Department of Psychology

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CONTACT INFORMATION: 119 Psychology Building
Box 42051, Lubbock, TX 79409-2051
T 806.742.3711 F 806.742.0818, www.depts.ttu.edu/psy

 

About the Program

This department supervises the following degree programs:

• Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
• Master of Arts in Psychology–Counseling Psychology
• Master of Arts in Psychology–General Experimental Psychology
• Master of Arts in Psychology
• Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology–General Experimental Psychology
• Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology–Clinical Psychology
• Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology–Counseling Psychology

An overview of the requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in Psychology is given in this section of the catalog.

The requirements for the graduate programs are extensive and tailored, to some extent, to the specific student and the specific graduate program in psychology. These requirements are also revised regularly to align with the relevant accrediting agencies, such as the American Psychological Association (for the clinical and counseling psychology Ph.D. programs) and the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (for the experimental psychology concentration in human factors, with combined B.A.–M.A. and M.A.–Ph.D. options).

Students in the clinical and counseling psychology Ph.D. programs are only admitted for the doctoral degree, but they may elect to complete the requirements for the optional master’s degree during their work toward the Ph.D. in Psychology–Clinical Psychology or the Ph.D. in Psychology–Counseling Psychology.

Students in the experimental psychology graduate programs are typically admitted for the doctoral degree, although a small number may be admitted for a terminal master’s degree or for a combined B.A.–M.A. degree. The combined B.A.–M.A. degree entails a B.A. in psychology and an M.A. in general experimental psychology, with a concentration in human factors. The Ph.D. in Psychology–General Experimental Psychology offers concentrations in cognitive/applied cognitive psychology, human factors, and social psychology.

Extensive details are available at www.psychology.ttu.edu in the online handbooks for each graduate program. Application forms and instructions for the graduate programs are also available online.

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Undergraduate Program

The undergraduate psychology curriculum is designed to provide a core of knowledge of the subject matter in experimental, theoretical, and applied psychology. Sufficient curricular flexibility is provided to permit students to emphasize the acquisition of useful vocational and personal skills for later life and to prepare students for a graduate degree program in psychology, related fields, or both.

All undergraduate psychology majors must complete the following core program: PSY 1300, 3401, and 3400 or MATH 2300. All majors also must select at least one course from each of five groups:

• GROUP 1 — Cognitive and Physiological Bases of Behavior: PSY 3317, 3327, 4323, or 4324.
• GROUP 2 — Personality, Social, and Abnormal Bases of Behavior: PSY 3304, 3306, 3341, 4305, or 4306.
• GROUP 3 — Developmental Bases of Behavior: PSY 3318, 4301, 4310, or 4330.
• GROUP 4 — Applications: PSY 3334, 4302, 4320, 4321, 4326, 4327, 4334, 4343, or 4380.
• GROUP 5 — Additional Topics in Psychology: PSY 2301, 2305, 3301, 3305, 3310, 3398, 4000, 4300, 4316, 4325, 4331, 4332, 4336, 4344, or 4384.

The required number of hours for the major is 34, including two writing intensive courses in psychology. Courses designated as writing intensive are PSY 3301, 3317, 3401, 4300, 4306, 4310, 4320, and 4336. Other courses are designated as writing intensive on a rotating basis. At least 21 hours of the total credits toward the major must be from 3000-4000 level courses. Transfer students who major in psychology must complete at least 9 credit hours in psychology at Texas Tech. All psychology majors must have a minor.

Minor. Students who are majoring in some field other than psychology and wish to minor in psychology must complete at least 18 credit hours in psychology, including PSY 1300 and at least three courses numbered at the 3000 or 4000 level. Transfer students who minor in psychology must complete at least 6 credit hours in psychology at Texas Tech.

Grades below C in psychology courses will not be acceptable for fulfilling major or minor requirements.

In addition to offering regularly structured courses, the department provides opportunities to participate in various research and service activities of faculty members. These are particularly valuable for the student who intends to pursue a career in psychology. Interested students should confer with an advisor or any of the faculty with whom they come in contact. Such activities may contribute to the completion of major and/or minor requirements through enrollment in PSY 4000 during the junior and senior years. Six hours of PSY 4000 may be counted toward the major and 12 hours may be counted toward the degree.

Curriculum Table

• Bachelor of Arts in Psychology–Sample Schedule

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Graduate Program

The Department of Psychology admits students to and provides instruction in the following graduate degree programs:

• Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology–Clinical Psychology. This Ph.D. program typically requires five to six years of full-time study, including an approved one-year internship at an appropriate training agency (e.g., approved outpatient clinic, hospital, forensic agency, community mental health center, healthcare system, university counseling center, K-12 school system). Extensive details regarding a typical curriculum are available in the program handbook, which is online at www.psychology.ttu.edu. Students may elect to earn an optional master’s degree during their pursuit of the doctoral degree.
• Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology–Counseling Psychology. This Ph.D. program typically requires five to six years of full-time study, including an approved one-year internship at an appropriate training agency (e.g., approved university counseling center, community mental health center, hospital, outpatient clinic, correctional facility, healthcare system, psychological-services consortium). Extensive details regarding a typical curriculum are available in the program handbook, which is online at www.psychology.ttu.edu. Students may elect to earn an optional master’s degree during their pursuit of the doctoral degree.
• Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology–General Experimental Psychology. This Ph.D. program also offers a terminal master’s degree (M.A.) option in experimental psychology and a combined B.A.–M.A. option with a concentration in one of the concentration areas of experimental psychology—human factors. The doctoral program typically takes four to five years of full-time study, and the terminal master’s program typically takes two years of full-time study. Graduate students in the human factors concentration must complete an approved internship, often for one to two semesters, at an appropriate agency (e.g., federal or state agency, consulting company, engineering group, high-tech business, transportation agency, healthcare facility, military base). The concentration areas available in the experimental psychology graduate program at the master’s and doctoral levels are cognitive/applied cognitive psychology, human factors, and social psychology. Extensive details regarding a typical curriculum in each of the concentration areas of experimental psychology are available online at www.psychology.ttu.edu.

The American Psychological Association accredits the clinical and counseling psychology doctoral program. The accrediting association can be contacted at: American Psychological Association, Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation, 750 First Street N. E., Washington, DC 20002-4242, 202-336-5979, 202-336-6123 (TDD/TYY) 202.336.5978 (fax). The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society accredits the experimental psychology graduate programs with a concentration in human factors.

The programs in clinical psychology and counseling psychology only admit students for the doctoral degree. During their pursuit of the doctoral degree, however, students may elect to earn an optional master’s degree. There are not terminal master’s degree admissions for clinical psychology and counseling psychology. A non-thesis master’s degree in psychology typically requires successful completion of at least 36 credit hours of required coursework at Texas Tech, plus successful completion of other program requirements like the second-year research project and certain statistics courses. A doctoral degree in psychology has some variance in the required total hours because of such factors as the differences between doctoral psychology programs, diversity of student interests, range of academic backgrounds, and other practical issues. Doctoral students in psychology at Texas Tech typically earn approximately 90-120 credit hours of required coursework in their graduate program before successfully completing their doctoral degree. In addition, other doctoral program requirements must be completed successfully before the doctoral degree is awarded.

The doctoral program in experimental psychology does admit a few students for terminal master’s degrees in experimental psychology, although the majority of students in this program are admitted for the doctoral program in experimental psychology. Doctoral students also complete requirements for a master’s in experimental psychology as they pursue their doctorate in three concentration areas: cognitive/applied cognitive psychology, human factors, and social psychology. The human factors concentration is also available in a combined B.A.–M.A. version in which the bachelor’s degree is awarded in psychology and the master’s degree is awarded in experimental psychology with a concentration in human factors.

All the doctoral programs in psychology require courses specific to their own specialty, along with more general psychology courses that are department-wide requirements for graduate students, such as research methods, statistics, and some of the psychological bases of behavior (e.g., biological, cognitive, developmental, social, and historical bases of behavior). Courses in ethical and professional issues, multicultural issues and underserved populations, and supervision and consulting for the provision of psychological services are also required in some graduate programs (e.g., clinical psychology and counseling psychology).

All doctoral students are required to complete a second-year research project or its equivalent (e.g., an empirical master’s thesis), doctoral qualifying exams specific to each doctoral program in the department, and a dissertation. Students in some of the programs, such as clinical psychology, counseling psychology, and the human factors concentration within experimental psychology, also complete numerous practicum courses and an approved internship. Interdisciplinary study with other relevant and cooperating departments/colleges on campus is also available. For example, some psychology doctoral students take elective human sciences courses such as child and adolescent development. Doctoral students with a human factors concentration in experimental psychology may choose engineering topics such as industrial, organizational, and computer engineering.

Application instructions and forms for psychology are available at www.psychology.ttu.edu. Deadlines for receipt of the complete application are December 1 for the clinical psychology doctoral program, January 1 for the counseling psychology doctoral program, and January 15 for the experimental psychology doctoral program.

Many graduate courses in psychology—and all graduate courses in psychology with a practicum component—are limited to full-time graduate students who are officially admitted and enrolled in one of the psychology degree graduate programs. Full-time graduate students from other degree programs must get written permission from the instructor before enrolling in a psychology graduate course.Back to Top

 

Course Descriptions

• Psychology (PSY)

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Faculty

Click here to view alphabetical listing of all TTU faculty and their academic credentials.

Lee Cohen, Ph.D., Chairperson

Horn Professors: C. Hendrick, S. Hendrick
John G. Skelton, Jr. Regents Endowed Professor: Morgan
Presidential Endowed Chair: Tang
Professors: Clopton, Cogan, Cohen, Delucia, Marshall, Richards, Taraban, Young
Associate Professors: Borrego, Cook, Cukrowicz, DeMarree, Epkins, Garos, Jones, Mumma, Reich, Robitschek
Assistant Professors: Alquist, Brown, Davis, Gorman, Hohman, Ireland (visiting), Klein, Littlefield, Parent, Serra, Talley, Van AllenBack to Top