Required Courses for All Students
56:830:580 Research Methods (3 credits)
Research Methods covers designing, conducting, and analyzing research, including issues of ethics, informed consent, control groups, measurement, and data collection. Topics may include basic research designs and statistical analyses, including experimental, quasi-experimental, survey, and archival research, and associated statistical, computer, and graphical techniques, with the goal of preparing students to design and carry out methodologically sound research projects.
56:830:650 Statistics & Research Design (3 credits)
The focus of this course is on the multivariate design issues students will confront in applied research settings. The course covers between-and within-subjects designs and mixed models, regression and covariance analysis, and other univariate and multivariate techniques, relying on computerized data analysis and graphical representation.
Psychology Core Courses
All students must also complete at least 2 of the following core content courses, each of which is typically offered once every two or three years on a rotating basis. These graduate-level courses will survey research in the relevant field of study and provide more depth than is available in undergraduate-level courses. In addition, all core content courses will examine the research methods typically employed in their field of study.
56:830:626 Graduate Developmental Psychology (3 credits)
An examination of life span developmental psychology with reference to classic theories (e.g., Piaget) and recent theoretical and experimental advances. An exploration of typical human development, including infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, with emphasis on childhood social, emotional, and cognitive development.
56:830:631 Graduate Personality Psychology (3 credits)
Examines contemporary research in personality psychology, focusing on historical and modern perspectives ranging from Freudian theory to the Five Factor Model of Personality. Both genetic and environmental influences on personality development will be considered as will the role of gender and culture in the development of personality. Applications of personality psychology in the study of mental and physical health will be discussed.
56:830:633 Graduate Cultural Psychology (3 credits)
Drawing on psychological theory and research, Cultural Psychology examines how culture shapes fundamental ways people perceive and think about the world, how culture shapes lifespan development, how culture shapes self and identity, and how culture shapes motivation and emotion. This course emphasizes building cultural competence by focusing on the implications of cultural psychology for immigration, for sexuality and close relationships, for multicultural identities, for prejudice and discrimination, and for mental health and psychological practice.
56:830:635 Graduate Social Psychology (3 credits)
This course will review theory and research in social psychology. Content will be drawn from classic work, both theoretical and empirical, and contemporary perspectives.
56:830:640 Graduate Abnormal Psychology (3 credits)
Familiarizes students with the different diagnoses, etiologies, and treatments of major forms of psychopathology. Uses the DSM-IV-TR classification system. Emphasizes the role of current research findings in understanding psychiatric disorders, and appropriate treatment of disorders.
56:830:648 Graduate Health Psychology (3 credits)
This course focuses on understanding psychological processes that influence health, contribute to our happiness, and provide a sense of meaning in our lives. Topics to be discussed include: stress and coping, personality and health, health behaviors, the context and providers of health care, factors that promote happiness, strategies to improve happiness, and ways individuals create meaning in their lives. The changing health care environment and the need to understand the role of individuals’ lifestyles in determining their health and well-being is emphasized.
56:830:662 Graduate Cognitive Psychology (3 credits)
Examines current theories and research methods in cognitive psychology and may cover topics including pattern recognition, attention, multiple aspects of memory, language comprehension, decision-making, thinking, and problem solving. Emphasis will be on understanding some of these topics in depth rather providing a broad survey of all.
56:830:665 Graduate Physiological Psychology (3 credits) (Taught in Fall 2024 by Dr. Allred). Examines current theories and methods in physiological psychology through the lens of contemporary issues. Following a broad overview of neurons, students study selected topics in-depth. Specific topics vary semester to semester. Examples include neurobiology of reward and addiction, sleep and circadian rhythms, reproductive behavior, language and music, stress and trauma, neurodevelopmental disorders, neuroplasticity, emotion regulation, learning and memory, cognitive-affective states, environmental neuroscience, and nutrition and exercise.
Strongly Encouraged
56:830:703 Readings in Psychology (1 credit each semester; 3 credits to receive elective credit)
Students attend weekly presentations and discuss important topics in Psychology. The course involves presentations from graduate students and faculty from the Psychology Department as well as speakers from other departments at Rutgers-Camden, and from local universities, research centers, and businesses.
