Psychology

University of California, Berkeley

This is an archived copy of the 2017-18 guide. To access the most recent version of the guide, please visit http://guide.berkeley.edu.

About the Program

Psychology as a scientific discipline aims to describe, understand, and predict the behavior of living organisms. In doing so, psychology embraces the many factors that influence behavior—from sensory experience to complex cognition, from the role of genetics to that of social and cultural environments, from the processes that explain behavior in early childhood to those that operate in older ages, and from typical development to pathological conditions. The Department of Psychology at Berkeley reflects the diversity of our discipline's mission covering six key areas of research: Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience; Clinical Science; Cognition; Cognitive Neuroscience; Developmental, and Social-Personality Psychology. Our program learning goals focus on honing methodological, statistical and critical thinking skills relevant to all areas of Psychology research, enabling students with sufficient breadth to retain perspective in the field of psychology and sufficient depth to permit successful independent and significant research.

The major academic objectives of the PhD program are for students to:

  • Develop an understanding of the different theoretical and empirical frameworks that have defined and shaped the field

  • Develop an understanding of the central questions and issues in contemporary psychology

  • Develop expertise in one or more relevant research methodologies

  • Build expertise in formulating testable hypotheses and designing appropriate studies

  • Hone ability to critically evaluate scientific research

  • Develop expertise in statistics and advanced data analytic approaches

  • Develop an awareness of the importance of science to humanity while recognizing its limits (i.e., some scientific knowledge is culture-specific and may not be applicable to the human condition universally)

  • Develop competence as a teacher of undergraduates and mentor to graduate students

Students select one of the following concentrations:

Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience: The Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience area encompasses faculty and students united by a common interest in the neurobiological/physiological bases of behavior, including but not limited to circadian and seasonal rhythms, decision-making, sex differentiation and behavior, energy balance, birdsong and animal communication, animal spatial orientation and navigation, gene-environment interactions, selective attention and visual perception, social behavior, attachment, developmental processes, physiological substrates of emotion and stress, and motivation. The methodologies currently employed by faculty and students cover the entire spectrum from the behavioral study of animals and humans to computational, cellular, molecular and neuroimaging analyses.

Clinical Science: Graduate students in Clinical Science combine rigorous research with hands-on clinical experience. In addition, students take courses that cover general areas of psychological science as well as more specialized areas based on a student’s interests. Most students will spend four to six years in residence at Berkeley plus one year at a Clinical Internship site, at or near the completion of the dissertation. Degrees are awarded after completion of the internship, even if the dissertation is completed earlier.   The faculty advisor/mentor plays an important role in a student’s training. At the beginning of Year 1, each student is matched with a faculty advisor, usually one of the core Clinical Science Program Faculty, who supervises the student's research. In subsequent years, the student is free to continue working with that person or to seek a new research advisor. In addition to research supervision, the advisor works with the student in planning a program that fits that student's interests, while at the same time meeting program requirements. If a student is conducting research under the supervision of someone other than a core Clinical Science Program Faculty member (e.g., a faculty member in another area of the Psychology Department), then a core Clinical Science Program Faculty member is assigned to advise that student in matters related program requirements.

CognitionThe Cognition Program brings together faculty and students engaged in behavioral and computational investigations of fundamental cognitive processes, including learning, memory, categorization, reasoning, language, and perception. Our interdisciplinary approach borrows methods and insights from the cognitive sciences and other areas within the department.

Cognitive NeurosciencePrograms in Cognitive Neuroscience focus on neuroimaging and neuropsychological approaches to human behavior. Functional neuroimaging techniques, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electroencephalography (EEG), are used to study the neural bases of human behavior. Neuropsychological methods assess varieties of psychological dysfunction associated with brain damage or disease. Areas of specialty within this track include Sensory and Perceptual Processes, Attention and Working Memory, Learning and Memory, Emotion, and Motor Control.

Developmental: Our research goal is to understand how the organism and its capabilities develop throughout the lifespan. Our interdisciplinary approach is multi-species, multi-system, and multidisciplinary in nature. We study change over time in cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and neural processes. Our explanations include both neural accounts of the plasticity that is observed in the developing brain and other systems, and computational and psychological accounts of development. The bi-directionality of these processes is emphasized, with the organism's genetically program development being influenced by its physical and social environments and in turn influencing those environments. Thus, our research is situated at the interface between the fields of developmental psychology, computational modeling, psycholinguistics, cognitive psychology, developmental cognitive neuroscience, social psychology, cultural psychology, and clinical psychology. Our research examines numerous areas of development, plasticity, and change including sensory processes, cognitive capacities, language, reasoning, everyday knowledge of the world, emotions, and social relationships. We examine both typical and atypical development, each providing rich insights for better understanding the other and suggesting new approaches for effective treatments and preventive interventions.

Social-Personality Psychology:  The social-personality program is devoted to training graduate students for careers in research and teaching. The program faculty and several affiliates conduct research and provide intensive training in six core areas of the field: (1) Self, identity, and culture; (2) Social cognition;  (3) Emotion, emotion regulation, and affective neuroscience; (4) Personality processes and adult development; (5) Relationships and intergroup processes; and (6) Power, hierarchy, and social class. In addition to training in these core areas, the program encourages graduate students to develop their own research interests and build an independent research program. The area has a dual mentorship model where students are expected to work with two program faculty, one serving as the primary, the other as the secondary mentors. This approach to mentorship facilitates the mastery of multiple perspectives and methodologies in students’ chosen area of specialization. The program is characterized by considerable breadth and diversity. It provides students with special research opportunities, such as access to unique longitudinal databases, interdisciplinary training grants (e.g., affective science), multi-method approaches (self-report, observational, archival, life-data, physiological), and biological perspectives on social behavior (e.g., evolutionary, neuroimaging). 

Visit Department Website

Admissions

Admission to the University

Minimum Requirements for Admission

The following minimum requirements apply to all graduate programs and will be verified by the Graduate Division:

  1. A bachelor’s degree or recognized equivalent from an accredited institution;
  2. A grade point average of B or better (3.0);
  3. If the applicant comes from a country or political entity (e.g., Quebec) where English is not the official language, adequate proficiency in English to do graduate work, as evidenced by a TOEFL score of at least 90 on the iBT test, 570 on the paper-and-pencil test, or an IELTS Band score of at least 7 (note that individual programs may set higher levels for any of these); and
  4. Sufficient undergraduate training to do graduate work in the given field.

Applicants Who Already Hold a Graduate Degree

The Graduate Council views academic degrees not as vocational training certificates, but as evidence of broad training in research methods, independent study, and articulation of learning. Therefore, applicants who already have academic graduate degrees should be able to pursue new subject matter at an advanced level without need to enroll in a related or similar graduate program.

Programs may consider students for an additional academic master’s or professional master’s degree only if the additional degree is in a distinctly different field.

Applicants admitted to a doctoral program that requires a master’s degree to be earned at Berkeley as a prerequisite (even though the applicant already has a master’s degree from another institution in the same or a closely allied field of study) will be permitted to undertake the second master’s degree, despite the overlap in field.

The Graduate Division will admit students for a second doctoral degree only if they meet the following guidelines:

  1. Applicants with doctoral degrees may be admitted for an additional doctoral degree only if that degree program is in a general area of knowledge distinctly different from the field in which they earned their original degree. For example, a physics PhD could be admitted to a doctoral degree program in music or history; however, a student with a doctoral degree in mathematics would not be permitted to add a PhD in statistics.
  2. Applicants who hold the PhD degree may be admitted to a professional doctorate or professional master’s degree program if there is no duplication of training involved.

Applicants may apply only to one single degree program or one concurrent degree program per admission cycle.

Required Documents for Applications

  1. Transcripts: Applicants may upload unofficial transcripts with your application for the departmental initial review. If the applicant is admitted, then official transcripts of all college-level work will be required. Official transcripts must be in sealed envelopes as issued by the school(s) attended. If you have attended Berkeley, upload your unofficial transcript with your application for the departmental initial review. If you are admitted, an official transcript with evidence of degree conferral will not be required.
  2. Letters of recommendation: Applicants may request online letters of recommendation through the online application system. Hard copies of recommendation letters must be sent directly to the program, not the Graduate Division.
  3. Evidence of English language proficiency: All applicants from countries or political entities in which the official language is not English are required to submit official evidence of English language proficiency. This applies to applicants from Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Latin America, the Middle East, the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, most European countries, and Quebec (Canada). However, applicants who, at the time of application, have already completed at least one year of full-time academic course work with grades of B or better at a US university may submit an official transcript from the US university to fulfill this requirement. The following courses will not fulfill this requirement:
    • courses in English as a Second Language,
    • courses conducted in a language other than English,
    • courses that will be completed after the application is submitted, and
    • courses of a non-academic nature.

If applicants have previously been denied admission to Berkeley on the basis of their English language proficiency, they must submit new test scores that meet the current minimum from one of the standardized tests.

Where to Apply

Visit the Berkeley Graduate Division application page

Admission to the Program

The Department of Psychology invites applications from students who are primarily interested in research. Applicants for the Psychology PhD are required to specify the area to which they wish to apply: Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience; Clinical Science; Cognition; Cognitive Neuroscience; Developmental; and Social-Personality. Applicants are required to name at least one faculty member with whom they wish to work.

Applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent from an institution of acceptable standing, and may hold a master in psychology or another field. Previous concentration in psychology is not required. The department does not have an application for a terminal master’s degree: PhD only.

Doctoral Degree Requirements

Normative Time Requirements

Normative Time in the Program

Normative time in the Department of Psychology for doctoral degree completion is 10 semesters, and normative time in candidacy is 4 semesters. (See departmental website for details.)

Step I: Students take courses, narrow down their interests to particular areas of specialization, and begin research projects. This takes approximately 1 year.

Step II: Students complete majority of course requirements and prepare for their written and oral Qualifying Examination. This takes approximately 1-2 years.

Step III: Students undertake research for the PhD dissertation under a 3-4 person committee in charge of their research and dissertation. Students do original research and write up the dissertation based on their results. On completion of course requirements and approval of the dissertation by the committee, students are awarded the doctorate. This takes approximately 2 years.

