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Graduate Handbook

This booklet is intended to provide basic information for your four or five years as a Graduate Student in Psychology at Rutgers-Newark. It will be updated and revised from time to time. Please keep it available in order to answer the many questions you will have about the procedures of our Graduate Program. Additionally, you should consult the Rutgers University Graduate School-Newark Catalog. The University Catalog covers all topics relevant for graduate students including tuition and fees, student services, academic policies and procedures.

Please excuse the sometimes formal and detailed description of rules, schedules, and deadlines in this handbook. We have found that the best way to be fair and to reduce anxious confusion is to spell out these rules clearly and apply them consistently. In general, any waiver or change in these rules requires a vote of the faculty.

Departmental Administration
General Information
Human Subjects
Graduate Student Research & Teaching Requirements
Notification of Criteria for Appointment and Reappointment
TA Workload
Term of Appointment
Training
Notification
Overall Workload
Funding
Vacation Policy
Formal Requirements for the Doctoral Degree in Psychology
List of Graduate Core Courses
Overview of Ph.D. Program Requirements by Semester

Departmental Administration

Chair: Professor Harold Siegel
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Director of Graduate Studies: Professor Ken Kressel
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Director of Undergraduate Studies: Professor Gretchen Van de Walle
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Department Manager: Mrs. Sandra Smith
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Administrative Assistant: Mrs. Carmen Lugo
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Department System Administrator & Technical Coordinator: Mr. Amado Tucker
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General Information

Main Office Reception
The primary reception area of the Psychology Department is in 301 Smith Hall. All deliveries are made to this room.

Department Manager
Budgetary and administrative affairs are the responsibility of the Department Manager. You are advised to see her if you have any questions regarding policies, procedures, purchases, equipment, etc. that cannot be taken care of by the Graduate School Office or your Advisor.

Graduate School-Newark
The graduate school at Rutgers-Newark includes over 20 different doctoral and masters programs that are attended by well over 1,000 students. The Graduate School-Newark is administered from 401 Hill Hall by Associate Dean Barry Komisaruk and Assistant Dean Claire Bautista (ext. 5456). Adriana Afonso (ext. 5197) serves as the business manager.

Library
The main library of the university is Dana Library, located directly across the plaza from Smith Hall. The Psychology Department has a small reading collection in the Psychology Commons on the 3rd floor.

Computing
The department has state of the art Opteron servers and laser printers (color & B/W) which are available in the Psychology Commons for general use. Statistical, word-processing, database and general programming software are available. The Psychology Computer lab has PC and Mac workstations for general access to Psychology computing software and services, University wide computing services as well as access to the WWW.

Mail Boxes
Each graduate student is assigned a mailbox. Mailboxes are located in the main lobby of the third floor of Smith Hall next to the Main Office. Students should check for mail fairly often, although email will be the department's primary means of communication.

Email
Each student will receive an e-mail account on the Psychology Department Server psychology.rutgers.edu. Please check your email frequently, as this will be one of the main ways for department communication besides your assigned mailbox.

Pay Checks
Stipends are paid on a two-week schedule during the term of appointment. Checks can be picked up in the Main Office in 301 Smith Hall and are usually available on Friday afternoons. Direct Deposit is available.

Room Key Policy
To obtain keys for your office, lab, you must first obtain a key card from the Main office (301 Smith Hall). Once this card is filled out, you must take the card to the cashier's office in Blumenthal Hall. There you will be charged $5.00 for each key that you request. The cashier's office will give you a receipt. Then you must take the receipt and the signed key card to the Police Department at 200 University Ave. The receptionist there will take the card and receipt from you. The keys will be made in 2-5 days and are delivered to the Department Office.

ID Card/Parking Decal
All Rutgers University students must have a valid ID card. This card is required to check out books from Dana Library, to access the department's computer lab, to obtain and use on campus parking, and to enter Smith Hall during the evenings and weekends. To obtain an ID card and a parking decal, see the Administrative Assistant in 301 Smith Hall. There you can obtain an official letter stating that you are faculty, a teaching assistant, or a student. This letter must then be taken to the ID office in Blumenthal Hall. A photograph will be taken of you at that time. It is critically important that you maintain possession of your ID card at all times. Lending your card to a friend can create significant security problems and will result in a significant loss of privileges on your part.

Department Research Fund
A department research fund is available to students who are supported by outside agencies. Eligible students are those with grants and fellowships which pay their full tuition. These students may draw up to $l,000 over a three-year period. See the Department Manager for guidelines and procedure for expenditures. Approval forms are available in the Main Office.

Expenditures
All research or teaching related expenses must have an appropriate account number or course number and the prior approval of your Advisor or course instructor. Contact the Department Manager, Room 325 Smith Hall, for information about reimbursement procedures and record keeping.

Photocopying
The department has a copier located in room 349 of Smith Hall. If you are unfamiliar with the copier, please ask someone in the Main Office to help you. To use the copier you must have a four-digit log-on number a nd the combination to the copier room door. Obtain your code from the Administrative Assistant and do not share this number with anyone. Undergraduate research assistants and teaching assistants must obtain their own codes.

