DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY

Graduate
Program
in
Psychology
Handbook
Policies,
Procedures,
and
Requirements

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES

 THE GRADUATE PROGRAM IN PSYCHOLOGY
2023-2024
TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Contents
I. UNDERGRADUATE PREPARATION..................................................................................................................... 4
II. GENERAL POLICIES FOR STUDENTS WITH GRADUATE LEVEL TRAINING FROM OTHER UNIVERSITIES ........... 4
III. PROGRAM OVERVIEW ..................................................................................................................................... 5
IV. QUARTERLY COURSE LOAD ........................................................................................................................... 10
V. REGISTRATION AND ENROLLMENT PROCEDURES ......................................................................................... 11
VI. EVALUATION POLICIES .................................................................................................................................. 12
VII. REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL PH.D. STUDENTS IN PSYCHOLOGY ...................................................................... 14
PSYCHOLOGY 251: FIRST-YEAR RESEARCH PROJECT ................................................................................ 14
THE M.A. DEGREE ..................................................................................................................................... 20
VIII. OPTIONAL MINOR COURSE REQUIREMENTS.............................................................................................. 20
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS ........................................................................................................................ 20
INDIVIDUALIZED MINORS ......................................................................................................................... 21
DIVERSITY SCIENCE MINOR REQUIREMENTS ........................................................................................... 22
HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY MINOR REQUIREMENTS ....................................................................................... 23
QUANTITATIVE PSYCHOLOGY MINOR REQUIREMENTS ........................................................................... 23
IX. MAJOR AREA REQUIREMENTS ...................................................................................................................... 25
GENERAL POLICIES .................................................................................................................................... 25
BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE MAJOR REQUIREMENTS ........................................................................... 25
CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR REQUIREMENTS ..................................................................................... 28
DSK BREADTH COURSE REQUIREMENTS ................................................................................................... 29
COGNITIVE MAJOR REQUIREMENTS ........................................................................................................ 30
COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE MAJOR REQUIREMENTS .............................................................................. 35
COMPUTATIONAL COGNITION MAJOR REQUIREMENTS ......................................................................... 40
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR REQUIREMENTS ....................................................................... 45
HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR REQUIREMENTS ....................................................................................... 48
LEARNING AND BEHAVIOR MAJOR REQUIREMENTS................................................................................ 49
QUANTITATIVE PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR REQUIREMENTS ........................................................................... 52
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR REQUIREMENTS ........................................................................................ 55
SOCIAL AND AFFECTIVE NEUROSCIENCE MAJOR REQUIREMENTS .......................................................... 55
X. GUIDELINES FOR DOCTORAL COMMITTEE AND DISSERTATION PREPARATION............................................ 58
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XI. GENERAL REGULATIONS REGARDING LEAVE OF ABSENCE (LOA)................................................................. 65
XII. TIME LIMITS FOR COMPLETING DOCTORAL PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS ................................................... 67
XIII. ACADEMIC DISQUALIFICATION AND APPEAL OF DISQUALIFICATION ........................................................ 68
XIV. GRIEVANCE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ................................................................................................... 69
XV. PROGRAM ACCOMMODATIONS FOR DOCTORAL STUDENTS WHO ARE PARENTS ..................................... 70
XVI. FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES ............................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
XVII. EMPLOYMENT GUIDELINES & PROCEDURES ............................................................................................. 71
XVIII. ACADEMIC POLICIES AND REQUIREMENTS FOR TAs AND GSRs ............................................................... 73
XIX. RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS ........................................................................................................................ 74
XX. GUIDELINES FOR STUDENT-FACULTY RELATIONSHIPS ................................................................................ 74
XXI. EQUITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION .......................................................................................................... 78

This manual is intended as a resource for faculty and graduate students in the Psychology
Department. The contents of this manual derive from the University General Catalog and various
Division of Graduate Education publications, including Standards and Procedures for Graduate
Study at UCLA, the official Program Requirements for the Psychology PhD, and the Minimum
Standards for Doctoral Committee Constitution. Students are also strongly encouraged to read
the relevant sections of the aforementioned University publications for up to date details about
University rules, regulations, and policies. Please discuss questions or concerns with the
Graduate Advising Supervisor and Vice Chair for Graduate Studies.

Current Graduate Advising Supervisor: Lisa Lee

Current Vice Chair for Graduate Studies: Professor Theodore Robles

Last Updated September 2023

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 I. UNDERGRADUATE PREPARATION

The department regards a broad undergraduate background in the behavioral, biological, physical,
and social sciences as the best preparation for graduate study in psychology. It is desirable but not
required to have majored in psychology. A course in college level math or statistics is required.

IMPORTANT: Some areas within this Department have additional requirements:

Behavioral Neuroscience Area: Undergraduate courses in basic biological and physical sciences
are strongly recommended.

Clinical Area: The program requires a psychology major or its course equivalent, as well as the
Psychology GRE subject test. However, we will consider applicants who did not take the subject
test in time for admission.

Cognitive Area: Consistent with the interdisciplinary nature of cognitive psychology and cognitive
science, the area welcomes applicants with majors or strong backgrounds in any of a number of
areas, including psychology, cognitive science, computer science, applied mathematics,
engineering, neuroscience, and linguistics.

II. GENERAL POLICIES FOR STUDENTS WITH GRADUATE LEVEL TRAINING FROM OTHER
UNIVERSITIES

All doctoral students are required to complete at least two years of academic residence at UCLA.
In most cases, a longer period of academic residence is required. Students who completed
graduate level courses at another university may petition for one or more exemptions from the
UCLA requirements.

The basic goal in evaluating petitions from students with previous graduate training is to ensure
that all graduate training is comparable to that received by other UCLA psychology graduate
students and that the training merits a UCLA Psychology Ph.D. Although it is common for students
with two or more years of previous graduate work to successfully petition course exemptions,
many advisors and areas may in fact prefer that these students enroll in most of the courses
required in our program, particularly courses in the major. Please note that the department
expects that students entering with an M.A. will need at least two years to advance to candidacy.
Also note that the Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations (Preliminary Orals) at UCLA are
mandatory for all graduate students, regardless of whether this examination has been passed at
another university.

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Psychology 250A, 250B Course Exemptions: Students who wish to be exempt from this statistics
requirement must consult with their advisors and the Graduate Studies Committee. These
exemptions are rarely, if ever, granted.

Course Exemption Petitions: Students with previous graduate training in psychology are urged
to petition for exemptions during their first quarter in residence at UCLA. Course exemption
petitions may be obtained from the Graduate Advising Supervisor. If requesting exemptions for
more than two courses, please complete a “Petition Summary for Students Submitting Multiple
Petitions.” All petitions for course exemptions must be submitted together and with syllabi so
they can be evaluated in the context of the student’s overall program of study at UCLA.
Students may petition for course exemptions in Major Area courses and Minor Area courses.
Petitions will be reviewed by each student’s advisor and Area Chair, the appropriate course
instructors, the Vice Chair for Graduate Studies, with further consultation from the Graduate
Studies Committee when deemed necessary. Please see the Graduate Advising Supervisor for
details.

III. PROGRAM OVERVIEW

EXPECTATIONS FOR ALL STUDENTS

All graduate students are part of the larger UCLA community, and as part of that community,
students are expected to be aware of and comply with federal, state, and local laws, University
and campus policies and regulations, and the standards for conduct described in the UCLA
Student Conduct Code.

The UCLA Student Conduct Code can be found at this link. Below, we highlight a few key
portions:

Academic and research integrity. All forms of academic or research misconduct, including,
but not limited to cheating, fabrication or falsification, plagiarism, multiple submissions,
facilitating academic misconduct, coercion regarding grading or evaluation of coursework,
unauthorized collaboration, and other forms of dishonesty are prohibited by the UCLA
Student Conduct Code.

Additional prohibited behaviors. In addition to regulations related to academic or research

misconduct, all students should be familiar with other prohibited behaviors, such as
violations of copyright laws, violations of university policies, conduct that threatens health
or safety, stalking, discrimination and harassment, hazing, and terrorizing conduct. More
specific descriptions can be found here.

For Clinical students: You are expected to follow federal, state, and agency laws, policies
and ethical guidelines regarding the practice of psychology. Agency policies include the
UCLA Psychology Clinic, the American Psychological Association Ethical Principles of
Psychologists and Code of Conduct, and policies at external practicum placements.
Violating federal, state, or local law may be grounds for discipline under the UCLA Student
Conduct Code.

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Student conduct violations involving sexual violence and sexual harassment are prohibited by
the University of California Policy on Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment. All students are
expected to know what constitutes affirmative consent and prohibited conduct under the UC
Policy and complete the required sexual assault prevention trainings and refresher courses.

EXPECTATIONS FOR GRADUATE STUDENT LOUNGE

The David O. Sears Graduate Student Lounge (3501 Pritzker) is available for all graduate
students in the Psychology Department. The lounge is a great place to study, have meetings,
work collaboratively, take a break, and socialize with student colleagues.

It’s essential that everyone works together to ensure the space remains welcoming and
comfortable for all to use. Therefore, during your time in the graduate student lounge, the
expectations are that you please:

1. Be respectful of others: Please be mindful of your noise level and avoid engaging in
disruptive or distracting behaviors that may disturb others working in the area. To
maintain a positive and productive environment, please communicate with other
students in a kind and civil manner that respects the rights and dignity of others.

2. Clean up after yourself: Please ensure that you clean up any food, drink, or other
personal items you use in the space. This includes throwing away any trash, washing
dishes, and wiping down counters or tables. Please follow the timeframe that is posted
on the refrigerator for disposing of personal food and containers in the refrigerator and
freezer. If you find that the lounge is lacking supplies, please let the main office (Tyler
Tuione) know and we can replenish needed items.

3. Share the space: The graduate student lounge is a shared space, and it is important that
everyone is respectful of each other's needs. This means being mindful of others who
may be waiting for a seat and not taking up more space than necessary. Information
about reserving the graduate lounge can be found in signage posted in the graduate
lounge.

Our goal is to work together to make the graduate student lounge a comfortable and
welcoming space. We thank you for doing your part. If you experience any conduct that
violates these expectations, you may notify your Psychology Graduate Student Association
(PGSA) officers at [email protected].

ADVISING
Upon admission to graduate status, each student is assigned an academic advisor whose role is
to provide consultation on curriculum planning and academic matters. Incoming students
should meet with this faculty advisor before the fall quarter starts or as early as possible to plan
their first-year classes. Often, the student's academic advisor is also their research advisor. In
other cases, the student may have two different faculty advisors, one as an academic advisor
and the other as a research advisor. If interests and relationships change over time, students
6
may select new academic and/or research advisors.

Although students may select research advisors who are out of their area or even outside of the
department, we require students to maintain an academic advisor who is in the student’s major
area. Clinical students must consult with the Clinical Area Chair to ensure that their research
advisor is acceptable.

At the beginning of each Fall quarter until doctoral advancement to candidacy, graduate
students will be required to complete the Annual Enrollment Form by Friday of week 2. The
Annual Enrollment Form will require students to meet with their advisor(s) to discuss and
receive the advisor’s endorsement of the academic year enrollment plan.

REQUIREMENT SUBSTITUTIONS
Students are generally expected to complete requirements as outlined in this handbook.
However, students also have the option of petitioning to substitute designated courses with
courses that the student thinks may satisfy the nature and intention of the requirement equally
well or better. Students considering this option should discuss it with their advisor and relevant
area chair. Complete the General Petition available on the Psychology website
(https://www.psych.ucla.edu/graduate/current-students/academics/forms-petitions).

ESTABLISHING RESIDENCY
Establishing California Residency: If you are a California nonresident student, you are advised to
file a Petition for Residence Classification in order to avoid incurring the costs of nonresident
tuition in the second year of the program and beyond. To be considered a California Resident
for tuition purposes, a student must be physically present with intent to remain in California for
one year prior to the residence determination date for the term you wish to be considered a
resident. For more information, please visit the Registrar’s website on Residence for Tuition
Purposes (https://registrar.ucla.edu/fees-residence/residence-requirements/classification-as-a-
resident). Undocumented students should review the guidance at the UC Establishing
Residency site (left sidebar): https://www.ucop.edu/residency/establishing-residency.html

FIRST AND SECOND YEAR REQUIREMENTS

In general, the first two years of graduate work are designed to provide the student with
breadth of knowledge in the field of psychology with a more focused intensive coverage of
theories and research than would have been received in an undergraduate program. The
second year of the program provides more specialization in the student's major and optional
minor areas and continued development of the student's own research program.

A. Complete the following courses:

1) Psychology 250A and 250B (Advanced Psychological Statistics), must be completed in
the first year. Receiving a B- or lower requires the course(s) to be retaken.
2) Psychology 251ABC – the first-year research project. Students enroll in 251A during
winter quarter of their first year and must complete Psychology 251ABC sequence by
the end of fall quarter of their second year.

B. Introductory Teaching Practicum:

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 In our department’s commitment to improving graduate education in teaching, effective
Fall 2017, all students will be introduced to teaching through a 25% time Introductory
Psychology Teaching Assistant position during one quarter of the first year of matriculation
in the degree program.

C. Psychology 495A and 495B:

Psychology 495A and 495B (Presentation of Psychological Materials) is a supervised
practicum in undergraduate teaching. All first-year students are required to take 495A
concurrent with their first Teaching Assistant (TA) assignment. In a subsequent year,
students must take 495B concurrent with their second TA assignment. As with all course
requirements, this must be completed prior to doctoral advancement to candidacy.
Exemption petitions for these courses will not be accepted.

D. M.A. Degree:
Please see M.A. Degree section.

E. Research Requirements:
Enrollment in individual study(Directed Study) courses is the formal mechanism for
providing students, instructors, the department, and the University with the appropriate
credit for time devoted to research. These courses include Individualized Study Courses
(Psychology 596, 597, 599) as well as regular research/lab meetings (Psychology 296).

1. Individual Study Courses and Requirements:

a. Course Titles
596 – Directed Individual Research and Study: Credit for research supervised by one or
more faculty. 597 - C-Exam preparation (Clinical students: See explanation below)
599 - Dissertation Research (prerequisite: Advancement to Candidacy)

Clinical students: Please note that you may enroll in Psychology 596 only during
quarters in which a written product will be submitted at the end of the quarter. The
content and format of the written product is to be determined in advance by you and
your faculty research advisor. It will depend on what is appropriate for the stage of
your research. During quarters when the research will not include a written product,
enroll in Psychology 597 to obtain research credit. Please contact the clinical area for
additional information.

b. Beginning in their second year, students are required to enroll in a minimum of 4 units
of Psychology 596 each year until Advancement to Candidacy, at which point students
enroll in 599 each quarter. Clinical students: Your 2nd and 3rd year 596 courses must
have a written product. Clinical students conducting research during quarters in which
they will not produce a written product should enroll in Psychology 597 instead of 596.

c. Students enroll in 1-12 units per section, i.e., with each faculty member who supervises
their research. Each unit of credit represents approximately three hours of work per
week. Students are urged to enroll in the number of individualized research units (and
sections) each quarter that reflect the time they spend on individualized research
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 supervised by faculty.

d. Enroll under the name of each faculty member with whom you meet on a regular basis.

e. New course ID numbers for 596/597/599 are assigned each quarter.

2. Regular research/lab group meetings:

Enroll in Psychology 296 whenever you are involved in regular research/lab meetings.
Enroll under the name of each faculty member who is in charge of the meeting(s) you
attend.

F. Major And Optional Minor Area Course Requirements:

Students continue working on requirements for the major and optional minor during the
second and third year.

G. Written Qualifying Examinations (C-Exams):

Please check area specific policies in the Handbook for more information about c-exam
requirements.

H. Clinical Students Practicum Requirements:

Requirements and procedures for the Clinic practicum are detailed in the Clinic Handbook
(https://www.psych.ucla.edu/graduate/current-students/academics/graduate-student-
handbooks).

THIRD YEAR REQUIREMENTS

The third year consists primarily of advanced seminars and, in some areas, completion of C-
Exam requirements. A large part of the student's time should also be devoted to research, with
greater specialization leading toward the development of a dissertation problem. Students
typically complete major and optional minor area course requirements by the end of the third
year.

FOURTH AND FIFTH YEAR REQUIREMENTS

See Section X. Guidelines for Doctoral Committee and Dissertation Preparation for detailed
guidelines, which are briefly summarized below:

A. Nominations of Doctoral Committees: All doctoral committees require a minimum of four

members.

B. Dissertation Prospectus and Oral Qualifying Examination (“Prelims”):

All course requirements and written qualifying examinations must be completed prior to
taking the oral qualifying exam. After completing all course requirements, you must submit
the dissertation prospectus/proposal. The prospectus must be circulated to your doctoral
committee approximately two weeks before the Prelims. Prelims must be completed no later
than the spring quarter of the fourth year.*

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 Start working with your advisor as early as possible to develop a plan so that you can advance
to candidacy on time. Most students develop their ideas before the 4th year and begin focusing
on the dissertation prospectus in the fall of their 4th year. Students are advanced to doctoral
candidacy after completing Prelims.

C. Final Oral Examination:

When the student and dissertation committee chair(s) agree that the dissertation is ready to
be presented to the full committee, the Final Oral Exam is scheduled. The doctoral committee
evaluates the candidate’s dissertation during a two-hour oral examination meeting.

D. Internship Requirements for Clinical Students: See Practicum and Internship Requirements
section.

SIXTH YEAR REQUIREMENTS

All requirements for the Ph.D. must be completed by the end of the spring quarter of the sixth
year*.

*Any requests for extensions to these rules must be submitted by March 1st in year 4 (for
extension of the Preliminary Oral Exam deadline) or year 6 (for completion of all Ph.D.
requirements). See Section XII. Time Limits For Completing Doctoral Program Requirements for
more information about requesting extensions.

IV. QUARTERLY COURSE LOAD

A. Each quarter, students are required to enroll in a minimum of 12 units.

B. Beginning in winter of year one, students are required to enroll in a minimum of four units
of research each quarter (Psychology 251, 596, 597, or 599; see E. Research Requirements
on p. 8).

C. The twelve-unit minimum course load may include 1-12 units of Individual Study
(Psychology 596/597/599) supervised by one or more instructors as well as Psychology 296
(1 unit per section) for faculty research and/or lab meeting courses.

D. To aid course planning, students and advisors can view Psych sample course syllabi in Box.

SAMPLE SCHEDULE FOR THE FIRST 4 QUARTERS OF THE GRADUATE PROGRAM:

The schedule outlined below is typical, but individual interests, advisor recommendations, and
course availability may lead to any number of variations.

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 YEAR 1 YEAR 2

FALL QUARTER WINTER QUARTER SPRING QUARTER FALL QUARTER

250A: Adv Psych Stat 250B: Adv Psych Stat 250C or equivalent if
required for Major

Major course Major course Major course Major course

Planning and 251A: First-Year 251B: First-Year 251C: First-Year

preparation for 251 Research Research Research
(no course enrollment
required)

When appropriate, 2-4 units of 596 (or 597 for Clinical students) and/or 1-2 units each of 296
(lab & research mtgs).

495B if assigned a TA
495A with 25% TA position position

V. REGISTRATION AND ENROLLMENT PROCEDURES

REGISTRATION
Registration payments for students who do not have fellowships that pay full fees must pay all
charges in full by the 20th of the month. This includes TAs and Graduate Student Researchers
(GSRs). Students registering late will be assessed a late fee
(http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/Registration-Classes/Registration-and-Payment/Paying-
Registration-Fees).

ENROLLMENT APPOINTMENTS
Enrollment appointments are available on MyUCLA one to three days after the online Schedule
of Classes for that term is available. Students should check the Registrar’s website
(http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/Registration-Classes/Enrollment-Appointments/Enrollment-
Appointments) to find out when appointment times will be released on MyUCLA.

MINIMUM UNIT ENROLLMENT REQUIREMENTS

A. Students must enroll in a minimum of 12 units each quarter. The twelve unit minimum may
include 1-12 units for each Individual Study (Psychology 596/597/599) course you enroll in as
well as units for lab meetings (Psychology 296 which is 1 unit).

B. Students employed as TAs/GSRs must enroll in at least 12 units to obtain full fee remissions.

COURSE ENROLLMENT
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A. Enrolling as soon as your appointment day arrives can avoid being closed out of classes.