Time to Advancement

Curriculum

Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience Concentration
Courses Required
PSYCH 299Research (all semesters in residence)1-12
PSYCH Colloquium - Select one each semester in residence from the following:
Cognition Colloquium
Cognitive Neuroscience Colloquium
Clinical Seminar
Developmental Colloquium
Personality Seminar
Social Seminar
PSYCH 292Introduction to the Profession of Psychology2
PSYCH 205Data Analysis3
PSYCH 206Structural Equation Modeling (or an advanced data analysis course from another department)3
PSYCH 293Second-Year Seminar on Professional Development (Includes 2nd-Year Research Poster requirement)2
PSYCH 375Teaching Psychology2
Additional Courses Required for Concentration
PSYCH 210BProseminar: Cognition, Brain, and Behavior3
Select two of the following:6
Proseminar: Cognition, Brain, and Behavior
Proseminar: Cognition, Brain, and Behavior
Proseminar: Cognition, Brain, and Behavior
Proseminar: Cognition, Brain, and Behavior
PSYCH 290 Series Topic Seminars (4 semesters)8
Clinical Science Concentration
Courses Required
PSYCH 299Research (all semesters in residence)1-12
PSYCH Colloquium - Select one each semester in residence from the following:
Cognition Colloquium
Cognitive Neuroscience Colloquium
Clinical Seminar
Developmental Colloquium
Personality Seminar
Social Seminar
PSYCH 292Introduction to the Profession of Psychology2
PSYCH 205Data Analysis3
PSYCH 206Structural Equation Modeling (or an advanced data analysis course from another department)3
PSYCH 293Second-Year Seminar on Professional Development (Includes Second-Year Research Poster requirement)2
PSYCH 375Teaching Psychology2
Additional Courses Required for Concentration
PSYCH 230Proseminar: Clinical Psychology3
PSYCH 237HIntervention: Introduction to Clinical Methods1
PSYCH 233AClinical Assessment: Theory, Application, and Practicum3
or PSYCH 233B Clinical Assessment: Theory, Application, and Practicum
Speciality Clinics to be taken concurrently:
PSYCH 236Specialty Clinic3
PSYCH 237EProfessional Development in Clinical Science3
PSYCH 237GIntervention: Specialty Clinics1,2
Cognition & Cognitive Neuroscience Concentrations
Courses Required
PSYCH 299Research (all semesters in residence)1-12
PSYCH Colloquium - Select one each semester in residence from the following:
Cognition Colloquium
Cognitive Neuroscience Colloquium
Clinical Seminar
Developmental Colloquium
Personality Seminar
Social Seminar
PSYCH 292Introduction to the Profession of Psychology2
PSYCH 205Data Analysis3
PSYCH 206Structural Equation Modeling (or an advanced data analysis course from another department)3
PSYCH 293Second-Year Seminar on Professional Development (Includes Second-Year Research Poster requirement)2
PSYCH 375Teaching Psychology2
Additional Courses Required for Concentration
Select three of the following:9
Proseminar: Cognition, Brain, and Behavior
Proseminar: Cognition, Brain, and Behavior
Proseminar: Cognition, Brain, and Behavior
Proseminar: Cognition, Brain, and Behavior
Proseminar: Cognition, Brain, and Behavior
PSYCH 290 Series Topic Seminars (4 semesters)8
Developmental Concentration
Courses Required
PSYCH 299Research (all semesters in residence)1-12
PSYCH Colloquium - Select one each semester in residence from the following:
Cognition Colloquium
Cognitive Neuroscience Colloquium
Clinical Seminar
Developmental Colloquium
Personality Seminar
Social Seminar
PSYCH 292Introduction to the Profession of Psychology2
PSYCH 205Data Analysis3
PSYCH 206Structural Equation Modeling (or an advanced data analysis course from another department)3
PSYCH 293Second-Year Seminar on Professional Development (Includes 2nd-Year Research Poster requirement)2
PSYCH 375Teaching Psychology2
Additional Courses Required for Concentration
PSYCH 240AProseminar: Biological, Cognitive, and Language Development3
PSYCH 240BProseminar: Emotional, Social, and Psychopathological Development3
PSYCH 290 Series Topic Seminars (3 semesters)6
Social-Personality Concentration
Courses Required
PSYCH 299Research (all semesters in residence)1-12
PSYCH Colloquium - Select one each semester in residence from the following:
Cognition Colloquium
Cognitive Neuroscience Colloquium
Clinical Seminar
Developmental Colloquium
Personality Seminar
Social Seminar
PSYCH 292Introduction to the Profession of Psychology2
PSYCH 205Data Analysis3
PSYCH 206Structural Equation Modeling (or an advanced data analysis course from another department)3
PSYCH 293Second-Year Seminar on Professional Development (Includes Second-Year Research Poster requirement)2
PSYCH 375Teaching Psychology2
Additional Courses Required for Concentration
PSYCH 250APerspectives in Personality: Overview3
PSYCH 250DPrinciples and Pragmatics of Personality Measurement3
PSYCH 260BCourse Not Available3
PSYCH 290 Series Topic Seminars (3 semesters)6
Additional Program Requirements
  • Second-Year Poster Presentation
  • Third-Year Paper Requirement
  • Qualifying Examination
  • CITI Protocol Course Certifications
  • Internship, Field Work, or Practicum–Clinical Science only
  • Clinical Practice–Clinical Science only

Time in Candidacy

  • Dissertation Proposal
  • Dissertation
  • Dissertation Presentation/Exit Talk

Professional Development

  • Presentations
  • Teaching
  • Professional Conference Attendance
  • Workshops

Courses

Psychology

PSYCH 205 Data Analysis 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Fall 2015
This course serves both as a refresher for undergraduate statistics and as a preparation for more advanced courses. This course will cover fundamental principles of statistical thinking including probability theory, distributions, modeling, parameter fitting, error estimation, statistical significance and cross-validation. In addition, the course will cover all statistical tests that are part of the generalized mixed effect models: n-way analysis
of variance (ANOVA), multiple regression, analysis of covariance, logistic regression, between subjects, within subjects, mixed designs and designs with random factors. Students will also be introduced to statistical programming using the computer language R.
Data Analysis: Read More [+]

PSYCH 206 Structural Equation Modeling 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2017, Spring 2015
This course is intended to provide an introduction to the principles and practice of structural equation modeling, including matrix algebra, LISREL notation, measurement models and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), path models, and structural models. In addition, we will cover multiple ways to handle longitudinal data (e.g., latent growth and simplex models) and advanced topics such as mediation and latent variable interactions. Data analytic examples
and assignments will come from psychological research applications. Students will be strongly encouraged to incorporate their own data as well.
Structural Equation Modeling: Read More [+]

PSYCH 210A Proseminar: Cognition, Brain, and Behavior 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2016
A survey of the field of biological psychology. Areas covered are (a) cognitive neuroscience; (b) biological bases of behavior; (c) sensation and perception (d) learning and memory, (e) thought and language.