Travel to Conferences
The department will reimburse students for travel to conferences in the amount of $400.00 over four (4) years, divided in the following manner: a) Travel funds of $100.00 per conference if the student does not present a paper or poster but is a co-author. b) Travel funds of $200.00 if the student presents a paper or poster. The following limitations apply. Firstly, no single reimbursement can exceed $200.00. Secondly, reimbursements can only be made once the student has submitted original receipts and a photocopy of the conference abstract book indicating the name, location, and duration of the conference as well as the student's abstract to the Department Manager. Students can request reimbursements for more than one conference per year. If you would like to receive this money before you attend the conference, you MUST submit documentation of your forthcoming presentation. Your original receipts must be submitted no later than two weeks after the conference.

Human Subjects

Many students will be conducting research involving human subjects. Every semester a senior Graduate student will be responsible for running the subject pool and can advise you on the procedures used to obtain volunteers. Students who intend to use human subjects must submit an application for human subject approval and receive approval before running their experiment.
A request for review and clearance of a project involving human subjects is available from the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (732-445-2799) on the web at http://orsp.rutgers.edu. Human subject protocols should be submitted to the ORSP, along with 4 copies, before the 12th of the month. Protocols received on or after the 12th of the month will not be reviewed until the following month. There is no human subjects protocol review meeting in August.
Importantly, Rutgers University has a mandatory human subjects certification program. This program, which is web based or can be satisfied by viewing the ORSP film, must be completed by everyone (whether faculty, graduate student, or undergraduate student) BEFORE they conduct an experiment with human subjects. To learn more about this requirement, check the ORSP web site.

Informed Consent
Each subject must sign an informed consent form before involvement in a study. If a subject is under l8 years old, a parent or guardian must sign for him or her. In addition, all subjects must be given an information sheet that states the title of the research, and the name, address and phone number of the investigator and the secretary of the Institutional Review Panel. After the study has been run, signed consents should be saved for safekeeping.

Subject Reimbursement

Course Credit
Sometimes undergraduate students in Principles of Psychology opt to fulfill a course requirement by serving as a subject in experiments. If you are running a study in Smith Hall and would like to advertise your study to this subject pool, you must post a notice on the Psychology department's R-Points System web site. A faculty member must authorize the research. Moreover, you must have taken and passed the University's on-line human subjects education program before you can post your experiment (see Human Subjects above). These posts should contain a word about the nature of the study, the subject time involved, the number of "R" or research points, and the room number in which the study is to be conducted. Please also provide the Main Office with this information.

Subject Payment
Sometimes laboratories recruit human subjects for pay. The normal rate of pay is $10 per hour or $5 per half-hour. See the Department Manager. You can either open a petty cash account to control the flow of human subject payments, or you can submit paperwork for a reimbursement. In either case, it is critical that you save all signed receipts as proof of payment.

Off Campus Human Studies
Should you plan to conduct research in a setting outside of Rutgers (an elementary school, camp, etc.) be in touch with the Graduate Director and your advisor at least two months before you hope to get started. The Graduate Director will verify that you have submitted and received human subject approval for off campus studies. The Director can also help you to make arrangements.
You are expected to send general results of any study you conduct in a school to that school and to the parents/guardians of children who participated, by the end of the school term. In rare instances a research study may extend beyond the school year. If you anticipate this, make certain that the Graduate Director has the information before starting negotiations with schools so that the schools are given a clear commitment as to when staff and parents/guardians are to receive results of the research.

Graduate Student Research Requirements

Every Ph.D. candidate in Psychology is expected to conduct experimental research during every semester of their graduate career. To make timely and reasonable progress towards the Ph.D., students can expect to spend a minimum of 20 hours a week in their research lab and participating in research related activities such as reading journal articles, debating theories, and apprenticing with their graduate advisors. Such apprenticeship plays a key role in the ability of students to learn the research skills and on-going research projects of one's advisor necessary for a scientific career. Even when students are not conducting research that is directly relevant to their dissertation, they should be assisting their advisors in the design, implementation, and interpretation of their advisor's research.

Graduate Student Teaching Requirements
Every Ph.D. candidate in Psychology is expected to teach or to assist in the teaching of at least three undergraduate Psychology courses during their graduate career. Students opting for a terminal Master's degree are expected to serve as a teaching assistant for at least one undergraduate Psychology course. However, since most students are funded as Teaching Assistants for several years, most assist in the teaching of more than three courses over their graduate careers. Graduate students may also teach undergraduate Psychology courses at Rutgers-Newark during the summer or winter sessions to earn extra money (about $2500 - $3000 depending on qualifications).

Most graduate students are funded by research fellowships, known as Daniel S. Lehrman Fellowships, during their first year of graduate school. According to University guidelines, graduate fellows do not teach. During your second, third, and (if you intend to complete your Ph.D. in 5 rather than 4 years) fourth years, most graduate students are funded as teaching assistants. Again, according to University guidelines, teaching assistants normally engage in ten to fifteen hours of teaching activity. Every attempt will be made to fund students on Fellowships during their final year so that they may devote themselves to full time research.

Teaching assistantships are intended to expose students to the many skills necessary for teaching, and should be part of a progression of responsibilities. Teaching responsibilities include: monitoring a lab; assisting in large lectures (grading and preparing materials); leading recitation, discussion and laboratory sections; recruiting and supervising undergraduate teaching assistants; organizing problem-solving sessions; guest lecturing; and teaching stand-alone classes (this last activity is reserved for students who have completed their qualifying exams).

