Qualifying Exam 

The purpose of the reading list is to provide a guide to areas of expertise in Psychology that the student can be expected to demonstrate during the oral exam. The reading list should be divided into at least three broad areas. Students are not expected to know everything about a particular research area but should attempt to define those aspects of an area that are most relevant to the student’s general research expertise in Psychology.

Presented below are possible areas for students’ reference in designing their reading lists. The idea behind suggesting these different areas is to ensure that students’ reading lists reflect their breadth of knowledge in different areas of Psychology. Students should consult closely with the faculty on their qualifying exam committees about the breadth of the specific topics that will make up the reading list well in advance of writing the qualifying paper. The specific readings should represent the empirical and theoretical literatures most relevant to a student’s general research direction.

Cognitive students’ qualifying exam topics might fall in the following categories: language processes, quantitative/statistical methods, information processing, computational modeling, higher-order cognitive processes, learning and memory, developmental, sensation/perception, human computer interaction, history and systems and psychobiology.

Developmental students’ qualifying exam topics might fall in the following categories: perceptual development, sensorimotor development, cognitive development, language development, social and emotional processes in development, communication and socio-cognitive processes in development, lifespan personality development, development of creativity and creative environments, development of relationships and attachment, gender and development, families, peers, and community institutions in development, cultural processes in development, developmental psychopathology, and theories of development and developmental methodologies. Most qualifying papers in the developmental area will be under 40 pages of text, and most reading lists include a total of about 90 unique (non-repeated) entries; consult with your committee about their expectations.

Social students’ qualifying exam topics might fall in the following categories: intergroup relations, attitudes and beliefs, social cognition, prejudice and discrimination, stereotyping, stigma, power, ideology, social justice, psychology and law, psychology of gender, feminist theory, intersectionality, public policy, political psychology, trauma, media, aggression and violence, liberation psychology, community psychology, poverty and social class, gender/sexual identity, narrative/discourse psychology, peace and conflict, and social identity theory.

The questions asked during the oral exam will focus on these specific topics within each area of Psychology chosen by the student. The list of readings for each category should have some basic text-like books giving overviews of the area, readings which review specific topics (such as Psychological Review or Psychological Bulletin articles or important book chapters as in the Handbook of Social Psychology) and relevant research articles. It should be noted that the reading list is only meant to give the committee some evidence of the kind of knowledge the student has about a particular area. The student should not feel compelled to list every article they will have read. Committee members may ask students questions about research not specifically noted on the reading list but which fits into the category of topics listed by the student. Students should ask members of their committee for guidance on the kinds of readings to be included on the reading list well in advance of the qualifying exam. Consult your advisor for further advice on constituting a committee.

All members of the qualifying examination committee should be given a copy of the student's previously agreed-upon reading list well in advance of the scheduled qualifying exam and, absent explicit agreement from all members to a later deadline, a copy of the student's qualifying paper must be given to the committee no later than three weeks before the qualifying exam is scheduled to be taken.

The qualifying paper should be an article that addresses some major research area in the student’s general field of interest. The article should describe the phenomenon or topic, review the relevant psychological literature or appropriate literature in a neighboring field and pose questions or hypotheses that might serve as the basis for future research. Consult your advisor for more details about the content and expected length of this paper. Students are expected to work closely with their main academic advisor in writing several drafts of the major paper before a more polished draft is circulated to other faculty on the qualifying exam committee.