Decision Psychology Concentration
Course Requirements
A student wishing to complete a concentration in decision psychology must complete Psychology 7708 and two additional graduate courses offered by faculty in the decision psychology program (with exclusions noted below). The main office of the Department of Psychology should be able to identify faculty with appointments in the decision program. This information should also be available on the Decision Psychology web page. Two semesters of Current Research in Decision Psychology (Psychology 8880) can count toward one of the two additional required courses. Students must achieve a grade point average of no less than 3.5 in any three of these courses to successfully complete the concentration. Courses taken under the quarter system will count the same as those taken under the semester system for purposes of the decision concentration.
Excluded Courses
The introductory graduate statistics courses (Psychology 6810 and 6811) and other general quantitative psychology courses (e.g., Psychology 7821, 7822, 7823) cannot be counted toward the decision concentration, nor can any independent study course (e.g., Psychology 6193.06, 8999). Courses from the student’s home area (e.g., social, cognitive, or quantitative psychology) cannot count towards the decision concentration even if the courses are taught by a faculty member who is also in the decision program. Finally, courses that are not taken for a grade (e.g., audited courses or courses that are waived for any reason) cannot be counted toward the decision concentration. The decision program reserves the right to exclude future courses from fulfilling the concentration requirements.
Other Information
For a student to receive a concentration in decision psychology, it is not required that a faculty member from the decision psychology serve on the student’s candidacy examination committee.
When a student has completed the coursework for the concentration and has achieved an adequate GPA in those courses, the student should submit a letter to the decision program coordinator indicating the courses applicable to the concentration. The letter should indicate the student’s home area and, for each course, the semester in which the course was taken, the instructor, and the grade received. The decision program coordinator will subsequently provide the student and his or her adviser with a letter verifying completion of the concentration requirements. The main office of the Department of Psychology should be able to identify the current coordinator for the decision program.