Psychology: Graduate Student Handbook

Graduate Student Handbook

Welcome to the Department of Psychology at the University of Virginia. This Handbook is designed to tell you everything you always wanted to know about the Department's rules and procedures. We are not a department with a lot of rules, but the ones we have are important, and you should be familiar with them. Please hold onto this handbook and consult it frequently.

Department of Psychology
University of Virginia
P.O. Box 400400
102 Gilmer Hall
Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4400
Phone: (434) 982-4750
Fax: (434) 982-4766

1. People To Know In Gilmer Hall
2. The Graduate Program in Psychology
3. Degree Requirements
   1. Course Work
   2. Developing One's Own Area
   3. Developing Breadth
   4. Requirements for the Master's Degree
   5. Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree
   6. Time to Complete the M.A. and Ph.D.
   7. The Seven Year Rule
   8. Family/Medical Leave Policy
4. Graduate Arts And Sciences Regulations
5. Student Evaluations
6. Use Of Human And Animal Subjects
7. Licensing Requirements
8. Student Grievances
9. Graduate Representation Committee
10. Summer Session Registration
11. Financial Support
12. Life In Gilmer Hall
13. Appendices
    • Appendix A: Course Selection and Tuition
    • Appendix B: Job Descriptions for Teaching Assistantships and Graderships
    • Appendix C: Sample Predissertation Title Page
    • Appendix D: Sample Dissertation Title Page
    • Appendix E1: Clinical Psychology Training Program Requirements
    • Appendix E2: Clinical Area Comprehensive Exam
    • Appendix E3: Clinical Practicum Activities Policies
    • Appendix E4: Courses for Clinical Psychology Graduate Students - Core Courses
    • Appendix F: Using the Departmental Participant Pool
    • Appendix G: Non-Resident Status
    • Appendix H: Travel Reimbursement Request Worksheet
    • Appendix I: How Will I Receive My Money
    • Appendix J: MA/PhD Degree Candidate Information and Deadlines
    • Appendix K: Format for Requesting Dissertation Funds

Graduate education in this department has three main goals and guidelines:

1. The primary goal is to develop competence in research.
2. Students are different from each other in terms of backgrounds, strengths, needs, and goals. The department, therefore, permits each student to develop an individualized curriculum under the guidance of an advisory committee (see below for details).
3. The department encourages students to keep sight of their future career requirements (e.g., requirements for clinical licensure).

The Psychology Department has a few general requirements, although each area -- Clinical, Cognitive, Community, Developmental, Quantitative, Sensory and Systems Neuroscience, and Social -- has its own additional expectations. The graduate program is based on a model of one-to-one interaction between students and faculty members. There is approximately a 2.5/1 ratio of students to faculty, and it is assumed that the major part of a student's graduate education will be derived from working with individual faculty members and collaborating with fellow students. However, in the interests of ensuring that students are prepared to cope with methodological requirements in conducting psychological research and that they have a reasonable breadth in their knowledge of psychology, we have imposed certain requirements. The course requirements are spelled out below, followed by the additional requirements for the M.A. degree and the Ph.D. degree. Although there are separate requirements for the Master's degree, it is assumed that most students admitted to graduate study in psychology will pursue the work for the Ph.D.

Course Work

One of the most confusing things at UVA is the distinction between different kinds of courses. The different types are described below, along with the number of hours of each that are required for the M.A. and the Ph.D.

Graded Courses

These are regular courses for which you attend class, complete assignments, and receive a grade.

"Contemporary Issues in" Courses.

These are credit hours offered by each area for attending their weekly research meetings (e.g., Psychology 796, "Contemporary Issues: Social Psychology"). These are also known as "area lunches."

Topical Research

Graduate students get credit hours for doing research as well as taking regular courses. One way you do this is to sign up for "topical research" with a specific faculty member, typically your major adviser. Each faculty member has a course number for this purpose, from Psychology 901 to 977.

Non-Topical Research

There are four courses labeled non-topical research: Psychology 897, 898, 997, 999. These hours are charged at a lower tuition rate, and should be used when you have completed most of your other course requirements (see below). When you sign up for these courses you put down your faculty adviser's modifier number, so that the grade sheet goes to that faculty member (modifier numbers for each faculty member are listed in the main office).

Practicum Credits

These are course credits you receive for engaging in practicum research experience (e.g., Psychology 998). Typically these courses are taken only by students in the clinical and community areas. For purposes of tuition these credits are treated the same as non-topical research credits.

Course Requirements for the Master's Degree:

30 hours of graded courses (i.e., not including topical research, non-topical research, practicum credits, or "Contemporary Issues in" courses). No extension, correspondence, home-study, or transfer courses will be counted toward the M.A. degree.

Course Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree:

The University requires successful completion of at least 72 hours for the Ph.D., including those completed for the Master's Degree. At least 54 of the 72 hours must be graded courses, topical research, or "Contemporary Issues in" courses. At least 38 of these 54 hours must be graded courses (including those completed for the Master's Degree). Courses taken through a continuing education program or when the student was an undergraduate may not be counted toward these unit requirements even if they were graduate level courses.

General Plan

Each semester, you are required to enroll for 12 credit hours; you cannot enroll for more.

In addition to your graded courses and "Contemporary Issues", most semesters students sign up for research with their faculty advisor - either "topical" or "non-topical" research. Topical research counts towards the hours needed for the Ph.D.; however, it is also more expensive. Thus, in the initial years the research hours should be topical; in subsequent years it is usually better to enroll in non-topical research unless topical credit hours are needed. First year students who will be a grader or Teaching Assistant during the year will also want to sign up for Psyc 801 - Teaching Psychology.

When deciding which graded courses to take, consult with your adviser and area leader. Remember that each area requires different courses, in addition to the departmental requirements. You should enroll in topical or non-topical research with a designated faculty adviser of your choice, or with the Director of Graduate Studies as a preliminary adviser. Though the Director of Graduate Studies may be the nominal adviser until officially changed by the student, the actual adviser is usually someone else. Students should choose their official adviser (or co-advisers) for the predissertation by the end of the first semester. The selection should be reported to the Director of Graduate Studies in writing. It is not unusual for students to have two or three different advisers during the course of their graduate education. It is the student's responsibility to report all official changes of adviser to the Director of Graduate Studies in writing.

