QUESTIONS? Please contact Melanie Kelley at mkkell5@email.uky.edu or 859-257-9640 (1-800-315-7792)

The Department of Psychology at the University of Kentucky is committed to providing excellent training to facilitate successful careers in psychology. We offer two graduate degrees: a Ph.D in Clinical Psychology and a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology, with the experimental degree occurring in one of five areas of concentration (Animal Learning, Behavior, and Cognition; Behavioral Neuroscience and Psychopharmacology; Cognitive Psychology; Developmental Psychology; and Social Psychology). Although we welcome applications from students who have completed (or are nearing completion of) a Master’s degree, Master’s training is not a prerequisite for applying to our doctoral program. In fact, most students who enroll in our doctoral programs have a bachelor’s degree and they obtain the Master’s Degree in our programs on the way to the Ph.D. However, students with prior graduate work at another institution may waive some of the master’s level course work requirements by obtaining special permission from the program or by taking appropriate by-pass examinations. Applicants are selected for admission based on their overall academic record and on their expressed interest in research areas corresponding to individual faculty or graduate program training areas.

The Department is firmly committed to the principle of ethnic diversity in our faculty and graduate student body. For interested students, descriptions of student life for African American students and Latina/o students are available. For all students, and especially Latina/o students, here is a short essay on mentoring.

Below are descriptions of the two doctoral programs we offer and then links to further information. In an effort to provide accurate information in a timely manner to individuals interested in our graduate programs, we have posted all available information about our doctoral training programs on this website. Use the links embedded in the pages to obtain more information and apply to one of our doctoral training programs. If you have trouble finding anything, email Melanie Kelley (mkkell5@email.uky.edu) or call her at 859-257-9640. You can also call 800-315-7792 to reach the Office of Research and Graduate Studies.

Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology
Since the 1949 Boulder Conference on Graduate Training in Clinical Psychology, the integration of research findings and clinical practice has been an important goal for the field. The Clinical Program at the University of Kentucky strongly endorses this model and trains its students to be competent researchers, critical consumers of the scientific literature, and practitioners who depend on empirical findings to guide their applied activities. To accomplish these goals, the program provides students with training experiences in a broad range of topics in clinical research and science-based practice. The integration of science and practice is modeled by the clinical faculty and emphasized in course work and clinical supervision.

We anticipate that students will enter the program with varied professional goals, including research, teaching, and delivery of clinical services. The program offers sufficient flexibility that training can be tailored to support these goals. While all students receive rigorous training in the fundamentals of both research and practice, many students emphasize one area more than another. In addition, classroom teaching and supervisory experiences are available to clinical students. Ongoing conversations between students, their advisors, other faculty members, and other professional psychologists assist students in clarifying their professional goals and tailoring their training to support them. It is our goal to train students to bring an empirical, science-based approach to all of their professional activities, regardless of their ultimate career paths.

For information on the doctoral program in clinical psychology including its degree requirements, the curriculum, faculty, students, facilities, resources, and our outcomes (e.g., competencies, graduation and attrition, internship and postdoc placements, and initial job acquisition), click on this link: clinical program.

Doctoral Program in Experimental Psychology
Doctoral training takes place within the context of research and training clusters that reflect prominent themes, levels of analysis, and methodologies within experimental psychology. The training clusters are: animal learning, cognition, and behavior; behavioral neuroscience and psychopharmacology; cognitive psychology; developmental psychology; and social psychology. Each cluster comprises faculty members whose primary identification is with the cluster, faculty members who have interests relevant to the cluster but whose primary identification is with another cluster, and faculty members from other departments (e.g., Biology, Behavioral Science, Marketing) whose research interests are consistent with the focus of the cluster and who have expressed a willingness to involve psychology graduate students in their research.

Although doctoral training takes place within the context of focused research and training clusters, the Department offers a single Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology. The goal of doctoral training in the Experimental Psychology Program is to produce research psychologists capable of productive creative scholarship and teaching in their chosen areas of interest. Ph.D. graduates of the Experimental Psychology Program are employed in both academic and non-academic positions. Expertise in theory and methods is developed via specialized course work and, in particular, research experience. A student’s course of study should be tailored to the student’s professional goals and substantive interests.

For information on the doctoral program in Experimental Psychology, including its research and training clusters, and application information, click on this link: experimental program.

Important FAQs:
Our GRE institution code is 1837.
Our department code is 2016.
We do not require a subject GRE score.
We require three (3) recommendation letters.
We do NOT require the letters be in a specific format.
We do NOT require submission of a rating form.
We do NOT require a waiver form.

All of our graduate students are automatically considered for teaching and/or research assistantships

Forms for Current Graduate Students:

Clinical Program Handbook 2009
Graduate Student Advisory Committee (GSAC) Guidelines
Behavioral Neuroscience and Psychopharmacology Program Handbook
Cognitive and Developmental Studies Handbook
Social Psychology Program Handbook