Department of Psychology

yale phd in psychology

Upcoming Events

Some campus events have been moved online as part of Yale’s effort to minimize the spread of COVID-19. Please refer to Yale’s COVID-19 page for up-to-date communications and guidelines from the University.

More Events

The Yale Psychology department is committed to making our talks accessible to all who wish to attend. If you have an access-related need, please see here .

yale phd in psychology

Frank Keil to receive 2024 Cognitive Development Society Book Award

yale phd in psychology

Julian Jara-Ettinger receives Jacobs Foundation Early Career Fellowship

yale phd in psychology

Shirley Wang listed on Forbes "30 Under 30"

Planning on applying to our Ph.D. graduate program?

Contact Information

Mailing Address:

Phone: 203-432-4500 FAX: 203-432-7172 Graduate School Online Application Graduate program inquiries

Driving Directions

Fields include clinical psychology; cognitive psychology; developmental psychology; neuroscience; and social/personality psychology.

  • Programs of Study
  • PhD - Doctor of Philosophy
  • Combined PhD
  • Department of Psychology

Melissa Ferguson

Director of Graduate Studies

Fredericka Grant

Departmental Registrar

Admission Requirements

Standardized testing requirements.

GRE is optional. 

English Language Requirement

TOEFL iBT or IELTS Academic is required of most applicants whose native language is not English.

You may be exempt from this requirement if you have received (or will receive) an undergraduate degree from a college or university where English is the primary language of instruction, and if you have studied in residence at that institution for at least three years.

Combined Degree Program Application Deadline

*The deadline to submit an application to a combined program is always the earlier deadline of the two individual programs, or December 15, whichever comes first.

Academic Information

Combined phd information.

Psychology offers a combined PhD in conjunction with Philosophy .

Program Advising Guidelines

GSAS Advising Guidelines

Academic Resources

Academic calendar.

The Graduate School's academic calendar lists important dates and deadlines related to coursework, registration, financial processes, and milestone events such as graduation.

Featured Resource

Registration Information and Dates

https://registration.yale.edu/

Students must register every term in which they are enrolled in the Graduate School. Registration for a given term takes place the semester prior, and so it's important to stay on top of your academic plan. The University Registrar's Office oversees the systems that students use to register. Instructions about how to use those systems and the dates during which registration occurs can be found on their registration website.

Financial Information

Phd stipend & funding.

PhD students at Yale are normally full-funded for a minimum of five years. During that time, our students receive a twelve-month stipend to cover living expenses and a fellowship that covers the full cost of tuition and student healthcare.

  • PhD Student Funding Overview
  • Graduate Financial Aid Office
  • PhD Stipends
  • Health Award
  • Tuition and Fees

Alumni Insights

Below you will find alumni placement data for our departments and programs.

  • Skip to Content
  • Catalog Home
  • Institution Home

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Programs and Policies 2023–2024

  • Yale University Publications /
  • Graduate School of Arts and Sciences /
  • Degree-Granting Departments and Programs /

Current Edition: Graduate Archive . Click to change.

Kirtland Hall, 203.432.4500 http://psychology.yale.edu M.S., M.Phil., Ph.D.

Chair Jutta Joormann (203.432.4545, [email protected] )

Director of Graduate Studies Melissa Ferguson (203.432.4518, [email protected] )

Professors Woo-kyoung Ahn, John Bargh, Paul Bloom ( Emeritus ), Thomas Brown ( Emeritus ), Tyrone Cannon, Marvin Chun, Margaret Clark, John Dovidio ( Emeritus ), Melissa Ferguson, Edmund Gordon ( Emeritus ), Marcia Johnson ( Emerita ), Jutta Joormann, Alan Kazdin ( Emeritus ), Frank Keil, Joshua Knobe ( Philosophy ), Marianne LaFrance ( Emerita ), Gregory McCarthy, Jennifer Richeson, Peter Salovey, Laurie Santos, Brian Scholl, Nicholas Turk-Browne, Tom Tyler ( Law School ), Karen Wynn ( Emerita )

Associate Professors Arielle Baskin-Sommers, Steve Chang, Yarrow Dunham, Avram Holmes

Assistant Professors Dylan Gee, Maria Gendron, Julian Jara-Ettinger, Julia Leonard, Samuel McDougle, Robert Rutledge, Ilker Yildirim

Lecturers Richard Aslin ( Senior Lecturer ), Stephanie Lazzaro, Kristi Lockhart ( Emerita ), Mary O’Brien, Faith Prelli

Affiliated faculty Alan Anticevic ( Psychiatry ), Amy Arnsten ( Neuroscience ), Christopher Benjamin ( Neurology ), Philip Corlett ( Psychiatry ), Maggie Davis ( Psychiatry ), Ravi Dhar ( School of Management ), Irina Esterlis ( Psychiatry ), Tamar Gendler ( Philosophy ), Phillip Atiba Goff ( African American Studies ), Elizabeth Goldfarb ( Psychiatry ), Carlos Grilo ( Psychiatry ), Ilan Harpaz-Rotem (Psychiatry), Jeannette R. Ickovics ( Public Health ), Robert Kerns ( Veterans Administration Medical Center ), Hedy Kober ( Psychiatry ), Michael Kraus ( School of Management ), John Krystal ( Psychiatry ), Daeyeol Lee ( Neurobiology ), Becca Levy ( Public Health ), Ifat Levy ( Neuroscience ), David Lewkowicz ( Child Study Center ), Linda Mayes ( Child Study Center ), Carolyn Mazure ( Psychiatry ), James McPartland ( Child Study Center ), Nathan Novemsky ( School of Management ), Laurie Paul ( Philosophy ), Christopher Pittenger ( Psychiatry ), Al Powers ( Psychiatry ), Helena Rutherford ( Child Study Center ), Wendy Silverman ( Child Study Center ), Dana Small ( Psychiatry ), Jane Taylor ( Psychiatry ), Tom Tyler ( Law School ), Fred Volkmar ( Child Study Center ), Gideon Yaffe ( Law School )

Fields of Study

Fields include clinical psychology; cognitive psychology; developmental psychology; neuroscience; and social/personality psychology.

