywine, Ph.D. (Director of Clinical Training); JoAnn M. Farver, Ph.D.; Richard S. John, Ph.D.; Zhong-Lin Lu, Ph.D.; Stephen A. Madigan, Ph.D.; Denis Mitchell, Ph.D.*; Shiela T. Murphy, Ph.D. (Annenberg School for Communication); David A. Walsh, Ph.D. (Associate Chair); Elizabeth Zelinski, Ph.D. (Gerontology)

Assistant Professors: Shannon E. Daley, Ph.D.; Stanley J. Huey, Jr., Ph.D.; Brian Lickel, Ph.D.; Tobin Mintz, Ph.D.; David Schwartz, Ph.D.; Bosco S. Tjan, Ph.D.

Clinical Professors: A. Steven Frankel, Ph.D.; Ernest R. Katz, Ph.D.; Jonathan S. Kellerman, Ph.D.; Michael Paul Maloney, Ph.D.

Research Professors: Matti Huttunen, Ph.D., M.D.; Nancy Pedersen, Ph.D.

Research Associate Professor: Stig Berg, Ph.D.

Research Assistant Professors: Amit Almor, Ph.D.; Paul Robert Appleby, Ph.D.; Beatrice Golomb, Ph.D., M.D.; Elana Gordis, Ph.D.; Sharon R. Gross, Ph.D.; Karen M. Hennigan, Ph.D.; Ricardo A. Machon, Ph.D.

Emeritus Professors: Norman Cliff, Ph.D.; Ward Edwards, Ph.D.; William W. Grings, Ph.D.; Donald J. Lewis, Ph.D.; Albert R. Marston, Ph.D.

Emeritus Associate Professor: Milton Wolpin, Ph.D.

*Recipient of university-wide or college teaching award.

The Department of Psychology offers five topical areas: (1) Cognitive, which analyzes biological and social phenomena or abilities — memory, sensation, motivation, motor learning and language comprehension — among humans and related higher animals; (2) Developmental, which studies changes in behavior — cognitive, lingual, social and emotional — from childhood through adolescence and adulthood into old age; (3) Clinical, which concerns itself, empirically and experimentally, with the ways people interact in their social environment and cope, or have difficulty coping, with problems in living; (4) Biological, which examines the biological bases of behavior, including behavioral genetics, behavioral endocrinology, psychopharmacology and sociobiology; and (5) Social, which examines normal human nature and conduct, develops and tests theories concerning the consequences of our social condition and its potential improvement. In addition, the department offers a joint major in linguistics/psychology and participates in the college’s newly established interdisciplinary program in Neural, Informational and Behavioral Sciences.

Research is integral to psychology; it enables the faculty to make contributions in the field and to be more effective teachers. Undergraduate students are encouraged to work with members of the faculty on research projects. The most direct way for students to participate in research is to enroll in a directed research course, but it is also possible to take part in ongoing research in less formal ways.

Undergraduate Degrees

A grade of C- or higher is required to count a class toward major requirements.

Two 400-level psychology courses other than 490x totaling eight units are also required. PSYC 461 may not count towards this requirement if it is being used to satisfy the clinical category above.

An additional psychology course, either upper or lower division of at least 2.67 units is required.

See the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies.

The department offers an exciting honors program for outstanding students who desire advanced research training in preparation for graduate work in the social sciences or in professional schools. The primary focus of the honors program is the completion of a significant research study under the guidance of a faculty advisor. Students are admitted to the program in the fall semester of their junior year. To be eligible for admission, a student must have an overall GPA of at least 3.5 at the time of application to the program. Students in the honors program complete all major requirements, including PSYC 380 Junior Honors Seminar during the spring semester of their junior year and PSYC 480 Senior Honors Seminar during the spring semester of their senior year. Students complete an honors thesis proposal as part of the Junior Honors Seminar and must submit a completed senior honors thesis by April 1 of the senior year. Students are also expected to have an overall GPA of at least 3.5 at the time of graduation. For further information, contact the undergraduate advisor.

Psi Chi is the national honor society in psychology. Membership is open to graduate and undergraduate men and women who meet the minimum qualifications. Psi Chi is a member of the Association of the College Honor Societies and is an affiliate of the American Psychological Association and the American Psychological Society.