More information about how tuition is paid and a sample course schedule can be found in Appendix A.

Developing One's Own Area

Occasionally students want to pursue an area of interest for which there is not an established area grouping, such as law and psychology. To do so, students need to find an adviser and three additional faculty members to oversee their program. This faculty committee's function is to approve the student's annual progress and to make certain that the student completes a set of courses suitable for a Ph.D. in Psychology and consistent with Departmental guidelines. Any student wishing to form such a committee should speak with the Director of Graduate Studies. (Technically all students need such a four-person advisory committee; in most cases, the entire area group serves this function.)

Developing Breadth

Part of a broad academic training should include exposure to multiple ways of thinking and doing research. In addition, it is in your interest to have professional relationships with multiple faculty members who will then be able to write detailed recommendations when you seek a job. One way you can achieve such breadth is by working in more than one lab. Therefore, you are encouraged to work with more than one faculty member. This could happen in two ways: (1) at some time during your graduate career you could work in more than one lab concurrently; (2) you could move from one lab to another. Because feelings can easily be hurt in these situations, we advise you to conduct such collaborations in a spirit of openness: keep both faculty mentors aware of your plans. Of course, you may choose to remain in one lab for the duration of you graduate career.

Requirements for the Master's Degree

Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree

Time to Complete the M.A. and Ph.D.

As noted, students should complete all requirements for the Master's degree by August 1 of their second year. The major area exam should be completed by the end of student's sixth semester in residence, and all other requirements for the Ph.D. (including the dissertation and oral defense) should be completed by the end of the student's fourth year.

However, students often find that it is necessary to stay in the program for an additional one or more years either because their research projects take longer than expected, or in order to become established in the field by publishing articles, working on additional research projects, or gaining more teaching experience. In this case, alternative deadlines may be negotiated among the student, his/her adviser, and the department. One alternative timetable might involve completion of the predissertation by the end of the fifth semester, the major area exam in the fourth year, and the dissertation in the fifth or sixth year. Students wishing to propose an alternative timetable may do so by submitting a progress report to the Director of Graduate Studies no later than one month prior to the departmental deadline for the requirement. The progress report should be signed by the student's adviser. Please note that students are usually guaranteed funding for only four years. Thus, alternative timetables might necessitate the acquisition of external funding (funding from sources outside the department and university) by the student and his/her adviser.

The Seven Year Rule

The following resolution received the unanimous approval of the faculty in April, 1990, and is in effect: Any student who does not complete all requirements for the Ph.D. in the seven year period of eligibility stipulated by the School of Arts and Sciences will be terminated without a degree. Any student currently in her/his seventh year of eligibility has until May 31 of that academic year, to complete all requirements. Exceptions to these guidelines will only be made in cases in which extraordinary circumstances have prevailed, and such exceptions will be granted only by a unanimous vote of the Graduate Committee. An appeal to the full faculty would of course be possible.

Family/Medical Leave Policy

Students shall have the option of taking up to one semester of time away from their studies upon the occurrence of any of the circumstances listed below. Students will generally be considered as not-in-residence during this period, unless they have a specific need to remain "in-residence", either to use University facilities or to maintain their health insurance. The department will pay for the cost of students' non-resident status, but will not provide other funding during this period.

Each time that a leave is taken it will extend departmental academic deadlines, including the "7-year rule" by one semester. Students who desire to take a longer period away from their academic work have the option to petition the faculty to do so.

Circumstances under which a family/medical leave can be taken:

• The birth of a child (to be taken within 12 months of the child's birth)
• The placement of a child with the student for adoption or foster care (to be taken within 12 months of date of placement)
• In order to care for a child, a dependent son or daughter over 18 years of age who is incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability, or a spouse or a parent who has a serious health condition that involves:
  • in-patient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility
  • or continuing treatment by a health care provider
• Because of a serious personal health condition that renders the student unable to perform the functions of his/her position. The Department may request certification that the student is unable to work at all or is unable to perform any of the essential functions of the student's position within the meaning of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Restricted Use of Family and Medical Leave

Family and medical leave may not be used for short-term conditions for which treatment and recovery are brief, such as minor illnesses and outpatient surgical procedures with expected brief recuperating periods. It does not provide for the intermittent care of a child for such commonplace illnesses as colds and flu.

When both parents of a child work or are students at the University, the full amount of leave will be limited to a combined total of 14 work weeks in a 12-month period when the leave is for the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.

For detailed information regarding policies of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences please visit http://artsandsciences.virginia.edu/gradschool/index.html. This site also contains valuable information regarding 1) Degree requirements, 2) Financial Assistance, 3) Research Opportunities, 4) Registration procedures, 5) Assistantships and 6) Student Life.

Prior to conferral of the M.A. or the Ph.D. degree, a formal degree application must be approved by the Chair of the Psychology Department and the graduate division of Arts and Sciences. Deadlines for submission of this application are as follows: October 1 for a January degree, February 1 for a May degree, and July 1 for an August degree. The M.A. candidate must receive satisfactory standing in a final examination, the results of which, together with the examiners' names, must be reported by the Director of Graduate Studies to the graduate division of Arts and Sciences at least two weeks before degree conferral. The predissertation research report required by the Department satisfies the final examination requirement.

There are specific rules for final preparation of the doctoral dissertation. Detailed directions concerning typing, paper and format are contained in the Graduate Record. The title of the dissertation is to be approved by the advisory professor and submitted to the graduate division of Arts and Sciences on the degree application. The original and one copy, or two electrostatic copies of the dissertation on acceptable paper, must be brought to the Graduate Enrolled Student Office for inspection no later than December 14 if the degree is to be conferred in January, or May 1 if the degree is to be conferred in May, or August 1 if the degree is to be conferred in August. You should contact the Enrolled Student Office (924-7183) regarding complete specifications, information and forms.

See Appendix J for an explanation of the forms and documents you need to submit to the Enrolled Student Office in order to obtain the MA and PhD degrees.