Key deadlines are listed in the table below:

Deadline Action
Friday of Week 2 – First year students must file a study list with the Graduate Advising
Fall quarter Supervisor.

Friday of Week 3 – Last official day to add classes (with a fee for any change made after
all quarters Friday of Week 2).

Class additions processed after this deadline (i.e., between weeks

three and ten of the quarter), will be assessed a fee per class.

Friday of Week 10 Last day to drop classes or change the grading basis (with a fee for any
all quarters change made after Friday of Week 2). Retroactive changes after Friday
of Week 10 are not permitted by Division of Graduate Education.

Courses used to fulfill any requirement must be taken for a letter grade. The grade for
acceptable graduate work in required courses for the program is in the range of B to A+.

TEACHING CREDIT
Students must enroll in Psychology 495A (Presentation of Psychological Materials) during the
quarter of their first year TA assignment. Students also enroll in Psychology 495B during the
second quarter they are assigned a TA appointment.

POLICY ON CONTINUOUS REGISTRATION AND LEAVE OF ABSENCE

Unless granted a formal leave of absence or unless eligible for paying the dissertation filing fee,
graduate students must be registered and enrolled each quarter until all requirements for the
degree are completed. A student who will use twelve or more hours of faculty time or
University facilities (excluding the library) is not eligible for a Leave of Absence or an Extension
of Leave of Absence.

REGISTRATION POLICY FOR FULL-TIME CLINICAL INTERNS

Students who will be full-time interns may apply to register in absentia while on internship for
one or more quarters. Internship information can be found under the Clinical Requirements
section and more information on in absentia registration can be found on the Division of
Graduate Education website (https://grad.ucla.edu/gasaa/library/absentia.htm).

VI. EVALUATION POLICIES

Faculty advisors and area chairs are responsible for monitoring closely the progress of students
in their program. The Department requires the following evaluations:

ANNUAL REVIEW BY AREAS

Each spring quarter, areas are required to conduct a comprehensive review of all graduate

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students in their program. Prior to this review, areas may request that students provide
relevant information, such as a copy of their CV, a checklist of program requirements, a
statement of accomplishments, etc. By the end of spring quarter, each student should receive
from the area a written evaluation letter with a copy sent to the Graduate Advising Supervisor.
This letter should highlight any concerns about the student's performance or progress toward
timely completion of program requirements and recognize the student's accomplishments.

4th AND 6th YEAR PROGRESS REVIEWS

Each fall quarter, students in their 4th and 6th year in the program are sent Progress Report
forms by the Graduate Advising Supervisor. These Progress Reports require students and
advisors to discuss the student’s progress and remaining requirements to ensure that the
student is making normative progress and will meet the 4th and 6th year rules concerning
Preliminary and Final Oral Exams for the dissertation. After the advisor approves the Progress
Report, it is reviewed by the Area Chair, and Vice Chair for Graduate Studies.

If the student or advisor believes that the student will not meet the 4th or 6th year deadlines, the
student must submit an “Extension Request for the 4th or 6th Year Rule,” which can be obtained
from the Graduate Advising Supervisor.

DEPARTMENTAL GUIDELINES ON GRADING POLICIES

The grade for acceptable graduate work in required courses for the program is in the range of B
to A+. The grade of B- in a course indicates there may be a need to review the student’s
performance. A student with two B- grades or a grade of C+ or lower will be reviewed for
possible academic disqualification of graduate status. A student may be disqualified from
graduate study even if that student’s overall average meets the Division of Graduate Education
requirement of 3.0 (B) minimum. If other requirements are met, such a student would be
eligible to apply for a terminal M.A. degree.

Students who have a GPA below 3.0 are NOT eligible for TA and GSR appointments or for
fellowship and training grant stipends.

POLICY ON INCOMPLETES
A. The grade "I" is assigned when a student's work is of passing quality but is incomplete for
good cause.

If a grade of Incomplete is assigned, the work completed to that point must be of passing
quality. A grade of "I" will not be taken into account in calculating the grade point average
for one quarter after it is assigned. Students are entitled to have the grade "I" replaced by a
grade and to receive unit credit and grade points, providing they satisfactorily complete the
work of the course by the end of the subsequent quarter in which they are enrolled. If the
work is not completed by the end of the next quarter in which they are enrolled, the "I"
grade will automatically be replaced with the grade "F" (Fail) or "U" (Unsatisfactory) as
appropriate. It is not necessary to be registered in order to remove an "I" grade.

The work for a course for which the "I" grade has lapsed to an "F" or "U" may, with the
permission of the instructor, be completed in a subsequent quarter and the appropriate
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 earned grade assigned. Until that time, however, the "F" or "U" grade will appear on the
transcript and be calculated in the grade point average.

B. To remove the "I" (Incomplete), have the instructor work with the Graduate Advising
Supervisor to complete the required paperwork.

C. Several serious problems can result from lapsed Incompletes. For example, Incompletes
that have not been cleared may cause denial of petitions to work over 50% time and may
also make students ineligible for certain fellowships. Lapsed Incompletes may bring a
student’s GPA below 3.0. Students with a GPA below 3.0 become ineligible for TA/GSR
positions and TA/GSR Fee Remissions. Students with a GPA below 3.0 will be placed on
probation.

D. The incomplete notation will remain on the transcript as a permanent record. Student
transcripts may eventually be reviewed in connection with internship, award, fellowship, or
job applications.

E. Students must clear Incompletes in required coursework in order to graduate.

VII. REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL PH.D. STUDENTS IN PSYCHOLOGY

COURSE POLICIES AND REQUIREMENTS

A. Students must complete 250AB (Advanced Psychological Statistics) in the first year of the
graduate program. A grade of B- or lower requires the course(s) to be retaken.

B. Students are required to complete Psychology 251ABC (First-Year Research Project) by the
end of the fourth quarter in residence.

PSYCHOLOGY 251: FIRST-YEAR RESEARCH PROJECT

The Psychology 251 courses provide an opportunity for each student to engage in significant
research within the first four quarters in the program. Each student works with a primary and a
secondary faculty sponsor in the Psychology department on a mutually acceptable research
project. At least one sponsor should come from the student’s Area.

Students should discuss the 251 requirements with their advisors at the beginning of each
quarter in 251A, 251B, and 251C, since the requirements are likely to vary somewhat across
areas.

Clinical area students and faculty: Please be sure to read the sponsor meeting requirements
under 251B and 251C descriptions below.

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 General Description
Ideally, the 251 project involves all aspects of the research experience: literature review,
original design, data gathering and interpretation, and the preparation of a final report. The
specific nature of the project may vary from this ideal, depending both on the preparation of
the student and the particular area of research. For example, the project may be a self-
contained study or series of studies, or it may be the initial segment of an extended research
program that will continue as a Psychology 596 project after the completion of 251. In some
cases, it may be appropriate for a student to work on a distinct aspect of a project that has
already begun, although this student should become knowledgeable about the background
literature and understand the rationale for the design and its alternatives. Students should have
experience in data collection even when the primary focus of the student's project involves
working with previously collected data. The project should provide an adequate basis for
evaluating the student's research ability.

The 251 project should be carefully selected so that it can be completed by the end of fall
quarter of the second year. Allowance should be made for the unexpected problems that
inevitably arise in research. The sponsors should not approve projects that are unlikely to reach
an adequate point of completion within this time span.

Monitoring 251 Progress: The primary sponsor and the student are both responsible for
keeping the project moving so that a sufficient portion of the work will be completed within the
allotted time to permit a final report to be written. The student's major area has the
responsibility to assure that each student has found an advisor and begun a project by an early
date, to determine that the nature of the project is appropriate, and to periodically verify with
the advisor that the student is making adequate progress. If there are problems with the rate of
progress or level of performance, the area should discuss them and make recommendations to
the Vice Chair for Graduate Studies.

Human and/or Animal Subject Approval:

Do not delay in submitting the required application for human and animal subject Institutional
Review Board (IRB) approval, as gaining approval can be a time-consuming process. The
application and review process is carried out online using the WebIRB system:
https://webirb.research.ucla.edu. Students must request a WebIRB account under the
sponsorship of their research advisor. Students using human subjects must follow the
guidelines of the Office of the Human Research Protection Program (OHRPP). More information
is available here: https://ohrpp.research.ucla.edu/. Students working on human subject’s
research on their advisor’s projects must be listed as personnel on their advisor’s IRB protocol.
Likewise, students working on research using animals must be listed as Personnel on their
advisor’s Animal Research Committee protocol. The advisor must be listed as the Principal
Investigator.

Implementation
During the fall quarter of the first year, each student is expected to focus on 251 preliminary
design ideas. Students begin to identify a primary & secondary sponsor in the Psychology
department and begin identifying a project with the primary sponsor. Students should arrange to
15
work with a primary faculty sponsor for direct guidance and a secondary faculty sponsor for
additional consultation. Primary and Secondary Sponsors must be Assistant, Associate, or Full
professors with an appointment in the Psychology Department. A secondary sponsor from a
department outside of Psychology must be approved by Vice Chair for Graduate Studies. At
least one sponsor should come from the student’s Area. The general nature of the project
should be determined as part of the process of arranging to work with faculty sponsors. Each
area of the department has been asked to implement procedures that will familiarize students
with the research interests of potential faculty sponsors. It is the student's responsibility to
contact faculty to arrange 251 supervision.

Students must enroll in two quarters of Psychology 251 with the primary sponsor during their
first year: 251A in the winter quarter of the first year and 251B in the spring quarter. Most
students will enroll in 251C in the fall quarter of their second year with their primary sponsor.
However, if the project is completed by the end of 251B, enrollment in 251C is not required.
Enrollment in 251A and 251B is on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis; enrollment in 251C is on
a Letter Grade basis. Grades are assigned by the primary sponsor. The final report must be
submitted no later than the end of 251C (at the end of fall quarter of the 2nd year).

A summary of all the major milestones during the 251 project is shown in the figure below.
Students with questions or concerns about their research are welcome to consult with their
primary and secondary research sponsors, area chairs, and the Vice Chair for Graduate Studies.

16
 251 REQUIREMENTS

Fall of 1st Year

Focus on 251 preliminary design ideas. Begin to identify a primary & secondary sponsor in
the Psych dept. Begin identifying a project with primary sponsor. By the end of fall quarter of
their first year, each student is expected to identify a primary and secondary sponsor.

251A: Winter of 1st Year

• Enroll in 251A with the primary sponsor as S/U grading option
• Once students have secured their sponsors, they must submit a Sponsor Signature
Form, which requires the student to meet with both primary and secondary sponsors.
The form needs to be signed by the sponsors and submitted to the Graduate Advising
Supervisor no later than the Friday of the first week of classes in the winter quarter.
The meeting with the secondary advisor will ensure that all students have an
opportunity to form an additional advising relationship.
• By the first day of final exam week of winter quarter, students must submit their
research topic and a brief report to their primary and secondary sponsors and to the
Graduate Advising Supervisor. The report, which is generally about 2 pages, should
include the design and plans for the project as well as projected dates for completing
each of the various phases of the project. Students should check with their advisors for
additional requirements, since requirements sometimes vary across areas.

• The 251A report must be approved by both sponsors. It will be graded on an S/U basis.

251B: Spring of 1st Year

• Enroll in 251B with the primary sponsor as S/U grading option.
• By the first day of final exam week of spring quarter, students must submit the
following items to their 251 sponsors and to the Graduate Advising Supervisor.
Students will be graded on an S/U basis.
• A brief progress report (approximately one page), summarizing what has been
accomplished during the quarter.
• A complete draft of the introduction and methods section is required in all areas.
The draft can include ideas that are rough or incomplete. The key points to address in
this draft are as follow: some background for the study, the specific research
questions you plan to test, details about the projected sample and subject
recruitment, likely procedures, and likely measures. Expected page length in most
areas is 16-20 pages. However, students should discuss these and other 251B
requirements with their advisors as requirements vary somewhat across areas.
• A completed 251B progress checklist. This is a tool for taking stock of 251 progress
and for helping students make sure that they will be able to complete their projects
by the end of fall quarter in the second year.
• The student and primary sponsor will be asked to complete a Mentoring

17
 Relationship Assessment to provide feedback about the research advising process.

For clinical students only, 251B Student/Sponsor meetings are required. Since these
meetings can serve as a useful and constructive strategy for obtaining feedback and helpful
suggestions, students in all areas are encouraged to set up similar meetings. Clinical area
students and sponsors are required to meet at some point during the first year, usually
during spring quarter, after projects have generally been conceptualized, the literature has
been reviewed, and the methods section is being planned. The purpose of the meeting is to
discuss the research plan, to clarify it and refine it. The meeting should be held early enough
to be of assistance to the students as it presents an opportunity for both sponsors to have
input at a point when procedures can still be modified. Both sponsors should agree that the
project is appropriate before it is carried out.

251C: Fall of 2nd Year

• Enroll in 251C with the primary sponsor as Letter Grade grading option.
• By Friday of the first full week of classes in the fall quarter of the second year,
students must submit the following items to their primary and secondary sponsors
and to the Graduate Advising Supervisor. Clinical area students will also submit copies
to the Clinical Academic Committee Chair (Prof. Katherine Karlsgodt).
• A draft of the introduction and methods section – revised and polished since the end
of spring quarter, based on feedback from both sponsors.
• A draft of the results section. The results draft might present only preliminary
descriptive statistics or tentative analysis, but should provide an opportunity to start
thinking about how specific research questions will be linked with specific data
analyses. This draft is not graded, but it will be reviewed by the sponsors early in the
fall to help identify any problems or concerns that need to be addressed in the final
report.
• By the first day of final exam week in the fall quarter, students are required to
submit a final 251C report to their 251 sponsors and to the Graduate Advising
Supervisor. However, students are strongly encouraged to submit a write-up of the
completed work to their primary advisor earlier in the fall to allow plenty of time for
revisions before submission of the final report.
• After the final 251C report is submitted to both sponsors, sponsors will be asked to
complete a 251C Evaluation Form to provide written evaluation to students.

251C FINAL REPORT REQUIREMENTS

In addition to the requirements outlined below, students are advised to discuss additional 251C
requirements with their advisors as requirements may vary somewhat among areas.

Grading:
A letter grade is assigned by the primary sponsor for 251C. Incompletes cannot be assigned
except in the case of a disabling event, such as a major illness. The assigned grade should reflect

18
the quality of the student’s total research accomplishment in the complete 251 series. The final
evaluation should be based on a combination of direct observation of the student in the
laboratory or field setting, meetings with the student, and the written report. Given equal
accomplishment and quality of performance, equal grades should be assigned for projects still
in progress and for completed projects. In the absence of a written final report, a failing grade
should be given.

Requirements:
The final report should demonstrate understanding and competence in all areas of research. It
should include a discussion of the relevant literature and the conceptual background of the
research. It should present and analyze empirical data and discuss their implications. Although
all reports should include these topics, their specific natures may vary. When the research has
been completed, the report may be in the form of a manuscript suitable for publication.

The most common format for the final report adheres to the style standards of a journal
appropriate to the material. Usually, the reports will follow the guidelines in the APA
publication manual. Many sponsors keep copies of past 251 papers that may be examined;
examples are also kept on file in the Graduate Advising Supervisor’s Office (3516 Pritzker).

The specific content of the final report will vary from student to student. For example, some
students may profit educationally from writing a more extensive literature review than would
be appropriate in a publishable paper. If the student has joined an ongoing research effort
involving several researchers, the report should describe the design of the entire project. When
negative results have been found, they should be discussed with suggestions for follow- up
research (there is no requirement that 251 projects obtain positive results). When the research
is to continue under a 596 or 597, a report more similar to an intermediate progress report to a
granting agency may be appropriate.

Each of the two sponsors will review the final report in the manner that editors or grant
reviewers examine a paper submitted for publication or review. They will provide a written
critique of the report.

For Clinical Students only, 251C Student/Sponsor meetings are required before the end of the
fall quarter of the second year after the 251 project and paper have been completed. Students
and faculty in other areas are encouraged to consider doing this as well. This meeting is
intended to serve as a forum for discussing the work that has been completed as well as
possible future plans for the research.

19
 THE M.A. DEGREE

The Master's Degree is not required of candidates for the Ph.D. However, a student may qualify
and apply for the Master's degree after satisfactory completion of nine courses (36 units) in the
Ph.D. program. For students admitted after 2009, these courses must include:

A. 250AB
B. 251ABC (or 251A and 251B if the 251 project/paper is completed in the spring under
251B)
C. 4 of the required major courses
The Department follows the Master's Comprehensive Examination Plan, which does not require
a thesis but does require satisfactory completion of Psychology 251ABC.
Courses applied toward a previous M.A. or Ph.D. degree may NOT be applied toward a UCLA
Psychology M.A. degree. Students with questions about this requirement should consult with
the Graduate Supervising Advisor.
With the exception of 251AB and 596, which are graded on an S/U basis, courses applied
toward the M.A. degree must be taken for a letter grade.
One 596 course (four units) may be applied as an elective. Courses in the 300 or 400 series may
not be applied to the M.A.
An overall GPA of 3.0 is required in the courses applied toward the M.A.
Petitions for the M.A. degree must be submitted by the end of the first week of classes during
the quarter in which the degree is to be awarded.
Students who have already earned a Master’s Degree in Psychology are not permitted to obtain
a duplicate degree at UCLA.

VIII. OPTIONAL MINOR COURSE REQUIREMENTS

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
In addition to completing the requirements for their major area of study, students have the
option to also complete an optional minor. If students will complete an optional minor, inform
the Graduate Advising Supervisor by Fall quarter of the 3rd year.

When choosing courses to fulfill optional minor area requirements, please note the following:
1) Minors typically consist of 12-16 units.
2) Courses must be taken on a letter graded basis.
3) Courses applied toward the minor must be passed with a grade of B or better.
4) If a student wishes to take a minor area elective course that is eligible to count toward
the student’s major and minor area requirements, then the student must decide
whether to apply the course toward the major or the minor. If the student decides to
apply one course toward the minor, student must:
a. Select electives that demonstrate breadth of study in psychology
b. Obtain approval from student’s advisor
20
 If there is more than one course in this category that the student wishes to apply
toward the minor, the student must:
c. Submit a petition with approval signatures from his/her advisor, the major area
chair, and the minor area chair.
d. Submit the petition to the Graduate Advising Supervisor.
5) Standard minors can be modified by petition.
6) In general, 300- and 400-level courses cannot be applied toward the minor.
7) Courses may be applied toward major OR minor area requirements but not both.

INDIVIDUALIZED MINORS

Students who wish to have an Individualized Minor must file a petition for approval. An
individualized minor must consist of at least three courses totaling 12 units and must define a
coherent content area. The petition for an individualized minor should be submitted before the
student enrolls in the courses. The petition must be approved by both the student's advisor and
the chair of the student's major area. Petitions should then be submitted to the Graduate
Advising Supervisor. The petition must include the rationale for the proposed minor and an
explanation of the importance of the minor to the student’s program of study. The Vice Chair
for Graduate Studies will review and then approve or deny the petition.

The general guidelines for Individualized Minors are as follows:

1) The area of the minor should be distinct from the student's major area.
2) The minor should be clearly distinct from any of the intradepartmental minors and
should include no more than one course from within the Psychology Department.
3) The minor should be specific, involving closely related courses. A minor in "Sociology"
or "Zoology" is unsatisfactory, but a specialization in a field such as "Organizational
Behavior," or "Genetics" is acceptable.
4) The courses should be at an advanced level, roughly equivalent to those required for a
minor within our department. Where appropriate, upper division undergraduate
courses can be applied.
5) Courses applied to individualized minors should also conform to the following general
regulations:
a. In no case may a student apply a course toward the major AND the minor.
b. If a student wishes to take minor area elective courses that are eligible to count
toward both his/her major and minor, the student must:
• select electives that demonstrate breadth of study in psychology;
• petition his/her academic advisor, the major area chair, and the minor
area chair for approval of the courses selected;
• submit the petition to the Graduate Advising Supervisor.
c. Courses must be substantive in content and must include at least one form of
evaluation. In general, this precludes 300 and 400 level courses.
d. All courses applied toward a minor must be passed with a grade of B or better.