Notification of Criteria for Appointment and Reappointment

Individual contract letters shall be issued to Teaching Assistants and Graduate Fellows upon appointment and reappointment along with written criteria for the assignment. The University encourages the Psychology Department to appoint full-time graduate students as full-time teaching assistants and graduate fellows.

All currently employed Teaching Assistants shall be notified by the University in writing of their status for the coming academic year on or before March 31 for Fall semester appointments and October 31 for Spring semester appointments. Notification shall be either a) reappointment, b) non-reappointment, c) waiting list, with reappointment contingent upon the availability of funding or the meeting of other previously established and announced criteria. Notification of non-reappointment shall include written explanation of the reasons. Notification of waiting-list status shall indicate if reappointment is contingent upon the availability of funding or the meeting of other previously established and announced criteria or both. If notified of waiting-list status, a graduate student shall be further notified of the number of Teaching Assistants employed in the department in the current year and the number of appointments already offered in the department for the coming year. The names of those individuals who receive notification of non-reappointment shall, to the extent feasible, be forwarded to the AAUP within 20 working days of their receipt by the individuals whom they concern.

A graduate student who is placed on a waiting list shall be notified as soon as possible with regard to any change in his/her status. If a graduate student on the waiting list requests in writing, he/she shall receive a second notification in writing on or before May 31 of the number of appointments already offered in the department for the coming year.

TA Workload

Teaching Assistants who have primary responsibility for a section shall normally be notified in writing at least four weeks prior to the beginning of the semester of their course assignment for the coming year. All other Teaching Assistants and all Graduate Fellows shall be notified of their assignments on or before the first day of class. It is understood that unexpected circumstances may require modification of assignments. If a Teaching Assistant's assignment is changed substantially subsequent to notification, the University will provide notification in writing of the change. Graduate students may, at the time of their application for a Teaching Assistant position, indicate any preference they may have with regard to teaching assignments.

The individual assignment of a Teaching Assistant or Graduate Fellowship shall be consistent with the current practice of the department or program. Because of the variety of duties that may be assigned, consistency in the assignment of TA lines should be a more reliable guide to individual workload assignments than any strict quantitative measure or comparison with assignments in other departments or programs. Nevertheless, except for special academic circumstances (for example, an emergent situation in regard to laboratory research or intensive preparation for a performance), a Teaching Assistant with a standard appointment is expected to work, on average, 10 - 15 hours per week outside of their own course work and research, or a prorated portion thereof if the appointment is less than full standard. Individual claims that workload assignments are inconsistent with the practices of the department or program shall be brought to the attention of the Graduate Director.

Term of Appointment

The term of the work year for Teaching Assistants and Graduate Fellowships is from August 25th to Commencement. However, the terms of appointment for all Teaching and Graduate Assistants shall be set forth as September 1 to June 30 for payroll purposes. The period of the work year prior to September 1 are used solely for orientation, training, and preparation related to the Teaching Assistant's assignment. However, graduate students are expected to work towards their degree requirements year round.

Training

All Teaching Assistants shall be required, as appropriate, to participate in a teaching-effectiveness workshops. Such workshops shall be designed and conducted by the Graduate School and, when appropriate, by the Psychology Department. All Teaching Assistants and Graduate Fellows are also required to attend the University's training on research ethics.

Notification

The University will provide to the AAUP a list of all Teaching Assistants who are on the payroll as of September 30 and January 31 of each year. Such list shall be provided within ten working days after September 31 and January 31.

Overall Workload

Graduate students typically receive support from outside agencies (e.g., NSF), research grants (as a Research Assistant (RA)), and/or from the Psychology Department teaching budget (as a Teaching Assistant (TA) or a Graduate Fellows (GF)). In addition, students during their first two years typically take approximately 3 courses or seminars per semester, and attend colloquia, research seminars, lab meetings, and informal discussions. Students who have passed their comprehensive exam normally focus on their research and take fewer or no classes during their final years. Expectations regarding a student's time, commitment, responsibilities, level of performance in research, teaching, and course work will be conveyed by your research advisor and the Graduate Director. If you do not feel you understand these expectations, you should talk to the relevant faculty member(s) or the Director of Graduate Studies. Regardless of the source of financial support, distribution of financial support (e.g., l/2 TA, l/2 GF) or number of courses, all full time graduate students are expected to be engaged full time in activities related to their training in scholarship, research, and teaching. Therefore, students can not take on other commitments such as an additional job without first discussing this with their advisor. Any students failing to put in a full time effort toward meeting their requirements for the graduate program will have their TA or GF funding terminated.

Funding

As stated above, most graduate students are funded as either teaching assistants or graduate fellows. Teaching assistant salaries are determined by Rutgers University and Teachers Union (AAUP). For the current fiscal year, salaries for teaching assistants and fellows are about $18,000 and both include tuition remission. Teaching assistants also receive health insurance. Graduate fellows are funded by the Daniel Lehrman Fellowships and are entitled to use the Rutgers Health Service. These salaries are paid twice a month beginning in September and ending on June 30th. Graduate students may receive extra pay by working on grant funded projects or by teaching Psychology courses during the summer or winter term.