Proseminar: Cognition, Brain, and Behavior: Read More [+]

PSYCH 210B Proseminar: Cognition, Brain, and Behavior 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2015, Fall 2013
A survey of the field of biological psychology. Areas covered are (a) cognitive neuroscience; (b) biological bases of behavior; (c) sensation and perception (d) learning and memory, (e) thought and language.

Proseminar: Cognition, Brain, and Behavior: Read More [+]

PSYCH 210C Proseminar: Cognition, Brain, and Behavior 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2011, Spring 2010, Spring 2009
A survey of the field of biological psychology. Areas covered are (a) cognitive neuroscience; (b) biological bases of behavior; (c) sensation and perception (d) learning and memory, (e) thought and language.

Proseminar: Cognition, Brain, and Behavior: Read More [+]

PSYCH 210D Proseminar: Cognition, Brain, and Behavior 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2014, Fall 2012, Fall 2008
A survey of the field of biological psychology. Areas covered are (a) cognitive neuroscience; (b) biological bases of behavior; (c) sensation and perception (d) learning and memory, (e) thought and language.

Proseminar: Cognition, Brain, and Behavior: Read More [+]

PSYCH 210E Proseminar: Cognition, Brain, and Behavior 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2015, Fall 2013, Spring 2013
A survey of the field of biological psychology. Areas covered are (a) cognitive neuroscience; (b) biological bases of behavior; (c) sensation and perception (d) learning and memory, (e) thought and language.

Proseminar: Cognition, Brain, and Behavior: Read More [+]

PSYCH 214 Functional MRI Methods 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2016, Fall 2015, Fall 2014
This is a hands-on course teaching the principles of functional MRI (fMRI) data analysis. We will teach you how to work with data and code to get a deeper understanding of how fMRI methods work, how they can fail, how to fix them, and how to develop new methods. We will cover the basic concepts in neuroimaging analysis, and how they relate to the wider world of statistics, engineering and computer science. At the same time we will teach you techniques
of data analysis that will make your work easier to organize, understand, explain and share. At the end of the course we expect you to be able to analyze fMRI data using Python and keep track of your work with version control using git.
Functional MRI Methods: Read More [+]

PSYCH 222 Consciousness 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2013, Spring 2011, Spring 2010
Survey of psychological, philosophical, and neuroscientific approaches to consciousness. Introspection. The mind-body problem. Automaticity. Explicit-implicit dissociations in memory, perception, and thought. Implicit emotion and motivation. Sleep and dreams. Anesthesia and coma. Hypnosis. Meditative states. Consciousness in nonhuman animals and computing machines.

Consciousness: Read More [+]

PSYCH C223 Proseminar: Problem Solving and Understanding 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2018, Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Fall 2013, Spring 2011
Students will examine problem solving in children and adults, from a predominantly cognitive science perspective, beginning with an examination of thinking involved in diverse problem types. Students will then analyze the literature concerning cognitive issues that transcend problem types, including representation, "understanding," access and availability of knowledge, access to one's own cognitive processing
, categorization, the architecture of knowledge, and the control of cognition.
Proseminar: Problem Solving and Understanding: Read More [+]

PSYCH 229 Cognition, Brain, and Behavior Colloquium 1 Unit

Terms offered: Spring 2015, Fall 2014, Spring 2014
Reports and discussions of original research in the area of cognitive psychology. Not all participants must report in any given semester, but all are expected to attend and to enter into the discussions. Required course for all students in the cognition, brain, and behavior graduate program.

Cognition, Brain, and Behavior Colloquium: Read More [+]

PSYCH 229A Cognition Colloquium 1 Unit

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017
Reports and discussions of original research in the area of cognitive psychology, by guest speakers, UCB faculty, and graduate students. Topics change depending on the speaker. Not all participants must report in any given semester, but all are expected to attend and to enter into the discussions. Required course for all students in the cognition area graduate program.

Cognition Colloquium: Read More [+]

PSYCH 229B Cognitive Neuroscience Colloquium 1 Unit

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017
Reports and discussions of original research in the area of cognitive neuroscience by guest speakers, UCB faculty, and graduate students. Topics will vary depending on the speaker. Not all participants must report in any given semester, but all are expected to attend and to enter into the discussions. Required course for all students in the cognitive neuroscience area graduate program.

Cognitive Neuroscience Colloquium: Read More [+]

PSYCH 230 Proseminar: Clinical Psychology 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Fall 2017, Fall 2016
This course is a review of the history and theory of the field of clinical psychology. The course covers adult and child psychopathology, ethnic minority mental health, culture, and community influences.

Proseminar: Clinical Psychology: Read More [+]

PSYCH 231 Clinical Neuroscience 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2015, Fall 2014
This course examines how psychology, neuroscience, pharmacology, and medicine come together to understand psychiatric and neurological disorders, and through this understanding, develop and deliver evidence-based treatments. Class format consists of attending patient care clinics, lectures, paper reviews and class discussions.

