Academic Progress

Psychology Good Standing Policy

Defines "good standing" for the department, college, and university and informs students of the timeline for degree milestones. This policy is maintained in the Graduate Student Handbook along with links to administrative forms, guidance on addressing extenuating circumstances, and probation and dismissal procedures.

Psychology Student Learning Outcomes

Doctoral

Research competency is foundational to all of our program goals. In broad terms, we train our students to acquire the skills to

• Independently contribute knowledge to the discipline through research.
• Synthesize and critically evaluate the key findings, concepts, methods and theories that are relevant to their research area. 

All students are expected to learn methods relevant to their research and to acquire competency in quantitative analysis of data. During their graduate training, students also are expected to attain competency in classroom teaching and to have experience mentoring undergraduates in research. Finally, as preparation for their future career responsibilities, students are encouraged to participate in service at the departmental, university and national levels.

Master's

The Psychology MA is available to admitted Psychology PhD students as an additional credential or as a terminal degree if the PhD will not be completed. The MA is designed to be maximally flexible to ensure it supports students in all seven of the sub-plans for the Psychology PhD.

Master’s students are expected to demonstrate research competencies appropriate to their area of doctoral training; engage in the effective teaching and/or mentoring of undergraduates; and contribute service, engagement, and leadership to the field commensurate to the master’s level.

University Policies on Academic Progress

• Doctoral: Performance Standards and Academic Progress: Policy and FAQ
• Master’s: Performance Standards and Academic Progress: Policy and FAQ

Graduate Student Services and Progress (GSSP) manages the electronic workflows and paperwork steps that all graduate students must complete to obtain their degree. Access to these electronic workflows, and guidance on the timing for when steps should be completed, are maintained in the following overviews:

• PhD Degree Completion Steps
• Plan A MA (with thesis) Degree Completion Steps
• Plan B MA (capstone) Degree Completion Steps

GSSP’s guidance is general and does not address departmental requirements and procedures. Consult the Graduate Student Handbook and your area handbook to ensure you complete all steps at the appropriate time, including departmental scheduling requirements for preliminary and final exams. Students completing a predoctoral internship typically have a different timeline for their final steps and when to apply to graduate.

The Graduate School requires all master’s and doctoral students to be reviewed annually and notified of whether or not they are meeting progress standards. This is accomplished through an Annual Progress Review (APR) that students submit each spring for comment by their advisor(s), the ADGS, and the DGS.

The “Satisfactory Progress and Annual Review” section of the Graduate Student Handbook provides an overview of the timing and scope of the review.

The APR will transition to a new online platform for Spring 2025. Details and functionality are forthcoming, but should include similar content requirements to prior years. Updated guidance will be shared by email and added here when available.

• Resources from Spring 2024 reporting can be consulted for insight into the general scope and structure of Psychology's APR process, although the specifics are subject to change:
  • Annual Progress Report - Draft Answers Template: Questions are likely similar to what you may encounter in the 2025 process.  
  • Spring 2024 APR Instructions and Deadlines: We hope to maintain a comparable timeline for 2025, barring delays in central implementation of the new system.
• The department will continue to offer a mechanism for submitting an extenuating circumstances with APRs when appropriate. Consult the Extenuating Circumstances Statement Guidelines for details.

If you are experiencing extenuating circumstances, or if other factors are impacting your timeline for degree progress steps, reach out proactively. More options for support are typically available with advance notice, and before a determination of unsatisfactory progress is made.

Your advisor(s), the DGS, and the ADGS are all available for consultation and to help you plan for adjustments to your timeline, as appropriate to your situation.