Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology – Experimental

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Program Link:
https://psychology.wsu.edu/experimental/
Program Handbook:
https://psychology.wsu.edu/experimental/handbook-experimental/hbe25/
Total Core Graduate Faculty in Program:
11
Graduate Students in Program:
14
Students Receiving Assistantships:
13
Priority Deadlines:

Program Deadlines:

  • Fall December 1

Campus:

  • Pullman

International Student English Proficiency Exams

International students may need to surpass the Graduate School’s minimum English language proficiency exam scores for this program. If the graduate program has unique score requirements, they will be detailed below. Otherwise, please refer to the Graduate School’s minimum score guidelines.

Additional Degree Program Admission Requirements

  • GRE waived for Fall 2026 admissions None

Degree Description:

Students can matriculate in Pullman or Vancouver; however, the application process is administered through the Pullman campus.

 The doctoral program in experimental psychology at Washington State University is designed to produce highly skilled, innovative, and productive experimental psychologists in terms of research and teaching. Each student will build their program of study around one or more specialty areas.  Graduates will be highly knowledgeable about their specialty areas, have a strong background in general experimental psychology, be able to identify significant research problems, be conversant with a wide variety of strategies for generating and testing hypotheses that emerge from these problems, and be able to effectively communicate these ideas.

 It is expected that graduates will leave Washington State University equipped to become successful professionals in competitive research and teaching positions in academia, as well as competitive research or applied positions in government and industry.

Admission Requirements:

To merit consideration for the Experimental Program, the applicant must have completed at least 18 credits in Psychology or in an area of study related to Psychology research specialty and earned at least a 3.00 cumulative GPA. Applicants with less than these numbers will not be considered for admission regardless of circumstances. For those who meet the above requirement, evaluation of the application is based on: undergraduate GPA (3.0 minimum); graduate GPA (if any); transcripts; letters of recommendation; clinical, research and/or teaching experience; the variety and difficulty of coursework completed, with the expectation being that the student has completed a large number of upper-division courses both within and outside of the major; extracurricular activities and jobs related to psychology; and a demonstrated ability to function independently and responsibly. The department actively recruits students from cultural groups that have been under-represented in professional psychology. To be considered for admission to the Department of Psychology’s Graduate Programs, completed application materials must be received by our December 1st deadline.

Student Opportunities:

The Experimental Psychology program emphasizes several major specialty areas: Biological, Cognition, Health, Industrial/Organizational, and Social.  The specialty areas provide a broad intellectual context in which specific interests in that area can be pursued.

Career Opportunities:

College professor, statistician; applied research scientist; consultant

Career Placements:

Professorships/faculty positions:  St. Michaels College, VT; Colorado State, Pueblo; U of Colorado, Colorado Springs; University of Great Falls, MT; Washington State University, Tri-Cities; Washington State University, Pullman; Washington State University, Spokane; Washinton State University, Vancouver; MacMurray College; Port Angeles College; SE Oklahoma State; Lincoln Land College; Heritage University; Eastern Oregon University; City University of New York Baruch.

Post-doctoral Research Associate:  Vanderbilt University; Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth; University British Columbia; Research Associate Sleep and Performance Research Center, WSU, Spokane; CUNY in New York City; Wright Patterson Air Force Base; US Navy; NASA, internship with American Psychological Association; WSU Spokane; UCSF School of Medicine; Dartmouth School of Medicine, Moffitt Cancer Center; Oregon Health and Sciences University.

Government/Industry/Administration:  Research analyst, Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board; Senior biostatistician, Division of Hospital Medicine, Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles; Assistant Director Child and Family Research Unit, WSU Extension, statistician for military; Navy Medical Research Center; Evaluator, Research & Evaluation Team, Portland Public Schools; Meta Reality Labs Research; DabbleLab; Research Analyst, Nielsen.

Contact Information: