For more detailed information about program requirements and expectations, review the program handbook.
Overview
The Social Psychology graduate program in the Ohio State Department of Psychology is one of the top-ranked social psychology programs internationally. Students in the program receive broad exposure to the theories and methods of social psychology and acquire expertise in one or more specialty areas, such as attitudes and persuasion, social cognition, social motivation, emotion, person perception, social neuroscience, and intergroup relations. They can also choose to specialize in growing areas of applied social psychology, including consumer psychology, health psychology, and political psychology.
Through the Social Psychology graduate program, students develop skills including conceptualization of social psychological theories, operationalization of theoretical constructs, research design, data analysis, scholarly writing, teaching, editorial reviewing, and oral communication. These expertise prepare Social Psychology students for academic and non-academic careers alike. Graduates of the program have gone on to careers in academia, as well as industry (e.g. Meta), consulting, journalism, and public policy.
On an annual basis, Social Psychology students also have the unique opportunity to interact with 10 to 15 distinguished scholars in the field who visit campus as part of the program's colloquium series. Additionally, the program is excited to announce a newly created endowed faculty position that will bring a renowned senior scholar to campus each year. This regular exposure to leading minds in social psychology will provide students and faculty more opportunities to learn and broaden their perspective.
Qualifications
It is helpful for students entering the Social Psychology program to have prior research experience, prior coursework in social psychology, and prior experience in at least elementary statistics and mathematics.
Program of Study
The Social Psychology graduate program is designed to be completed in five years. During years one and two, students complete core coursework and their Master's thesis. They typically complete their PhD candidacy examination early in year three and spend an additional one to two years completing their doctoral dissertation.
Coursework
Required courses in the Social Psychology program include:
- Theory courses such as Psych 7871: Social Cognition, Psych 7872: Social Motivation, and Psych 7873: Attitudes and Persuasion
- Methodology courses such as Psych 7874: Research Methods in Social Psychology and Psych 8876: Professional Issues in Social Psychology
- Statistics courses (Psych 6810 and 6811: Statistical Methods in Psychology, plus a third course of their choosing)
- A teaching course (Psych 6851: Seminar on the Teaching of Psychology)
- Advanced seminars on specialized topics, such as emotion, political psychology, and self-regulation
- Advanced seminars on current research, such as Psych 8877: Attitudes and Psych 8878: Social Cognition)
Students are also required to complete coursework for a concentration (minor) in two other areas within the Department of Psychology, such as Quantitative Psychology or Cognitive Psychology. They may also fulfill this concentration requirement in other university departments, such as the Department of Political Science.
Research
Social Psychology graduate students are actively engaged in research throughout their studies and begin contributing to faculty projects immediately. As they develop competence and experience, they assume larger roles and eventually become full collaborators. Collaborative and interdisciplinary research is encouraged.
Core research requirements of the Social Psychology program include the first-year project and a first-year talk (an oral presentation about the first-year project), the Master's thesis, and the dissertation. Additionally, students must attend either the Social Cognition Research Group (SCRG) or Group for Attitudes and Persuasion (GAP) brownbag meeting on a regular basis. These meetings offer opportunities for students both to learn about and present research to their faculty and Social Psychology peers.
Throughout the remainder of the graduate program, students are expected to conduct, write up, and present their research in appropriate forums while adhering to the highest scholarly and ethical standards. Faculty evaluate their contributions to lab groups, service as research assistants, and their overall progress in becoming professionals (e.g., contribution to publications, presentations at conventions, etc.).
Facilities and Equipment
Social Psychology students have offices in the Psychology Building and Lazenby Hall near faculty offices and laboratories. Laboratories include cubicles for data collection from individual subjects, larger rooms for data collection from groups, rooms with one way mirrors for observational coding and recording, and an assortment of state-of-the-art computer and audio/video equipment for data collection and stimulus presentation. Students also have access to computers for data analysis and word processing. In addition, the Thomas M. Ostrom Athenaeum contains journals, books, and computers for graduate student use.
Core Faculty
