Department of Psychology

UT Psychology Doctoral Programs

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The Department of Psychology at the University of Toledo houses two nationally-ranked doctoral programs in psychology: the APA-accredited clinical psychology program and the experimental psychology program, which provides training in cognitive, developmental, and social psychology, as well as psychobiology and learning.

Applications for the clinical and experimental doctoral programs are currently being accepted for the 2024-2025 academic year. Applications for the clinical psychology doctoral program are due December 1, 2023 (how to apply), and applications for the experimental psychology doctoral program are due December 1, 2023 (how to apply).

Although students enroll in either the clinical or experimental doctoral program, the UT psychology doctoral programs offer students the opportunity for advanced integrative training in both areas. Specifically, through our newly developed joint mentoring program, students may elect to receive joint mentoring from a faculty member in the other (non-major) program, in order to obtain more specialized and integrative training. Further details on the joint mentoring program are available in this document.  

To further enhance the flexibility and breadth of their doctoral training, students in both programs have the opportunity to pursue minor specializations in the following three areas, each of which was selected to reflect faculty expertise and interests across both programs:

  • Quantitative Psychology
  • Health Psychology
  • Experimental Psychopathology

The department also offers a number of resources to support graduate students in their research, including a newly-developed course on grant-writing, department-wide travel funds and additional competitive travel awards, competitive research grants to fund student projects, extensive faculty research laboratory space featuring video cameras or one-way mirrors for participant monitoring, two departmental computer labs with more than 50 computers containing a variety of data collection and data analysis programs (e.g., Medialab, Qualtrics, MPlus, R, SPSS), and a departmental psychophysiological research laboratory featuring advanced equipment for monitoring physiological responses in and outside of the laboratory, as well as a new virtual reality system. Further information on these resources can be found here.  

Our doctoral programs prepare students for careers in academia at research-oriented universities, academic medical centers, and teaching colleges, at research institutes, in research positions in industrial, governmental, or medical institutions, and in community mental health settings, among others. Doctoral training emphasizes developing scientific attitudes for (a) gathering and evaluating information, (b) solving basic and applied research problems, and, in the clinical area, (c) providing clinical assessment and empirically supported psychotherapy. Each student completes specific course-related requirements, a master's thesis, qualifying examination, and a doctoral dissertation. Students develop an individual plan of study in consultation with their academic advisor and program director.

Students enrolled in the doctoral program earn the M.A. degree as part of the process of fulfilling the requirements for the Ph.D. degree. However, we do not offer the M.A. degree outside of the Ph.D. program, so students who only wish to obtain a M.A. degree should consider an alternative university. 

Director of Clinical Training: Sarah Francis, Ph.D.
Experimental Coordinator: Jason Rose, Ph.D.

Last Updated: 10/31/23