The Department of Psychology offers a variety of programs leading to the Ph.D. degree. They fall within six major groupings:

1. clinical, including experimental psychopathology, assessment and intervention, community psychology, and a sub-specialization in clinical-aging;
2. developmental;
3. adult development and aging, including a joint track in clinical and aging;
4. cognitive and behavioral neuroscience, including attention, learning, memory, perception, cognitive neuropsychology, and behavioral endocrinology;
5. quantitative, including psychological measurement and mathematical models; and
6. social, including social influences on attitudes, motivation, perception and behavior.

All of the specialty areas provide training for careers in research, teaching and applied work.

The department considers for graduate admission only students with the Ph.D. as their goal.

Psychology courses required for admission are an introductory course, a course in statistics, a course in research methods or experimental psychology and at least one of the following: comparative psychology, physiological psychology, sensation and perception, learning and memory, motivation, and emotion; and at least one of the following: developmental psychology, social psychology, abnormal psychology, personality, and history of psychology. Additional courses are desirable, as is work in the biological, physical and social sciences and in mathematics. Students with outstanding undergraduate records who have less background in psychology are also encouraged to apply.

Students are selected on the basis of undergraduate records, scores on the Graduate Record Examinations General Test, course background, letters of evaluation, personal statement of interests and goals and evidence of research skills or interests (e.g., publications or participation in research projects).

The faculty of each specialty area select the students to be admitted in that area. Because of this procedure, applicants should designate the specialty area to which they seek admission.

Application for admission in psychology requires submission of two sets of material: special departmental forms and university application forms. Both may be secured only by writing to the Department of Psychology. Students are admitted only for study beginning in September; both sets of completed application forms must be submitted by December 15.

These degrees are under the jurisdiction of the Graduate School. Refer to theRequirements for Graduation section and the Graduate School for general regulations. All courses applied toward the degrees must be courses accepted by the Graduate School.

The department does not admit students whose objective is a master’s degree. However, if a student accepted in the program does not have a master’s degree, the department strongly recommends completion of the requirements for the M.A. in the course of work toward the Ph.D. degree. This involves 24 units of course work and a thesis.

Each student must take at least 36 substantive units in psychology at USC during the first three years. Within the first three semesters, each student must complete one statistics course and either a second statistics course or a research design course; one core course outside the student’s specialty area, two courses inside the student’s specialty area, and an additional elective course. Additional course requirements vary according to specialty area.

During the first and second year, students work on either a master’s thesis or a research report of comparable scope and quality. A research project done at USC is required of all students (by the conclusion of the student’s second year), regardless of prior graduate work.

The equivalent of three years’ graduate status is required in all Ph.D. programs by the Graduate School. Students in the clinical (and clinical-aging) program must complete, in addition, at least one full year of internship at a facility approved by the clinical faculty.

The student’s ability to master graduate-level course material is evaluated after completion of no more than 24 units, and not later than the third semester of graduate work at USC. This evaluation is based on the student’s performance in courses taken and on an evaluation of the student’s research competence as reflected in the second year research report. The guidance committee is responsible for this evaluation.

A five-person guidance committee is appointed after the student passes the 24-unit screening procedure. This committee directs the student’s program of studies and evaluates research competence. The committee continues to serve until after the qualifying examination has been passed, the dissertation topic approved, and the student admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. At that time it becomes known as the dissertation committee and is usually reduced to four members.

The qualifying examination concentrates on the student’s ability to demonstrate a grasp of the major area of interest chosen and its relation to other areas of training offered in the department. Partly written and partly oral, the examination is comprehensive and designed to test the student’s ability to meet the demands and standards of the profession. Part of the examination is a dissertation proposal. The qualifying examination is planned, administered, and graded by the student’s guidance committee.

A student is expected to engage in research activity throughout his graduate career, leading up to and culminating in the Ph.D. dissertation. The dissertation is based on an original investigation, usually involving experimental design.

The defense may be either a defense oral, based on an approved preliminary copy of the dissertation, or a final oral, subsequent to final typing.

The graduate advisor is Dr. Franklin R. Manis. Each student has a major advisor who is usually in the specialty area. It is especially important that the guidance committee be formed as soon as the 24-unit screening is completed.

The Ph.D./M.P.H. dual degree combines knowledge of clinical psychology research and practice with an understanding of health from a population perspective. The student enrolls primarily in the clinical psychology doctoral program. During the second and subsequent years, course work is taken in both programs. The dissertation is undertaken through the Department of Psychology.