A Word for Prospective Students

The Cognitive Psychology Program at UNC-Chapel Hill provides an intellectually vital environment for furthering your study of cognitive psychology and provides many opportunities for you to develop as a scientist by conducting research on the major issues in the field. The Program has excellent laboratory facilities that support research projects of its core faculty and students. In addition, the Program has strong connections to other programs at UNC (such as, neurobiology, linguistics, aging and cognitive science) which enable students to pursue research in cutting-edge interdisciplinary fields.

For more information or for reprints of articles by Program Faculty, please contact our Program Secretary, Ginny Maisch (gmaisch@email.unc.edu or 919-962-2054) or our Program Director, Neil Mulligan (nmulligan@unc.edu or 919-962-5038) Also, feel free to contact our faculty members who share your interests.

Cognitive Graduate Program

The Cognitive Psychology Training Program is designed for students desiring a rigorous research oriented education in preparation for research and teaching careers in basic and applied areas of cognitive psychology. Because numerous faculty members throughout the Department are engaged in cognitive psychology research and teaching, the program has close ties with the other programs in the Department, allowing students to obtain specialized training in areas such as cognitive neuroscience, cognitive aging, perception and psycholinguistics.

The program includes a common first year curriculum for all students, consisting of a two-semester proseminar in cognitive psychology, statistics courses, and guided research. Beyond the first year, students concentrate in one or more of the available specialties of interest to them, while continuing to engage in guided research. This research provides the basis for a Master's thesis usually develops into the topic for a Ph.D. dissertation. Students also participate in the weekly cognitive psychology research seminar, the purpose of which is to allow faculty and students to present and receive feedback on their developing ideas and ongoing research.

Research and computer facilities within the Department are excellent, as are other research settings available to students in the program.

Teaching opportunities are available, generally as teaching assistants. Students are encouraged to minor in another area within psychology (biological, developmental, quantitative, or social) or in a related discipline outside of the Department (for example, neurobiology, computer science, or linguistics).

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