Graduate Program
Admission Procedures
Deadline
Cost and Financial Support
Requirements
Masters Degree Requirements
Advancement to Candidacy
Doctoral Degree Requirements
The Department of Cognitive Sciences offers a Ph.D. degree program in Psychology, with a specialization in cognitive science, to prepare students for research and teaching careers in academia, industry, and government. The emphasis is on modern techniques of experimentation and theory construction. Special attention is given to providing hands-on research experience and equipping students with sophisticated mathematical and computing skills. Of the Department faculty, two are members of the National Academy of Sciences, and many have served as editors or editorial board members of leading professional journals and as members of NSF and NIH study panels. Many Cognitive Sciences faculty are also members of UCI's Institute of Mathematical Behavioral Sciences, and the Department is generally regarded as one of the world's leading centers for mathematically-oriented research in cognitive psychology. The Department is also allied closely to the School's Center for Cognitive Neuroscience. Some Cognitive Sciences faculty participates in the Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program. For information about other psychology degree programs at UCI, visit Psychology at UCI, a joint website of the Departments of Psychology and Social Behavior and Cognitive Sciences.
Admission Procedures
GRE scores for tests taken within the past five years
Official transcripts of all college course work
At least three letters of recommendation
In addition to meeting the general requirements for admission, applicants should have the following:
A background in mathematics equivalent to at least one year of calculus
Advanced coursework in some of the following fields: psychology, computer science, mathematics, the physical sciences, biology, logic, and/or linguistics
For non-native English speaking students, the following requirements must be met:
TOEFL exam score of at least 213 (electronic version) or 550 (written version) or a minimum score of 7 on the IELTS with a score of no less than 6 on any individual module
Applicants who are not citizens of countries where English is either the primary or dominant language as approved by the UCI Graduate Council and who apply for a teaching assistantship, must pass the Test of Spoken English (TSE), or the Speaking Proficiency English Assessment Kit (SPEAK) examination, with a score of 50 or more. The IELTS can serve as an alternative to the Test of Spoken English (TSE) when the applicant also scores 8 or higher on the "Speaking" module of the test.
Deadline
To receive full consideration for fellowship and assistantship awards, applications must be received by December 15. Late applications may be considered until July 1 on a space-available basis. Since the program starts in the fall quarter, students are not normally admitted in the winter or spring, though exceptions may be made. Application materials may be obtained by contacting the Social Sciences Graduate Office.
Costs and Financial Support
The University of California charges students both fees and tuition; California residents pay only fees, nonresidents pay both fees and tuition. For the most recent fees and tuition rates, click here. United States citizens moving to California from other states may become legal California residents after one year by following certain procedures. International students have their tuition reduced by 75 percent for up to nine quarters once they have passed the "Advancement to Candidacy" examination.
Regents' Fellowships, Social Sciences Merit Fellowships, Diversity Fellowships, and other fellowships are awarded to a number of outstanding students. These awards may include an academic year stipend, research and travel stipends, all required student fees, and nonresident tuition, if applicable. A supplemental teaching or research assistantship may be provided by the academic unit. Students may be considered for positions as teaching assistants for up to 12 quarters. Research assistantships are also available. These are normally arranged individually with faculty members, and the salary is approximately the same as for teaching assistantships. Other assistance based on financial need (grants, loans, and work-study awards) may be awarded through the UCI Financial Aid Office. For more information on assistantships and funding resources, click here.
Requirements
Each student is expected to take two course sequences in the first year. These include a quantitative research methods sequence that covers the areas of probability, statistics, and experimental design (Psychology 203A-B-C). The second is a computational research methods sequence that covers programming for experiments and data analysis (Psychology 205A-B). Students must also enroll in a quarter-long proseminar course during the fall quarter of their first year (Psychology 202A). Suitable substitutes may be made with written approval of the Department's Director of Graduate Studies. Completion of the quantitative research methods sequence may be extended over two years if warranted by the background or needs of the student. Additional advanced course work in other fields relevant to the student's interests will supplement the required courses. Students are expected to enroll in the Cognitive Sciences Research Seminar (Psychology 201A-B-C) during all quarters in residence prior to passage of the advancement-to-candidacy examination.
In addition, each student must take at least four core elective courses prior to advancement to candidacy. These courses are drawn from the Core Elective module (Psychology 210-219). Students must also take at least three more courses prior to advancement to candidacy that are normally selected from at least two of the following six modules: Human Cognition (Psychology 220–229); Methodologies and Models (Psychology 230–239); Virtual Reality (Psychology 240–249); Human Performance (Psychology 250–259); Cognitive Neuroscience (Psychology 260–269); and Sensation and Perception (Psychology 270–289).
Each student is expected to carry out theoretical/empirical research during the first two years. By the end of the second year, a student should have completed a research project of a scope and nature that is potentially publishable in a relevant journal. Every student is assigned a faculty advisor, and the advisor is responsible for assisting in the planning and in other facets of the project. Students are required to present a talk to the Cognitive Sciences Research Seminar, based on their research project, by the end of the spring quarter of their second full year in the graduate program. (Another forum for the second-year talk may be substituted with the written approval of the Graduate Director.)
By the following fall quarter, students are required to write a paper based on their research project. The paper must be approved by the student's advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies.
At the end of each academic year the faculty of the Department meets to discuss and provide feedback on the progress of each student in the program.
Masters Degree Requirements
Although the Department does not have an M.A. program, students may earn an M.A. degree as part of the Ph.D. program. The student must complete the following:
Complete the required course work as outlined above
Present a talk and submit an approved paper, both based on empirical/theoretical research, as described above
Fulfill a computer-programming language requirement by completing satisfactorily the computational research methods sequence Psychology 205A-B, or by demonstrating proficiency in use of a programming language for cognitive sciences research as assessed by two faculty members and approved by the Graduate Director.
Advancement to Candidacy
In order to meet the requirements for "Advancement to Candidacy," students must:
Meet the requirements listed above for the M.A. degree
Advance to candidacy by the end of the fall quarter of their third year in the program
Form a five-member faculty committee selected according to Graduate Studies policy that will examine the student on a topic which is determined in consultation with the committee. A written document describing the student's work on this topic must be submitted to the committee prior to advancement. The student must demonstrate an understanding of the background and issues for the research topic and show sufficient preparation and creativity to undertake planning for a dissertation project (e.g., by describing a possible experimental design or outline a possible theoretical development)
Doctoral Degree Requirements
Formal presentation and defense of a written dissertation proposal to a committee of at least three members selected according to Graduate Studies requirements. The dissertation proposal presentation may take place as part of the examination for Advancement to Candidacy, in which case, that five-member committee will approve the dissertation proposal
The proposal must be approved prior to the final dissertation defense (usually at least three months before to allow time for the candidate to incorporate suggestions and changes required by the committee)
Prior to the approval of the final version of the dissertation the student is expected to defend the dissertation in a public colloquium announced with at least one week's notice
All requirements for the Ph.D. degree must be fulfilled within three years after advancement to candidacy
The normative time for advancement to candidacy is three years. The normative time for completion of the Ph.D. is five years, and the maximum time permitted is six years.
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