21
 DIVERSITY SCIENCE MINOR REQUIREMENTS

IMPORTANT NOTES
1. Courses for this minor cannot be selected from among those that could also satisfy the
student’s major requirements. An exception has been made for students majoring in
Social Psychology and minoring in Diversity Science. These students may choose to
have Psych 295 fulfill their Diversity Science Minor requirements, but not their major
area breadth requirements.
2. No more than one elective can be outside the Psychology Department. (Courses that
are cross-listed in Psychology and another Department will usually count as
departmental courses.)
3. Courses must be substantive in content and include at least one form of evaluation.
This typically precludes 300 and 400 level courses.

REQUIREMENTS
Psych 295: Psychology of Diversity

Two Additional Courses Must Be Approved By The Diversity Science Coordinating Committee:
One of these courses may be chosen from a related field outside of Psychology, such as
Anthropology, Education, Management, Political Science, Psychiatry, Public Health, or
Sociology. All proposals for elective courses must be emailed directly to the Graduate Advising
Supervisor for review by the Diversity Science Committee.

Illustrative Elective Courses for the Diversity Science Minor in Psychology are:
Psych 225 Critical Problems in Social Psychology: Cultural Psychology (4
units)
Psych 225 Critical Problems in Social Psychology: Social Stigma (4 units)
Psych 225 Critical Problems in Social Psychology: Justice in Context: Social
Psychological Approaches to Race, Sex, and Crime (4 units)
Psych M228A Political Psychology (4 units) (Same as Hist M236A and Pol Sci
M261A)
Psych M228B Political Psychology (4 units) (Same as Pol Sci M261D)
Psych M274 Health Status and Health Behaviors of Racial and Ethnic Minority
Populations (4 units) (Hlt Pol M274)
Psych 216C Psychology of Women’s Health (4 units)
Psych216D Psychology of Aging and health (4 units)
Com Hlt 205 Immigrant Health
Com Hlt 220 Racism and Public Health: Social Epidemiologic Approaches
Com Hlt 226 Women's Health and Well-Being
Com Hlt 227 Conceptualizing and Measuring Structural Racism
Com Hlt 235 Influence of Soc & Physical Environment on Racial Health
Disparities
Com Hlt 246 Women's Roles and Family Health
Com Hlt M260 Health and Culture in Americas (Same as Anth M233R & Latin

22
 American Sts M260)
Com Hlt M272 Social Epidemiology (Same as Epid M272)
Com Hlt 284 Sociocultural Aspects of Mental Health
Com Hlt 290 Race, Class, Culture, and Aging
Com Hlt 477 Health Disparities, Health Equity, and Sexual Minority
Populations
Educ 208B (Im)migrant Youth, Ethnography, and Education
Educ 406 Soc Fdn & Cultural Diversity in American Ed
Educ 406B Soc Fdn & Cultural Diversity in American Ed: Ethnic Studies
Emphasis
Info Std 210 Global Media and Information
Info Std 227 Information Services in Culturally Diverse Communities
Nursing 209 Human Diversity in Health and Illness
Poli Sci 289A Approaches to Study of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics
Pub Policy M214 Poverty, Poor, and Welfare Reform (Same as Soc Wel M290L &
Urb Plan M246)
Pub Policy M231 Politics of Hood (Same as Chicana & Chicano Sts M206)
Soc 285A Special Topics in Soc: Research on the New Second Generation

HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY MINOR REQUIREMENTS

Psychology 215A: Introduction to Health Psychology
or
Psychology 215B: Human Physiology in Social and Behavioral Science

Psychology 219: Health Psychology Lecture Series

This course is offered fall and winter quarters each year and two quarters are required of all
minors.

One of the Following Elective Courses (or an Approved Substitute) are also required:
Psych 215B Human Physiology in Social and Behavioral Science
Psych 216A Psychology of Chronic Diseases
Psych 216B Psychoneuroimmunology
Psych 216C Psychology of Women’s Health
Psych 216D Psychology of Aging and Health
Psych 216G Biology of Chronic Disease
Psych 218 Research Methods in Health Psychology
Psych 291 Trauma and Health

QUANTITATIVE PSYCHOLOGY MINOR REQUIREMENTS

Select Four of the Following Psychology Courses:

Required:
Psych 250C Advanced Psychological Statistics
23
 Psych 255A Quantitative Aspects of Assessment
(or substitution with permission)

Electives for minors, choose 2 from following list:

Psych M253 Factor Analysis (same as Education M231B Factor Analysis)
Psych 254B Mediation, Mod, & Cond Process Analysis
Psych 254C Bayesian Statistics
Psych 255B Item Response Theory
Psych 256A Introduction to Multilevel Modeling
Psych 256B Advanced Multilevel Modeling
Psych M257 Multivariate Analysis with Latent Variables
Psych 258 Missing Data Analysis
Psych 258 Longitudinal Data Analysis
Psych 259 Quantitative Methods in Cognitive Psychology
Psych 265 Computational Methods for Neuroimaging

Please note the following:

1. You may petition to count courses from other departments, such as Statistics
and Biostatistics.
2. Courses in Education’s 230 series cannot be petitioned to count towards the
minor.
3. Courses in Education’s 231 series may be petitioned for credit but will only be
approved if a similar course is not offered in the Psych Department and/or
there are extenuating circumstances preventing the student from taking an
approved course in the Psych Department.
4. You must submit a petition BEFORE you take the course. If you submit the
petition late, you risk taking the course and having the petition denied.
5. As topics and instructors may vary, please consult with the Graduate Advising
Supervisor to verify whether or not a specific 258 course will satisfy this
requirement.
6. Cognitive majors who wish to apply 259 toward the Quantitative minor: Please
refer to item #4 in Minor Area Course Requirements.

24
 IX. MAJOR AREA REQUIREMENTS

GENERAL POLICIES

A. Courses applied toward the major must be passed with a grade of B or better.

B. Courses may be applied toward major OR minor area requirements but not both.

C. If a student wishes to take a minor area elective course that is eligible to count toward
both the student’s major and minor area requirements, then the student must decide
whether to apply the course toward the major or the minor. If the student decides to apply
one course toward the minor, student must: (1) select electives that demonstrate breadth
of study in psychology and (2) obtain approval from his/her advisor. If there is more than
one course in this category that the student wishes to apply toward the minor, the student
must submit a petition to the Graduate Advising Supervisor with approval signatures from
his/her advisor, the major area chair, and the minor area chair.

BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE MAJOR REQUIREMENTS

The Behavioral Neuroscience Ph.D. Program is intended for students who wish to study the
cellular basis of behavior. It provides a strong background in cellular, circuit, and systems level
neuroscience, as well as in behavior processes, allowing students to develop integrative
research interests across these domains. Only students admitted to the Behavioral
Neuroscience Area may major in this program.

BNS MAJOR AREA COURSE REQUIREMENTS: 250AB, 251ABC, 8 units of BNS courses; NS M203;
either NS M202 or Cellular Physiology portion of NS 101A (via Psych 596); and 8 elective units.
Enrollment in Psych 212 is required for 6 quarters.

1. BNS Courses (8 Units): Any combination of Psych 205A-O, NS 205, Psych 207 seminars
or any approved equivalents.
• The recommended prerequisites for NS 205 are: NS M203 and NS M202 or
cellular neurophysiology module of NS 101.
2. Graduate level neuroanatomy Neuroscience M203: Anatomy of Central Nervous
System
3. Neuroscience M202 or Cellular Physiology portion of Neuro 101A (via 596). The
Cellular Neurophysiology module of NS M202 or NS 101* provide a good background in
cellular electrophysiology for students who need more work in this area. Discuss these
options with your advisor. *Students who select the NS 101 option: enroll in 2 units of
Psychology 596 (Individual Studies) under the BNS area chair’s name. Advise the
instructor of this module that an informal grade should be submitted to the area chair
at the end of the module.
4. 8 units of Elective Courses.

25
 5. Enrollment in Psych 212 Current Topics is required for 6 quarters. Current Topics is a
weekly course meeting for students and faculty in the College Neuroscience Group and
IDP with an interest in behavior. Students are strongly encouraged to attend 212
during the first year and are required to enroll for a total of at least three quarters
during the second and third years combined. If the student has not completed 6
quarters after the end of the 3rd year, then these must be completed prior to
graduation.

BNS COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION (C-EXAM) REQUIREMENTS

The BNS major requires students to complete both oral and written portions of a
comprehensive exam.

Oral Portion

The student is required to prepare and present a lecture on a current topic from the literature,
or on a topic that would be appropriate for an upper division course in behavioral
neuroscience. The talk would be similar to a standard 50-minute colloquium talk. The lecture
will typically be given at a meeting of the 212 Brown Bag, and should take place no later than
the end of the fall quarter of the third year. The student is required to inform the area chair in
advance of the presentation, which must be attended by the student’s academic advisor and
at least two additional area faculty members (see below).

1) Notification Procedures for oral c-exam. The oral c-exam must be attended by the
student’s academic advisor and at least two additional area faculty members. All faculty in
attendance will meet within one week of lecture and must reach a consensus on whether
the student has passed or marginally passed the sample lecture portion of his/her C-Exam.
A member of the voting faculty, usually the academic advisor, will meet with the student
to provide feedback and recommendations for improvement.
a. After passing this portion of the C-Exam, the student must have his/her advisor sign
the Oral Presentation Approval form
(https://www.psych.ucla.edu/graduate/current-students/academics/forms-
petitions/approval-forms-for-oral-presentations) and submit to the Graduate
Advising Supervisor.
b. Students who do not pass the sample lecture portion are asked to complete a
prescribed set of remedial steps.

2) Remedial Steps for those who do not pass the Lecture Requirement:
a. Within one week of a student’s failure to pass the oral c-exam, an ad hoc
committee consisting of the student’s academic advisor and two faculty who
attended the lecture will formulate all remedial steps to be completed within a
specified deadline (usually by the following quarter).

b. Remedial steps may include but are not limited to the following:
1. The preparation of a written version of the sample lecture
26
 2. The preparation and presentation of a second sample lecture
3. The preparation and presentation of a research lecture

c. One member of the ad hoc Committee will arrange to meet with the student to
discuss the remedial steps and recommendations.

d. Because the purpose of the oral c-exam is to help students develop pedagogical
skills, the faculty may recommend additional training exercises in cases in which a
student continues to perform marginally.

Written Portion

Students must also complete a Major C-Paper (also referred to as the Individualized
Qualifying Examination). There are two options for completing the Major C-Paper:

Option 1: Write a NIH F31 Fellowship proposal, properly formatted for submission to NIH
for review. The proposal will be read by two area faculty members selected by the student,
to certify that it satisfies basic requirements of thoroughness and scholarship. To exercise
this option. DEADLINE: Start of fall quarter of the 4th year.

Option 2: An in-depth review of the student’s area of interest, such as might be

appropriate for the first chapter of a Ph.D. dissertation and/or for publication (e.g., in
Psychological Bulletin, Psychological Review, Current Opinions in Psychology or
Neuroscience). Its adequacy will be evaluated by two area faculty selected by the student.
DEADLINE: End of spring quarter of the 4th year.

1) Notification Procedures for written c-exam. The written C-paper will be read by the
student’s academic advisor and at least one additional area faculty member. The readers
must reach a consensus on whether the student has passed or marginally passed the
written C-Exam. A member of the voting faculty, usually the academic advisor, will provide
feedback and, if necessary, recommendations for edits and improvement.
a. After passing this portion of the C-Exam, the student must have his/her advisor sign
the Written C-exam Approval form and submit it to the Graduate Advising
Supervisor: https://www.psych.ucla.edu/graduate/current-
students/academics/forms-petitions/approval-forms-for-oral-presentations
b. Students who do not pass the written portion are asked to complete a prescribed
set of remedial steps.

2) Remedial Steps for those who do not pass the written exam:
a. Within two weeks after the paper is submitted, an ad hoc committee consisting of
the student’s academic advisor and at least one other faculty member who has
read the paper will formulate remedial steps to be completed within a specified
deadline (usually by the following quarter).
b. Remedial steps may include but are not limited to the following:
1. Making recommended edits to the paper

27
 2. The preparation of a new paper on a different topic
c. One member of the ad hoc Committee will arrange to meet with the student to
discuss the remedial steps and recommendations.

If the student does not pass the oral or written c-exam a second time, after remedial steps have
been prescribed, then the student may be referred to the Graduate Studies Committee with a
recommendation for academic disqualification from the BNS Area. The BNS Area may
recommend that the student be considered for admission to another area, or disqualified from
graduate study in the Department.

CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR REQUIREMENTS

CLINICAL MAJOR AREA COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Psychology 250AB, 250C or substitute,

251ABC, 270ABC, 271AD, 273ABC, 277AB and two advanced clinical courses are required.
271BC are optional. Enrollment in 289ABC is required for 3 quarters.

Year 1:
Psych 270ABC Foundations of Clinical Psychology
Psych 271A Clinical Psychology Methods
Psych 271D Clinical Research Lab
Psych 289ABC Current Issues in Clinical Psych (enroll EACH quarter of 1st year)
Psych 277AB Assessment (winter and spring)

Year 2:
Psych 273ABC Professional and Ethical Issues in Clinical Psych (be sure to enroll
in this course EACH quarter of your second year)

Year 3:
Select at least two of these Advanced Clinical Courses:
216A Psychology of Chronic Disease
216C Psychology of Women’s Health
217 Mind Body Interventions and Health
271G Evidence-Based Intervention for Childhood Problems
272E Advanced Clinical Psychological Methods: Special Problems
272G Advanced Clinical Psychological Methods: Marital Therapies
M274 Health Status and Health Behaviors of Racial and Ethnic Minority
Populations
276 Children with Learning & Related Behavioral Problems: School Policy &
Practice
291 Trauma and Health
Clinical 298 Special Problems in Psychology courses

Generally, the two courses selected to fulfill this requirement must be taught by different
instructors. Students may petition for exceptions when courses taught by the same instructor
are in distinctly different areas of clinical psychology.
28
If you wish to apply a 298 course toward this requirement, check with the Chair of the
Academic and Student Progress Committee (Prof. Katherine Karlsgodt) to see whether the
course has been approved for credit. Courses approved for advanced seminar credit must be on
a clinical topic, must be taught by a clinical faculty member, and typically have a mental health
focus. (Please note, 298 courses designed to fulfill APA Discipline Specific Knowledge breadth
requirements do not fill the Advanced Clinical Seminar requirement.)

Students working with patients in the Psychology Clinic: Enroll in Psych 401 (1-4 units)
Year 1: Enroll in zero (0) units
Year 2: Enroll in four (4) units
Year 3: Enroll in four (4) units
Year 4 & Beyond:
Four (4) if a student has a full-time practicum placement (8-12 hours per week)
One (1) for every current unpaid therapy or assessment case through the clinic
Four (4) if a student is a paid therapist
Two (2) if a student is a paid assessor
Eight (8) maximum for each quarter
PRACTICUM AND INTERNSHIP REQUIREMENTS

Psych 401: Approved supervised pre-internship practicum:

While students are enrolled in the PhD program, all clinical training must be approved by the
Director of Clinical Training (DCT). Students are discouraged from making independent
arrangements for clinical training and are prohibited from providing direct clinical services in
clinical settings not expressly approved by the DCT, including private practice psychological
assistantships.

A minimum of 500 hours of Psych 401 is required. 150 hours must involve direct clinical
service; 75 hours must be formal scheduled supervision. Most hours are usually completed
during the second through fourth years. All students working with clients must enroll in Psych
401 (one to four units). Also, all students must take a second-year practicum in the Psychology
Clinic as well as a practicum in the third and/or fourth years at approved practicum sites
outside of the Department or within the Psychology Clinic.

451: Approved supervised internship:

This requirement is generally satisfied by a full-time one-year internship taken in the fifth or
sixth year (and after Advancement to Candidacy for the Ph.D.). Students must enroll in
absentia for the three academic quarters when they are on internship. They must enroll in 8
units of Psych 451 and 4 units of Psych 599 if the dissertation is incomplete, or they must
enroll in 12 units of Psych 451 if the dissertation has already been completed prior to the
internship year.

APA DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE (DSK) COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Please note that clinical students are required to satisfy the APA’s DSK requirements with

29
 specific coursework. DSK requirements for APA are monitored by the clinical area. Please
review the Clinical Psychology Graduate Handbook
(https://www.psych.ucla.edu/graduate/current-students/academics/graduate-student-
handbooks) and consult the Clinical Area Chair for more details.

CLINICAL COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION (C-EXAM) REQUIREMENTS

1) The Written exam (take-home; focuses on material covered in core courses in Year 1 and
2) and Oral exam (focuses on the integration of clinical science perspective in the context
of clinical phenomena and activity) must be completed in year 2. The written exam will
take place in Winter/early Spring quarter of year 2. The oral exam will take place in Spring
quarter of year 2.
2) The Oral Qualifying Examination (Prelims) must be completed by the end of Spring quarter
in Year 4.

For additional information, please refer to the Clinical Psychology Graduate Handbook.

CLINICAL INTERNSHIP POLICIES PERTAINING TO FILING THE DISSERTATION

Students must complete all internship requirements prior to filing the dissertation.

REGISTRATION POLICIES FOR STUDENTS RETURNING FROM INTERNSHIP

Please note that UCLA requires students to be fully registered and enrolled during the quarter
the dissertation is filed or during the quarter previous to filing. Students who were registered
during the quarter previous to filing may see the Graduate Advising Supervisor regarding
eligibility for payment of a filing fee in lieu of registration during the quarter the dissertation is
filed.

COGNITIVE MAJOR REQUIREMENTS

COGNITIVE MAJOR AREA COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Psychology 250AB, 4 units of methods,

quantitative or programming, 251ABC, 3 cognitive courses from 261-264 and 8 elective units.
Enrollment in 260AB is required for 2 quarters.

Three of these courses:

Psych 261 Perception
Psych 262 Human Learning & Memory
Psych 263 Psycholinguistics
Psych 264 Thinking

8 units of elective units

260AB (Proseminar: Cognitive Psychology): Enroll 2 quarters during your First Year

ADVANCED RESEARCH PRESENTATION REQUIREMENT

30
 Sometime during the third or fourth year (and prior to prelims), students are required to
present their own research to a forum at which at last two professors in the area are present.
The objective is to give students an opportunity to talk about science in front of an audience.
Students are strongly encouraged to present in the cognitive forum. If for some reason that
proves to be impossible, students may fulfill the requirement in another forum, such as a lab
meeting. The Cognitive Oral Presentation Approval form
(https://www.psych.ucla.edu/graduate/current-students/academics/forms-
petitions/approval-forms-for-oral-presentations) must be signed and submitted to the
Graduate Advising Supervisor upon completion of this requirement.

COGNITIVE COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION (C-EXAM) REQUIREMENTS

OVERVIEW
The preparation of a Program of Study and an examination on the Program of Study constitute
the C-Examination for Cognitive students. The procedure follows a fixed schedule during the
third year of the graduate program. By special arrangement, the examination can be
completed earlier than the scheduled times listed below, but not later.

A. The Program of Study is due on the first of November in the fall quarter of year 3.
If November 1st falls on a weekend, submit the Program of Study on the following
Monday.

Students must submit a copy to the Cognitive Area Chair, to each of the two
committee members, and to the Graduate Advising Supervisor.

B. Within a few days of the November 1 deadline, the Cognitive Area Chair will let students
and committee members know whether the Program of Study has been approved. The
advisor and student should discuss and suggest to the Area Chair a suitable third
committee member for the comprehensive examination. At this time, the final (third)
member will be added.

C. Essays must be submitted to the Area Chair no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday of the
first week of classes during winter quarter.

Students who select the written-examination option instead (or those who do not
turn in an essay by the end of the first week of classes) must take an eight-hour
closed-book examination on a single day during the third week of winter quarter.

D. Meet with your committee. Be sure to bring a Program of Study signature form to
the meeting. (Forms are available at https://www.psych.ucla.edu/graduate/current-
students/academics/forms-petitions/c-exams-program-of-study-forms/). This
completes the C-examination!