Vacation Policy

Regardless of the source of student's financial support, graduate students are expected to work essentially full time fulfilling degree requirements. Vacation time should be discussed with advisors. Graduate students accrue no specific vacation time other than the normal short holiday periods observed by the University, such as winter recess, spring break and the inter-term period. Vacation time may not be accumulated for later use. Students are expected to spend the summer months conducting research.

Formal Requirements for the Doctoral Degree in Psychology

Core Program
The Graduate Program in Psychology offers training in the Behavioral Sciences including concentrations in Perception, Cognitive Science, Cognitive Neuroscience, Social, and Biopsychology. The curriculum provides basic instruction in experimental methods and these core areas. Graduate students are expected to choose an advisor and specialize in one of these five core areas early in their career. There is a strong emphasis on research, empirical methods and presentation skills throughout the duration of graduate studies.

The curriculum is organized around these same five concentrations or areas of specialization. Each area contains several courses. These courses, along with a series of research methodology, research design, and our pro-seminar course, form the basic course requirements. In addition, students are encouraged to participate in the specialized courses presented by the Rutgers School of Management, the Rutgers Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, the Department of Psychology at New Brunswick, the Public Administration Program, and the NJIT computer science program, and other relevant programs. The essence of the program, however, is the ongoing research conducted by each student under the direct supervision of a faculty member. Students are expected to begin research with a faculty advisor as soon as they enter the program. Students are also free to change their faculty advisors with the approval of both parties and the Graduate Director. Student research continues until completion of the degree and they are expected to demonstrate their achievements with periodic written or oral presentations and published papers. Requirements are occasionally updated. Students need to complete the requirements that are in place when they are admitted.

Course Credit Requirements

Foundation Requirements
Take each of the following courses:
Psychology Pro Seminar (506)
Research Methods I (595)
Research Design (545)
Research Seminar (675) - 1 credit/term for three terms
Total Credits: 12

Area Requirements
Purpose: Breadth. Take one course from each of the following areas:
Cognitive Science/Perception
Cognitive Neuroscience/Biopsychology
Social
Total Credits: 9

Electives
Purpose: Depth
Take an additional 18 credits (normally 6 courses) offered in the Psychology graduate program. Courses can also be taken in a variety of other programs, e.g., NJIT's CS program, the INS program, the Rutgers School of Management, or the graduate Cognitive Science program at New Brunswick (which includes Philosophy, Linguistics, CS & Psych) with approval from the advisor and Graduate Director.
Total Credits: 12

Research Requirements
Take 33 credits or more in Research in Psychology.
Before you advance to candidacy, enroll in 26:830:700
After you advance to candidacy, enroll in 26:830:701 or 702
Total Credits: 33

Total number of credits needed for Ph.D. in Psychology
Foundation Requirements.......... 12 credits
Area Requirements.......................... 9 credits
Electives.................................................. 18 credits
Research Requirements................ 33 credits
Total 72 credits

Total number of credits needed for M.A. in Psychology
Foundation Requirements....................... 8 credits
Area Requirements........................................ 9 credits
Electives............................................................... 9 credits
Research Requirements................... 10 credits
Total 36 credits

Research Credits
This aspect of the program is essentially an apprenticeship in research, with the student working under the close supervision of a faculty member. Students are expected to select a faculty advisor at the time that they enter the program. They will begin immediately to participate in their advisor's ongoing research projects, developing their own projects as soon as they (and their advisor) feel they are ready. Students are expected to present their results at colloquia, symposia, and conferences, and, eventually to submit their work for publication. Students should enroll in a minimum of 3 research credits per semester (unless they enroll in the Research Seminar for 1 credit, in which case they should enroll in a minimum of 2 research credits per semester).

Transfer of Credits
Requests for transfer of credits earned at other schools are considered by the Graduate Director only after a student has successfully passed the comprehensive examination.

Scheduling of Graduate Psychology Courses
Given the size of our graduate program, courses are offered in two year cycles. This guarantees that students can take all of the necessary courses before they take their comprehensive exams at the beginning of their third year. Thus, it is critical that students take the appropriate Psychology courses during their first two years to adequately prepare themselves for the comprehensive exam. It is essential that students consult with their advisor and if necessary with the Graduate Director to determine course schedules. If a student enters the graduate Psychology program with a moderate to weak statistical background, they will take undergraduate statistics (301) during his or her first fall semester. Foreign students coming from a country in which English is not a common language must be tested for their English skills during the first semester of their first year. In this way, any weaknesses in a student's mastery of English can be addressed before that student serves as a teaching assistant during his or her 2-4th years in the program.

Grade Requirements
Graduate students are graded in each course at the end of each term according to the following Rutgers specific format (taken from the Graduate School-Newark Catalog).