The graduate division of Arts and Sciences allows the option of a foreign language requirement for both the M.A. degree and the Ph.D. The Department of Psychology does not require a foreign language.

If you have any doubts about these requirements, check with the Graduate Enrolled Student Office or the Director of Graduate Studies.

All graduate students will submit, by January 20th, an annual progress report and a copy of their current vita to the Director of Graduate Studies and their area or committee leader covering the preceding year. First year graduate students will submit a report covering their first semester.

First year graduate students will meet individually with the Chair late in the Spring semester. Appointments are arranged by the Chair's secretary and allow for a discussion of each student's impressions of the graduate program.

Each area of the department reviews students in its area at least once a year. Information regarding the reviews are submitted to the faculty as a whole and the faculty reviews the progress of all graduate students in a meeting during the Spring semester. Written evaluations are sent to each student shortly after this review. These evaluations provide the student with an opportunity to correct or update an incomplete file as well as to review plans and to assess his or her progress. The student's annual progress report and vita will be used as major input for these evaluations, as will the comments of the student's advisory committee, and other informed faculty members.

Performance in the graduate program is judged on the basis of the following criteria.

All research projects using living subjects must be approved by the University's Institutional Review Board on the forms required by the appropriate committee. Copies of the forms along with instructions for submission can be obtained from UVA's Research website. Go to that site then click on the links for human behavioral or medical research, or animal research. Even if you believe that your research is exempt from review, you must submit a research protocol to the University Committee.

Note: All students must complete the appropriate on-line training module before engaging in research using living humans or animals.

All research using students from the Department of Psychology Participant Pool must also be submitted to the Department's Student Participant Committee. This committee evaluates the educational value of your written explanation to the participants. See Appendix F for a description of the departmental participant pool.

For any student in any area of psychology who may at any future point want to be licensed generically as a psychologist, you must have taken courses from four basic areas (clinical students must do this currently). Courses that should meet these requirements include the following by distribution category.

• Biological Bases

  • Psyc 521 - Developmental Psychobiology (3)
  • Psyc 525 - Hormones and Behavior (3)
  • Psyc 526 - Psychobiology and Memory (3)
  • Psyc 531 - Functional Neuroanatomy (3)
  • Psyc 720 - Physiological Psychology (3)
  • Psyc 722 - Foundations of Physiological Clinical Psychology (3)

• Cognitive-Emotional Bases

  • Psyc 522 - Fundamentals of Motivation (3)
  • Psyc 554 - Theories of Cognitive Development (3)
  • Psyc 701 - Theoretical Psychology (3)
  • Psyc 711 - Psycholinguistics (3)
  • Psyc 715 - Cognitive Processes (3)

• Social/Community Bases

  • Psyc 748 - Community Psychology I and Prevention Science (4)
  • Psyc 749 - Community Psychology II and Prevention Science (4)
  • Psyc 760 - Social Psychology (3)
  • Psyc 762 - Social Cognition and Human Inference (3)
  • Psyc 805 - Public Policy, Children, and Families (4)
  • Psyc 860 - Mental Health, Law and Children (4)

• Individual Differences

  • Psyc 554 - Theories of Cognitive Development (3)
  • Psyc 555 - Developmental Psycholinguistics (3)
  • Psyc 747 - Experimental Psychopathology (3)
  • Psyc 750 - Developmental Psychology (3)
  • Psyc 757 - Behavior Disorders of Childhood (3)
  • Psyc 852 - Social and Personality Development (3)
  • Psyc 855 - Language Development (3))
  • Psyc 860 - Mental Health, Law and Children (4)

Note for Clinical Students: Appendices E1 - E4 provide information regarding program format, qualifying exam, practicum requirements, and core courses.

If a graduate student has a disagreement with a faculty member(s) or has any other academic grievance, s/he should try to resolve the problem with the person(s) involved and with the Director of Graduate Studies. If this doesn't work, s/he may file a written complaint with the Director of Graduate Studies who after consultation with the student will submit it to members of the Graduate Committee if the student desires. The Graduate Committee may invite all parties to discuss the matter. If the Graduate Committee finds justification for the complaint, it may try to resolve the problem directly or, failing that, bring the complaint to the Departmental faculty as a whole. In either case, the Director of Graduate Studies will notify the student in writing of the Graduate Committee's action. If the student is not satisfied, the student may then choose to employ the University's formal grievance procedure, which involves bringing the matter to the attention of the Chair of the Department, the Dean, the Provost, and the President.

If the student wishes to appeal any action taken by the Departmental faculty as a whole--such as termination in the program--the student must, within two weeks of the action, submit a written appeal to the Director of Graduate Studies stating the grounds for seeking relief. The Director of Graduate Studies and the Graduate Committee may consult with the student and with any particular faculty members involved. If the Committee finds the appeal merits further consideration, it will bring the matter to the attention of the Departmental faculty or the Dean. The Graduate Committee will inform the student in writing of whatever decision it makes and steps that it takes. If the appeal is brought to the faculty, a special meeting of the Department will be convened. If the student is not satisfied with the eventual outcome, the regular steps of the University's grievance procedure remain open to the student.

NOTE: One function of the Director of Graduate Studies is to be available for confidential discussions with any graduate student who is concerned about any major problem related to a faculty member or to any of the academic requirements. Such a meeting will be totally confidential unless the student gives the Director of Graduate studies permission to act otherwise.

There is a graduate student-run organization called the Graduate Representation Committee (GRC) that consists of six elected students: a chair and five class representatives (1st year, 2nd year, 3rd year, 4th year, and 5th+ years). The committee meets regularly to discuss any concerns brought to them by graduate students in the department, and other important issues to graduate students.

Women's Concerns Committee

There is a departmental committee, made up of faculty and graduate students, that deals with women's concerns. You are welcome to bring comments or concerns to any member of the committee.

Most graduate students do not enroll in summer school although most remain at the University during the summer, engaged in research. Students intending to enroll for research hours only, nonresident status, or graduate status during Summer Session, should consult with their adviser, with the Director of Graduate Studies, and with the Graduate Enrolled Student Office regarding registration requirements. (See Appendix H about students planning on getting their degree during the summer and nonresident status.) You must be officially registered during the semester that you wish to get a degree.

The department does the best it can to provide financial assistance to students. Such support is dependent upon satisfactory progress in the program and the availability of funds. The type of funding you get is likely to vary from year to year and may include: teaching assistantships, graderships, research assistantships, and fellowships. Note that different "kinds" of money are paid on different schedules. You will receive the payment schedule before the academic year begins. Students with University Fellowships are expected to reapply by February 1st to cover needs of the following year.

It is departmental policy to do everything possible to facilitate all out-of-state students being eligible for in-state tuition charges. Although this has often been possible, circumstances beyond the department's control may make this an impossibility. For any student promised full tuition plus a certain sum of money, this promise may be met by providing the student with enough income beyond the promised sum to cover tuition costs.

Students are strongly encouraged to apply for external funding in order to assist their own graduate studies, bring money into the department, and gain experience in grant writing. In the first year of the program, students are encouraged to apply for a National Science Foundation (NSF) pre-doctoral fellowship, which funds three years of support. In their second through fourth years, students are encouraged to apply for a National Research Service Award (NSRA) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Grants from other funding agencies are available, depending on your area of research. As a department we have had an excellent rate of success with these grants. Information on these and other sources of external funding have been complied by the Graduate Representation Council (GRC) and is available in the main office (see Donna Hearn). Most information is available on-line. To encourage students to apply for external grants, the department will guarantee each incoming student up to four years of funding in addition to any years of external support. For example, a student supported by an NSF, three-year fellowship can be supported by the department for up to four additional years.

Other Fellowships and Awards of Interest

Travel Funds

The Psychology Department currently provides graduate students with up to $300 per year for travel to a meeting or conference at which they present a paper or participate in a symposium of some other formal activity related to work as a departmental graduate student. (The only exception to this rule is for attendance at the Psychonomic Society meeting. In this case, because of rules of the Society, a student can not present even if first author. The expectation is that the student will be first author when the research is submitted for publication.) The availability of this $300 is subject to change without notice depending on the Departmental financial situation. To receive this money, there can be no other source of funding. That is, the studentÕs faculty supervisor does not have resources that can be used for this purpose. Students must make a request in writing to the Director of Graduate Studies. Send in the body of an email (NOT an attachment):

• Your name
• Your e-mail address
• Title of Presentation (and whether it is a poster or paper)
• Authorship of Presentation
• Name of Conference
• Location of Conference
• Date of Conference
• A Budget, make sure you include:
  • Airfare or car miles
  • Other transportation
  • Hotel
  • Registration fee for conference
• And the total requested

This approval must be obtained before a trip is made. You should send it to the DGS no later than 6 weeks before your travel date. The money may come from either the Dean or the Department, however, only one trip per year will be funded. If the money comes from the Dean, you will be instructed where to send receipts. If the money comes from the department, submit original receipts to Louise Spangler. To avoid a cash or credit layout, once the funds are approved you might be able to have the department transfer the money to pay for plane tickets or conference registration. See Tabitha Lillard.

Dissertation-Related Money

Predissertation Award:

The Maury Pathfinder Award. The Department makes an annual award of $2000 for an outstanding predissertation or Master's thesis to any student who completes the research during the previous year and continues on for the Ph.D. A copy of the predissertation or thesis must be submitted to the Director of Graduate Studies or the assistant to the Chair by an announced date in the Fall to be considered for this award.

Teaching Awards:

Education beyond courses and research

Courses, consultation with faculty members, and research are not the whole of graduate education in the Department of Psychology at the University of Virginia. There are often talks on Monday or Friday afternoons 3:30-5:00 PM, featuring distinguished faculty and well-known speakers from outside the Department. These colloquia provide an opportunity to hear about the latest theory and research in various fields of psychology and to meet people who are leaders in research. It is expected that all students and faculty will attend these colloquia whenever possible. There are also various informal discussion groups and "Contemporary Issues in" research meetings (often over lunch) which provide an opportunity for exchange of ideas among both students and faculty within the seven subspecialties. As much as possible these lunches are scheduled so that students and faculty can attend multiple meetings if they so desire. It is expected that each will attend his/her area group lunch meeting on a regular basis throughout his/her tenure in this department.

E-mail

All graduate students should obtain an e-mail account as soon as possible. Most of the departmental memos are delivered over e-mail, not on paper. There are a variety of options for e-mail programs. Information about these options can be obtained from the Information Technology and Communication (ITC) office in Wilson Hall.

Space and Keys

Space and Keys. Despite the opening of the Life Sciences Laboratories in 1986, space in Gilmer Hall remains at a premium. Office space for graduate students will be provided whenever possible. Graduate students will fill out a key card once they know where their office will be and their advisor will need to sign the card before the front office can issue keys. Graduate Students will be issued a DDl key which will open the main entrances to the building, mailroom and the library. Alteration or unauthorized use of keys to Gilmer Hall is a serious violation of professional trust. Graduate students should not lend their keys to unauthorized people under any circumstances, since there are several specialized research facilities in the Department. There is an elevator for equipment transport and people unable to negotiate the stairs. A separate key is required to use the elevator; see the receptionist to receive a copy. Please try to limit your use of the elevator.

Clinic

For training purposes, the department's clinical psychology program maintains the Mary D. S. Ainsworth Clinic that treats clients free of charge. The clinical coordinator is Patricia Llewellyn, Ph.D. The clinic is in the clinical suite on the main floor (Room 108). Please maintain appropriate decorum at all times when in this area.

Library

There is a graduate library in the Life Sciences wing of Gilmer Hall. Graduate students are issued keys, and it is to be kept locked whenever a librarian is not on duty. This library is an invaluable resource, and the freedom to use it during off hours is dependent upon obeying the few and simple rules imposed. Sandi Dulaney, the librarian, is very helpful.

Kitchen

There is a graduate kitchen (Room 225A) for the use of graduate students. It is your collective responsibility to keep these facilities in good condition. The storage space, refrigerator, and stove are for individual convenience as well as for group enterprises.

Mailbox

Each student has a mailbox in Room 103. Mail for graduate students is placed in these individual boxes daily. All phone messages are put on e-mail. Be sure to check your e-mail frequently.

Telephones

There are phones located on each floor for graduate students, and use is limited to University and local calls. If a long-distance call must be made, a long-distance code must be obtained from the graduate student's adviser. No personal long-distance calls are allowed except by use of your personal phone charge cards.

Postage

The Department will pay postage for graduate student job applications, and will pay for up to 50 copies of reprints for the same purpose, if funds are available. See Tabitha Lillard.

Secretarial help

Due to the increased size of the Department's faculty and the resulting increase in administrative demands, the only typing done for graduate students includes:

• papers they have co-authored with a faculty member,
• course work needed by Teaching Assistant's,
• experiments done with a faculty member,
• and letters requested by various University offices (e.g., Student Aid, Registrar, etc.)

However, with easy access to word processing equipment, it is expected that students will usually take care of paper typing and preparation themselves.

Financial / job / housing information

If you want a waiver on electric and telephone deposits, go to Alumni Hall for information.

The Psychology Office Receptionist maintains notebooks for graduate student use of currently available faculty positions, research opportunities, calls for papers, an occasional house listing, and various other helpful items of interest. Be sure to check these notebooks when you are interested in any of these areas.

Students who work as graders or instructors are paid wages from September-April. Tax forms must be filled out before any wages can be paid.

Finally, the Department will reimburse, $9 each, the cost of lunch for three graduate students entertaining a colloquium speaker or faculty candidate. To receive reimbursement, you must present an original receipt. See the Accountant, Tabitha Lillard, for details on all financial matters.

Your contact information

Throughout your graduate student years and after you leave, please keep the departmental office and the Registrar at Carruthers Hall informed as to your current address, phone number, and place of employment. This allows us to keep our records up to date and to send you departmental newsletters, etc.

Shop

There is an excellent shop complex (Room 021) under the direction of Ron Simmons, who is available for advice and help on most weekdays. Ron is willing to help graduate students who want to work on their own projects and who have the necessary skills. Power equipment cannot be used without Ron's approval. The shop is locked and not available for use evenings and weekends. Tools cannot be removed from the shop. Students must sign for all material used. Important: If you are a T.A. or Grader, you must see Ron for instruction in the use of audio visual equipment.

Appendix A: Course Selection and Tuition

Registration

Each semester, you are required to enroll for 12 credit hours. There are two kinds of constraints that should guide your course selection:

1. which courses you need to complete the Master's and Ph.D. requirements
2. financial considerations

Remember:
For the Master's you need 30 graded courses.
For the PhD you need:

• 72 total hours (includes all types of courses, practicum and research)
• 54 of which must be: Graded courses, "Contemporary Issues", or Topical Research (we will call these "expensive courses" below)
• 38 of which must be graded courses

Topical versus Non-topical Research

Most semesters, in addition to graded courses, students sign up for research with their faculty advisor - either "topical" or "non-topical" research. Topical research counts towards the hours needed for the Ph.D.; however, it is also more expensive. Thus, in the initial years the research hours should be topical; in subsequent years it is usually better to enroll in non-topical research unless topical credit hours are needed. (See example below.)

Minimizing tuition payments by managing hours

As a department, we try to guarantee all students tuition for a three- or four-year period. In order for us to be able to afford this, it is very important that students "manage" their hours carefully.

Tuition is only paid for some courses: Thus, some courses are expensive; some courses are cheap.
Expensive courses:

• Graded courses
• "contemporary issues" courses
• topical research hours

Cheap courses:

• Non-topical research hours
• practicum credits

Note that although the cheap courses don't count for tuition purposes, they do count toward the number of hours of enrollment (i.e., towards your total hour requirements for the Ph.D.).

Tuition is paid in blocks

(From most to least expensive) There are different rates for:
9-12 hours of "expensive" courses
4-8 hours of "expensive" courses
1-3 hours of "expensive" courses
12 hours of all non-topical research

Therefore, if you are going to sign up for 6 hours of graded courses, you might as well sign up for 2 more hours of "expensive" courses (e.g., contemporary issues or topical research) bringing your total to 8 expensive hours and then 4 hours of cheap non-topical research. Because of all these rules, you should never sign up for fewer than 4 hours of non-topical research in a semester.

Table 1: Sample Schedule Showing Number of Credit Hours Each Semester

Table 1 shows a typical sequence of courses that a student might take. (This is meant to be an example, not a prescription for your course schedule.) Note that this student has

1. fulfilled the requirement of least 30 hours of graded courses for the Master's by the end of his/her second year
2. has fulfilled the requirement of at least 38 hours of graded courses for the Ph.D.
3. has 54 hours of graded courses, topical research, and "Contemporary Issues" course hours
4. has at least 72 credit hours of all types

Note further that the tuition charged to this student starts to decrease after the fall semester in Year 2. In the spring semester of Year 2 he/she would be charged the 4-8 hour rate (the 4 hours of non-topical research would not count toward tuition). By the fall of his/her fourth year this student is taking all non-topical research, and is thus charged minimal tuition.

Again, this table is an example only. Clearly we expect some variation on these enrollment hours. Some areas have different expectations than others; for example, the clinical area requires more graded courses in the first year than most other areas. Some students may need or desire to take more than 38 hours of graded courses. Or, the graduate course you have always dreamed of taking may only be offered in the fall of your fourth year. The important things to remember are to (1) take 12 hours of credits each semester, and (2) take graded courses, "Contemporary Issues in", and topical research hours earlier rather than later in your graduate career. This will maximize the likelihood that the department can afford to pay for the tuition of most students.

How tuition is calculated and paid

There are actually two kinds of tuition: in-state tuition (which is small) and out-of-state tuition (which is much larger). The difference between the two is called a "differential".

