Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology

Program Description
The Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology degree is a research-based program focused on career advancement in teaching, consulting, administration, or institutional research. The program prepares innovative scholars, researchers, and educators to contribute to the body of knowledge through intensive study in the field of psychology. The program, culminating in a dissertation, builds the foundation for theoretically grounded research and development of knowledge in the study and application of personality, motivation, learning, emotion, and behavior.

Program Objectives
Keiser University’s Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology program enables students to contribute to the profession through independent learning, scholarship, and research. Upon completion of this program, students are able to:

Develop an advanced understanding of general psychological principals and theories to include personality, motivation, learning, emotion, and behavior.

Appreciate diversity in individuals and the global community, demonstrated through application of ethical problems solving at the individual, social, and organizational levels in the field of psychology.

Evaluate educational and social services program designs to include program evaluation, curriculum development, and assessment strategies.

Apply principles of effective research methods, evaluating problems, developing research strategies, designing and conducting psychological research, interpreting and evaluating research data, and formulating grounded conclusions to add to the body of knowledge.

Prerequisites for Major Courses

• Master degree from an accredited institution.

NOTE:  Courses in the PhD program are eight-weeks in length and students are scheduled for one or two courses concurrently.  Dissertation courses are eight-weeks in length and students are scheduled for two dissertation courses per semester.

Program Outline
To receive a Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology degree, students must earn 60 graduate semester credit hours. Fifty-four of the program hours must be completed through Keiser University. Program requirements are as follows:

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology Major Core Courses (60.0 credit hours)
Foundation Courses (21.0 credit hours)
Research, Ethics, and Scholarly Writing	3.0 credit hours
Cognitive & Affective Basis of Behavior	3.0 credit hours
Behavioral Neuroscience	3.0 credit hours
Human Development	3.0 credit hours
Theories of Learning and Motivation	3.0 credit hours
Sociocultural Basis of Behavior	3.0 credit hours
Cross-Cultural Methods of Tests and Measurements	3.0 credit hours
Research Courses (15.0 credit hours)
Quantitative Research I	3.0 credit hours
Quantitative Research II (Prerequisite: Quantitative Research I)	3.0 credit hours
Qualitative Research	3.0 credit hours
Research Theory, Design, and Methods (Prerequisites: Quantitative Research I and II, Qualitative Research)	3.0 credit hours
Advanced Research: Pre-Proposal and Literature Review (Prerequisite Quantitative Research and II, Qualitative Research and Reasearch, Theory, Design, and Methods) Advanced Research: Pre-Proposal and Literature Review is scheduled as the last course and is not scheduled with any other courses.	3.0 credit hours
Teaching Elective Track (12.0 credit hours)
Educational Psychology	3.0 credit hours
Curriculum Design	3.0 credit hours
Leadership: Assessment and Program Evaluation	3.0 credit hours
Advanced Seminar in Teaching Psychology (Prerequisites: Theories of Learning and Motivation, Cross-Cultural Methods of Tests and Measurement, Educational Psychology, Curriculum Design and Leadership :Assessment and Program Evaluation)	3.0 credit hours
Research Elective Track (12.0 credit hours)
Advanced Experimental Design in Psychology	3.0 credit hours
Policy Analysis	3.0 credit hours
Psychometrics	3.0 credit hours
Program Evaluation (project focused) (Prerequisites: Quantitative Research I and II, Qualitative Research, Research Theory, Design, and Methods, Advanced Experimental Design in Psychology, Policy Analysis, and Psychometrics)	3.0 credit hours
Dissertation Courses (12.0 credit hours) Students must be admitted to candidacy before enrolling in Dissertation Courses. Students must complete eight DSS900 courses.
Dissertation (Dissertation is not scheduled with any other course)	1.5 credit hours