THE INITIAL IDEA

Formulate the initial idea for your Program of Study during the winter or spring quarters of your
31
second year, based on your interests in cognitive psychology and on your personal goals,
inclinations, and past training. The domain normally includes the area where you expect to do
your dissertation work, but the Program of Study itself should be broader than the dissertation.

The area may be as broad as one of the sub-areas of cognitive psychology (sensory processes,
perception, human factors, verbal learning, thinking and problem solving, and so forth) or may
focus on an issue or question that cuts across several of these areas. Ideally, your Program of
Study should be motivated by some unique question or integration of the material.

Many successful programs of study have combined a broader look at a field with a deeper and
more exhaustive examination of an important sub-area of the field.

You can pick an area that falls between cognitive psychology and other areas within or without
the department, such as a topic that draws extensively on developmental, physiological, or
linguistic content, provided that the Program of Study has substantial cognitive content and is
pedagogically defensible in breadth and depth. Of course, a topic with its major content falling
within another area of the department would be completed within that area.

At this stage, you should have a good idea of the domain in which you intend to work, although
the details are still to come. The final content of the Program of Study is worked out in the next
stages.

SELECT A COMMITTEE
A Program of Study committee consists of three faculty members, two of whom must be from
the cognitive area and are selected by the student. The advisor and student should discuss and
suggest to the Area Chair a suitable third committee member at the time the final Program of
Study is submitted.

Based on the topics that you plan to pursue, you should approach two faculty members to ask
them to be on your committee. Describe your planned Program of Study to them and find out if
they are able and willing to serve on the committee. You should ask one of them to chair the
committee. Often your advisor will be a committee member (and often the chairperson), but
this is not necessary.

CREATE YOUR PROGRAM OF STUDY

The next step is to come up with a first draft of your Program of Study. This draft is important
and its construction is a major component of the entire C-exam effort. It is up to you, not to the
members of the committee, to select material and organize it. It is well worth the effort, time,
reading, and work required to come up with an organization that you find compelling at this
stage. Remember that the Program of Study should include both breadth and depth
components. If you focus the Program of Study around a central question, you should include
the material that forms the context of that question, historical and otherwise. It is very helpful
to look over completed programs of study of previous students, copies of which are kept on file
in the Graduate Advising Office.

Once you have a first draft of the Program of Study, you should go over it with your committee
32
members. They will probably want to add or delete references and may also suggest changes in
the organization. You should incorporate these changes into the final version of your Program
of Study.

To facilitate review of your Program of Study and to make the Program of Study maximally
useful to others, we would like it to have a standard form. The final version of the program
should contain the following parts:

1) A title page

2) An abstract or preamble of one to three pages. This preamble states the rationale and
goals that motivate the Program of Study. It should describe your organizing construct.

3) A complete list of the graduate course you have taken.

4) An outline of the Program of Study, including citations of particular articles. Some of

these references may be to chapters of books.

5) A complete reference list. There is no requirement for a particular number of

references (obviously, it depends on their size and complexity). Typical programs of
study have contained 50-100 references.

Send a copy of the final Program of Study to your committee members no later than
November 1st of the third year. (If November 1 falls on a weekend, submit the Program of
Study the following Monday). A copy should also be sent to the Cognitive Area Chair. Within a
few days, the Area Chair will let you and your committee members know whether the
Program of Study is approved from the area's standpoint. The advisor and student should
discuss and suggest to the Area Chair a suitable third committee member for the
comprehensive examination. At this time, the final (third) member will be added.

STUDY AND WRITE

After your Program of Study has been approved, submit appropriate paperwork from
https://www.psych.ucla.edu/graduate/current-students/academics/forms-petitions/c-exams-
program-of-study-forms/ to the Graduate Advising Supervisor. The next step is to
systematically complete your reading. As you do this, you may discover minor changes that
you wish to make in the Program of Study. For example, an article or book may come out that
you think should be added, you may discover a new body of material that you think should be
incorporated, or you may find that a reference (or group of references) that you had originally
included is actually irrelevant or inappropriate to your concerns. You should clear any such
changes with the Chair of your committee. If you make any such changes, you should send a
copy of the addendum to the Cognitive Area Chair to be appended to the file copy of the
Program of Study.

TURN IN YOUR ESSAY OR TAKE AN EXAMINATION

Two options are available for the examination itself – an essay option and a written
examination option. The options have a fixed and very inflexible timetable. The intent of this
33
structure is to ensure that the exams are completed expeditiously, so that you can get on to
other parts of your graduate career.

Essay option: If you choose the essay option, you must turn in a completed essay covering
your Program of Study to your area chair no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday at the end of the
first week of classes during winter quarter of your third year. You must also send a copy to
each of your committee members and to the Graduate Advising Supervisor. No extensions or
exceptions to this deadline will be considered. If your paper is unavailable or incomplete at the
time, then you will be required to take the written examination option. The essay could be a
type of theoretical position paper or it could integrate the content of an area in some unique
way. The essay should reflect the scope of the area of study and should not be a routine so-
and-so did such-and-such literature review.

Written-exam option: If you choose the written-examination option (or if you do not turn in
an essay by the end of the first week), then you need to take an eight-hour closed-book
examination on a single day during the third week of winter quarter. Consult your committee
chair to schedule the room, time, and day for the exam. Your committee chair will prepare the
exam by soliciting questions from the other committee members. You may suggest questions
that you would like to write on, but the chair is not bound to use them. The examination may
often (but not necessarily) include some choice of questions. For example, your examination
might include one or two questions that you must answer and eight others from which you
must choose six. Consult your committee chair to get additional information about the format
and nature of the examination.

MEET WITH YOUR COMMITTEE AND BRING THE SIGNATURE FORM WITH YOU
As soon as you have submitted your essay (or have taken the written examination), schedule a
meeting with your committee. This meeting has three functions. First, it gives you a chance to
build on your essay or examination answers. Usually students have second thoughts about
what they have written (particularly after an examination of fixed duration), and this is your
chance to mention them. Second, the committee may have questions for you about your
essay or answers; in particular, they may want to ask you about portions of the Program of
Study that were not covered in the essay or questions. They may also want to ask you about
your goals for your dissertation work. Finally, the committee will give you feedback on your
performance. By the time of the meeting all committee members will have read your essay or
answers.

Be sure to bring a Program of Study signature form to the meeting. (Forms are available at
https://www.psych.ucla.edu/graduate/current-students/academics/forms-petitions/c-exams-
program-of-study-forms/). Give the form to your chair at the beginning of the meeting, so all
committee members can sign it at the conclusion of the meeting. You will need to provide the
Graduate Advising Supervisor with a copy of the form once you have all the signatures along
with a copy of your essay. At the end of the meeting, your committee will ask you to leave for
a moment, consult among themselves, and then tell you how you did.

THE PROGRAM-OF-STUDY PROCESS IS COMPLETE.

34
ADDITIONAL NOTES
In the unlikely event that the committee deems your performance unsatisfactory, you will
have one quarter to rewrite your essay or to prepare for a second examination. Deadlines for
the repeated essay or examination will occur in the same weeks of the spring quarter and will
be followed by another meeting with your committee. Under no circumstances can the C-
examination procedure extend beyond the third year of the program.

If the committee decision is not unanimous, suggestions are given to the student for further
work or revisions. The suggestions are compiled jointly by the three committee members.
Another iteration of the C-exam follows with another evaluation and discussion by the full
committee. This process continues until a unanimous decision is rendered by the committee
within the time constraints outlined above.

COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE MAJOR REQUIREMENTS

The Cognitive Neuroscience Ph.D. Program is intended for students who wish to study
cognitive processes based on their underlying neural systems. It provides a strong background
in both systems-level neuroscience and cognitive psychology and allows students to develop
integrative research interests that cross domains. Students admitted to either the Behavioral
Neuroscience or Cognitive Areas may major in this program. They will remain in their area of
admission for administrative purposes.

COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE MAJOR COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Psychology 250AB, 251ABC, 8

units from cog courses, 4 units from BNS courses, NS M203 and 8 elective units. Enrollment in
Psych 212 is required for 6 quarters.

1. Cognitive Courses (8 Units)

2. BNS Courses (4 Units): Any combination of Psych 205A-O, NS 205, Psych 207
seminars or any approved equivalents.
• The recommended prerequisites for NS 205 are: NS M203 and NS M202
or cellular neurophysiology module of NS 101. Students who select the NS
101 option: enroll in 2 units of Psychology 596 (Individual Studies).
3. Graduate level neuroanatomy Neuroscience M203: Anatomy of Central
Nervous System
4. 8 units of Elective Courses.
5. Enrollment in Psych 212 Current Topics is required for 3 quarters and
enrollment in Psychology 260AB Proseminar: Cognitive Psychology is required
for 3 quarters. Current Topics is a weekly course meeting for students and
faculty in the College Neuroscience Group and IDP with an interest in behavior.

CNS COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION (C-EXAM) REQUIREMENTS

The CNS major requires students to complete both oral and written portions of a
comprehensive exam.

35
 Oral Portion

A presentation must be given at the cognitive forum, the BNS journal club, or the CNS journal
club prior to prelims and no later than the end of the fourth year of the program. The
objective is to give students an opportunity to talk about science in front of an audience. The
research may be your own research (related or unrelated to your program of study) or it may
be a review of other research. The CNS Oral Presentation Approval form
(https://www.psych.ucla.edu/graduate/current-students/academics/forms-
petitions/approval-forms-for-oral-presentations) must be signed and submitted to the
Graduate Advising Supervisor upon completion of this requirement.

Written Portion

The preparation of a Program of Study and an examination on the Program of Study constitute
the written C-Examination for Cognitive Neuroscience students. The procedure follows a fixed
schedule during the third year of the graduate program. By special arrangement, the
examination can be completed earlier than the scheduled times listed below, but not later.

A. The Program of Study is due on the November 1st in the fall quarter of year 3.
If November 1st falls on a weekend, submit the Program of Study on the following Monday.

Students must submit two copies to the cognitive area chair, one additional copy to each
of the two committee members, and one copy to the Graduate Advising Supervisor.

Cognitive Neuroscience Students originally admitted to the BNS area: Submit two copies
to the BNS chair, one copy to Barbara Knowlton, one copy to each of your committee
members, and one copy to the Graduate Advising Supervisor.

If your area has a relatively new area chair who asks why you are submitting two copies of
the Program of Study, you may need to remind the chair one copy is to be kept on file and
that the other should be provided to the newly assigned committee member.

B. Within a few days of the November 1 deadline, the BNS or Cognitive area chairs will let
students and committee members know whether the Program of Study meets their
approval. A final (third) committee member will be added by your area chair at this time.

C. Essays must be submitted to the area chair no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday of the first
week of classes during winter quarter.

Students who select the written-examination option instead (or those who do not turn in
an essay by the end of the first week of classes) must take an eight-hour closed-book
examination on a single day during the third week of winter quarter.

D. Meet with your committee. Be sure to bring a Program of Study signature form to the
meeting. (Forms are available at https://www.psych.ucla.edu/graduate/current-

36
 students/academics/forms-petitions/c-exams-program-of-study-forms/). This completes
the C-examination!

THE INITIAL IDEA

Formulate the initial idea for your Program of Study during the winter or spring quarters of your
second year, based on your interests in cognitive neuroscience and on your personal goals,
inclinations, and past training. The domain normally includes the area where you expect to do
your dissertation work, but the Program of Study itself should be broader than the dissertation.

The topic must have significant cognitive and behavioral neuroscience components. Many
successful Programs of Study have combined a broader look at a field with a deeper and more
exhaustive examination of an important sub-area of the field.

You can pick an area that falls between cognitive psychology and other areas within or without
the department, such as a topic that draws extensively on developmental, physiological, or
linguistic content, provided that the Program of Study has substantial cognitive content and is
pedagogically defensible in breadth and depth. Of course, a topic with its major content falling
within another area of the department would be completed within that area.

At this stage you should have a good idea of the domain in which you intend to work, although
the details are still to come. The final content of the Program of Study is worked out in the next
stages.

SELECT A COMMITTEE
A Program of Study committee consists of three faculty members – one from Cognitive and one
from BNS. The remaining committee member will be assigned by the area chair (of the area to
which you were originally admitted) at the time the final Program of Study is submitted. The
third member of the committee can be in any area of the department.

Based on the topics that you plan to pursue, you should approach two faculty members to ask
them to be on your committee. Describe your planned Program of Study to them and find out if
they are able and willing to serve on the committee. You should ask one of them to chair the
committee. Often your advisor will be a committee member (and often the chair), but this is
not necessary. The area chair will assign a third member to your committee at the time the final
Program of Study is submitted.

Many successful Programs of Study have combined a broader look at a field with a deeper and
more exhaustive examination of an important sub-area of the field.

You can pick an area that falls between cognitive psychology and other areas within or without
the department, such as a topic that draws extensively on developmental, physiological, or
linguistic content, provided that the Program of Study has substantial cognitive content and is
pedagogically defensible in breadth and depth. Of course, a topic with its major content falling
within another area of the department would be completed within that area.

CREATE YOUR PROGRAM OF STUDY

37
The next step is to come up with a first draft of your Program of Study. This draft is important
and its construction is a major component of the entire C-exam effort. It is up to you, not to the
members of the committee, to select material and organize it. It is well worth the effort, time,
reading, and work required to come up with an organization that you find compelling at this
stage. Remember that the Program of Study should include both breadth and depth
components. If you focus the Program of Study around a central question, you should include
the material that forms the context of that question, historical, and otherwise. It is very helpful
to look over completed Programs of Study of previous students, copies of which are kept on file
in the Graduate Advising Office.

Once you have a first draft of the Program of Study, you should go over it with your committee
members. They will probably want to add or delete references and may also suggest changes in
the organization. You should incorporate these changes into the final version of your Program
of Study.

To facilitate review of your Program of Study and to make the Program of Study maximally useful
to others, we would like it to have a standard form. The final version of the program should
contain the following parts:

1) A title page

2) An abstract or preamble of one to three pages. This preamble states the rationale and
goals that motivate the Program of Study. It should describe your organizing construct.

3) A complete list of the graduate course you have taken.

4) An outline of the Program of Study, including citations of particular articles. Some of

these references may be to chapters of books.

5) A complete reference list. There is no requirement for a particular number of

references (obviously, it depends on their size and complexity). Typical Programs of
Study have contained 50-100 references.

Give copies of the final Program of Study to your committee members no later than November
1st of the third year. (If November 1 falls on a weekend, submit the Program of Study the
following Monday). Two copies should also be given to the area chair (of the area to which you
were originally admitted). Please ask committee members and area chair if they prefer paper or
electronic versions of this document. Within a few days, the area chair will let you and your
committee members know whether the Program of Study is approved from the area's
standpoint. The final (third) member will be added at this time.

STUDY AND WRITE

After your Program of Study has been approved, submit appropriate paperwork from
https://www.psych.ucla.edu/graduate/current-students/academics/forms-petitions/c-exams-
program-of-study-forms/ to the Graduate Advising Supervisor. The next step is to systematically
complete your reading. As you do this, you may discover minor changes that you wish to make
38
in the Program of Study. For example, an article or book may come out that you feel should be
added, you may discover a new body of material that you feel should be incorporated, or you
may find that a reference (or group of references) that you had originally included is actually
irrelevant or inappropriate to your concerns. You should clear any such changes with the chair
of your committee. If you make any such changes, you should give two copies of the addendum
to the area chair (of the area to which you were originally admitted) to be appended to the file
copies of the Program of Study.

TURN IN YOUR ESSAY OR TAKE AN EXAMINATION

Two options are available for the examination itself – an essay option and a written
examination option. The options have a fixed and very inflexible timetable. The intent of this
structure is to ensure that the exams are completed expeditiously, so that you can get on to
other parts of your graduate career.

Essay option: If you choose the essay option, you must turn in a completed essay covering your
Program of Study to your area chair (of the area to which you were originally admitted) no later
than 5:00 p.m. on Friday at the end of the first week of classes during winter quarter of your
third year. You must also give copies to each of your committee members and to the
Graduate Advising Supervisor. No extensions or exceptions to this deadline will be considered.
If your paper is unavailable or incomplete at the time, then you will be required to take the
written examination option. For example, it could be a type of theoretical position paper or it
could integrate the content of an area in some unique way. The essay should reflect the scope
of the area of study and should not be routine so-and-so did such-and-such literature review.

Written-exam option: If you choose the written-examination option (or if you do not turn an
essay by the end of the first week), then you need to take an eight hour closed-book
examination on a single day during the third week of winter quarter. Consult your committee
chair to schedule the room, time, and day for the exam. Your committee chair will prepare the
exam by soliciting questions from the other committee members. You may suggest questions
that you would like to write on, but the chair is not bound to use them. The examination may
often (but not necessarily) include some choice of questions. For example, your examination
might include one or two questions that you must answer and eight others from which you
must choose six. Consult your committee chair to get additional information about the format
and nature of the examination.

MEET WITH YOUR COMMITTEE & BRING THE SIGNATURE FORM WITH YOU
As soon as you have submitted your essay (or have taken the written examination), schedule a
meeting with your committee. This meeting has three functions. First, it gives you a chance to
build on your essay or examination answers. Usually students have second thoughts about
what they have written (particularly after an examination of fixed duration), and this is your
chance to mention them. Second, the committee may have questions for you about your essay
or answers; in particular, they may want to ask you about portions of the Program of Study that
were not covered in the essay or questions. They may also want to ask you about your goals for
your dissertation work. Finally, the committee will give you feedback on your performance. By
the time of the meeting, all committee members will have read your essay or answers.

39
Be sure to bring a Program of Study signature form to the meeting. Forms are available at
https://www.psych.ucla.edu/graduate/current-students/academics/forms-petitions/c-exams-
program-of-study-forms/. Give the form to your chair at the beginning of the meeting, so all
committee members can sign it at the conclusion of the meeting. You will need to provide the
Graduate Advising Supervisor with a copy of the form once you have all the signatures along
with a copy of your essay. At the end of the meeting, your committee will ask you to leave for a
moment, consult among themselves, and then tell you how you did. This completes the
Program of Study C-Examination.

ADDITIONAL NOTES
In the unlikely event that the committee deems your performance unsatisfactory, you will have
one quarter to rewrite your essay or to prepare for a second examination. Deadlines for the
repeated essay or examination will occur in the same weeks of the spring quarter and will be
followed by another meeting with your committee. Under no circumstances can the C-exam
procedure extend beyond the third year of the program.

If the committee decision is not unanimous, suggestions are given to the student for further
work or revisions. The suggestions are compiled jointly by the three committee members.
Another iteration of the C-exam follows with another evaluation and discussion by the full
committee. This process continues until a unanimous decision is rendered by the committee
within the time constraints outlined above.

COMPUTATIONAL COGNITION MAJOR REQUIREMENTS

The Computational Cognition (CC) specialization is intended for cognitive area students who
wish to study computational principles underlying cognition and its neural substrate. It provides
a strong background in both computational foundations and cognitive psychology, and allows
students to develop integrative research interests that cross domains. Students admitted into
the Cognitive Area may complete this program.

COMPUTATIONAL COGNITION MAJOR COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Psychology 250AB, 251ABC, 2

cognitive courses from Psych 261-264, Psychology 259 or 265, 2 courses from statistics and or
computer science, and 4 elective units. Enrollment in Psych 260AB is required for 2 quarters.

1. Two of the following cognitive area courses:

Psych 261 Perception
Psych 262 Human Learning and Memory
Psych 263 Psycholinguistics
Psych 264 Thinking

2. Psych 259 or 265

3. 2 courses from Statistics and or Computer Science
4. 4 elective units
5. Enrollment in Psychology 260AB is required for 2 quarters.

40
 ADVANCED RESEARCH PRESENTATION REQUIREMENT

Sometime during the third or fourth year (and prior to prelims) students are required to
present their own research to a forum at which at last two professors in the area are present.
The objective is to give students an opportunity to talk about science in front of an audience.
Students are strongly encouraged to present in the cognitive forum. If for some reason that
proves to be impossible, students may fulfill the requirement in another forum, such as a lab
meeting. The Cognitive Cognition Oral Presentation Approval form
(https://www.psych.ucla.edu/graduate/current-students/academics/forms-petitions/approval-
forms-for-oral-presentations) must be signed and submitted to the Graduate Advising
Supervisor upon completion of this requirement.
COMPUTATIONAL COGNITION COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION (C-EXAM) REQUIREMENTS

OVERVIEW
The preparation of a Program of Study and an examination on the Program of Study constitutes
the C-Examination for Computational Cognition students. The procedure follows a fixed
schedule during the third year of the graduate program. By special arrangement, the
examination can be completed earlier than the scheduled times listed below but not later.