Payment of out-of-state tuition differential: If you are an out-of-state student, the Psychology Department gives you a "tuition differential" that pays the difference between the out-of-state and in-state tuition rates. To qualify for a tuition differential, you must earn at least $5000 a year as a Teaching Assistant or from research grants (gradership and fellowship money does not count toward this $5000). The graduate school allocates us a limited number of tuition differentials, thus we must spend them wisely. The cost of the differentials is based on the tuition rates discussed earlier; for example, if out-of-state students enroll in 9-12 hours of graded courses and topical research they need a full tuition differential for that semester, whereas if they enroll in 8 hours of courses and 4 hours of non-topical research, they need only 2/3 of a tuition differential for that semester. In order for us to have enough tuition differentials to go around, it is, again, very important for students to manage their hours carefully. If you think you qualify as a Virginia resident at any time, it is very important that you apply for in-state status so we will not need a differential for you.

Payment of in-state tuition: The university does not charge students any in-state tuition if they have a teaching assistantship (TA). (Students are charged in-state tuition if they have a gradership). If you are being paid as a Research Assistant from a grant, typically the grant will pay for your in-state tuition. Also, many outside awards and fellowships will pay for your in-state tuition. All else being equal, you should thus take more courses during the semesters you are a TA. For example, suppose you are a TA in the fall semester of your second year and a grader in the spring semester of your second year. You will not be charged any tuition for the fall semester, thus, all else being equal, you should take more courses that semester.

Note: Graduate students are expected to take Psychology 801: Teaching Psychology before or concurrent with teaching for the first time.

Faculty should discuss their expectations of the actual role of their teaching assistants (TAs) and graders in advance so that expectations are clear. Faculty should be aware that their TAs and graders should not be exploited. A lecture or two may be given by the grader or TA if the major intent is to provide teaching experience for the student (in most cases, the instructor will be in attendance in order to provide feedback). The following guidelines for graders and TAs are reasonably specific but are not necessarily all inclusive. Probably the most critical component is the number of hours entailed.

Teaching Assistants

Expected Weekly Work Hours: average 10 to 12 with 3 teaching/contact hours for teaching assistants, 4 teaching/contact hours for laboratory instructors.

Teaching Assistants who conduct independently-run discussion or lab sections are expected to average 10 to 12 weekly work hours. In addition to teaching their sections or labs, they are expected to hold regular office hours (2 hours/week), do the grading for their discussion or lab, and attend regular meetings for section or lab planning.

Head Teaching Assistants for 305/306 are responsible for coordinating all lab enrollments and weekly outlines. Each head TA teaches one lab section.

Review Teaching Assistants

Expected Weekly Work Hours: average 10 to 12. These assignments go primarily to first-year students.

Teaching Assistants who do not conduct independently-run discussion or lab sections will hold a weekly review session and regular office hours (usually 2 hours/week). They are expected to average 10-12 weekly work hours. These TAs are expected to do some but not necessarily all of the following:

1. Attend lectures, unless exempted by the instructor
2. Help the instructor with audiovisual aids and course materials
3. Provide individual assistance for students
4. Assist the instructor with exam preparation, distribution, and grading
5. Collect, copy, and put articles on reserve or take them to copying center
6. Help in other ways that have been specified by the instructor ahead of time

Graders

Expected Weekly Work Hours: average 7 to 10.

Graders are expected to average 7 to 10 weekly work hours. When there is only one grader assigned to a class (small lecture or medium lectures with minimal grading), the duties may be similar to the Review TA duties described above. The main difference is that there will not be a weekly review session (although review sessions may be expected before exams). When there are two graders or a grader in addition to the TA, additional work will involve grading papers or exams. By preference of the instructor, two graders may either share the grading and class responsibilities, or one grader could do primarily grading and the other could serve as primarily a course assistant.

Duties (graders should do a subset of the following tasks listed below not to exceed the expected hours):

1. Attend lectures as needed.
2. Hold review sessions before exams.
3. Take notes in lectures if requested by instructor.
4. Write exam questions, sometimes entire exams if multiple choice which means computer grading.
5. Collect, xerox, and put articles on reserve or take them to copying center.
6. Grade exams and essays.
7. Hold office hours as needed.
8. Help the professor with audiovisual aids in the classroom.

Instead of the traditional written exam, the Comprehensive Exam will be based on three specific activities which represent a sample of primary responsibilities associated with an academic career:

1. Journal article critique: write a short (two or three page, single-spaced) review of a recent journal article (published or unpublished). Assess its strengths and weaknesses, and make detailed recommendations for its revision. A good idea is to ask your adviser to act as a student reviewer of an actual, submitted article.
2. Review paper (after Psychological Bulletin or Annual Review of Psychology format): write a comprehensive review of a particular topic or issue which demonstrates breadth of knowledge across more than one area of psychology as well as a critical and thorough understanding of a particular topic. Picking your topic is a key so that you do not become overwhelmed. Be focused; demonstrate breadth by bring other issues to bear on your focused topic.
3. Course syllabus: prepare a detailed syllabus (statement of goals, course outline, and readings) for a one-semester course at either the undergraduate or graduate level. Use the syllabus from a course you have taken as a model.

Students are expected to do the work required for the Comprehensive Exam during their second and third years of graduate study. All three parts are expected to be finished by May 30 following the completion of the student's third year in the program.

Students should choose a Comprehensive Exam adviser by the end of the Fall Semester in their second year of graduate study. Two other members of each student's Comprehensive Exam Committee must then be chosen in consultation with this adviser. One of these members ordinarily will be from within the core clinical faculty, and the other ordinarily will be from another area within the Department of Psychology (to ensure breadth of coverage). This committee will be responsible for supervising all three parts of the exam process. All three members of the committee must be consulted before the exam process is initiated. This process of consultation and negotiation, particularly with regard to the topic of the review paper, is designed to ensure that the final paper will meet the general spirit of this assignment in terms of breadth and depth of coverage.

Students cannot fail the Comprehensive Exam, but the committee may return any part of the work for revision. If any part of the work is severely flawed, the committee may inform the student that a single revision is unlikely to be acceptable.

