Program Overview

The AE program is designed to provide (a) broad doctoral training firmly based on psychological theory and basic behavioral science, (b) greater depth of knowledge broadly spread over the fundamental areas of experimental psychology, and (c) concentration in an area of experimental psychology for applied settings.

The general philosophy and plan of the AE psychology program at OldDominionUniversity is to provide graduate training consisting of four phases:

1. a core of basic psychology, acquired primarily at the master's level, 
2. in depth training in statistics, methodology, and grant and manuscript writing,
3. research experience in a field of AE psychology, 
4. completion of a dissertation representing a significant contribution to AE psychology. For example, two research fields with which numerous faculty members are involved are health psychology and developmental psychology.

Requirements

The Ph.D. degree in AE requires 84 semester hours of credit beyond the bachelor's degree or at least 48 semester hours of post master's training. Students entering the program with a bachelor's degree must complete the first phase of the program by meeting the requirements for the master's degree in general psychology. The student is required to complete a core of master's-level courses with at least a B average.

The core courses consist of the following:

• PSYC 827
• PSYC 828
• PSYC 831 or 841
• PSYC 651 or 849

Attaining the master's degree requires two years of study.

Students completing the Ph.D. in AE are also required to take:

• PSYC 734/834 (Pro-seminar in Applied Experimental Psychology)
• PSYC 823 and 836 (Quantitative III and IV)

Near the completion of the master's degree requirements, the student forms a guidance committee of graduate faculty members who assist in developing a plan of study tailored to the student's needs and interests. The plan of study outlines the minimum of 48 hours of postmaster's training, including

1. completion of the remaining required course (Psychology 833, Grant and Manuscript Writing), 
2. maintenance of a strong focus in research methods and statistics, 
3. completion of supplementary courses to support the chosen specialty (e.g., health-related courses to be taken by health specialists), and
4. development of a viable research program.