Clinical Neuroscience: Read More [+]

PSYCH 232 History, Systems, and Diversity in Psychology 1 Unit

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Spring 2000, Spring 1997
The overall goal of the course is to enhance your critical thinking and your knowledge of the historical views in clinical psychology. One of the concerns about United States psychology theory and research historically has been a focus on Eurocentric ideas and contributions. Accordingly, several weeks of this class will be focused on enriching your understanding of some key perspectives on diversity in psychology.

History, Systems, and Diversity in Psychology: Read More [+]

PSYCH 233A Clinical Assessment: Theory, Application, and Practicum 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2018, Spring 2016, Spring 2013
The clinical interview and principles and methods of intellectual, objective, and projective clinical assessment. Readings, discussion, and supervised experience in clinical assessment. The first semester will focus on adult assessments; the second semester will focus on child/adolescent assessments. Required of all clinical students.

Clinical Assessment: Theory, Application, and Practicum: Read More [+]

PSYCH 233B Clinical Assessment: Theory, Application, and Practicum 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2017, Spring 2015, Spring 2012
The clinical interview and principles and methods of intellectual, objective, and projective clinical assessment. Readings, discussion, and supervised experience in clinical assessment. The first semester will focus on adult assessments; the second semester will focus on child/adolescent assessments. Required of all clinical students.

Clinical Assessment: Theory, Application, and Practicum: Read More [+]

PSYCH 234D Theories of Cognitive Behavior Therapy 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Fall 2016, Fall 2013
Central features of cognitive behavior therapy; basics of several cognitive-behavioral theories; evidence of efficacy and effectiveness of methods; methods for assessing, conceptualizing and treating patients; theories, methods, and efficacy evidence for several disorders, primarily anxiety and affective disorders.

Theories of Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Read More [+]

PSYCH 235 Clinical Research 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2016, Fall 2014, Fall 2013
Strategies of research in clinical issues; clinical methods of gathering and interpreting data; case examples from the research in progress of participants in the seminar.

Clinical Research: Read More [+]

PSYCH 236 Specialty Clinic 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017
A Specialty Clinic is offered to graduate students in the Clinical Science program. Each course combines didactics and hands-on clinical work. Students in the course work with the instructor to develop the topic of interest by reviewing the empirical literature, defining and developing an intervention/consultation, defining a clinical population, marketing and delivering the intervention/consultation, and evaluating the effectiveness of the intervention/consultation.
A number of readings are included in the course, and class discussion is a central part of the course. Written products are also a part of the course, either in the form of a presentation or publication of findings from the clinic. A Specialty Clinic also includes its own Case Conference and supervisors to handle supervision of the clinical cases.
Specialty Clinic: Read More [+]

PSYCH 237E Professional Development in Clinical Science 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017
Issues in decisions about providing psychological services to individuals, families, groups and social systems.

Professional Development in Clinical Science: Read More [+]

PSYCH 237F Intervention: Couples Therapy 1 Unit

Terms offered: Fall 2012, Fall 2011, Fall 2010
Psychological intervention with couples.

Intervention: Couples Therapy: Read More [+]

PSYCH 237G Intervention: Specialty Clinics 1 or 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017
Psychological intervention with and evaluation of specially designated populations.

Intervention: Specialty Clinics: Read More [+]

PSYCH 237H Intervention: Introduction to Clinical Methods 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2016
This course is an introduction to clinical methods in preparation for the clinical practicum in the Psychology Clinic during the second and third years of the clinical graduate program. Topics covered include clinical policies and procedures, legal and ethical issues, risk management, standards of care, HIPAA, and consultations.

Intervention: Introduction to Clinical Methods: Read More [+]

PSYCH 239 Clinical Seminar 1 Unit

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017
Reports and discussions of original research in the area of clinical psychology. Not all participants need report in any given semester, but all are expected to attend and to enter into the discussions. Required course for all students in the clinical graduate program.

Clinical Seminar: Read More [+]

PSYCH 240A Proseminar: Biological, Cognitive, and Language Development 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2018, Spring 2016, Fall 2013
Survey of the biology of the nervous system and behavior; the cellular interactions during development in animals and humans, including neurogenesis, synaptogenesis, cell death and synapse elimination; and the genetic and experiential determinants of neural development. Exploration of the origins and development of knowledge from infancy through childhood; the development of children's concepts across multiple domains including physics, biology
, math, and psychology. Survey of facts and theories of language acquisition; focus on what learners acquire and the role of input in the process; review of phonology, syntax, and morphology.
Proseminar: Biological, Cognitive, and Language Development: Read More [+]

PSYCH 240B Proseminar: Emotional, Social, and Psychopathological Development 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Spring 2015
Survey of current research and theory on the origins and maintenance of normal and pathological socioemotional development in infancy. Exploration of biological, psychological, familial, and cultural factors affecting social and emotional development through childhood and adolescence. Focus of the course includes how normal or pathological trajectories are maintained in some children, while others shift into or out of clinically diagnosable
disorders.
Proseminar: Emotional, Social, and Psychopathological Development: Read More [+]

PSYCH 249 Developmental Colloquium 1 Unit

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017
Reports and discussions of original research in the area of developmental psychology. Not all participants need report in any given semester, but all are expected to attend and to enter into the discussions. Required course for all students in the developmental graduate program.