A. The Program of Study is due on November 1st in the fall quarter of year 3.
If November 1st falls on a weekend, submit the Program of Study on the following Monday.

Students must submit two copies to the cognitive area chair, one additional copy to each of
the two committee members, and one copy to the Graduate Advising Supervisor.

If your area has a relatively new area chair who asks why you are submitting two copies of
the Program of Study, you may need to remind the chair one copy is to be kept on file and
that the other should be provided to the newly assigned committee member.

B. Within a few days of the November 1 deadline, the cognitive area chair will let students and
committee members know whether the Program of Study has been approved. A final (third)
committee member will be added by your area chair at this time.

C. Essays must be submitted to the area chair no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday of the first
week of classes during winter quarter.

Students who select the written-examination option instead (or those who do not turn in
an essay by the end of the first week of classes): These students must take an eight- hour
closed-book examination on a single day during the third week of winter quarter.

D. Meet with your committee. Be sure to bring a Program of Study signature form to the
meeting. (Forms are available at https://www.psych.ucla.edu/graduate/current-
students/academics/forms-petitions/c-exams-program-of-study-forms/). This completes
the C-examination!

41
THE INITIAL IDEA
Formulate the initial idea for your Program of Study during the winter or spring quarters of your
second year based on your interests in Computational Cognition and on your personal goals,
inclinations, and past training. The domain normally includes the area where you expect to do
your dissertation work, but the Program of Study itself should be broader than the dissertation.

The topic must have significant cognitive and computational modeling components. Many
successful programs of study have combined a broader look at a field with a deeper and more
exhaustive examination of an important sub-area of the field.

You can pick an area that falls between cognitive psychology and other areas within or without
the department, such as a topic that draws extensively on developmental, physiological, or
linguistic content, provided that the Program of Study has substantial cognitive content and is
pedagogically defensible in breadth and depth. Of course, a topic with its major content falling
within another area of the department would be completed within that area.

At this stage you should have a good idea of the domain in which you intend to work, although
the details are still to come. The final content of the Program of Study is worked out in the next
stages.

SELECT A COMMITTEE
A Program of Study committee consists of three faculty members – two of whom must be from
the cognitive area. The remaining committee member will be assigned by the area chair at the
time the final Program of Study is submitted.

Based on the topics that you plan to pursue, you should approach two faculty members to ask
them to be on your committee. Describe your planned Program of Study to them and find out if
they are able and willing to serve on the committee. You should ask one of them to chair the
committee. Often your advisor will be a committee member (and often the chair), but this is
not necessary. The area chair will assign a third member to your committee at the time the final
Program of Study is submitted.

Many successful Programs of Study have combined a broader look at a field with a deeper and
more exhaustive examination of an important sub-area of the field.

You can pick an area that falls between cognitive psychology and other areas within or without
the department, such as a topic that draws extensively on developmental, physiological, or
linguistic content, provided that the Program of Study has substantial cognitive content and is
pedagogically defensible in breadth and depth. Of course, a topic with its major content falling
within another area of the department would be completed within that area.

CREATE YOUR PROGRAM OF STUDY

The next step is to come up with a first draft of your Program of Study. This draft is important
and its construction is a major component of the entire C-exam effort. It is up to you, not to the
members of the committee, to select material and organize it. It is well worth the effort, time,
42
reading, and work required to come up with an organization that you find compelling at this
stage. Remember that the Program of Study should include both breadth and depth
components. If you focus the Program of Study around a central question, you should include
the material that forms the context of that question, historical, and otherwise. It is very helpful
to look over completed Programs of Study of previous students, copies of which are kept on file
in the Graduate Advising Office.

Once you have a first draft of the Program of Study, you should go over it with your committee
members. They will probably want to add or delete references and may also suggest changes in
the organization. You should incorporate these changes into the final version of your Program
of Study.

To facilitate review of your Program of Study and to make the Program of Study maximally
useful to others, we would like it to have a standard form. The final version of the program
should contain the following parts:

1) A title page

2) An abstract or preamble of one to three pages. This preamble states the rationale and
goals that motivate the Program of Study. It should describe your organizing construct.

3) A complete list of the graduate course you have taken.

4) An outline of the Program of Study, including citations of particular articles. Some of

these references may be to chapters of books.

5) A complete reference list. There is no requirement for a particular number of

references (obviously, it depends on their size and complexity). Typical programs of
study have contained 50-100 references.

Give copies of the final Program of Study to your committee members no later than November
1st of the third year. (If November 1 falls on a weekend, submit the Program of Study the
following Monday). Two copies should also be given to the Cognitive Area Chair. Within a few
days, the area chair will let you and your committee members know whether the Program of
Study is approved from the area's standpoint. The final (third) member will be added at this
time.

STUDY AND WRITE

After your Program of Study has been approved, submit appropriate paperwork from
https://www.psych.ucla.edu/graduate/current-students/academics/forms-petitions/c-exams-
program-of-study-forms/ to the Graduate Advising Supervisor. The next step is to systematically
complete your reading. As you do this, you may discover minor changes that you wish to make
in the Program of Study. For example, an article or book may come out that you feel should be
added, you may discover a new body of material that you feel should be incorporated, or you
may find that a reference (or group of references) that you had originally included is actually
irrelevant or inappropriate to your concerns. You should clear any such changes with the chair
43
of your committee. If you make any such changes, you should give two copies of the addendum
to the cognitive area chair to be appended to the file copies of the Program of Study.

TURN IN YOUR ESSAY OR TAKE AN EXAMINATION

Two options are available for the examination itself – an essay option and a written
examination option. The options have a fixed and very inflexible timetable. The intent of this
structure is to ensure that the exams are completed expeditiously, so that you can get on to
other parts of your graduate career.

Essay option: If you choose the essay option, you must turn in a completed essay covering your
Program of Study to your area chair no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday at the end of the first
week of classes during winter quarter of your third year. You must also give copies to each of
your committee members and to the Graduate Advising Supervisor. No extensions or
exceptions to this deadline will be considered. If your paper is unavailable or incomplete at the
time, then you will be required to take the written examination option. For example, it could be
a type of theoretical position paper or it could integrate the content of an area in some unique
way. The essay should reflect the scope of the area of study and should not be routine so-and-
so did such-and-such literature review.

Written-exam option: If you choose the written-examination option (or if you do not turn an
essay by the end of the first week), then you need to take an eight-hour closed-book
examination on a single day during the third week of winter quarter. Consult your committee
chair to schedule the room, time, and day for the exam. Your committee chair will prepare the
exam by soliciting questions from the other committee members. You may suggest questions
that you would like to write on, but the chair is not bound to use them. The examination may
often (but not necessarily) include some choice of questions. For example, your examination
might include one or two questions that you must answer and eight others from which you
must choose six. Consult your committee chair to get additional information about the format
and nature of the examination.

MEET WITH YOUR COMMITTEE AND BRING SIGNATURE FORM WITH YOU
As soon as you have submitted your essay (or have taken the written examination), schedule a
meeting with your committee. This meeting has three functions. First, it gives you a chance to
build on your essay or examination answers. Usually students have second thoughts about
what they have written (particularly after an examination of fixed duration), and this is your
chance to mention them. Second, the committee may have questions for you about your essay
or answers; in particular, they may want to ask you about portions of the Program of Study that
were not covered in the essay or questions. They may also want to ask you about your goals for
your dissertation work. Finally, the committee will give you feedback on your performance. By
the time of the meeting, all committee members will have read your essay or answers.

Be sure to bring a Program of Study signature form to the meeting. Forms are available at
https://www.psych.ucla.edu/graduate/current-students/academics/forms-petitions/c-exams-
program-of-study-forms/. Give the form to your chair at the beginning of the meeting, so all
committee members can sign it at the conclusion of the meeting. You will need to provide the
Graduate Advising Supervisor with a copy of the form once you have all the signatures along
44
with a copy of your essay. At the end of the meeting, your committee will ask you to leave for a
moment, consult among themselves, and then tell you how you did. This completes the
Program of Study C-Examination.

THE C-EXAMINATION/PROGRAM-OF-STUDY PROCESS IS COMPLETE.

ADDITIONAL NOTES
In the unlikely event that the committee deems your performance unsatisfactory, you will have
one quarter to rewrite your essay or to prepare for a second examination. Deadlines for the
repeated essay or examination will occur in the same weeks of the spring quarter and will be
followed by another meeting with your committee. Under no circumstances can the C-exam
procedure extend beyond the third year of the program.

If the committee decision is not unanimous, suggestions are given to the student for further
work or revisions. The suggestions are compiled jointly by the three committee members.
Another iteration of the C-exam follows with another evaluation and discussion by the full
committee. This process continues until a unanimous decision is rendered by the committee
within the time constraints outlined above.

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR REQUIREMENTS

DEVELOPMENTAL MAJOR AREA COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Psychology 250AB, 250C or

substitute, 251ABC, 3 developmental courses taught by different faculty members and 2
courses which may be developmental or outside of the area and/or department. Enrollment in
Psych 241 is required for 8 quarters.

Enroll in the Developmental Forum – Psychology 241 (8 units)

Enrollment Fall and Spring every year until candidacy. Students must make four presentations
in developmental forum (proposal for Psych 250 series, conclusion of Psych 250 series,
dissertation proposal, dissertation end). The dissertation end may be replaced by a job talk if
the student wishes.

At least three courses taught by two different developmental faculty members (12 units):
Psych 240AB C The 240 course not applied toward course requirements may be
applied toward this elective requirement.
Psych 242A Perceptual Development
Psych 242B Cognitive Development
Psych M242D Social Development and Education
Psych 242F Development of Language & Communication Psych M242G
Adolescent Development
Psych 244* Critical Problems in Developmental Psychology
Psych 244 Brain and Body
Psych 244 Teaching and Learning
Psych M245 Personality Development in Education

45
 Psych 246 Emotions across the Lifespan
Psych 297 Methods in Dev Cog Neuroscience
Psych 298 Writing on Acad Journal Articles
Educ 217A Social Development and Education
Educ 217B Cognitive Development and Education

Note: Students may petition to take a 200-level education course taught by faculty in
Human Development and Psychology. A list of Education’s Human Development and
Psychology faculty is available at https://seis.ucla.edu/faculty-and-research/faculty-
directory?programs=Human+Development+and+Psychology.

*As topics and instructors may vary, please consult with the Developmental Area Chair
to verify whether or not a specific 244 course will satisfy this requirement.

Two additional 4-unit classes from those offered at the university (which may be
developmental or outside of area and/or department). Students are advised to consult with
mentor when choosing classes that compliment research program and learning goals. (8 units)

Establish an Advisory Committee

Establish your committee no later than winter quarter of year 2.

Presentation Requirements
A. 251 plan (proposal) is presented by the end of the first year at the Developmental Forum.
B. 251 findings are presented during the Fall of year 2.
C. In addition to 251 presentations and dissertations, during other years, students are
encouraged to take part in special poster sessions organized by the area to prepare for
conferences.

Advanced Research Presentation Requirement

Typically during the fifth or sixth year, students are required to present their own research at
developmental forum. The objective is to give students additional practice in preparing and
presenting a scientific talk and to provide a space for students to receive feedback on their
program of research. Students are encouraged to use this requirement to present a practice
job talk.

DEVELOPMENTAL COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION (C-EXAM) REQUIREMENTS

One paper (~20-25 pages double-spaced in length) due on December 1st of year 3. The
comprehensive examination must be completed prior to winter quarter of year 3.

CONTENT AND FORMAT OF THE PAPER

The C-paper is a comprehensive review in which the student should (a) provide an integration
of an existing body of literature that offers novel hypotheses, ideas, and/or theoretical
perspectives as well as (b) identify major gaps in the literature and discuss how those gaps
might be filled. The papers should not contain a simple review of the literature; they must
provide a synthesis or integration of theory and research and be issue- or idea-focused. The
student’s goal should be to become an expert in the chosen research question(s) and
46
 demonstrate his or her expertise by providing an integrative review of the literature that
moves the area forward. The papers should be original and not derivative of existing
(published or unpublished) papers.

FORMATION OF A C-EXAM GUIDANCE COMMITTEE

At the beginning of spring quarter, second-year students should discuss formation of the
committee and possible topics with the primary advisor. A chair (primary reader) will be
selected from among the Developmental Faculty. One to two additional (maximum of three)
readers will serve on the committee. Each committee member should be consulted regarding
bibliography and structuring of the topic.

TIMETABLE:
The paper and or exam questions will be based on the individualized Program of Study.

1. End of spring quarter of year 2: A preliminary categorized bibliography will be submitted

for approval to the student’s readers. The readers will give the student immediate feedback
concerning additions (or deletions) to the bibliography, so that the student can complete the
reading over the summer.

• Students must complete and submit to the Graduate Advising Supervisor the
Developmental Area Bibliography Approval Form with approval signatures.
(https://www.psych.ucla.edu/graduate/current-students/academics/forms-
petitions/c-exams-program-of-study-forms/)

2. August 1 of year 2: The student will submit an outline of the paper to primary reader.

3. October 1 of year 3: The student will submit a complete draft to primary reader, who will
provide feedback.

4. December 1 of year 3: The final draft is due to the advisor and additional readers.

• Students must complete and submit to the Graduate Advising Supervisor the
Developmental Area C-Paper Approval Form with approval signatures.
(https://www.psych.ucla.edu/graduate/current-students/academics/forms-
petitions/c-exams-program-of-study-forms/)

EVALUATION CRITERIA
C-paper: The paper will be evaluated on the following criteria:
• It synthesizes an existing body of literature
• It offers novel hypotheses, ideas, and/or theoretical perspectives
• It identifies areas of novel inquiry to be addressed by the student

ADDITIONAL NOTE
If the student does not pass the examination or if the paper is judged to be unsatisfactory by
the committee, the student will have the opportunity to write a substitute paper or be
administered another examination within one month of failing the original work. During this

47
 month, the student is encouraged to seek specific feedback and constructive criticism from
the committee. Decisions about passing and failing will be made by majority vote of the three
faculty readers. If the student does not satisfactorily pass on the second try, dismissal will be
recommended.

HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR REQUIREMENTS

HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR AREA COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Psychology 250AB, 250C or

substitute, 251ABC, 215AB, 218, another Health Psych course and 4 elective units. Enrollment
in 219 is required for 6 quarters.

All of the following courses:

Psych 215A Health Psychology
Psych 215B Human Physiology in Social and Behavioral Science
Psych 218 Research Methods in Health Psychology
Psych 219 Health Psychology Lecture Series (6 total quarters of 219 is
required fall and winter of years 1, 2, and 3).

Another Health Psych course. (4 units)

One elective course. (4 units)

HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION (C-EXAM) REQUIREMENTS

1. By the end of summer of Year 2, pass the Written Comprehensive Exam with a grade of
Pass or better based on Psychology 215A and 215B course content and the larger
knowledge base in health psychology. The goals of the Written C-Exam are to demonstrate
mastery, integration, and critical analysis of theory, research, and evidence-based
application in health psychology. The exam includes a written and an oral component and is
completed independently by each student over a two-week period. A minimum of two
health psychology faculty evaluate responses to each of three exam questions as High Pass,
Pass, Minimal Pass, or Fail, with disagreements resolved by a third faculty reader and
discussion. If the Written C-Exam is not passed, the faculty will confer within one month to
recommend corrective action to be completed within a specific time frame, usually 3-6
months but no longer than one year. Faculty will choose among the following options to
assure demonstration of mastery of core content of the field of health psychology and
student progress to degree: retake written exam, take an oral exam, write a paper, or
retake 215A.
2. By the end of Year 3 (typically fall quarter), present findings of the 251 research or any of
the student’s UCLA research findings in Psychology 219 (Health Psychology Lecture Series).
3. Complete a C-Paper. The goal of the C-Paper is to complete an in-depth and integrative
literature review in student's area of interest. Similar to a Psychological Bulletin or
Psychology Review article, the paper should be 25 pages or more in length. The paper is

48
 often integrated as part of the dissertation proposal. Submission deadlines follow, although
the student is encouraged to complete the requirements in advance of the deadlines:
a. By the end of Week 2, fall quarter of Year 4, submit the C-Paper Topic Approval Form
(https://www.psych.ucla.edu/graduate/current-students/academics/forms-petitions)
stating the topic, scope, and timeline for the C-Paper to two faculty readers: the primary
mentor and another UCLA faculty member in health psychology or a relevant field. The
readers will review within one month to ensure sufficient merit and breadth of scope.
b. Prior to submission of the C-Paper, whether the draft is reviewed by the primary mentor
once or multiple times will vary as determined by the primary mentor’s evaluation of
the student’s progress.
c. By the end of Week 1, spring quarter of Year 4, submit the completed C-Paper to the
two readers, who will review within one month. If the C-Paper is not of passing quality,
the two readers will recommend revisions needed and set a deadline for resubmission.
The C-Paper must be approved at least four weeks prior to Preliminary Orals. Once the
C-Paper is approved, the student will submit the signed C-Paper Approval Form
(https://www.psych.ucla.edu/graduate/current-students/academics/forms-petitions).

HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY PRELIMINARY ORAL EXAM (Prelims)

By the last day of finals week, spring quarter of Year 4, the Preliminary Oral Qualifying Exam
(Prelims), based primarily on the dissertation proposal, must be completed. This is a Division of
Graduate Education deadline. For a description, see the section on Guidelines for Doctoral
Committee and Dissertation Preparation in the Graduate Program in Psychology Handbook.

LEARNING AND BEHAVIOR MAJOR REQUIREMENTS

The Learning and Behavior Ph.D. Program is intended for students who wish to study
mechanisms of learning, memory, and motivation with an emphasis on behavioral processes. It
provides a strong background in learning theory and animal cognition, and allows students to
develop integrative research interests from behavioral as well as neuroscience perspectives.
Only students admitted to the Behavioral Neuroscience Area may major in this program.

LEARNING AND BEHAVIOR MAJOR COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Psychology 250AB, 251ABC, 8

units from learning and behavior courses, 4 units from behavioral neuroscience courses, NS
M203 and 8 additional elective units. Enrollment in Psych 212 is required for 6 quarters.

1. Learning and Behavior Courses (8 Units). Select any two of the following:
Psych 200A Pavlovian Processes
Psych 200B Instrumental Processes
Psych 200C Representational Processes
2. BNS Courses (4 Units): Any combination of Psych 205A-O, NS 205, Psych 207
seminars or any approved equivalents.

49
 • The recommended prerequisites for NS 205 are: NS M203 and NS M202 or
cellular neurophysiology module of NS 101. Students who select the NS 101
option: enroll in 2 units of Psychology 596 (Individual Studies).
3. Graduate level neuroanatomy Neuroscience M203: Anatomy of Central Nervous
System (strongly recommended to be taken in year 1 or 2)
4. 8 units of Elective Courses.
5. Enrollment in Psych 212 Current Topics is required for 6 quarters. Current Topics is a
weekly course meeting for students and faculty in the College Neuroscience Group
and IDP with an interest in behavior. Students are strongly encouraged to attend
212 during the first year and are required to enroll for a total of at least three
quarters during the second and third years. If the student has not completed 6
quarters after the end of the 3rd year, then these must be completed prior to
graduation.

L&B COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION (C-EXAM) REQUIREMENTS

The L&B major requires students to complete both oral and written portions of a
comprehensive exam.

Oral Portion

The student is required to prepare and present a lecture on a current topic from the literature,
or on a topic that would be appropriate for an upper division course in behavioral
neuroscience, learning theory, ethology, or animal cognition. The talk would be similar to a
standard 50-minute colloquium talk. The lecture will typically be given at a meeting of the 212
Brown Bag, and should take place no later than the end of the fall quarter of the third year. The
student is required to inform the area chair in advance of the presentation, which must be
attended by the student’s academic advisor and at least two additional area faculty members
(see below).