The clinical faculty in the Department of Psychology is responsible for the practical training and clinical activities of graduate students (regardless of their level of prior experience or length of time in the program). In order to establish and maintain a coherent training program, we must be sure that placements are available for all students on an equitable basis and that all students participate in a balanced series of practicum experiences. We are also accountable (e.g., malpractice and liability insurance) for any problems that might arise during students' clinical work.

Therefore, all practicum activities must be approved and coordinated through the Director of the Ainsworth Clinic, Patricia Llewellyn. Discuss your interests and plans for future practicum placements with her during the spring semester of each year. She is responsible for arranging and maintaining our formal relations with practicum supervisors outside of this department. After you begin working at a site, you must stay in touch with Lee so that she can monitor your progress and be sure that you are receiving adequate supervision. If there are serious problems, they will be discussed by the clinical faculty as a whole.

Clinical skills training in the first two years of the program takes place primarily in the context of formal courses. Students in their third and fourth years (and beyond) are also expected to be actively involved in practicum training. This advanced activity must be closely supervised, and it must also be formally acknowledged, recorded, and evaluated. The vehicle for that process involves registration for PSYC 998 ("Clinical Practicum"), which is a variable (one to three) credit class. Student performance is evaluated on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis. You must enroll for this course whenever you are involved in practicum activities outside of Gilmer Hall. Students who sign up for P998 should list Patricia Llewellyn as their instructor. Be sure to check with Patricia before you register.

At the end of each semester, a form will be completed by your supervisors to provide feedback about your performance in several areas. The supervisor will also be asked to indicate on a global basis whether your work was satisfactory. The supervisor is required to discuss these comments with you before returning them to Patricia Llewellyn.

Your performance in practicum experiences is one important consideration in our evaluation of students' progress in the training program. Regardless of whether you are registered for formal course credit, two semesters of unsatisfactory work in practicum may be grounds for dismissal from the clinical training program.

Rationale

In addition to their course work in clinical psychology and quantitative methods, students are required to take additional courses which ensure broad familiarity with the basic science of psychology. These courses are typically expected to be general (rather than specialized) in their content, providing an advanced survey of current knowledge in one of the fundamental areas of psychology. Students will typically take these core courses from non-clinical faculty members. Emphasis is given to courses that describe general principles rather than the study of individual differences and to courses that focus on the basic psychological knowledge rather than the application of psychological knowledge.

Requirement

Each student must take at least one course in each of the following three areas. Courses listed in the left column are highly recommended. Courses in the right column may be more specialized in scope. In order to retain some flexibility in students' curricula, the clinical faculty has decided to allow some deviation from a narrow list of core course alternatives. At least two of your three core courses must be from the left column. One of the three core courses may be from the right hand column. This flexibility is also built into the system in order to allow students who already have a broad knowledge of a particular area to take a more specialized course rather than duplicating previous learning. Courses that do not appear on this list (e.g., special seminars on advanced topics) must be approved by the Director of Clinical Training. Students should keep a written copy of this approval for their records.

Useful website: University Research

Before you can use the participant pool, you must go thru on-line training at the University Research website.

1. Submit a protocol describing your research to the University’s Institutional Review Board for the Behavioral Sciences. Be sure to follow this committee's guidelines carefully, especially when designing your consent form. Forms can be downloaded from the University Research or etoolkit websites. Approval is good for one year.
2. If you want to use the Department of Psychology's Participant Pool, you must also submit a proposal to the Psychology Department's Student Participants Committee. Please do so after obtaining approval from the University Committee. The purpose of the departmental committee is not to judge the ethics of your study, but to ensure that you will be fulfilling the educational function of participation in experiments, namely providing participants with intelligible, written feedback about the purpose of the study. This committee also keeps track of the number of experiments that are conducted, who is conducting them, and how many participants are required. Approval cannot be granted from the departmental committee until the university committee has approved your proposal.
3. Once the departmental committee has approved your proposal, you may recruit participants for your experiments.
4. If you schedule students by phone, make sure you leave them a name and telephone number, so they can contact you (and not the front office) if they need to reschedule.
5. Please make sure that your experimenters show up for all scheduled sessions. Experimenters who violate this rule may be banned from further use of the participant pool. If an experimenter has to miss a session, call all scheduled participants. You should cancel appointments at least 24 hours in advance. If any participants cannot be reached, arrange to have someone there when they arrive. They should be given credit for participating if they arrive for a scheduled appointment, even if the experiment is canceled.
6. Credit is given in half-hour increments, depending on how long your study takes. You may not give extra credits as a means of attracting participants, or for any other reason. E.g., If you are giving 1 hour credit you may not advertise that your study takes “only” 40 minutes.
7. If someone does not show up for your study, and did not notify you 24 hours in advance that they could not make it, they will be docked the amount of credit they would have received (up to an hour). For example, if they failed to appear for a half-hour study, they will be docked a half credit.
8. Above all, remember that it is up to you to make participating in experiments an educational experience for students. Experimenters must take time at the end of each session to explain the purpose of the study. Each participant must be given a written explanation. Please make this as educational as you can for the participants. Make your debrief sheets intelligible to 101 students. Include a reference or two. Avoid excessive jargon. SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THE DESIGN OF THE EXPERIMENT. The Departmental Student Participants Committee will evaluate your explanation sheets, and may delay approval if they are deemed not educational enough.

According to written statements from the Graduate Enrolled Student Office, "nonresident status" means, "A student not in residence at the University who wishes to return to receive a degree or take an examination will pay a registration fee for that semester and is exempt from all other fees." Technically, nonresident status should only be awarded to a student who has finished all requirements for the degree but missed the deadline for it being awarded, has only the dissertation defense to complete--no more consultation and revision is needed, and/or is truly a nonresident, the best evidence of which is that the student lives in a fairly distant location from the University and is unlikely to be making use of any of the facilities, which includes faculty, library, computer center, etc. Furthermore, for any student living in the local community (defined as within a radius of 50 miles), there is now a form from the Graduate Enrolled Student Office that must be signed by either the major professor or the Director of Graduate Studies that certifies to the above rule. In most cases, clinical students on internship at any place except UVA are eligible for non-resident status.