Grade Definition Numerical Equivalent
A Outstanding 4.0
B+ 3.5
B Good 3.0
C+ 2.5
C Satisfactory 2.0
F Failure 0.0

Research courses at the 700 level and regular courses taken "not for credit" are not graded according to the above format and instead are graded as either S (satisfactory) or U (Unsatisfactory). Students may also receive a "W" grade if they withdraw from a class with the permission of the appropriate authority in a timely manner. If a student does not complete all assignments before the end of a course, the instructor may decide to award that student an "IN" or incomplete grade. The student must complete all of their assignments within one year of the last day of the class in order for a normal letter grade to replace the IN. After one year, no change may be made to the grade and the "Incomplete" grade will remain on the student's transcripts and the student will not receive credit for that class. If a Ph.D. student accumulates 12 or more credits of "IN" course work, they will not be able to register for courses.
All graduate students are expected to earn an average grade (GPA) of B or better in their course work. No more than 12 credits with a grade of C or C+ may be used towards meeting the Ph.D. requirements. Students with a GPA falling and remaining below 3.0 will be placed on academic probation and may eventually have their funding removed and/or be asked to leave the graduate program in Psychology.

Academic Integrity
"Academic freedom is a fundamental right in any institution of higher learning. Honesty and integrity are necessary preconditions to this freedom. Academic integrity requires that all academic work be wholly the product of an identified individual or individuals. Joint efforts are legitimate only when the assistance of others is explicitly acknowledged. Ethical conduct is the obligation of every member of the university community and breaches of academic integrity constitute serious offenses"
(Academic Integrity Policy of Rutgers University, page 1).

Consistent with the University's position on academic integrity (summarized above), the Graduate Program in Psychology takes violations of academic integrity very seriously. Consequences resulting from violations of academic integrity can range from an official reprimand, to suspension or immediate and permanent expulsion from the Graduate School at Rutgers-Newark. Violations of academic integrity include (but are not limited to) cheating, the fabrication or invention of information used in an academic exercise, plagiarism, and facilitating academic dishonesty (see the Graduate School-Newark Catalog). A faculty member who suspects a violation of academic integrity is required to direct their concerns to the Dean of the Graduate School.

The area of most difficulty is often plagiarism. Plagiarism occurs when you use someone else's ideas OR words without clearly referencing your source for that information. Please note that paraphrasing someone's ideas by simply changing a few words, phrases, or sentences is UNACCEPTABLE and constitutes plagiarism. If you would like to learn more about what constitutes plagiarism, please see the Graduate Director or consult the following excellent web sites: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagiarism, http://www.plagiarism.org

Proseminar
All students MUST take the Proseminar course during their first or second year. This course provides a survey in advanced general psychology including the five major core areas. Researchers from the Department of Psychology and other related departments are invited to present their research. Additional topics may include learning how to prepare journal manuscripts, grant proposals and curriculum vitae. A student who does not attain a grade of B in this course will, at the very least, be assigned extra work that is designed to address their deficiencies.

Experimental Design and Methodology
Each student must demonstrate an ability to deal with computational and mathematical material and this will ordinarily be established by successful completion of Research Methods I and Research Design. Both of these courses should be taken in the first and second years of graduate training. Additional computational or mathematical training should be planned in consultation with a student's advisor.

Research Seminar
All students must enroll in Research Seminar for three semesters. Research Seminar helps students learn how to present their own research and research in their field. Students are advised to take the course for three consecutive semesters although this schedule is not mandatory.

Colloquium Series
Students are expected to attend all colloquia and thesis proposal and dissertation defenses. These presentations are considered to be a critical component of graduate training. Only two excused absences/year are permitted.

List of Graduate Core Courses

Not all courses are offered each year and changes in this list will occur as our program adds new faculty and as faculty develop new courses. Consult the semester schedule or Graduate Director for course offerings in any particular semester. Graduate courses are not offered during the summer term.

Overview of Ph.D. Program Requirements by Semester

Student's Year in Program Requirements Fall Semester Requirements Spring Semester Additional Options
Year 1 Find a lab 1st year project Oral Presentation
Year 2 2nd year project Oral Presentation
Year 3 Qualifying Exam Dissertation Proposal or Defense (4 yr PhD) Master's Degree
Year 4 Dissertation Proposal or Defense (5 yr PhD) Dissertation Defense (4 yr PhD) Ph.D. Degree (4 yr)
Year 5 Dissertation Defense (5 yr PhD) Dissertation Defense (5 yr PhD) Ph.D. Degree (5 yr)

First Year
Because our Ph.D. program is research intensive, graduate students entering our program must focus their energies on finding an appropriate research advisor. Incoming students should select a faculty member as a research supervisor as soon as possible during their first semester. Ordinarily, a faculty advisor is tentatively assigned prior to the student's arrival, but the student has the option to work with any of the faculty if a mutually acceptable arrangement can be established. This, in turn, will depend upon mutually compatible research interests and the availability of faculty time and resources. The research supervisor usually represents the student's main research area of interest and serves as the student's primary source of advice, guidance, constructive criticism and support. Normally, the research advisor is a full-time member of the Psychology Department. In extraordinary circumstances, exceptions may be granted by a vote of the Graduate Executive Committee.

First year students are expected to take two-three graduate Psychology courses and 2-3 credits of research during each semester of their first year. Nine credits represent a full-time load. First year students should take ALL of their courses in the Department of Psychology. Exceptions will only be granted with the written approval of the Department Chair, the Director of the Graduate Program, and the student's advisor. Students are expected to maintain a B average in their course work. Failure to do so can result in academic probation and/or termination of the student's funding. Usually first year graduate students are funded on fellowships and therefore do no teaching.