1) Notification Procedures for oral c-exam. The oral c-exam must be attended by the
student’s academic advisor and at least two additional area faculty members. All faculty
in attendance will meet within one week of lecture and must reach a consensus on
whether the student has passed or marginally passed the sample lecture portion of
his/her C-Exam. A member of the voting faculty, usually the academic advisor, will meet
with the student to provide feedback and recommendations for improvement.
a. After passing this portion of the C-Exam, the student must have his/her advisor sign
the Oral Presentation Approval form
(https://www.psych.ucla.edu/graduate/current-students/academics/forms-
petitions/approval-forms-for-oral-presentations) and submit to the Graduate
Advising Supervisor.
b. Students who do not pass the sample lecture portion are asked to complete a
prescribed set of remedial steps.

50
 2) Remedial Steps for those who do not pass the Lecture Requirement:
c. Within one week of a student’s failure to pass the oral c-exam, an ad hoc
committee consisting of the student’s academic advisor and two faculty who
attended the lecture will formulate all remedial steps to be completed within a
specified deadline (usually by the following quarter).

d. Remedial steps may include but are not limited to the following:
1. The preparation of a written version of the sample lecture
2. The preparation and presentation of a second sample lecture
3. The preparation and presentation of a research lecture

e. One member of the ad hoc Committee will arrange to meet with the student to
discuss the remedial steps and recommendations.

f. Because the purpose of the oral c-exam is to help students develop pedagogical
skills, the faculty may recommend additional training exercises in cases in which a
student continues to perform marginally.

Written Portion

Students must also complete a Major C-Paper (also referred to as the Individualized Qualifying
Examination). There are two options for completing the Major C-Paper:

Option 1: Write a NIH F31 Fellowship proposal, properly formatted for submission to NIH for
review. The proposal will be read by two area faculty members selected by the student, to
certify that it satisfies basic requirements of thoroughness and scholarship. To exercise this
option. DEADLINE: Start of fall quarter of the 4th year.

Option 2: An in-depth review of the student’s area of interest, such as might be appropriate for
the first chapter of a Ph.D. dissertation and/or for publication (e.g., in Psychological Bulletin,
Psychological Review, Current Opinions in Psychology or Neuroscience). Its adequacy will be
evaluated by two area faculty selected by the student. DEADLINE: End of spring quarter of the
4th year.

1) Notification Procedures for written c-exam. The written C-paper will be read by the
student’s academic advisor and at least one additional area faculty member. The
readers must reach a consensus on whether the student has passed or marginally
passed the written C-Exam. A member of the voting faculty, usually the academic
advisor, will provide feedback and, if necessary, recommendations for edits and
improvement.
a. After passing this portion of the C-Exam, the student must have his/her
advisor sign the Written C-exam Approval form and submit it to the
Graduate Advising Supervisor:
https://www.psych.ucla.edu/graduate/current-students/academics/forms-
petitions/approval-forms-for-oral-presentations
51
 b. Students who do not pass the written portion are asked to complete a
prescribed set of remedial steps.

2) Remedial Steps for those who do not pass the written exam:
a. Within two weeks after the paper is submitted, an ad hoc committee
consisting of the student’s academic advisor and at least one other faculty
member who has read the paper will formulate remedial steps to be
completed within a specified deadline (usually by the following quarter).
b. Remedial steps may include but are not limited to the following:
1. Making recommended edits to the paper
2. The preparation of a new paper on a different topic
c. One member of the ad hoc Committee will arrange to meet with the
student to discuss the remedial steps and recommendations.

If the student does not pass the oral or written c-exam a second time, after remedial steps have
been prescribed, then the student may be referred to the Graduate Studies Committee with a
recommendation for academic disqualification from the BNS Area. The BNS Area may
recommend that the student be considered for admission to another area or be disqualified
from graduate study in the Department.

QUANTITATIVE PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR REQUIREMENTS

QUANTITATIVE MAJOR AREA COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Psychology 250ABC, 251ABC, 255A,

256A, M257,254C and 4 elective courses. Enrollment in Psychology 249 is required for 6
quarters.

Psych 255A Quantitative Aspects of Assessment

Psych 256A Introduction to Multilevel Modeling
Psych M257 Multivariate Analysis with Latent Variables
Psych 254C Bayesian Statistics

Electives for Quantitative Majors (4 courses):

Psych M253 Factor Analysis (also listed as (Education M231B)
Psych 255B Item Response Theory
Psych 256B Advanced Multilevel Modeling
Psych 258 Missing Data Analysis
Psych 258 Longitudinal Data Analysis
Psych 254B Mediation, Moderation, & Conditional Process Analysis
Biostat 231 Statistical Power & Sample Size Methods for Health Research
Educ 255C Statistical Computing
TBD Other courses in Psychology, Education, Biostatistics, or Statistics with approval of advisor

1. Psych 250C and Psych 255A are required for Quantitative Majors.
2. You may petition to count courses from other departments, such as Statistics and
52
 Biostatistics.
3. Courses in Education’s 231 series may be petitioned for credit but will only be approved
if a similar course is not offered in the Psych Department and/or there are extenuating
circumstances preventing the student from taking an approved course in the Psych
Department.
4. You must submit a petition BEFORE you take the course. If you submit the petition late,
you risk taking the course and having the petition denied.
5. As topics and instructors may vary, please consult with the Graduate Advising
Supervisor to verify whether or not a specific 258 course will satisfy this requirement.

Psych 430 Practicum Requirements for Quantitative Students (1 quarter, 4 units):

After completing the following courses: 250A, 250B, 250C, M257, 255A, 256A, 258, students are
required to enroll in the quantitative psychology practicum for 2 quarters. The practicum serves
as a hands-on statistical consultation training for graduate students. Typical practicum activities
include a weekly meeting with a faculty supervisor, open office hours for consultation with
researchers in the psychology department, and outside time spent preparing for and following-
up on consultation meetings. Students registered in practicum are expected to offer eight hours
per week of open consulting time. Additionally, students should plan on three hours per week
preparing for meetings (e.g., reading relevant literature), and one hour per week meeting with
the faculty supervisor. Practicum hours can also be fulfilled by devoting focused attention to
one or more specific projects. For the open office hours, a student consultant’s role will be to
provide advice and suggestions for analyses; consultants will not perform statistical analyses.

Typical consulting activities include the following:

• Answer questions about specific statistical analyses
• Brainstorm with researchers on the most appropriate analyses for their data
• Evaluate and provide feedback on current analyses
• Work through statistical analyses with you during a meeting
• Read and provide feedback on research products (but they should be sufficiently short
that reading and feedback can occur in a 1-hour meeting)

The following activities are beyond the scope of the open office hours.
• Conduct data analyses with your data outside of the consulting time
• Assist with coursework or class assignments
• Write any part of a research product

QUANTITATIVE COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION (C-EXAM) REQUIREMENTS

In consultation with the primary mentor, the student will form a comprehensive exam
committee consisting of at least three faculty members, typically from the quantitative
area. Optionally, a fourth member from outside the department can be added if desired.
Typically, the comprehensive exam committee will be a subset of individuals from the
doctoral committee.

Students can choose one of three formats for the comprehensive exam: a (1) written
53
paper that responds to questions based on an individualized reading list, (2) full
preparation of all materials needed to teach a specialized graduate-level methodology
course (e.g., multilevel, structural equation modeling, Bayesian analysis, etc.), or (3)
grant application. Prior to starting the comprehensive exam, the student will meet with
the committee to discuss and negotiate specific details of the exam (e.g., its scope).
Students will typically begin the comprehensive exam after completing all (or most)
required coursework (e.g., during the summer prior to year 4). The comprehensive
exam must be completed no later than the end of the fall quarter of year 4.

The Qualifying Examination for the dissertation must be completed no later than the
end of the spring quarter of year 4, and the comprehensive exam options do not replace
the preliminary oral exam for the dissertation.

1) Written Paper
In consultation with the primary mentor and comprehensive exam committee, the
student will identify several quantitative topics of interest. These topics can represent
depth within the student’s specialty area or breadth addressing different methodology
topics. After identifying appropriate topics, the student will work with the
comprehensive exam committee to develop a reading list. This list will typically include
important books, seminal journal articles, and important bodies of literature, including
contemporary work. The student has up to six months (less if desired) to study
materials from the reading list. The student then has four weeks to generate written
responses to questions generated by the committee members. After submitting
responses to all questions, the student will schedule an oral defense with the
committee, during which the student will give a presentation and answer questions.

2) Course Preparation
For the course preparation option, the student will develop all materials needed to
teach a specialized graduate-level methodology course on some topic of interest (e.g.,
multilevel, structural equation modeling, Bayesian analysis, mediation, etc.). At a
minimum, these course materials should include (a) a detailed syllabus, including a
reading list that reflects seminal or important work on each topic, (b) complete lecture
notes for at least 10 topics from the syllabus, (c) at least five assignments, including
data sets and worked analysis examples. The student has up to seven months (less if
desired) to complete the course materials, after which the student will schedule an
oral defense with the comprehensive exam committee.

3) Grant Application
For the grant application option, the student will locate an appropriate funding source
(e.g., National Institutes of Health, Institute of Educational Sciences, National Science
Foundation) and develop a proposal that outlines a line of quantitative or
methodological research. The format, composition, and length of grant applications
differ across funding agencies, so the comprehensive exam document should be
suitable for submission to the target agency’s request for proposals (e.g., a call from
the prior year). The student has up to seven months (less if desired) to complete the
course materials, after which the student will schedule an oral defense with the
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 comprehensive exam committee.

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR REQUIREMENTS

SOCIAL MAJOR AREA COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Psychology 250AB, 250C or substitute, 220A,
220B or substitute and 3 additional courses in consultation with advisor. Enrollment in
Psychology 226AC is required for 6 quarters.

Psych 220A: Introduction to Social Psychology: Must be completed in year 1

Psych 220A is required, unless petitioned by student and advisor.

Psych 220B: Research Methods in Social Psychology: or substitute must be completed in year 1

Psych 226ABC: Current Literature in Social Psychology (12 units): Enroll in 6 quarters total in
years 1, 2 and 3.

Three additional courses will be decided in consultation with the advisor.

Must be completed by the end of year 3.

SOCIAL AREA COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION (C-EXAM) REQUIREMENTS

In general, the C-paper should be modeled on papers published in Psychological Bulletin,

Psychological Review, and/or the Personality and Social Psychology Review. The C-paper is
typically the literature review for a student’s dissertation. Its length will depend on the nature
of the topic but in general will exceed 30 double-spaced pages.

The C-paper is evaluated by two faculty readers (typically individuals who will serve on the
student’s dissertation committee). At least one reviewer must be a member of the social
psychology area. Readers outside the area must be approved by the area chair.

The student initially writes a short proposal describing the topic and scope of the C-paper. This
is reviewed and approved by the two faculty readers.

The C-paper must be written and approved at least four weeks prior to Preliminary Orals. This
timeframe gives sufficient time for required paperwork to be sent by the Graduate Advising
Supervisor to Division of Graduate Education, which must approve the dissertation committee.

SOCIAL AND AFFECTIVE NEUROSCIENCE MAJOR REQUIREMENTS

The Social and Affective Neuroscience (SAN) Ph.D. Program is intended for students who wish
to study neural bases of how people interface with the social world – both understanding it and
being affected by it. Affective neuroscience is the study of the neural bases of our emotional
lives. Social and affective neuroscience represent two closely aligned fields that often pursue
55
overlapping scientific questions. The same scientists frequently work in both social and
affective neuroscience. Most SAN researchers assume that social forces are one of the greatest
drivers of affective experience and that social processes often cannot be studied without
considering their affective components. Students admitted in either the Social or
Developmental Areas may complete this program. They will remain in their area of admission
for administrative purposes.

SOCIAL AND AFFECTIVE NEUROSCIENCE COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Psychology 250AB, 250C or

substitute, one course from methods series, one course from content series, another course
from either methods or content series, three additional courses in consultation with adviser
(including a workshop course on presenting research). Enrollment in the Social and Affective
Neuroscience colloquium series is required for all quarters of years 1-3. Students must also
attend their home area talk series as required by the home Area.

SAN core course requirements

All SAN majors are required to take three SAN core courses. At least one course must be from
the methods core series below and at least one course must be from the content core series
below. The third class can be from either the methods or the content core series.

Methods Core Courses. All SAN major students are required to take one SAN methods core
course from among those below:
Psych 265 – Computational Methods for Neuroimaging (Note: this is a pre-req for Psych
236A)
Psych 236A – Advanced Neuroimaging Methods for Social and Affective Neuroscience
Psych 236B – Methods in Social and Affective Neuroscience

Content Core Courses. All SAN major students are required to take one SAN content core class
from among those below:
Psych 237A – Social Neuroscience
Psych 237B – Affective Neuroscience
Psych 237C – Developmental Affective Neuroscience

SAN non-core course requirements

Three additional courses must be taken beyond the department and SAN core course
requirements (including a workshop course on presenting research).

First, all SAN majors must take Psych 227 (Social and Affective Neuroscience Presentation
Workshop) in their third or fourth year. This course will be exclusively for SAN majors and is
aligned with the Advanced Research Presentation requirement described in the Other Major
Requirements section below. In this course, the students and instructors will workshop these
presentations.

Two additional courses must be taken, in consultation with your advisor. Note that other
courses listed above in the 236/237 series can count towards this requirement if not already
counting towards the above core requirement. Thus, a student could take 237B for their Core
Content Course requirement and then take 237A as one of their additional two courses. Other
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relevant courses are listed in the next section.

Students must also attend the SAN colloquium series (Psych 230 – Current Literature in Social
and Affective Neuroscience) for all quarters of years 1-3. SAN majors are also required to
complete the equivalent colloquium requirement from their home area’s major (e.g., students
admitted into the Social area would complete the Social major’s requirement of 6 quarters of
the Social colloquium in addition to the SAN colloquium requirement).

Recommended courses for SAN majors

None of the courses below are required for SAN majors, but they are often very relevant to
the training needs of SAN majors and thus listed here for convenience. These can each satisfy
the non-core requirement described in the previous section. All of the core classes in
Developmental, Social, and Health areas are often good options as well.
NS203 – Neuroanatomy
Psych 254A – Computing Methods for Psychology
Statistics M231 – Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning

Other Major Requirements

Presentation of 251 research: In the second year of the graduate program, all SAN majors will
present their 251 research in either the SAN colloquium series or the home area’s colloquium
series. It is highly recommended that each student also speak, either in the second or third
year, in the unchosen colloquium series. If the student and advisor together agree, it is
permissible to talk about research other than one’s 251 project for this talk, as long as the
research is SAN research conducted at UCLA.

The C-exam (or C-paper):

The C-paper will typically be modeled on review papers published in Psychological Bulletin,
Psychological Review, Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, and/or Neuroscience &
Biobehavioral Reviews. The C-paper, or part of it, can often serve as a draft of the literature
review for the eventual dissertation. The length of the C-paper will vary by topic, but is typically
25+ double-spaced pages. The C-paper is evaluated by two faculty readers (typically individuals
who will also serve on the student’s dissertation committee). At least one reviewer must be an
approved social and affective neuroscience faculty member. The C-paper must be written and
approved at least four weeks prior to Preliminary Orals.

Advanced Research Presentation Requirement:

Sometime during the third or fourth year (and prior to the Preliminary Orals) students are
required to present their own research in the SAN colloquium series. This is done in conjunction
with taking Psych 227 in which students will learn about giving effective presentations and
workshop their own presentations prior to presenting in the colloquium series.

Research Courses
It is critical for our department to document the time students devote to research. It is equally
important to document the research mentoring of students by faculty. Enrollment in
independent research courses is an important way to accomplish this goal. It is therefore
essential that students continually enroll in research courses each quarter. Until the Psych 251
57
project is completed you will enroll in Psych 251 as a research course. After this, other courses
including Psych 296/596/599 will be appropriate at different points.

Typical Timeline for Completing Requirements

Year 1 – Psych 250ABC (Statistics), Psych 251AB (Research Methods), and two SAN core courses
Year 2 – Psych 251C in Fall (and the 251 project will be submitted at end of Fall). Take third SAN
core course if not already completed in first year
Years 3/4 – Complete two non-core courses required not including Psych 227. Complete C-
paper. Advanced Research Presentation (along with taking Psych 227). Preliminary Orals
should be completed by end of fourth year.
Years 5/6 – Complete dissertation

X. GUIDELINES FOR DOCTORAL COMMITTEE AND DISSERTATION PREPARATION

A. DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS
It is a strong tradition in the Department that the doctoral dissertation concern itself with
original investigation of an empirical character. The specific form and content of the
dissertation proposal and of the final dissertation filed with the university should be worked out
in consultation with your dissertation committee advisor and your doctoral committee.

Like any scholarly work, the format of the dissertation can take many different forms. Some
dissertations have consisted of a series of chapters specifically written for the dissertation.
Other dissertations have consisted of an introduction, a series of discrete articles (such as those
that might be submitted to a journal), and a conclusion. Still other dissertations have combined
these formats. In all cases, the dissertation committee is the final judge of the acceptability of
the form and content of the dissertation. The UCLA Filing Requirements can be found on the
Division of Graduate Education thesis and dissertation filing requirements website
(https://grad.ucla.edu/academics/graduate-study/thesis-and-dissertation-filing-requirements/).

Students are encouraged to look at dissertations that were completed under the guidance of
their advisors and particularly those in their area to see the range of possibilities. For
dissertations, please search the UCLA Library Catalog. Full-text UC dissertations are available
from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.

B. REGULATIONS FOR THE NOMINATION OF DOCTORAL COMMITTEES

The university regulations regarding doctoral committees are available in the Division of
Graduate Education’s Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA:
https://grad.ucla.edu/academics/graduate-study/standards-and-procedures-for-graduate-
study/. The regulations as they pertain to graduate students in psychology are summarized
below, but it is imperative that you also read the Standards and Procedures manual.

1) Official Doctoral Committee Nominations, Doctoral Committee Approvals and Committee

Reconstitution: The student must formally nominate the doctoral committee members at
least four weeks before the Preliminary Oral Exam (Prelims):
58
 https://grad.ucla.edu/gasaa/library/docnomin.pdf. Students should submit the completed
Nomination Form to the Graduate Advising Supervisor, who will obtain the appropriate
signature and submit it to the Division of Graduate Education. Students must receive
formal written approval of the doctoral committee from the Division of Graduate
Education. The examination cannot be held without this approval.

Once a doctoral committee has been approved, recommendation for reconstitution of the
doctoral committee must be made jointly by the Vice Chair for Graduate Studies (and in
some cases the chair) of the department and the doctoral committee chair, after
consultation with the student and the members of the committee who are in residence.
Approval signatures from faculty being added or removed from the committee are
required, although faculty who are not in residence are usually exempted from this
requirement. Finally, reconstitutions must be approved by the Division of Graduate
Education.

Students should consult with the Graduate Advising Supervisor for more information.

2) Who Must Be Present at Your Examination: All committee members must be physically
present at the Prelims and Final Oral Exam. Under special circumstances, however,
students may petition to the committee chair in advance of the examination for one
member (not the chair or co-chairs) of a previously appointed doctoral committee to
participate in the Prelims or, in limited circumstances, a Final Oral Exam, via video
conferencing. The committee chair must provide written approval to the student and a
copy to the Graduate Advising Supervisor ahead of the examination. The technology
required for remote participation must allow for the participant to see/be seen by and
hear/be heard by all committee members and have access to visual materials
simultaneously. Additional details regarding this procedure are in the Division of Graduate
Education’s Standards and Procedures manual. A student who would like to submit a
petition must obtain petition instructions from the Graduate Advising Supervisor at least
twelve weeks prior to the Prelims or Final Oral Exam, in case the petition does not get
approved and you are asked to appoint another committee member. If the committee
chair approves the video conferencing petition, the student is responsible for all the
arrangements for the video conferencing in advance of the Prelims and/or Final Oral
Exam.

