Loyola University Chicago offers a Ph.D. Degree in Applied Social Psychology in the Psychology Department.

Related Programs

Curriculum

The PhD in Applied Social Psychology requires 60 credit hours of coursework, a master's thesis, internship in teaching or research, doctoral candidacy exam, and dissertation.

Coursework Requirements

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Courses in Psychology Core must be completed with a grade of B or better to be applied to degree.

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 Special topics in social psychology courses such as Psychology of Gender (PSYC 525a) and Community Psychology (PSYC 525b) may also fulfill this requirement 

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Electives may be selected from above courses, other graduate level Psychology courses, and graduate level coursework from other departments in the University (e.g., Sociology, Counseling and Educational Psychology). Students should contact the Graduate Program Director for approval before registering.

Electives may also include independent, individualized readings (PSYC 599 Directed Readings) or research (PSYC 598 Research) courses with any willing faculty member.

Doctoral Candidacy Examination

The goal of the doctoral candidacy exam is to provide students with experience of applying and communicating basic and applied social psychological theory, methods and statistics through writing up their research findings in the form of a manuscript. This exam allows students to develop their expertise in applying a theoretical domain to an applied research question and using appropriate methodology and statistics to examine their research question. Writing a manuscript for publication is very different than writing a thesis or dissertation. Theses and dissertations are typically much longer in length than journals have the space to publish. Therefore, writing papers up for publication requires learning to write succinctly. Students are required to work with two members of the faculty – a first and second reader for their exam. There are two ways to demonstrate such expertise and options are discussed in the student handbook.

Internship

All PhD in Social Psychology students are required to complete an internship either as a researcher in an applied setting (for those students interested in applied setting employment), or as a teacher in an academic setting. The applied research internship requires approximately 500 hours of research experience; the teaching internship requires teaching two college-level psychology courses. Students can choose to split the internship - 1/2 applied research and 1/2 teaching by performing 250 hours of applied research and teaching one college-level courses. Internships are usually completed after receiving the MA degree and completing most required coursework - i.e., in the fourth or fifth year of a student's graduate career. However, students can also complete internship hours during the summer. All PhD students must make a presentation at SARS concerning their internships and what they learned while involved in order to complete the internship requirement.

Thesis and Dissertation

Students will complete a master's thesis and earn the MA in Social Psychology en route to the PhD. The master's thesis should reflect an applied problem or theoretical issue relevant to social psychology. In addition, the thesis should be empirical, i.e., involve the collection and analysis of data. The thesis will be published according to Graduate School policy.

The dissertation represents the culmination of one's graduate study. Writing a dissertation is an opportunity to draw upon all of one's knowledge and experience while making an original contribution to general knowledge and/or the solution to some social problem. After finishing the candidacy exam, students are well prepared for this task. Upon completion and successful oral defense of the dissertation, it will be deposited in a publicly accessible database in accordance with Graduate School policy.

Suggested Sequence of Courses

The below sequence of courses is meant to be used as a suggested path for completing coursework.  An individual student’s completion of requirements depends on course offerings in a given term as well as the start term for a major or graduate study.  Students should consult their advisor for assistance with course selection.

Responsible Conduct of Research

All PhD students and students in thesis-based Master's degree programs must successfully complete UNIV 370 Responsible Conduct in Research and Scholarship or other approved coursework in responsible conduct of research as part of the degree requirements. It is strongly recommended that students complete this two-day training before beginning the dissertation/thesis stage of the program.

Graduate & Professional Standards and Regulations

Students in graduate and professional programs can find their Academic Policies in Graduate and Professional Academic Standards and Regulations under their school. Any additional University Policies supersede school policies.

Learning Outcomes

PhD Learning Outcomes

• Articulate and apply theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches from social psychology and related disciplines to address real-world problems in applied or academic settings.
• Demonstrate how to statistically analyze and interpret data collected in social psychology research
• Communicate social psychology theory, methods, and findings effectively to diverse audiences through written, visual or oral formats.
• Design, conduct, and interpret empirical research, including evaluations and interventions, as well as data collection and statistical analysis, to inform an understanding and develop solutions to social problems.