Students entering our graduate program mid-year (i.e., in January) are usually considered to be first year students for 1.5 years. However, they are still required to give an end of the year talk (described below) at the end of their first semester.

End of Year Presentations
At the end of the spring semester, all first year students are expected to give a formal ten minute talk describing the research that they have conducted during their first year in the graduate program. Each talk is followed by a short question and answer period. All second, third, and fourth year students who have not yet defended their dissertation proposals will also make a presentation. Obviously, more advanced students will be held to a higher standard than first year students. Graduate presentations are traditionally scheduled in May, within one week following the end of final exams for the spring semester.

End of the year presentations are assessed by the graduate faculty according to the following criteria:
(1) Has the student found an appropriate advisor?
(2) What progress has the student made towards finding a thesis area?
(3) Has the student acquired the appropriate research skills?
(4) What research has the student accomplished during the past year?
(5) What plans does the student have for future research?

Good performance during the talk and the subsequent question-and-answer period indicates that a first year graduate student is "on track" for their dissertation proposal. Poor performance indicates that a student is not "on track." Poor performance will result in a meeting of the student, the student's advisor, and the graduate director. The goal of this meeting is to determine why the student has not reached his or her potential in the program and to discuss methods of remediation and the student's future prospects.

Feedback Procedures
Each year the Department is called upon to make a decision concerning each student's admission to another year of graduate study. Dialogue between the student and faculty is the primary means of conveying to a student the basis for the admission decision, expectation, and assessment of the student's academic progress.

In order to facilitate an orderly and regular feedback process, every graduate student will receive an end-of-the-year evaluation during the last week of May. A copy of this evaluation will be placed in each student's file and a second copy will be sent to the Dean of the Graduate School. The evaluations will cover both course work and research and will fall into three main categories:

(1) Performance is at an appropriate level and we are pleased with the progress to date.
(2) The student is not meeting his or her performance potential and we hope to see improvement during the next semester.
(3) Performance is below expectations and continuation in the graduate program is doubtful.

The Graduate Executive Committee will assess each student's performance, in cooperation with the student's advisor, for that year within ten days after the end of the year presentations (thus, late May). The Committee will direct extra attention to the evaluations of the first and second year students. However, no formal procedure can take the place of day-to-day interaction between a student and his or her advisor. Students are encouraged to consult the faculty on a regular basis for feedback about their performance.

Second Year
The second year is characterized by the student becoming more intensively involved in research. Moreover, by the end of the second year, students should have completed all of their Foundation Course Requirements (12 credits), all of their Area Course Requirements (15 credits) and some of their Elective Requirements (that is, at least 6 credits of electives). They are expected to give an End of the Year presentation, and generally speaking, second year students are funded as teaching assistants.

Qualifying Exam
During the summer between the second and third year, all students are required to take the qualifying examination. The goal of the qualifying exam is two-fold. Firstly, it gives the faculty, as a whole, the opportunity to assess the breadth of each student's knowledge of the psychological sciences. Secondly, the exam also gives students the chance to demonstrate that they can think and reason about fundamental psychological issues in a scientific manner. Both abilities are necessary for advancement to candidacy.

What and When
The format and scheduling of the exam is as follows. On or about July 15th of each year, the Graduate Director will give each third year graduate student a list of ten questions. This list will contain one question directly related to each student's research area and three questions from each of the three topic areas in our graduate program (namely, cognitive science/perception, cognitive neuroscience/biopsychology, and social). Students must answer the specific question plus two of three questions in their own topic area. Students will answer two more questions, one of three from each of the other two topic areas (student chooses the question from each area).

At Noon on the first day of the fall semester, all students must submit all five of their answers to the Graduate Director. Each answer must have a length of 8 to 10 pages of text (typed, 10-12 size font, double-spaced, 1 inch margins throughout, and thoroughly checked for spelling and grammar) plus a list of references in APA format. Responses longer than 10 pages of text (not including figures, the cover page, or references) will not be accepted. The pages to each answer should be individually numbered. Grammatical and spelling errors are not acceptable. Late or incomplete exams (in which fewer than 5 completed essays are submitted) will not be accepted. Thus, turning in a subset of the five essays or handing in completed essays after the deadline will result in a student's immediate failure of the comprehensive exam.

Students should not write their names on the answers. Instead, each answer should begin with a cover page that indicates the question number. The Graduate Director will create a code to indicate the author of each question. All tenured and tenure track faculty will grade the answers in their area of expertise.

The comprehensive exam answers will be individually assessed according to the following criteria:
(1) coherent organization & appropriate scope
(2) consistent evidence of clear scientific reasoning and originality
(3) relevant and comprehensive discussion of original research
(4) synthesis of presented material and not simply a "parody" of it

In order to pass the exam, a student must receive a passing grade on all five answers. If a student fails just 1 of the 5 answers, that student will pass the exam once they submit within two weeks a successfully revised (as assessed by the Graduate Executive Committee) answer to that question. If a student fails 2 or 3 of the 5 answers, they will fail the qualifying exam at the Ph.D. level. If the student wishes to continue in the Ph.D. program, they may re-take the exam during the following year. Any student who fails the exam twice will be immediately dismissed from the graduate program either with or without a terminal Master's degree (depending upon whether they have fulfilled the MA requirements) at the end of that Fall semester. If a student fails 4 or 5 of the 5 answers, then the student has failed at a catastrophic level. Such students will NOT be allowed to retake the exam and will be dismissed from the graduate program at the end of that Fall semester.