3) Doctoral Committee Requirements that apply to all doctoral students in Psychology

These requirements are codified in the Minimum Standards for Doctoral Committee
Constitution on file with Division of Graduate Education; all doctoral committees are
bound by these requirements.

a. All doctoral committees require a minimum of four members among whom a minimum
of three members must hold current UCLA Academic Senate faculty appointments
limited to Professor (any rank), Professor or Associate Professor Emeritus, Professor
in Residence (any rank), or Acting Professor or Acting Associate Professor. Two of the
59
 three members from UCLA must hold the rank of professor or associate professor
(regular or in-residence series). The fourth member may be a non-UCLA faculty
member with an Academic Senate appointment at another university/institution.

b. At least two members of the doctoral committee must be from the Department of
Psychology; at least one of these members must have a primary (50% or more)
appointment in Psychology.

c. At least one of the Psychology faculty committee members must have a primary (50%)
appointment in the student’s Area.

d. All committee members read, approve, and certify the dissertation. Committee
members must certify that the fairness, equity, and academic integrity of the oral
qualifying examination (Prelims) and the final oral examination (dissertation defense)
have been preserved by the doctoral committee.

4) Additional Area-specific guidelines for doctoral committees. These guidelines were created
by each area but are not codified in the Minimum Standards for Doctoral Committee
Constitution on file with the Division of Graduate Education. While areas have guidelines,
doctoral committees are not bound to the guidelines below:

Behavioral Neuroscience
No area-specific guidelines.

Clinical
A. At least two committee members who have a primary (50% or more) appointment
in Psychology must have a primary or secondary affiliation with the Clinical Area.

B. The Chair or Co-Chair must have a primary (50% or more) appointment in

Psychology and must have a primary or secondary affiliation with the Clinical Area.

C. At least one of the faculty committee members must have a primary appointment
from outside of the Clinical Area (i.e., in another Area of the Department of
Psychology or outside of the Department of Psychology).

Cognitive
No area-specific guidelines.

Cognitive Neuroscience Program (jointly administered by BNS and Cognitive)

For students in Cognitive Neuroscience, dissertation committees must have both a BNS
and a Cognitive Area member. These need not be primary members of the Areas.

Developmental
A. The Developmental Area requires either a member of another major Area of our
department or an outside member. Both are not required. A student may have
both.
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 B. The Chair or Co-Chair must have a primary (50% or more) appointment in the
Developmental Area.

Health
A. The Health Area requires either a member of another major Area of our
department or an outside department member. Both are not required. A student
may have both.

B. The Chair or Co-Chair must have a primary (50% or more) appointment in the
Health Area.

C. If a member of another major Area of our department is not on the committee,

then an outside department member is required.

Quantitative
A. Two committee members must be from the Quantitative Area.

B. The Chair or Co-Chair must have a primary (50% or more) appointment in the
Quantitative Area.

Social
No area-specific guidelines.

Since many Psychology faculty members are affiliated with more than one area within the
Department, students may petition by completing the “General Petition”
(https://www.psych.ucla.edu/graduate/current-students/academics/forms-petitions) for a
faculty member who has a primary affiliation in the student’s area to serve as the sole
“outside the major” representative based on his or her secondary area of affiliation.
Petitions will be reviewed by each student’s advisor and Area Chair, the Chair in Area of
Secondary Affiliation, and the Vice Chair for Graduate Studies. Please see the Graduate
Advising Supervisor for details as some areas may not allow this petition.

If the student can demonstrate that the committee member’s role on the committee will
be in the domain of his or her secondary area, and if there is a reason that a faculty
member with a primary affiliation in an area outside the major cannot be appointed to the
committee, the petition is likely to be approved. However, if the role of the faculty
member is principally in the candidate’s primary area, the petition will not be approved. In
such cases, we will recommend that the faculty member being petitioned for an
appointment on the doctoral committee be added as an additional member. Once added,
the student will have the same responsibilities as all other members on the committee.

5) Doctoral Committee Chairs

The chair of the doctoral committee must hold an appointment in Psychology as professor
(any rank, regular or in-residence series) or professor/associate professor emeritus. If a
committee has two co-chairs instead of one chair, at least one must be from the student’s
61
 major department. Ladder faculty from departments outside Psychology can co-chair a
doctoral committee, as can those who hold appointments at the rank of Professor or
Associate Professor in the Adjunct Professor series, the Visiting Professor series, or the
Clinical series.

6) Additional Doctoral Committee Members

Additional committee members (above the minimum number of four) may be nominated
and, if appointed, have the same voting rights and responsibilities as the other committee
members.

Ladder faculty as well as adjunct professor or adjunct associate professor, professor of

clinical X, and visiting professor or visiting associate professor may serve as additional
members (above the minimum of four).

7) Exceptions to University Policy

a. Adjunct Faculty typically cannot serve as one of the four main members of a doctoral
committee. However, one of the three UCLA members may be an Adjunct Professor
(any rank) or Professor of Clinical X (any rank) who is certified and approved by the
Committee on Degree Programs (CDP). To check if an adjunct or Clinical X professor is
approved by CDP, please ask Graduate Advising Supervisor.
b. Only one committee member may hold an Academic Senate faculty appointment or its
equivalent at another accredited university or college (UC or non-UC) without need of
an exception from the Division of Graduate Education. For faculty at other UC
Campuses and faculty at Non-UC Universities, please review the regulations in the
Standards and Procedures manual (https://grad.ucla.edu/academics/graduate-
study/standards-and-procedures-for-graduate-study/).

8) Final Oral Exams and Doctoral Committee Reconstitution

It is imperative that each doctoral committee member's academic title and department
affiliation be reviewed at least two months prior to the Final Oral Examination to be sure
the status and affiliation of each committee member is still in compliance with standard
doctoral committee regulations. (See regulations in the Standards and Procedures
manual.)

Some examples of doctoral committee changes that may require formal committee
reconstitution are:
a. when a committee member needs to be added or removed from a committee
b. when a faculty member separates from the university
c. when there are changes in committee chair or co-chair positions
d. when a faculty member who served as an outside member receives any
appointment in Psychology (even a clinical appointment)

Signatures will be needed from anyone being added or removed from a committee as well
as from the doctoral committee chair and the Vice Chair for Graduate Studies (the
Graduate Advising Supervisor will obtain the latter signature). If a doctoral committee
member is on sabbatical, a signature may not be required.
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C. THE DISSERTATION PROSPECTUS
After completion of all course requirements, you must submit a description of your proposed
dissertation research -- the dissertation prospectus/proposal. The prospectus will have a
statement of the problem presented in the context of current relevant research. The core of
the prospectus is the methods section, which should follow standard journal format and be as
thorough as you can make it. You want to make certain that your committee reviews and
understands every detail of what is to be done. A results section should discuss the kinds of
measures you will have, the types of statistical treatment that will be appropriate, and the
alternatives to be followed if the results do not come out as expected. Additional materials
(e.g., measures, informed consent forms) may be added in an appendix. The number of pages in
a prospectus varies according to topic. Please consult with your committee chair regarding
specific suggestions for your prospectus. The prospectus must be circulated to your doctoral
committee approximately two weeks before the Prelims.

D. THE ORAL QUALIFYING EXAMINATION (PRELIMS)

The doctoral committee examines the candidate intensively, evaluating the candidate's general
knowledge of the field but specifically focusing on the dissertation prospectus. The examination
generally concludes with approval of the student's preparation and agreement by the
committee of the feasibility and appropriateness of the dissertation prospectus.

1) The student must be registered during the quarter in which the Preliminary Oral Exam is
taken (if taken during the summer, student must have been registered in the immediately
preceding spring quarter).
2) The major paper required in several areas (e.g., BNS and Social) must also be approved
before taking the Prelims. Quantitative area students must complete a second examination
or submit an approved set of publications. In several areas, the Prelims can only be
scheduled after the paper has been read and the approval forms have been signed and
submitted to the Graduate Advising Supervisor. Check your area C-Exam guidelines for
details.
3) Consult with your doctoral committee chair regarding the scheduling of the Prelims, which
must be scheduled for a two-hour block.
4) The Prelims must be completed no later than spring quarter of the fourth year. Major,
minor, and departmental coursework requirements must be completed before taking the
Prelims. This includes the removal of Incompletes in courses that are applied toward degree
requirements. For Clinical students, APA DSK breadth requirements do NOT have to be
completed before scheduling Prelims.
5) Prelims should be scheduled during the academic year as faculty members are not obligated
to serve on committees during the summer and most prefer not to do so.
6) Students are responsible for leaving enough time at each step of the program so that
pressure will not be exerted on committee members to quickly read and approve such
things as C-exams, literature reviews, or dissertation chapters. Prelims announcements may
not be posted until approval forms for all C-exam/Program of Study requirements have
been signed and submitted to the Graduate Advising Supervisor.
7) The student must arrange the date for the Prelims and must notify the Graduate Advising
Supervisor four weeks prior to the examination.

63
8) A departmental announcement of the Prelims will be posted and distributed to the
committee.
9) Students are not allowed to provide food or drink for the Preliminary Oral Examination.

E. ADVANCEMENT TO CANDIDACY
Your official Advancement to Candidacy (ATC) date will be the date that the Division of
Graduate Education receives your “Report on the Oral Qualifying Examination & Request for
ATC form” from the Psychology Graduate Advising Supervisor.

Students who are advanced to Candidacy may be eligible for the following:
1) Increased salary for TA/GSR positions: provided the student has met the MA degree and
work experience requirements and that advancement has taken place two weeks prior to
the first day of classes. If you plan to work as a TA or GSR during any quarter following
Prelims, please inform Diego Garcia (for TA appointments) or the Payroll Office (for GSR
appointments) of your plans to ATC. Please notify them four weeks before the beginning of
the quarter in which you plan to be promoted.

2) Some fellowships, such as the Dissertation Year Fellowship, sponsored by the Division of
Graduate Education.

3) The Candidate in Philosophy Degree recognizes that a student has completed all
requirements except the dissertation. The degree can be particularly valuable for those who
teach in community colleges, since it is a more advanced degree than the Master's and may
qualify its holder for an increase in salary. The C. Phil. degree is not a terminal degree and
must be conferred before the Ph.D.

F. FINAL ORAL EXAMINATION

The candidate should be in frequent communication with the members of the dissertation
committee so that they will be well aware of the dissertation developments before the Final
Oral Exam. When the student and dissertation committee chair(s) agree that the dissertation is
ready to be presented to the full committee, the Final Oral Exam is scheduled. A copy of the
dissertation should be made available approximately ten days to two weeks in advance of the
exam. The Final Oral must be scheduled for a two-hour block. All committee members must be
present at the Final Oral Exam (unless a petition to video conference one member is approved).
All committee member ranks and titles must conform to university regulations. During the Final
Oral Exam, the candidate's defense of the dissertation is evaluated by the doctoral committee.
Students are not allowed to provide food or drink for the Final Oral Exam.

G. FILING THE DISSERTATION:

The dissertation must be filed within three years of passing the Prelims and within six years of
admission to the graduate program. Individuals who do not meet the three-year rule may be
required to take the Prelims over again before being permitted to proceed to the Final Oral
Exam. Students who will not meet the sixth-year requirement must have an extension
approved by the Department and, in some cases, by the Division of Graduate Education.

H. REGISTRATION AND FILING FEE STATUS IN THE FINAL QUARTER FOR THE AWARD OF THE
64
DEGREE: If a student is completing courses, using faculty time, library facilities, laboratories, or
other University resources, or receiving University funds, the student is required to register in
the final term in which the student expects to receive the degree.

The Filing Fee Status: If a student has completed, while registered, all requirements for a
degree except the filing of the dissertation and/or the Final Oral Exam, the student may be
eligible to pay a Filing Fee (in lieu of registration) during the quarter in which the degree is to be
awarded. Student must have been registered full-time in the previous quarter and meet the
requirements enforced by the Division of Graduate Education to qualify. The application must
be signed by the Doctoral Committee Chair and must be submitted to the Graduate Advising
Supervisor to obtain the Vice Chair’s signature. The Filing Fee Status form is due to the Division
of Graduate Education by the last day of the quarter prior to and the usage period is from the
day after the previous quarter end date through the end of the second week of instruction.

Special Policies for Clinical Students: Clinical students who complete the dissertation before
completing the clinical internship may not file the dissertation until the internship is
complete, unless a petition for exception is filed and approved. Clinical students who wish to
petition for an exception to file the dissertation after completing nine months of the internship
may contact the Graduate Advising Supervisor regarding petition procedures.

XI. GENERAL REGULATIONS REGARDING LEAVE OF ABSENCE (LOA)

Unless eligible for the Filing Fee in the quarter in which the degree is to be awarded (review
Standards and Procedures manual), a graduate student must either be registered or on official
Leave of Absence (LOA)/in absentia each regular academic quarter until a degree is awarded.
Failure to be registered or on LOA/in absentia will result in a lapse of student status, which may
require a student to be readmitted to the university to complete current degree requirements.

A. Students must discuss plans for a LOA with their advisors. Advisors must certify, in writing
to the Graduate Advising Supervisor, that students on leave will not use university facilities
or faculty time during 12 or more hours per quarter during the leave time requested.
B. Approval Signatures: Students must fill out an online Leave of Absence Request form.
International students must also obtain approval from the Dashew Center.
C. Avoiding Registration Fee Assessments: File LOA Paperwork PRIOR to the beginning of the
quarter in which your leave begins to avoid the assessment of full registration fees.
D. If you will be living out-of-state while on leave but plan to return to UCLA to register for
one or more additional quarters, you may be reclassified as a non-resident upon your
return. It is therefore important that you complete your LOA request form (and later your
Residence Reclassification form) very carefully. Keep in mind that being a California
resident is not the same as being a California resident for tuition purposes. In cases where
resident status is denied, students will be required to pay non-resident fees when returning
from leave, which makes this a very important issue. Information on residency
requirements for tuition purposes is available on the UCLA Registrar’s Residency website:
http://registrar.ucla.edu/Fees-Residence/Residence-Requirements.
E. Students who have advanced to candidacy and reside out of state may register in absentia
65
 and obtain a reduction in fees. Contact the Graduate Advising Supervisor for more
information.

LOAs are available only to continuing graduate students in good standing (minimum 3.0 GPA).

Please note that a LOA is a privilege and students should consult with the Department to
determine acceptable reasons for a leave to be granted. The Dean of the Division of Graduate
Education makes the final decision to approve or deny a LOA.

The deadline for LOAs and Extensions of LOAs is Friday of the second week of the quarter in
which the original leave or extension of leave is to begin.

Each LOA or extension of leave may be granted for one to three quarters. A student may not be
on official LOA for more than 3 quarters during their graduate study at UCLA. A student on
official LOA is not to use university facilities or faculty time under the provisions detailed below:

1) A student on LOA may purchase a library card. See the library card window at the University
Research Library for details and restrictions.
2) If it is anticipated that a student will use 12 or more hours per quarter of university facilities
(excluding the library) and faculty time during the period of the LOA, the student is not
eligible for a LOA or extension of a LOA.
3) If a student has accumulated 12 or more hours of use of University facilities (excluding the
library) and faculty time since last being registered, the student is not eligible for an
extension of the LOA.

In order to return to the University before the LOA expires, students must notify the Registrar's
Office (1113 Murphy Hall) in writing at least four weeks before the quarter begins. Less than
four-week notification may result in payment of the late registration fee.

FACTORS TO CONSIDER AND THINGS TO DO PRIOR TO TAKING A LOA

Fellowships and Awards: Students cannot apply for (or receive) Division of Graduate Education
Fellowships, travel grants, or research awards while on LOA.

C-Exams and Preliminary Oral Exams: A student on LOA may not take these exams.

TA, GSR, or Reader positions: A student on LOA cannot hold academic apprentice positions. In
some cases, however, they may hold Staff Research Associate (SRA) positions.

Parking: Restricted unless employed in a staff position at 49% time.

Married Student Housing: A student on LOA cannot live in these facilities for more than one
quarter unless his/her spouse is a registered student. Exceptions are sometimes made for
students on clinical internships or for students working independently on dissertation research.

Library Cards: Students on LOA may purchase library cards for a modest fee.

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Computer Facilities: Check individual computer facilities regarding restrictions.

Subject Pool: A student on LOA will not be able to use the Subject Pool.

Student Health Services and Student Medical Insurance: A student on LOA will not be eligible for
Student Health Services or the Student Medical Insurance Plan. See the Graduate Advising
Supervisor for information on purchasing these plans out of pocket.

Student Loans: Students are advised to find out whether their loan repayment schedule will
begin earlier as a result of taking a LOA.

Recreational Facilities: A student on LOA will not be able to use the gym and other recreational
facilities on campus and will not be able to purchase student tickets for campus cultural events.

Career Planning Center: A student on LOA is ineligible for these services.

Registration Policies for Filing the Dissertation: Students must either be registered during the
quarter in which the dissertation is filed or, if registered during the previous quarter, establish
eligibility to pay a Filing Fee in lieu of registration fees.

Students returning from a LOA to file the dissertation: Students will need to register and pay
registration fees in order to file. In some cases, residency status will be reviewed.

XII. TIME LIMITS FOR COMPLETING DOCTORAL PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

A. Psychology 250AB (Psychological Statistics), 251AB (First-Year Research Project), and two
major courses must be completed by the end of the first year.

B. Psychology 251C must be completed by the end of Fall quarter of the second year.

C. C-exam/Program of Study requirements must be completed by the deadline established by

each student's major area.

D. All coursework, C-Exams/Papers (including Program of Study exams and papers), and
Prelims must be passed by the end of the spring quarter in the fourth year.

E. All requirements for the Ph.D. must be completed by the end of the sixth year following
admission.

F. The dissertation must be filed within three years following the completion of the Prelims.

A student who has not completed area and/or departmental requirements by these deadlines
is subject to academic disqualification. A student who does not meet the three-year rule for
completion of the dissertation may be required to retake the Prelims before proceeding to the
Final Oral Exam.
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The Graduate Studies Committee has the responsibility and authority to monitor each student
and determine whether the student is to continue in the program. The Graduate Studies
Committee will review a petition for a one-time exception to complete requirements beyond
the 4th and 6th Year Rule under conditions where there is a clear and compelling good cause for
not meeting these deadlines. A student who petitions for an exception must demonstrate (1)
regular and significant progress toward the degree and (2) currency in the field of Psychology.
The general rule is that students must make substantial progress each year to remain in the
program. In many cases, the review of these exception petitions is delegated to the Vice Chair
for Graduate Studies and/or the Chair of the Graduate Studies Committee.

Academic Disqualification: A student who has been academically disqualified under these rules
may apply for readmission through the regular admissions process. If readmission is granted,
the student may be required to repeat part or all of the requirements for the degree.

XIII. ACADEMIC DISQUALIFICATION AND APPEAL OF DISQUALIFICATION

UNIVERSITY POLICY
A student who fails to meet departmental program requirements may be recommended for
academic disqualification of graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from
continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to
maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.0) required by the Academic Senate
to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other
examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree, and poor
performance in major courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point
averages below 3.0) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their
Department. University guidelines governing academic disqualification of graduate students,
including the appeal procedure, are outlined in the Standards and Procedures manual.

DEPARTMENTAL POLICY
In addition to the standard reasons noted above, students who receive two grades of B- or
lower OR a C+ or lower in the program and students who do not meet the deadlines for
program completion are subject to academic disqualification. Such cases are considered by the
Graduate Studies Committee. If deemed appropriate, and subject to the approval of the
Department Chair, a recommendation for academic disqualification of graduate status is
forwarded to the Dean of Graduate Education by the Vice Chair for Graduate Studies.

Area committees may also recommend that a student be disqualified from graduate study.
Grounds for a recommendation for academic disqualification include a pattern of unsatisfactory
performance in other coursework; failure of a qualifying examination; or, for clinical students,
failure to exhibit competencies required for effective clinical practice.

Academic disqualification may also be initiated by the Graduate Studies Committee for
insufficient progress toward the Ph.D. degree as evidenced by a failure to obtain the degree
within six calendar years following admission to the program or three years following
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advancement to candidacy. If deemed appropriate and approved by the Department Chair, a
recommendation for academic disqualification of graduate status is forwarded to the Dean of
of Graduate Education by the Vice Chair for Graduate Studies.

Students are informed by the Vice Chair for Graduate Studies when actions concerning them
are under consideration by the Graduate Studies Committee and also when a recommendation
is to be made to the Dean of Graduate Education. Students may provide a written statement to
the Graduate Studies Committee prior to these deliberations, explaining any extenuating
circumstances regarding the matters that are under review. A recommendation for academic
disqualification may be appealed to the Department Chair. If the recommendation is upheld, an
appeal may be made to the Dean of Graduate Education.