Developmental Colloquium: Read More [+]

PSYCH 250A Perspectives in Personality: Overview 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Fall 2017, Fall 2016
Introduces the perspectives and research programs of the personality faculty to graduate students having an interest in their field. Each week, attention is directed to the work of a different faculty member associated with the personality program.

Perspectives in Personality: Overview: Read More [+]

PSYCH 250B Perspectives in Personality: Trends and Issues 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2018, Spring 2016, Spring 2014
Considers historical trends and current discussions regarding such topics as (1) the concept of disposition; (2) person by environment transactions; (3) observational assessment of persons; (4) personality systematics; (5) personality development and concepts of structure, and (6) formulations of personality system-social system interactions.

Perspectives in Personality: Trends and Issues: Read More [+]

PSYCH 250C Proseminar: Social Cognition 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2014, Fall 2012, Spring 2010
Surveys empirical and theoretical approaches to our understanding of perception, memory, thought, and language concerning ourselves, other people, interpersonal behavior, and the situations in which social interaction takes place. Emphasis is placed on the integration of problems in social, personality, and clinical psychology with the concepts and principles employed in the study of nonsocial cognition.

Proseminar: Social Cognition: Read More [+]

PSYCH 250D Principles and Pragmatics of Personality Measurement 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2016, Spring 2014, Fall 2013
Methods of personality measurement and assessment, with particular attention to the qualities, attributes, talents and dispositions considered in the everyday evaluations people make of self and others.

Principles and Pragmatics of Personality Measurement: Read More [+]

PSYCH 259 Personality Seminar 1 Unit

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017
Reports and discussions of original research in the area of personality psychology. Not all participants need report in any given semester, but all are expected to attend and to enter into the discussions. Required course for all students in the personality graduate program.

Personality Seminar: Read More [+]

PSYCH 269 Social Seminar 1 Unit

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017
Reports and discussion of original research in the area of social psychology. Not all participants need report in any given semester, but all are expected to attend and to enter into the discussions. Required for all students in the social graduate program.

Social Seminar: Read More [+]

PSYCH 290B Seminars: Biological 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017

Seminars: Biological: Read More [+]

PSYCH 290E Seminars: Perception 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Spring 2016, Fall 2009

Seminars: Perception: Read More [+]

PSYCH 290H Seminars: Developmental 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017

Seminars: Developmental: Read More [+]

PSYCH 290I Seminars: Personality 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2017, Spring 2015, Fall 2014

Seminars: Personality: Read More [+]

PSYCH 290J Seminars: Social 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Fall 2015

Seminars: Social: Read More [+]

PSYCH 290K Seminars: Clinical 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2014

Seminars: Clinical: Read More [+]

PSYCH 290P Seminars: Additional Seminars on Special Topics to Be Announced 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2013, Fall 2012, Spring 2011

Seminars: Additional Seminars on Special Topics to Be Announced: Read More [+]

PSYCH 290Q Seminars: Cognition 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017

Seminars: Cognition: Read More [+]

PSYCH 290Z Seminars 1 - 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017
Special section.

Seminars: Read More [+]

PSYCH 292 Introduction to the Profession of Psychology 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Fall 2017, Fall 2016
This course provides both a broad review of the field of psychology and an introduction to the faculty of this department. Faculty from various program areas will present biographical information and discuss their particular research programs, as well as summarizing current developments in their areas. The course will also cover topics in professional development (e.g., scientific writing, convention presentations, journal review processes, professional
and scientific ethics, and special issues facing women and minority psychologists). Required of all first-year students in the graduate program.
Introduction to the Profession of Psychology: Read More [+]

PSYCH 293 Second-Year Seminar on Professional Development 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2016
This course will focus on various issues related to professional development. Topics may include planning a research program, preparing for qualifying exams, choosing a dissertation committee, identifying career options, presenting work at conferences and in journals, preparing grant proposals, preparing for job interviews, juggling professional and personal life, and recognizing obstacles in career development. The seminar participants will
select actual topics at the beginning of the term, and all will be expected to participate in the discussions. All participants will present their research at a departmental poster session at the end of the term. Required of all second-year students.
Second-Year Seminar on Professional Development: Read More [+]

PSYCH 294 Current Issues Colloquium Series 1 Unit

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017
Current issues in specified areas of psychology presented weekly by announced speakers.

Current Issues Colloquium Series: Read More [+]

PSYCH 298 Directed Study 1 - 12 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017
Special study under the direction of a member of the staff.

Directed Study: Read More [+]

PSYCH 299 Research 1 - 12 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Fall 2017, Summer 2017 8 Week Session
Individual research.

Research: Read More [+]

PSYCH 301 Supervision for Teaching Psychology 2 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2015
Supervised teaching experience for graduate student instructors of Psych 2.

Supervision for Teaching Psychology 2: Read More [+]

PSYCH 375 Teaching Psychology 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Fall 2017, Fall 2016
This course will provide training in a variety of teaching techniques, will review relevant pedagogical issues, and will assist graduate students in mastering their initial teaching experiences.

Teaching Psychology: Read More [+]

PSYCH 401A Clinical Internship (Off Campus) 1 - 12 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2010, Fall 2009, Fall 2008
Individual programs of practice and supervision in approved off-campus agencies.

Clinical Internship (Off Campus): Read More [+]

PSYCH 401B Clinical Internship (Off Campus) 1 - 12 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Spring 2012
Individual programs of practice and supervision in approved off-campus agencies.