Additional Courses
The following courses are taught on an occasional basis:
56:830:620 Program Evaluation (3 credits)
A survey of methods of program evaluation, including targeted research, primary and secondary prevention, meliorative programs, the assessment of pilot programs, evaluation of training and educational programs, and the study of broad policy issues. Consideration is given to the assessment and reporting of results, including the use of objective/quantitative measure and qualitative assessment of goals that depend on descriptive performance criteria. The iterative process of evaluation, triangulation methods, and meta-analysis are emphasized.
56:830:638 Survey Research Methods (3 credits)
This course teaches how to do several different types of survey research. It covers topics such as: the purposes of survey research, modes of data collection, reliability and validity in measurement, questionnaire construction, interviewing and questionnaire administration, sampling, methods of minimizing and correcting for nonresponse, survey data coding and analysis, and the reporting of survey research results. Students are guided through the design of open-ended and closed-ended questions or a small scale survey research project.
56:830:701 Research in Psychology (3 credits)
Students conduct original non-thesis research in psychology under the supervision of a faculty member.
56:830:702 Teaching in Psychology (3 credits)
Students participate in a seminar on pedagogy and gain valuable experience teaching and engaging with students in psychology classes. The goal is to prepare students to serve as teaching assistants and instructors in the future. Students completing this course leave with a portfolio of materials that include a teaching statement, a sample syllabus, and evaluations from students and a faculty mentor.
56:830:677 Evolutionary Psychology (3 credits)
Why do people think, act and feel the way they do? These questions have occupied psychologists since the birth of the field. More recently, researchers in a number fields (including psychology, biology, genetics, neuroscience, psychiatry, and physiology) have examined whether or not the same evolutionary forces that selected for our anatomy and physiology also shaped our basic psychological traits. In this course, we will examine many facets of human behavior through an evolutionary lens, asking such questions as whether or not our basic emotional and intuitive responses to the environment and to other human beings can be explained as adaptations that maximized the reproductive potential of our ancestors over the course of evolutionary history. Some specific topics of discussion include: mutation, kin selection, inclusive fitness, altruism, parental investment, short-term and long-term mating strategies, mate guarding tactics, attractiveness, gender differences in sexual expression, sexual coercion, gender differences in empathizing, gender differences in systematizing, depression, post-partum depression, evolutionary purposes of art and other distinctly human pleasures.
56:830:625 Industrial Psychology (3 credits)
This course provides an introduction to the field of industrial/organizational psychology, covering fundamental theory and research in personnel and organizations. Topics may include psychology of industrial and human relations; job analysis and design; worker morale, motivation, and efficiency; groupwork; organizational conflict; workplace diversity; leadership and top management teams; training and development; organizational culture and change.
56:830:660 Human Factors (3 credits)
This course focuses on the person as a factor in the design and operation of complex systems. Emphasis will be placed on both the theoretical analysis of the “model human operator,” and on real-world applications of cognitive theories in such domains as the design of displays, the sequencing of complex tasks, the use of “virtual reality” aids, and the minimizing of human error. Students will complete short projects to demonstrate relevant methodologies.
56:830:674,675 Special Topics (3 credits)
Selected problems in psychology reflecting the specific research interests of individual faculty.
Required Thesis Track Research Courses
56:830:590 Independent Study: Thesis Proposal (3 credits)
This Independent Study course is designed to assist students in developing their thesis proposal through an apprenticeship experience with a faculty member. Students are expected to meet weekly with their adviser, who will provide expert guidance on the proposal. Admission to this class and the grade assigned for this class is determined by the faculty advisor in consultation with a committee including the graduate director (see Degree Requirements).
56:830:690 Independent Study: Thesis Research (3 credits)
This independent study course is designed to assist students in completing their thesis research. Students are expected to meet weekly with their adviser, who will provide expert guidance on data collection, analysis, and write-up (in accordance with the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association and the Rutgers-Camden Thesis Style Guide). Admission to this class and the grade assigned for this class is determined by the faculty advisor in consultation with a committee including the graduate director (see Degree Requirements).
As Needed Courses
56:830:800 Matriculation continued (0 credits)
According to Graduate School policies, all students in degree programs must maintain status in the school by registering each fall and spring semester. Continuous registration may be accomplished by enrolling in standard course offerings (typically at least 3 credits), including research courses, or by enrolling in this course of 0 credits.