Graduate Programs

Overview

The University of Toledo's Ph.D. program in Experimental Psychology promotes excellence in research and scholarship in three broad ways that give our graduates a breadth of knowledge and advantage in the job market:  

Interdisciplinary Focus 

As the field of psychology matures, the boundaries blur between its various subdisciplines — clinical, cognitive, developmental, neuroscience, social and more. UToledo's Psychology graduate program curriculum covers all these areas. 

Our Experimental Ph.D. students specialize in an area of psychology. They are paired immediately with a faculty mentor in their focus area and begin research in the faculty member's lab. They often publish and present their work. Specializations in Experimental Psychology include: 

• Experimental Psychopathology
• Health Psychology
• Quantitative Psychology

UToledo offers even more flexibility and breadth of knowledge by offering the following options to graduate students. They can:  

• Minor in a subdiscipline of their choice: Quantitative Psychology, Health Psychology or Experimental Psychopathology 
• Choose a second mentor in the Clinical Psychology program. This allows students to receive training and knowledge in a distinct but overlapping research area. 

Methodologial And Statistical Training

This is one of the most marketable and practical aspects of UToledo’s Experimental Psychology program.  

• Take research methods and statistical courses, starting the first semester. 
• Hone skills in later, research-focused courses and conduct milestone projects, such as a master’s thesis.  
• Choose the Quantitative Psychology minor to further enhance statistical knowledge.  

Teaching And Mentorship 

• Help supervise undergraduate research assistants in their research labs.  
• Serve as a teaching assistant. 
• Teach courses under the supervision of a faculty member while taking a teaching practicum course focused on course development and effective strategies for managing student issues.  

UToledo Experimental Psychology students complete a master's thesis and earn an M.A. degree while working on their doctorates.

Top Reasons to Study experimental psychology at UToledo

1. Close relationships with outstanding faculty.

   Work one-on-one with faculty in your specialty area. Our faculty members have diverse, productive areas of research. They have received numerous research awards, published in high-profile journals and won local, regional and federal grants to support their research. 
2. Full funding.

   Our graduate students typically receive at least four years of financial support through teaching and research assistantships. 
3. Hands-on teaching.

   Get prepared for life as university faculty. UToledo Psychology graduate students have the opportunity to teach introductory courses within their area of expertise.  
4. Access to The University of Toledo Medical Center.

   Our doctoral students take advantage of the faculty and resources of our nearby medical school and hospital. 

Experimental Psychology Ph.D. students are expected to: 

• Actively engage in empirical research throughout their UT careers.  
• Coauthor publications. 
• Present and publish research findings at national and international conferences. Funding is available for travel through the department and through the graduate college. 

Our students work closely with faculty in their specialty areas. Faculty members in the Experimental Psychology graduate program conduct innovative research through the: 

• Cognitive labs 
• Forensic developmental labs 
• Psychobiology and learning labs 
• Social psychology labs 

Research focuses on issues such as: 

• Accuracy of children's courtroom testimony
• Beliefs and health treatment outcomes
• Effects of effort and secondary reinforcement on learning in single-cell organisms
• Evolution of hearing and comparative study of hearing
• Interhemispheric interaction and cognition
• Judgment and decision-making
• Optimism and future-directed thought
• Social comparison and comparative judgment processes

 

What jobs can I get with an experimental psychology degree?

During the past few decades, 3/4 of our Experimental Psychology doctoral program graduates have found employment in universities and colleges throughout the U.S. The remaining 25% work in industrial, governmental and medical institutions, such as: 

• Busch Gardens Theme Parks
• Magnify Analytic Solutions
• National Cancer Institute
• U.S. Army Public Health Center
• U.S. Navy Department of Defense Analysis