Clinical Internship (Off Campus): Read More [+]

PSYCH 602 Individual Study for Doctoral Students 1 - 8 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Spring 2012
Individual study in consultation with the major field adviser, intended to provide opportunity for qualified students to prepare themselves for the various examinations required of candidates for the Ph.D. May not be used for unit or residence requirements for the doctoral degree.

Individual Study for Doctoral Students: Read More [+]

Faculty and Instructors

+ Indicates this faculty member is the recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award.

Faculty

Ozlem Ayduk, Professor. Violence, developmental psychology, psychology, depression, self-control, emotion regulation, social-cognition in interpersonal relationships.
Research Profile

Sonia Bishop, Associate Professor.

Silvia Bunge, Professor. Cognition, human brain function, development.
Research Profile

Joseph J. Campos, Professor. Social-emotional development in infancy, emotional communication, perception of emotion, relation of motor development to cognitive and social and emotional development.
Research Profile

Serena Chen, Professor. Close relationships, social cognition, social psychology, Self and identity, relational self, collective self, social power.
Research Profile

Michael Cole, Associate Adjunct Professor.

Anne Collins, Assistant Professor. Human learning, decision-making and executive functions; Computational modeling at multiple levels (cognitive and neuroscience); Behavioral, EEG, drug and genes studies in healthy or patient populations.Human learning, decision-making and executive functions; Computational modeling at multiple levels (cognitive and neuroscience); Behavioral, EEG, drug and genes studies in healthy or patient populations.
Research Profile

Mark T. D'Esposito, Professor. Cognitive neuroscience, psychology, working memory, frontal lobe function, functional MRI, neurology, brain imaging, dopamine.
Research Profile

Aaron Fisher, Assistant Professor. Anxiety, depression, personalized medicine, psychotherapy, psychophysiology.
Research Profile

David Foster, Acting Associate Professor. Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience , keywords: behavioral neurophysiology of spatial learning and memory; hippocampal replay; computational models of reinforcement learning and navigation.

Jack L. Gallant, Professor. Vision science, form vision, attention, fMRI, computational neuroscience, natural scene perception, brain encoding, brain decoding.
Research Profile

Alison Gopnik, Professor. Learning, philosophy, psychology, cognitive development, theory of mind, young children, children's causal knowledge, Bayes Net formalism.
Research Profile

Tom Griffiths, Professor. Machine learning, computational models of human cognition, Bayesian statistics, cultural evolution.
Research Profile

Allison Harvey, Professor. Sleep, insomnia, comorbidity, bipolar disorder, cognition and emotion.
Research Profile

Erik David Hesse, Associate Adjunct Professor.

Stephen Hinshaw, Professor. Psychology, child clinical, developmental psychopathology, risk factors for attentional, conduct disorders, child psychopharmacology, multimodality interventions, diagnostic validity of disorders, peer relationships, stigma of mental illness.
Research Profile

Rich Ivry, Professor. Cognitive neuroscience, behavior, cognition, brain, attention, coordination, psychology, motor and perceptual processes in normal and neurologically impaired populations, temporal processing, executive control.
Research Profile

Lucia F. Jacobs, Professor. Cognitive and brain evolution, adaptive patterns in spatial memory, spatial navigation, cognitive sex differences and decision making.
Research Profile

Oliver P. John, Professor. Research methods, personality, measurement, emotion regulation, personality structure, personality development, traits, Big Five model, individual differences, emotion expression, self-concept, accuracy, bias, self-knowledge, personality assessment.
Research Profile

Sheri Johnson, Professor. Bipolar disorder, social dominance.
Research Profile

Dacher Keltner, Professor. Culture, conflict, behavior, love, psychology, emotion, social interaction, individual differences in emotion, negotiation, embarrassment, desire, juvenile delinquency, laughter, anger, social perception, negotiating morality.
Research Profile

John F. Kihlstrom, Professor. Personality, behavior, memory, psychology, cognition in personal, social contexts, unconscious mental processes, hypnosis, social cognition, experimental psychopathology, health cognition, unconscious mental life.
Research Profile

Robert Thomas Knight, Professor. Cognitive neuroscience, language, physiology, memory, attention, psychology, working memory, neuropsychology, human prefrontal cortex, neural mechanisms of cognitive processing, sensory gating, sustained attention, ad novelty detection.
Research Profile

Lance Kriegsfeld, Professor. NeuroendocrinologyCircadian Biology, Neuroimmunology, cancer biology, animal behavior.
Research Profile

Ann M. Kring, Professor. Schizophrenia, emotion, gender, mental illness, psychology, psychopathology, emotion in social interaction, emotion and cognition, facial expression.
Research Profile

Robert W. Levenson, Professor. Aging, gender, culture, brain, psychology, emotion, psychophysiology, marriage, clinical science, interpersonal interactions, dementia, relationships, neurodegenerative disease.
Research Profile

Tania Lombrozo, Associate Professor.

Mary Main, Professor.

Iris Mauss, Associate Professor. Social psychology, personality psychology, affective science, psychophysiology, individual differences, emotion, emotion regulation, health psychology, happiness, well-being, psychological health.
Research Profile

Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton, Professor. Diversity, intergroup relations, education, prejudice, stigma.
Research Profile

Jason Okonofua, Assistant Professor. Mindsets; Large-scale psychological intervention; Relationships, Stereotyping, Prejudice, Stigma, Education, Interactional Justice; School-to-prison pipeline.

Mahesh Srinivasan, Assistant Professor. Development, Language development, cognition.

Claude Steele, Professor.

Frank J. Sulloway, Adjunct Professor.