Advancement to Candidacy
Passing the qualifying exam is a big step in a student's graduate career as it frees him or her to apply for advancement to candidacy for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology. Thus, the faculty will not pass a graduate student unless it is clear that that student is prepared for doctoral level research. To apply for admission to candidacy for the Ph.D. in Psychology, you should go to the Office of the Graduate School (401 Hill Hall) and pick up a form. Once you have completed the appropriate sections, the form should be submitted to the Department Chair and the Graduate Director. Once the form has been signed, it should be returned to the Office of the Graduate School. Students should apply for advancement to candidacy as soon as they have passed the exam at the Ph.D. level, completed their foundation and area course requirements, and settled upon a thesis topic in conjunction with their advisor. They should advance to candidacy at least two semesters before they defend their dissertation.

It is highly recommended that the student in consultation with his or her advisor establish a dissertation committee. This committee should be used for the dissertation proposal and the doctoral dissertation itself. According to University guidelines, a doctoral dissertation committee must contain at least four members. One member must be from outside the Psychology Graduate Program. The attendance of this member at the dissertation proposal defense (described below) is not required. However, the outside member should be sent a copy of the dissertation proposal for comment. Students are invited to have dissertation committees larger than four members. Committee members frequently write letters of recommendation for graduate students. Thus, more potential letter writers can be advantageous for a graduate student. A second advantage for a larger dissertation committee is that the approval of only four members of the committee is required for acceptance of a dissertation.

Third Year
The third year of our graduate program is marked by an increasing emphasis on research. Indeed, third-year students will probably take only a few courses during the entire year. During the third year, students should be directly focused on the preparation of their dissertation proposal. Third year students are generally funded as teaching assistants and they must also be mindful of their teaching responsibilities. However, the biggest challenge of the third year is the comprehensive exam.

Third year and more advanced students who have not defended their dissertation proposal (described below) by the end of finals week of the Spring semester must give an End of the Year talk as described in the "First Year" section. At this stage, students should seriously consider submitting manuscripts for publication or papers/posters for presentation at conferences.

Terminal Master's Degree
During the Fall or Spring semester of the third year, a student may wish to apply for a Master's degree in Psychology. The Master's degree in Psychology requires that a student complete 36 credits in course work as outlined in the previous section entitled, "Total number of credits needed for M.A. in Psychology". Students must also pass the qualifying exam "at the master's degree level" and submit an acceptable master's thesis before they can apply for a Master's degree. Passing the exam "at the Master's level" is a lesser standard than that of the Ph.D. level. Thus, all students who have passed the exam at the Ph.D. level have, by definition, passed that exam at the Master's level as well. Students who have failed the exam at the Ph.D. level may petition the Graduate Executive Committee (by submitting a simple written letter requesting such an evaluation to the Graduate Director) for an assessment of whether or not the exam was passed at the M.A. level. Format guidelines for the Master's Degree Thesis must be obtained by the graduate student from the Graduate School Office (401 Hill Hall). These guidelines are also available on-line at: http://rutgers-newark.rutgers.edu/gradnwk. Candidacy forms can also be downloaded at this site.

Doctoral Dissertation Proposal
All graduate students who have advanced to candidacy for the Ph.D. in Psychology must conduct an original investigation of a problem or issue in the field of Psychology under the direction of a faculty member in the Graduate Program in Psychology. The results of this scientific investigation must be presented in a written doctoral dissertation. Guidelines explaining the Rutgers approved format for a dissertation can be obtained in the Office of the Graduate School (401 Hill Hall) or on-line at: http://rutgers-newark.rutgers.edu/gradnwk. A subset of the necessary information can be found at the end of this handbook.

Graduate students should write a preliminary overview of their dissertation work in conjunction with their advisor. Once the student has obtained enough pilot data to suggest that their approach to the problem of study may generate important findings, the student should begin writing their dissertation proposal. The dissertation proposal is a relatively short document (30-40 pages plus references) that provides an introduction to the issue of study. The structure of the proposal should be as follows:

The proposal should begin with a title page listing the dissertation title, student's name, the names of all of the committee members, the student's Graduate Program in Psychology affiliation, and the month and year. The next page should contain an abstract of the project. This should be followed by a short literature review of the area of study. This overview is generally followed by an introduction to the student's hypothesis and then a description of the studies that the student and advisor have planned. The brief description of each study should include a precise statement of the hypothesis to be tested, a thorough description of the anticipated methodology and statistical analyses to be used, and finally a summary of the possible results and their implications. The text and references of the proposal should follow APA format. The Graduate Director has copies of previously submitted dissertation proposals and these may be used as examples.

In addition to a written dissertation proposal, all graduate students must orally present and defend their proposal. Graduate students are required to schedule their dissertation proposal during a time when all of their committee members can attend. They should submit a printed copy of their dissertation proposal (once it has been given a final approval by their advisor) to the Graduate Director and every member of their dissertation committee FOUR WEEKS BEFORE their scheduled dissertation proposal defense.

