Graduate Program

Small is Beautiful
Small is beautiful. The program is intentionally small, ensuring a favorable faculty-student ratio, close faculty-student collaboration, and a congenial atmosphere. We plan to expand from our current enrollment of 15 to about 20 students at capacity.
State-of-the-art facilities. Well-equipped laboratories provide an excellent setting for research. The department has ample facilities for research in each of our three specialization areas.
Computing. Lehigh has a sophisticated network system and excellent on-line library and information support. The department also has its own computer facilities, providing statistical, experimental, and general purpose software.
Generous financial support. Students admitted with regular full-time status are normally given a full tuition waiver and an annual 9 month stipend ($15,600 for 2006-2007). Support may come in the form of a teaching, research, or graduate assistantship, or a fellowship, the latter sometimes being endowed with a more generous stipend. Additional support is usually available in the summer. In assessing our support package, bear in mind that the cost of living is a good deal lower here than in major cities.
An attractive location . Lehigh's park-like campus, in historic Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, is a heavily wooded former arboretum with ivy-covered Victorian-era stone buildings. Located in Pennsylvania's third largest metropolitan area (pop. 630,000), the Lehigh Valley combines the advantages of urban and rural life. It is a short drive from New York City, Philadelphia, the Pocono Mountains, and the New Jersey shore.

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Program Requirements
Ph.D. Program
Coursework: The minimum required courses include: three core courses covering cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, and social cognition; two courses of theoretical and applied statistics and research methodology; a professional development seminar; at least three graduate seminars; and two elective courses.
Research: All students are active in research throughout their residence in the program.  The formal requirements include a first year project that may provide the basis for the Master’s thesis, and the doctoral dissertation. Students are strongly encouraged to engage in additional research projects outside these requirements.
General Examination: During the third year, preparatory to the dissertation, students undertake an examination based on a reading list centered on the general area of the planned dissertation. The reading list is compiled by the student in consultation with a faculty committee.

Master’s Program
The M.S. degree is mainly awarded to students in the process of working towards their Ph.D. However, a few qualified students may aim to obtain only a master’s degree.
Coursework: The minimum required courses include: two out of the three departmental core courses in cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, and social cognition; two courses of theoretical and applied statistics and research methodology; a professional development seminar; one graduate seminar (or a third core course); and two elective courses.
Research: All students are engaged in research throughout their residence in the program.  The formal requirements include a first year project that should provide the basis for the Master’s thesis.

See the Catalog and the Psychology Graduate Program Handbook for additional details of the program.

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Faculty Overview and Main Areas of Research
The department’s main fields of specialization include:

Cognition and Language: Broad training in cognitive psychology and psychology of language; special expertise in concepts and word meanings, lexical structure, language production and perception, cross-linguistic analysis, language impairment, cognitive control and attentional processes, and foundational issues in cognitive science. (Central faculty include: Arrington, Bickhard, Malt, and O’Seaghdha.)

Social and Cognitive Development: Research covers many central developmental topics, including cognitive, meta-cognitive, and perceptual development; language, narrative, and literacy development; symbolic and play development; attachment, socio-emotional, and moral development; gender and identity development; socio-relational and socio-cultural development, and lifespan development.(Central faculty include: Barrett, Bickhard, Hyland, Laible, and Nicolopoulou.)

Social Cognition and Personality: Examination of how situational influences, individual differences, and information processing mechanisms combine to create social cognition and behavior. Current emphases include conscious and unconscious influences on social judgment, prejudice and stereotypes, goals, motivation, and self-regulation, and social-cognitive changes associated with aging and health status, including coping and depression.(Central faculty include: Gill, Grant, Hyland, and Moskowitz.)
For further information on faculty interests, please see the faculty web pages.

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