Frederic Theunissen, Professor. Behavior, cognition, brain, psychology, birdsong, vocal learning, audition, neurophysiology, speech perception, computational neuroscience, theoretical neuroscience.
Research Profile

Matthew P. Walker, Professor. Plasticity, learning, memory, fMRI, emotion, sleep, EEG.
Research Profile

Joni Wallis, Professor. Prefrontal cortex, neurophysiology, executive control, decision making.
Research Profile

David Whitney, Professor. Cognitive neuroscience, cognition, attention, visual perception, vision, visually guided action.
Research Profile

Linda Wilbrecht, Associate Professor. Neuroscience, addiction, early life adversity, adolescence.
Research Profile

Fei Xu, Professor. Conceptual development, developmental psychology, cognitive development, language development, social cognition in infants and children, learning in infants and young children, statistical learning and statistical inference, psychology and philosophy, computational models of cognitive development.
Research Profile

Qing Zhou, Associate Professor. Culture, family, child development, developmental psychopathology, immigrants.
Research Profile

Emeritus Faculty

+ Martin V. Covington, Professor Emeritus.

Carolyn Pape Cowan, Professor Emeritus. Child development, psychology, couple relationships, parenting styles, family transitions, preventive intervention.
Research Profile

+ Philip Cowan, Professor Emeritus. Couple relationships, family factors in children's development, parenting, fatherhood, preventive intervention with families.
Research Profile

Karen K. De Valois, Professor Emeritus. Psychophysics and electrophysiology of color vision, spatial vision and visual motion.
Research Profile

Susan M. Ervin-Tripp, Professor Emeritus. Sociolinguistics, psychologist, pragmatics, child language, bilingualism.
Research Profile

+ Stephen E. Glickman, Professor Emeritus. Animal behavior, physiological substrates of behavior, hormonal substrates, spotted hyenas, sexual differentiation, vertebrate behavior.
Research Profile

Ervin R. Hafter, Professor Emeritus.

Ravenna M. Helson, Professor Emeritus. Personality, psychology, adult development, psychology of women, creativity, enduring affective-cognitive styles, life choices, roles, retirement, changes in the self, the development of wisdom, gender issues.
Research Profile

Jonas Langer, Professor Emeritus.

+ Christina Maslach, Professor Emeritus. Health psychology, individuation, burnout and job stress.
Research Profile

+ Gerald A. Mendelsohn, Professor Emeritus.

Charlan Jeanne Nemeth, Professor Emeritus. Decision making, jury decision making, influence and persuasion, creativity in small groups, managing innovation in organizations, psychology of creative scientists and entrepreneurs, corporate cultures, diversity of team members, brainstorming, psychology and law.
Research Profile

Stephen E. Palmer, Professor Emeritus. Psychology, visual perception, visual processing.
Research Profile

Kaiping Peng, Professor Emeritus. Psychology, East Asian studies, social cultural sychology, reasoning and judgment across cultures and domains, inter-ethnic, racial relations, cross-cultural communication and understanding.
Research Profile

William Prinzmetal, Adjunct Professor Emeritus. Behavior, cognition, brain, attention, psychology, visual perception.
Research Profile

Donald A. Riley, Professor Emeritus. Behavior, learning, memory, cognition, brain, psychology.
Research Profile

Lynn C. Robertson, Adjunct Professor Emeritus. Cognitive neuroscience, attention, psychology, representations of objects and space, visual search, binding mechanisms, perceptual organization in normal and neurological populations, functional hemisphere asymmetries, spatial deficits.
Research Profile

Eleanor Rosch, Professor Emeritus. Cognition, psychology, concepts, Eastern psychologies, psychologies of religion, cross cultural, causality.
Research Profile

Arthur P. Shimamura, Professor Emeritus. Cognitive neuroscience, behavior, cognition, brain, psychology, frontal lobe function, basic memory research.
Research Profile

Dan I. Slobin, Professor Emeritus. Sociolinguistics, behavior, cognition, brain, psycholinguistics, psychology, language and cognitive development, sign language, cross-cultural.
Research Profile

Anne Treisman, Professor Emeritus.

John S. Watson, Professor Emeritus. Psychology, development in infancy, evolution of psychological processes in artificial life.
Research Profile

+ Rhona Weinstein, Professor Emeritus. Community psychology, educational inequality and the achievement gap, teacher expectations and self-fulfilling prophecies, classroom and school reform.
Research Profile

Sheldon Zedeck, Professor Emeritus. Statistics, organization, psychology, research methodology, industrial, social psychology, personnel, cross-cultural work values, decision-making research, work and family issues, the work values of Chinese employees.
Research Profile

Irving Zucker, Professor Emeritus. Biological rhythms, seasonality, behavioral endocrinology, melatonin, suprachiasmatic nucleus, reproductive physiology, behavior, ultradian rhythms, sex differences.
Research Profile

Contact Information

Department of Psychology

3210 Tolman Hall

Phone: 510-642-5292

Fax: 510-642-5293

Visit Department Website

Department Chair

Ann Kring, PhD

3210 Tolman Hall

kring@berkeley.edu

Department Vice Chair

Serena Chen, PhD

3419 Tolman Hall

serchen@berkeley.edu

Department Vice Chair

Lance Kriegsfeld, PhD

3139 Tolman Hall

kriegsfeld@berkeley.edu

Student Services Director

Harumi Quinones

3313 Tolman Hall

Phone: 510-642-7097

harumi@berkeley.edu

Graduate Student Affairs Officer

John Schindel

3141 Tolman Hall

Phone: 510-642-1382

jschindel@berkeley.edu

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