Defense of Doctoral Dissertation Proposal
The oral defense of the dissertation proposal consists of four basic stages. Attendance varies across the stages. At the beginning of the defense, the student gives a formal 20-30 minute talk that essentially summarizes their written proposal. This presentation is made in an open session of the committee members and of the members of the Psychology Department and any members of the University community. Friends and family are also welcome to attend. This presentation is then followed by a 10-30 minute question and answer period during which the student defends his or her proposal to audience members who are not committee members. Following this period, all members of the audience who are not members of the student's committee are invited to leave the room. The committee members then join the student for an extended evaluation of the proposal. This stage can last from 45 minutes to 2 hours. Once the committee members are satisfied, the student is asked to leave the room. Committee members meet alone and determine whether the student has passed his or her dissertation proposal (meaning that the student is free to pursue the proposed work) and what changes should be made to the proposed studies and/or theoretical framework. Once the committee members have come to an agreement, the student is invited back into the room to discuss the committee's recommendations.

Fourth or Fifth Year
During their final year in the Psychology Graduate Program, students completely focus on the completion of their dissertation. To facilitate this, students are usually funded as Lehrman or Dissertation Fellows during their final year. Students should also begin to direct their energies towards applying for post-doctoral research and faculty positions. The best way to begin this process is to discuss your future employment options with your advisor and to consult the job listings in the APA monitor and APS observer. These listings can also be found on line at http://www.apa.org/ads and http://www.psychologicalscience.org, respectively.

Submission of Doctoral Dissertation
As students complete portions of the research described in their dissertation proposal, they should write up their results chapter by chapter and submit them to their advisor for feedback. Thus, the development of a dissertation is best viewed as a continuous process of production and refinement. Students are invited to meet with members of their dissertation committee, either individually or as a group, to assist in the development of their dissertations. The structure of a doctoral dissertation is described in a pamphlet available in the Graduate School office (401 Hill Hall) or on-line at the address given previously. Again, some of the necessary information can be found at the end of this handbook.

Once a student and advisor are satisfied with a completed dissertation, the student can schedule their dissertation defense. The dissertation defense should be scheduled at least 4 weeks after the student has produced the final version of their dissertation and has distributed it to his or her committee members. The Director of the Graduate Program should also receive a copy of the dissertation at this time. Furthermore, it is important for students to schedule their dissertation defense dates several weeks before the deadline for that semester. Students are reminded that it is normal for the committee to suggest many changes in a dissertation. Therefore, several weeks should be left for making these changes and receiving approval for them before submitting the dissertation to the Graduate Studies Office in anticipation of graduation.

Dissertation Defense
One month after a student submits his or her dissertation to the committee members (including all outside members), the student may defend their dissertation. This delay provides time for approval by the Dean of the Graduate School, for public notice of the dissertation defense, and for a thorough evaluation by the dissertation committee. No final oral examination is to be scheduled unless a majority of the full time faculty are in attendance. A candidate must defend the dissertation and otherwise satisfy the committee that he or she is qualified to receive the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

The oral dissertation defense is chaired either by the Director of Graduate Program or a faculty member appointed by the director. The total duration is ordinarily not more than three hours with the first 45 minutes consisting of a presentation by the student of the nature and principal findings of the dissertation. As in the dissertation proposal defense, the student's presentation occurs in an open session. This is followed by a question and answer period for members of the audience who are not members of the dissertation committee. Then the student and the dissertation committee members meet alone to discuss the dissertation. Once the committee members are satisfied with the student's defense of the dissertation, the student is excused from the room and the committee members meet in private to determine whether or not the student has passed their dissertation defense. Once this decision has been made, the student is invited back into the room and told of the committee's decision.

At the time of the dissertation defense, it is the responsibility of the candidate to obtain from the Office of the Graduate Dean the candidacy application for completion by the committee at the dissertation defense. The committee members must also sign the title page of the dissertation, signifying their acceptance of it. Once the program director certifies that all program requirements have been completed for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, the candidate must return the candidacy application to the Office of the Dean. Additional materials to be submitted at this time include one original and one photocopy of the dissertation on 100 percent cotton-content bond paper, two copies of the title page and abstract, the receipted payment form for microfilming, the microfilming agreement form, and additional survey forms as required. All of the above materials must be submitted to the Office of the Dean no later than the announced deadlines for completion of degree requirements. The names of those failing to meet these deadlines are automatically removed from the commencement list for that degree date.

Importantly, a student MUST be registered for at least 1 credit during the semester in which they submit their approved dissertation to the graduate school.

Publication of Dissertation
After the granting of the doctorate, the Graduate School-Newark has the dissertation microfilmed. The dissertation must, therefore, be prepared with the same care as a publishable paper. The abstract that accompanies the dissertation is published in Dissertation Abstracts and, therefore, must also be ready for publication when it is submitted to the dean.

University Microfilms of Ann Arbor, Michigan, microfilms the dissertation and publishes the abstract. Information concerning the preparation of the dissertation and abstract, and the agreement with University Microfilms which the candidate is to sign, are available in the Office of the Dean. The fee for microfilming and binding of the dissertation and the publishing abstract is currently $66.50. Registration of copyright is also available for a fee of $35.00

Finally, a bound copy must be submitted to the Director of the Graduate Program and to the student's advisor, and ideally, to each member of the student's dissertation committee.