MEDICAL PSYCHOLOGY PROGRAM
CIVILIAN TRACK RESEARCH TRAININg
The graduate training program in medical psychology is a research training program. Many aspects of the study of health and behavior are included, but research is the principal focus of training and activity in the Medical Psychology Program, and active involvement in research is a continuing requirement through the graduate student's career. Initially, this research is directed and supervised by the student's faculty advisor. Later, the student is expected to develop an ongoing individual research program and take major responsibility for planning and implementing studies.
Upon entry into the program, students are matched with a primary advisor and are expected to become involved in ongoing research. These assignments are based on student and faculty interests and are reviewed by the Director of Graduate Studies. Students primarily work with their advisor in research, but students may do research with adjunct faculty or faculty other than their primary advisor. In such cases, the advisor continues to monitor student progress in consultation with the other faculty.
During the second year, students must complete a research project that is required for advancement to candidacy, and which usually forms the basis of a Master's thesis. Advancement to candidacy (Master’s level) is both an academic milestone and a formal administrative process through the Graduate School. This work involves the development of a series of research questions, hypotheses, and design in collaboration with the research advisor. The student then will be responsible for conducting the study and analyzing the data. Finally, the study is written up in a form suitable for publication. The study may be on any topic within health and behavior that is agreeable to both student and advisor. The written Master's thesis is reviewed by the research advisor and by two other faculty members.
After successfully completing course work, the Qualifying Examination, teaching assistant assignments, a research paper (i.e., a full draft of the master's thesis), and identifying a Ph.D. thesis advisory committee, students are advanced to Ph.D. candidacy. Students then are expected to begin to function as independent investigators. Collaboration with their advisor and other faculty continues, but emphasis is placed on the transition from student to professional and from research "apprentice" to independent scientist. Students are expected to take primary responsibility for the "third year paper" and for research studies and to complete them before beginning work on their doctoral dissertation. The bulk of this work is during the third and fourth years of study.
In the third year, each student must select a suitable topic and prepare either a review paper in the style of Psychological Bulletin or an NIH-style grant proposal. This third year paper must be read and approved by two faculty members. The purpose of this paper is to familiarize students with the process of organizing and preparing reviews of research literature and/or writing grant applications. This paper must be completed and approved before beginning the doctoral dissertation research project.
The doctoral dissertation, begun during the third, fourth or fifth year, is a study that is initiated, designed, conducted, analyzed, written, and presented by the student. Dissertations are written in a standard format. Students must critically review relevant literature, formulate a problem, derive testable hypotheses, design a study that would stand up to methodological evaluation, analyze and explain results, and place the study in a broader context. Additional information about the doctoral dissertation is available in Dissertation Proposal and Proposal Defense section of the handbook.