XIV. GRIEVANCE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

The following policies and procedures are provided in an effort to resolve distressing situations
and conflicts between students and between students and faculty:

A. The first step in addressing conflicts is often for students to consult with faculty advisors.

B. If speaking to one’s advisor is inappropriate for a particular problem or if additional input is

needed, the conflict may be brought to the attention of the Graduate Advising Supervisor,
student’s area chair, the Vice Chair for Graduate Studies, or the Department Chair.

C. If necessary, the Division of Graduate Education will refer students to the appropriate Dean
as the final resource for resolution of grievances. Please bear in mind that it is expected that
conflicts will first be addressed within the Department before resolution outside of the
Department is sought. If issues are not resolved within the Department, students can
consult the Office of Ombuds Services (which is a Confidential resource)
http://www.ombuds.ucla.edu/.

D. Resources are available for students who experience discrimination, sexual assault, dating
or domestic violence, or stalking. Several resources listed below are identified as
Confidential resources, where staff have professional licenses that require them to conduct
their work in a confidential manner. Resources include:

• For concerns about other students’ conduct: Dean of Students Office,

http://www.deanofstudents.ucla.edu/

• For concerns about sexual harassment or sexual violence: Campus Assault Resources
and Education (Confidential resource): http://www.careprogram.ucla.edu/

Title IX Office, https://sexualharassment.ucla.edu/

• For concerns about discrimination: Discrimination Prevention Office,

https://equity.ucla.edu/report-an-incident/
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 • For Confidential legal counseling and assistance: Student Legal Services:
https://www.studentlegal.ucla.edu

• To report a crime: UCPD, https://www.ucpd.ucla.edu

UCLA encourages anyone to report such an offense as soon as possible after its occurrence, in
order for appropriate and timely action to be taken.

XV. PROGRAM ACCOMMODATIONS FOR DOCTORAL STUDENTS WHO ARE PARENTS

Doctoral students who are undergoing childbirth or coping with other serious parenting
demands must be allowed additional time to meet established deadlines for passing
Preliminary and/or Qualifying Examinations and completing their dissertations. A woman
anticipating childbirth is entitled to receive an extension of up to one extra year for passing
exams and an extension of up to one extra year toward Normative Time to Degree while in
candidacy. A person confronted with extraordinary parenting demands, such as a child’s serious
illness, is entitled to receive an extension of up to six extra months for passing Preliminary
Examinations and Qualifying Examinations and an extension of up to six extra months toward
Normative Time to Degree while in candidacy. The total additional time granted by this policy
cannot exceed two years, no matter how many children are involved.

Eligibility: A doctoral student seeking parental accommodation must have substantial parenting
responsibilities. These include childbirth, care of a newborn or newly adopted young child, the
serious illness of a child, and other exceptional circumstances relating to a child. The child may
be the student’s child or that of a spouse or domestic partner.

Note: Withdrawals, leaves, and delayed progress toward completion of degree may have
implications for the visa status of international students. International students are urged to
consult with the Dashew Center for International Students and Scholars before modifying their
degree progress.

For more information, review the Standards and Procedures manual or consult with the
Graduate Advising Supervisor.

XVI. FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

The Department provides 5 years of guaranteed support to all entering graduate students. Each
student’s support source(s) are crafted on an individual basis.

The fiscal year is 12 months from July 1st to June 30th. The various funding sources do not all provide a
fixed monthly income flow. Funding levels that vary quarter to quarter do require students to pay extra
attention to cash flow. In particular, some students may have the bulk of their funding distributed during
the academic quarters Fall through Spring and have lower cash flow in summer. The graduate advising
office tracks each graduate student’s funding throughout the year.

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Each year, our Department distributes TA applications for the following academic year. Students are free
to choose not to apply and/or to decline the TA positions offered but should understand that the
Graduate Advising Office will consider the Department’s funding commitment met for the year if TA
funding is declined for graduate students with remaining funding commitments.

TA Application and Assignment Timeline:

Students discuss next academic year funding with Faculty Advisors, including any
Feb/March
potential GSR opportunities.

March TA Applications due

May Tentative TA Assignments are made for next academic year.

June 30th Deadline for TAs to accept TA position(s)

Although students can receive information from Lisa Lee about their individualized funding package, the
Department encourages students to discuss any concerns with their faculty advisors. All faculty mentors
are reminded to discuss funding proactively with their students each year. Please work closely with your
faculty advisor(s) and Lisa to understand, anticipate, and plan your funding.

XVII. EMPLOYMENT GUIDELINES & PROCEDURES

Please consult the Academic Personnel and Human Resources office in 1283A Psychology Building for
information, requirements, and procedures for being hired and paid appropriately.

As a matter of University policy, Academic Apprentice Personnel are considered primarily as students
being professionally trained, and graduate student status takes precedence over University
employment. These apprenticeships are intended to provide qualified students with relevant training
experience for academic and academic-related careers in teaching and research and to augment limited
resources from within the University for Graduate Student Support.

There are two types of Academic Apprentice Personnel:

• Academic Student Employees (ASEs). ASEs are various levels of Teaching Assistants,
Readers/Special Readers and Tutors/Remedial Tutors.
• Graduate Student Researchers (GSRs). GSRs are selected on the basis of scholastic achievement
and promise as creative scholars. GSRs assist faculty with scholarly research under the direction
and supervision of a faculty member.

A. APPOINTMENT Academic Apprentice Personnel Titles

Teaching Assistants (TA) Appointments
Please contact the Department Human Resources (HR) Office and Diego Garcia for current information
on TA appointments.

Graduate Student Researchers (GSR) Appointments

Please contact the HR Office for current information on GSR employment information.

B. WORKING OVER 50% TIME

General Regulations

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 Employment of registered graduate students for more than 50% time in any single university position or
combination of university titles during an academic quarter is contrary to university policy. However,
students may petition for exceptions to this rule. The university’s primary concern is the student's
academic status and progress toward degree objectives. Both the department and the university are
also concerned about spreading the limited funds available for graduate student support among as
many qualified students as possible. Please refer to the following link for additional information:
https://www.psych.ucla.edu/graduate/current-students/funding/employment-exception-forms.

Working Over 50% Time during Quarter Breaks and the Summer
Students can work 100% time during quarter breaks as well as during the Summer Session. The
Payroll/Personnel Office may be contacted for beginning and ending dates during which 100%
employment is permitted.

International Students with V-1 and F-1 Visas

Federal INS regulations prohibit holders of V-1 and F-1 visas from being employed more than 50% time.
Students may petition for exceptions to this policy by contacting the Dashew Center. The Dashew Center
requires student to be advanced to doctoral candidacy to work over 50% time. Note that permission to
work over 50% time must also be approved by INS. Be sure to get the approval signature of the Dashew
Center and attach a copy of the INS approval to the request for working more than 50% time BEFORE
submitting any paperwork to the Graduate Advising Supervisor.

TA Positions: International students must pass the Test of Oral Proficiency (TOP) examination in order to
be appointed as a TA: https://teaching.ucla.edu/gradstudent-programs/top/.

GSR Positions: PIs (Primary Investigators) are obligated to pay the Non-Resident Tuition for international
students who are hired at 45% time or more.

Fellowships combined with employment

Students with full fellowships, such as Chancellor, University, Cota Robles, Pauley, NSF, Ford, and Javits,
are eligible to work in additional TA and GSR positions at 25% (10 hours per week) or 50% (20 hours per
week) time . Additional information is at https://www.psych.ucla.edu/graduate/current-
students/funding/employment-exception-forms.

C. APPOINTMENT TIME LIMITS

Students are restricted to a total of 12 quarters of TA positions and to 18 quarters of combined TA and
GSR positions. Only students making good progress in the program and who are advanced to candidacy
may petition for exceptions to these limits.

D. Advance Loan Check

TAs may request non-interest advance loans, which are repaid by automatic deductions from the second
and third paychecks. They are normally available approximately six weeks prior to the beginning of each
quarter through the second week of the quarter. Applications may be obtained from the Graduate
Advising Supervisor.

E. CHILDBEARING LEAVE
ASEs and GSRs may be eligible for paid leave for childbirth or related accommodations. More
information on short term and long-term leaves can be found in the appropriate UAW contracts founds
here: https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/labor/bargaining-units/index.html

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Request for Leave and Coverage
In order to ensure proper coverage for leaves other than long-term leaves, TAs and GSRs are expected
to contact the supervisor to request leave as soon as the need for the leave becomes known but not less
than one (1) working day in advance of the commencement of the leave unless the leave is
unanticipated personal or family illness or bereavement. Requests for leave shall be made in writing
with information about the nature of the leave and probable duration. Upon request, the request will
include appropriate documentation. While it is the University’s responsibility to make arrangements for
coverage, the TA or GSR will assist as reasonably possible.

XVIII. UNDOCUMENTED GRADUATE STUDENTS

The University and the Psychology Department welcomes all students regardless of immigration
status, including undocumented students, students with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
(DACA) status, and students who are eligible for the California Assembly Bill 540 (AB540)
exemption.

Because of federal and state laws, types of funding support available for undocumented
students varies depending on whether a student has DACA status and/or AB 540 status.
Undocumented graduate students, their faculty advisors, faculty TA/Fellowship committee
members, and Area Chairs should all be familiar with the Funding Eligibility for UC Grad
Undocumented Students Eligible for AB540, DACA, or Non-AB540/Non-DACA table available for
download at: https://grad.ucla.edu/funding/financial-aid/students-with-ab540-andor-daca-
status/. Funding support primarily refers to tuition, fellowships, and employment.

The UCLA Advisory Council on Immigration Policy, in collaboration with campus partners
including Division of Graduate Education and the Bruin Resource Center Undocumented
Student Program, developed a useful Undocumented Graduate and Professional Students
Handbook which can be found at this link: https://ucla.app.box.com/v/GradStudentHBOct2019.
In addition to Handbook, we recommend contacting the Undocumented Student Program at
the Bruin Resource Center to access additional resources.

We strongly recommend that all undocumented graduate students and their faculty advisors be
familiar with the aforementioned Handbook for undocumented students, and to maintain
regular contact with the Graduate Advising Supervisor regarding financial support and
academic progress.

XVIII. ACADEMIC POLICIES AND REQUIREMENTS FOR TAs AND GSRs

A. TEACHING ASSISTANTS (TA)

TAs must be enrolled in 12 units by the second week of classes (and must remain enrolled in 12 units
throughout the quarter in order to receive fee remissions) and have a GPA of 3.0 to be eligible for
employment. All students are required to take Psychology 495A in the first quarter they serve as a
teaching assistant (in the first year of matriculation in the degree program), and 495B in the second

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quarter they serve as a teaching assistant (no later than end of fourth year prior to doctoral
advancement to candidacy).

B. GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCHERS (GSR)

GSRs must be enrolled in 12 units by the second week of classes (and must remain enrolled in 12 units
through the end of the quarter in order to receive fee remissions), have a GPA of 3.0 to be eligible for
employment, and work at least 25% time throughout the quarter.

XIX. RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS

• UCLA Graduate Education COVID-19 Resources & Support

• UCLA Graduate Student Resource Guide
• UCLA GSA Graduate Flowchart
• UCLA Campus Resources for Psychology Graduate Students
• Counseling and Psychology Services (CAPS; a Confidential resource)
• UCLA Equity Diversity and Inclusion
• UCLA Title IX Office/Sexual Harassment Prevention
• UCLA Office of Ombuds Services (a Confidential resource)
• UCLA Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Campus Resource Center
• Bruin Resource Center
• UCLA Psychology Funding Resources

• When needing assistance with navigating any challenges, please contact:

- Graduate Advising Supervisor Lisa Lee
- Vice Chair for Graduate Studies Professor Theodore Robles
- Faculty Mentor: https://www.psych.ucla.edu/faculty
- The Area Chair for your area:
o Behavioral Neuroscience o Clinical o Cognitive
o Developmental o Health o Quantitative
o Social

XX. GUIDELINES FOR STUDENT-FACULTY RELATIONSHIPS

This section will be reviewed and updated during the 2023-2024 academic year.

INTRODUCTION
This document has its roots in a department-wide student survey administered by the
Psychology Graduate Student Association (PGSA). Students’ responses focused the
Department’s attention on ways to improve student-faculty relationships and resulted in the
guidelines printed below. The document is continually evolving, and we encourage students
and faculty to submit comments and suggestions to PGSA or to the Graduate Advising
Supervisor. Your feedback will then be incorporated into future versions of these guidelines.
We hope this will contribute to the development of successful mentoring relationships and the
preparation of future exceptional psychologists.

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In addition to these guidelines, the Department also highly recommends A Guide for
Graduate Students at a Diverse University, published by the University of Michigan, and
available at http://www.rackham.umich.edu/downloads/publications/mentoring.pdf. This
guide provides in-depth information on student-faculty relationships and is an excellent
supplement to our Departmental guidelines.

If you have questions or concerns about your relationship with your advisor or other faculty
members, do not hesitate to consult the Graduate Advising Supervisor or the Vice Chair for
Graduate Studies. The Graduate Advising Supervisor and the Vice Chair may offer counsel on
strategies to address concerns with the advisor. Consultations with the Graduate Advising
Supervisor and the Vice Chair will be kept confidential, with the exception of matters that must
be reported by law (i.e., sexual harassment or assault; danger to self or others). Students may
also request that the Vice Chair facilitate a discussion together with the faculty advisor.

PURPOSE
Everyone has a different view of the ideal advising relationship and good advising relationships
take many different forms. There is widespread agreement, however, that certain
responsibilities and rewards are an inherent part of any mentoring relationship between
student and faculty member. The purpose of this document is to describe the basic
expectations that should hold for advising relationships. It will recommend ways of insuring
that these expectations are met and that relationships are maximally beneficial to both parties.
Our goal is to increase awareness of the factors that produce a valuable partnership in the
pursuit of scientific knowledge.

The advising relationship will ideally foster students' confidence, skills, and grounding in theory
and research. It should be their doorway to participation in the academic profession. In most
cases, students and faculty will both feel that the relationship is productive and rewarding.
However, if a student is not making good progress toward a degree or is not engaging in a
developing program of research, this may indicate a problem in the advising relationship.
Students who feel the necessary support is missing from their advising relationship are
encouraged to communicate their needs, discuss possible remedies, or perhaps find a new
advisor. It is important that students feel empowered to recognize problems in the advising
relationship early on and actively seek guidance in addressing them. Although doctoral
students are admitted with an assignment to a faculty advisor and lab, they are foremost
admitted into the Department and Program. The Department and Program have a collective
responsibility to support students and ensure that degree progress can be made within an
advising relationship.

Good mentoring relationships are the norm at UCLA. Many cite the quality of these
relationships as the basis of our Department’s excellent reputation for turning out top-notch
researchers. We hope these guidelines will promote the development of productive and
mutually enjoyable partnerships between students and professors

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM YOUR ADVISING RELATIONSHIP

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 A. Basic Expectations
At a minimum, students can expect advising relationships to provide:
1) Guidance with ongoing research
2) Guidance in planning professional progress and achieving necessary milestones
3) Opportunities for and assistance with professional publications and conference
presentations
4) Letters of reference required for professional opportunities

In addition, some advising relationships also provide students with:

1) Financial support (often in the form of Graduate Student Researcher (GSR) positions)
2) Facilitation of exchange of ideas among students and faculty with similar research
interests (often in the form of lab meetings)

At a minimum, faculty members can expect advising relationships to provide:

1) Opportunities to exchange ideas with intelligent and motivated students
2) Opportunities to collaborate on research projects and publications
3) Fulfillment of their professional responsibility to advise and mentor students
4) Gratification that they are training a new generation of scholars

In addition, some advising relationships also provide faculty with:

1) Research assistants
2) Exposure to new areas of research and new statistical techniques as a result of their
students' interests and expertise
3) Letters of evaluation required for professional advancement

Note: These letters of evaluation are the primary method through which advising is given
weight in the promotion of faculty members. If you have had a good or bad experience with a
professor or if you have any thoughts as to whether a professor will serve students' interests in
the future, you can make these known in a letter of evaluation.

B. Variable Expectations
Below are six aspects of the mentoring relationship that tend to vary across advising
relationships. Expectations regarding these aspects should be mutually understood throughout
the advising relationship. Negotiation of these expectations is often informal, and mutual
understanding may well be reached with little discussion. The activities of the advisor and
advisee will evolve naturally to meet the changing needs of the student and changing demands
of research projects. The important thing is that both parties are aware of what to expect and
feel that they can safely raise the issue if expectations are frequently unfulfilled.

1) Frequency and method for scheduling advising meetings: There appears to be a common
belief among some faculty members that advising meetings should occur roughly one to
eight times a month, depending on the current needs of the student and the research
project(s) in progress. Within these guidelines, however, there are several different ways to
schedule meetings.

Here are some ways advising meetings might be arranged:

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 a. Advisor and advisee set up a regular meeting time and/or advisor holds a lab
meeting attended by all of his/her students. The expectation is that they will always
meet at that set time to ensure continuity and frequent communication.
b. Advisor and advisee set aside a weekly meeting time during which the student can
count on the advisor to be available. However, the student may cancel the meeting
(in advance) if he or she has nothing new to discuss.
c. Advisor is available to advisee on an "as needed" basis, usually by appointment, and
occasionally, by stopping by the advisor's office. If this is the arrangement, advisors
are expected to be on campus and available for meetings on a regular basis.
Students should keep in mind that faculty members may not want to be interrupted
at certain times (e.g., while preparing for a class). The important thing is not that
faculty are always available, but that they are available for meetings on a regular
basis (e.g., at least once a week) and do not communicate to the student that a
meeting would be an imposition.

2) How the advisee should prepare for advising meetings: Here are two possibilities:
a. Advisee should come prepared with ideas, questions, or results to discuss.
b. Advisee should submit a written draft a few days to a week before the meeting time
to give time for advisor to read it and prepare feedback.

3) How quickly the advisor will return a written draft with comments and how quickly the
student will incorporate the advisor's comments and bring in a new draft: Of course, this
depends on the size of the document and the proximity of deadlines, however a week for
each task is often appropriate. The important thing is to make this turnaround time explicit
to both parties and then to honor this commitment. As in a game of badminton, both
parties are expected to keep the birdie in the air, so to speak.

4) As early as possible, it is important to develop a shared understanding of the timeline for

the advisee's progress through the doctoral program.

5) As research projects become formalized, it is important to have mutual agreement about

the advisor's participation in the planning and write-up of the advisee's research. It is also
important to establish as early as possible how this participation will figure into order of
authorship for collaborative papers.

6) It is important to clarify expectations about the amount of work that the student will
accomplish on the professor’s project in a given time period. This applies primarily to paid
GSRs and possibly to research practicum experiences for clinical students.

GETTING WHAT YOU EXPECT: COMMUNICATION

A. Share your expectations as early as possible. Attempt to clarify your agreements about
essential aspects of the relationship. It might be helpful for students to prepare a list of
questions and concerns prior to meeting with your advisor.

B. Communicate concerns or questions to your advisor or advisee as soon as they arise. If you
avoid addressing difficulties, they are likely to get worse. Students can take heart in one
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 professor's comment: "we are often as relieved as the students are when tensions are
acknowledged and dealt with.” Usually, difficulties can be worked out; if it appears there is
an inherent incompatibility, advisors can be changed.

XXI. EQUITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION

The Department is committed to fostering a positive climate for diversity for graduate students
in Psychology. Students with concerns about equity, diversity, or inclusion are encouraged to
seek out support or guidance from their mentors, advisors, and anyone in Department
leadership. Among others, students are welcome to contact the following individuals:
Megan McEvoy, Equity Advisor for the Division of Life Sciences
Denise Chavira, Chair of the Department Diversity Issues Committee
Theodore Robles, Vice Chair for Graduate Studies
Lisa Lee, Graduate Advising Supervisor

Students may share their concerns informally and anonymously with the individuals listed
above or with other trusted advisors, or they may decide to make a complaint of discrimination
formally with the campus Discrimination Prevention team of the Office of Equity, Diversity and
Inclusion ([email protected] 310-794-1232).

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