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Requirements | Curriculum Outline | Explanation of Requirements

PREREQUISITES

Students entering the program are required to have taken and passed an undergraduate statistics course within the previous five years, with a grade of "B" or better. Otherwise, there are no specific course requirements. Applicants to the program must take the Graduate Record Examination General Test, including the Verbal, Quantitative and Analytical sections, but are not required to take any specific GRE Subject Test.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE

• 60 credits in Seminars and Working Groups.
  
  
• First-Year Examination.
  
  
• Introduction to Environmental Social Science, Methods and Ethics in Environmental Psychology I & II, Foundations of Contemporary Psychological Thought, Statistics I & II, and Social Policy.
  
  
• Second-Year Paper.
  
  
• Second Doctoral Examination. Students take a two-hour oral examination in two topic areas of their choice.
  
  
• Statistics and Language. Through course work or examination, students demonstrate proficiency in any language other than English. Proficiency in both writing and speaking for those whom English is not a first language is augmented through special lab work within the University system.
  
  
• Dissertation. The dissertation is a piece of original work that can be theoretical, empirical-theoretical, or applied theoretical in nature. The student selects a thesis sponsor and two committee members who will advise throughout the dissertation process of developing the proposal, carrying out the research, and completing the paper. Once the dissertation is accepted by the committee and two outside readers, the oral defense will complete the course of graduate study.

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CURRICULUM OUTLINE

The Environmental Psychology Program provides a range of learning experiences, combining theory, research and application. The curriculum is structured, yet flexible, balancing required coursework, elective seminars, working groups, independent studies, research, and practicum experiences. Although most students take a full program of courses, we've also instituted a flexible plan of study for students with full-time commitments to their career or family.

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FIRST YEAR COURSE WORK

The first year give program members a basic foundation in skills, methods, and theory, as well as experience in generating independent and group work.
During the first year, students will engage in research projects and cover the issues, problems, and ethics of various research decisions and techniques, including problem definition, research design, review of literature, observation, interviews, questionnaires, participatory methods, graphics, community studies, and social impact assessment.
In course work students survey the diverse disciplines that inform the field of Environmental Psychology; they also survey the more closely related fields of developmental, personality, and social psychology. Readings are designed to broaden the students familiarity with literature concerning people's engagements with the physical environment from the fields of anthropology, sociology, geography, architecture, urban planning, environmental design, and environmental management.

FIRST EXAMINATION

In January of the student's second year the first exam will be given. Students must complete a written examination demonstrating a graduate level of knowledge of specified areas of psychology. The Environmental Social Science I, II, & III series provides the basis of readings on which the student is examined.

CURRENT ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH, FIRST AND SECOND YEAR

Each semester, while completing course requirements, students are required to attend a weekly noncredit Program Seminar. This seminar is designed to allow faculty, students, and invited guests to describe completed, ongoing, and contemplated research.

SECOND-YEAR COURSE WORK

The second year builds on the first. The emphasis is on working groups and seminars selected according to interest.
Students develop individual research projects including problem formation, literature review, research design, definition of methods, implementation, and analysis; they also delve more deeply into a critical analysis of the philosophy of human science, the role of action research, and the application of these analyses for understanding people-environment relationships.

SECOND YEAR PAPER

The second-year research paper is due at the end of the academic year. This is intended as an experience for program members to develop the ability to carry out their own research (formulating, carrying out, and writing about this research) as preparation for doing their thesis. This research can be defined in a variety of ways: participatory, survey, observational, work with community groups or clients, etc. The Field Research Seminar provides ongoing support for the completion of the paper. The second year paper is evaluated by one outside reader and the student's faculty advisor.

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