The Graduate Enrolled Student Office provides a further definition which should provide clarity. "A person who undertakes any form of academic study within the University, including supervised research, or who uses any University facilities, or who consults regularly with a faculty member concerning graduate work, must register as a student and pay the research fees." For 2003-04, the fee for non-topical research hours is $1,131.00 per semester, regardless of the number signed up for; e.g., 3 hours costs the same as 12 hours. Students should sign up for 12 hours because this benefits the department.

Students Getting Degrees in the Summer

There is a form that must be signed by all members of a student's dissertation committee that states their willingness to forego any form of remuneration if the student is registered as a nonresident. Some faculty members feel that they are put on the spot when such a request is made. For many, they would prefer to have no such responsibilities in the summer in the first place. However, they often feel obligated to help. Nevertheless, their time is valuable and there is some resentment of these requests. As a result and as an attempt to ensure uniform treatment of all students, it was recommended to the faculty that the following departmental policy be instituted: If the final orals are held during the summer, students are required to register for research hours. On September 8, 1986, a motion to this effect was introduced to the faculty and it was passed unanimously. (The cost of non-topical research during the summer is cheaper than during a regular semester.)

Taking a Leave of Absence.

Occasionally students desire to take time out from their graduate studies, leaving the program for one or more semesters. The university does not grant leave of absences in these cases. Technically the student would have to resign from the program and then reapply for admission. To avoid this, we have in the past allowed people wanting to take time off to register as non-resident students during the time they are away from the program. Please see the Director of Graduate Studies if you would like to take this option.

The university provides basic information about travelling and procedures for reimbursement on the Procurement Services website:
http://www.procurement.virginia.edu/main/travel/TravelBasics.html

The university also provides a Micorosft Excel worksheet which should be used to request travel reimbursement:
http://www.procurement.virginia.edu/main/forms/TravelWorkbookV2.xls

The following document explains how funding is received:

EXPLANATION_OF_FUNDING.doc.

For a tentative schedule of bi-weekly payments, look at this document:

TENTATIVE_PAY_SCHEDULE.doc,

or consult the Human Resources Payment Calendar.

UVA has three graduation dates: January, May and August. Below are the forms that you need to submit for each degree you are obtaining. Remember that you must be registered the semester you plan to obtain your degree. The student is responsible for obtaining all required signatures on the forms and making sure the form is submitted to the Enrolled Student Office, 438 Cabell Hall by the appropriate deadline. If you can not download any of the forms, they can be picked up from the Enrolled Student Office, 438 Cabell Hall.

MA (Master of Arts) Degree

MA Degree Application - due in the Enrolled Student Office, 438 Cabell Hall with a copy to Debbie Snow for your file by October 1 for January graduation; February 1 for May graduation or July 1 for August graduation. This form is to be completed by the students applying for the Master of Art Degree. Signatures of the department secretary, student's thesis advisor, and department chairman or assistant chairman are required. Students are responsible for making sure the form is submitted to the Enrolled Student Office, 438 Cabell Hall by the appropriate deadline.

Ph.D. Continuation Form - due in the Enrolled Student Office, 438 Cabell Hall with a copy to Debbie Snow for your file by October 1 for January graduation; February 1 for May graduation or July 1 for August graduation. This form is to be completed by students applying for a Master of Art degree who intend to continue to pursue the PhD. Students are responsible for making sure the form is submitted to the Enrolled Student Office, 438 Cabell Hall by the appropriate deadline for degree application.

Final Examination Form - due in the Enrolled Student Office, 438 Cabell Hall with a copy to Debbie Snow for your file by December 1 for January graduation; May 1 for May graduation or August 1 for August graduation. This form is to be completed by a student's thesis advisor to indicate whether that student has passed or failed final defense of their thesis. Students are responsible for making sure the form is submitted to the Enrolled Student Office, 438 Cabell Hall by the appropriate deadline.

Copy of Predissertation should be submitted to the Department of Psychology by December 1 for January graduation; May 1 for May graduation or August 1 for August graduation. The department will bind their copy. The Enrolled Student Office, 438 Cabell Hall does not receive a copy of the predissertation.

If you have any questions about the MA process, check with the Graduate Enrolled Student Office or Debbie Snow.

PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) Degree

PhD Degree Application - due in the Enrolled Student Office, 438 Cabell Hall with a copy to Debbie Snow for your file by October 1 for January graduation; February 1 for May graduation or July 1 for August graduation. This form is to be completed by the students applying for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree. Signatures of the department secretary, student's dissertation advisor, and department chairman or assistant chairman are required. Students are responsible for making sure the form is submitted to the Enrolled Student Office, 438 Cabell Hall by the appropriate deadline.

Unsigned Title Page - due in the Enrolled Student Office, 438 Cabell Hall by November 1 for January graduation, April 1 for May graduation, or July 1 for August graduation. A sample title page that you may type directly on using it as a template is provided by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Final Examination Form - due in the Enrolled Student Office, 438 Cabell Hall with a copy to Debbie Snow for your file by December 1 for January graduation; May 1 for May graduation or August 1 for August graduation. This form is to be completed by a student's dissertation advisor to indicate whether that student has passed or failed final defense of their dissertation. Students are responsible for making sure the form is submitted to the Enrolled Student Office, 438 Cabell Hall by the appropriate deadline.

Dissertation - should be submitted to the Enrolled Student Office, 438 Cabell Hall and the Department of Psychology by December 1 for January graduation; May 1 for May graduation or August 1 for August graduation. The department will bind their copy. There are specific rules for final preparation of the doctoral dissertation. Detailed directions concerning typing, paper and format are contained in the Graduate Record or from the Enrolled Student Office, 438 Cabell Hall. The original and one copy, or two electrostatic copies of the dissertation on acceptable paper, must be brought to the Enrolled Student Office, 438 Cabell Hall for inspection.

Survey of Earned Doctorates - is required and must be completed and ready to turn in to the Enrolled Student Office, 438 Cabell Hall by December 1 for January graduation; May 1 for May graduation or August 1 for August graduation.

If you have any questions about the PhD process, check with the Graduate Enrolled Student Office or Debbie Snow.

Deadlines for Degree Candidates