Special Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree

In order to allow students to be trained in accordance with their own interests and career goals, the general requirements of the department are kept to a minimum. The formal requirements are: (1) Students must take PSYC 500 , PSYC 501 , PSYC 518 , and then any 500-level course with adviser approval. The basic-level core course requirement must be completed by the end of the second year. Students must attain an Honors grade in at least two term courses by the end of the second year of study. (2) Students are required to assist in teaching four courses by the end of their fourth year. (3) Completion of a First-Year Research Paper ( PSYC 920 ) due by May 1 of the second term. (4) Completion of a predissertation research project ( PSYC 930 and DISR 999 ), to be initiated not later than the second term and completed not later than May 10 of the second year. Certification of this research project as well as performance in course work and other evidence of scholarly work at a level commensurate with doctoral study, as judged by the faculty, are necessary for continuation beyond the second year. (5) Submission of a dissertation prospectus, and a theme essay that demonstrates the candidate’s comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the area of concentration. Certification of the theme essay completes the qualifying examination. (6) Approval of the dissertation by an advisory committee and the passing of an oral examination on the dissertation and its general scientific implications. The theme essay and the dissertation prospectus are completed during the third year. Students are then formally admitted to Ph.D. candidacy. There are no language requirements.

The faculty considers teaching to be an essential element of the professional preparation of graduate students in Psychology. For this reason participation in the Teaching Fellow Program is a degree requirement for all doctoral students. They are expected to serve as teaching fellows (level 20) for four terms over the course of the second through fourth years in the program. Opportunities for teaching are matched as closely as possible with students’ academic interests.

Clinical Graduate Student Internships

Registered students undertaking their required clinical internships (usually in their sixth year) are typically not eligible for Graduate School stipend funding, since these are paid internships. However, clinical internship stipends for sixth-year students that fall below the current year’s Psychology stipend will be topped up to the current year’s Psychology stipend. Students will be considered to have fulfilled the final requirement for the degree after successfully completing their internship (typically in July) and will be awarded degrees the following December. They will not be registered in the Graduate School during the fall term in which their degrees are conferred.

Combined Ph.D. Programs

Psychology offers a combined Ph.D. degree program with African American Studies. For the combined program with African American Studies, students must apply to the African American Studies department, with Psychology indicated as the secondary department.

Psychology also offers a combined Ph.D. degree program with Philosophy. Students interested in this combined degree can apply to the Philosophy department or the Psychology department. Students must be accepted into one of these departments (the “home department”) through the standard admissions process, and both departments must then agree to accept the student into the combined program. If a student applies to the Philosophy department for the combined degree program, that student should also contact one or more Psychology faculty members with compatible interests so that a suitable adviser in Psychology can be identified prior to an admissions decision. Students enrolled in the combined program complete a series of courses in each discipline as well as an interdisciplinary dissertation that falls at the intersection of the two. On completing these requirements, students are awarded a Ph.D. either in Philosophy and Psychology, or in Psychology and Philosophy.

Questions about the combined degree programs may be directed to the directors of graduate studies in the participating departments prior to application.

Master’s Degrees

M.Phil. The academic requirements for the M.Phil. degree are the same as for the Ph.D. degree except for the submission of a prospectus, and the completion and defense of a dissertation, which define the Ph.D.

M.S. (en route to the Ph.D.) The M.S. degree is awarded upon satisfactory completion of a first-year research project, a predissertation research project, and the four required core courses. A satisfactory grade must be achieved in the predissertation research project. 

The Department of Psychology does not admit students for a terminal master’s degree. If, however, a student admitted to the Ph.D. program leaves the program prior to completion of the doctoral degree, the student may be eligible to receive a master’s degree upon completion of the academic requirements as stated above.

Program materials are available online at http://psychology.yale.edu .

PSYC 500a, Foundations of Psychology I: Cognitive Psychology and Neuroscience   Melissa Ferguson

An introduction to graduate-level cognitive psychology and the biological bases of human behavior for first-year graduate students in psychology. Topics include decision making, learning, memory, perception, and attention. Topics also include neuroanatomy, neuronal signaling, and neuronal encoding. This course serves as the foundation for further study in more advanced graduate courses on specific topics. This course is required for all Psychology PhD students. Th 9:25am-11:15am

PSYC 501b, Foundations of Psychology II: Social, Developmental, and Clinical Psychology   Melissa Ferguson

An introduction to graduate-level social, developmental, affective, and clinical psychology for first-year graduate students in psychology. Topics include theories of cognitive development, development of social cognition, and development of concepts and categories. Topics also include attitudes and persuasion, intergroup relations, stereotypes and prejudice, and cultural variation. Topics also include emotions, emotion regulation, models of psychopathology, and psychology and the law. This course serves as the foundation for further study in more advanced graduate courses on specific topics. This course is required for all Psychology Ph.D. students. HTBA

PSYC 554a / MGMT 754a, Behavioral Decision-Making II: Judgment   Nathan Novemsky and Ravi Dhar

This seminar examines research on the psychology of judgment. We focus on identifying factors that influence various judgments and compare them to which factors individuals want and expect to drive their judgments. Topics of discussion include judgment heuristics and biases, confidence and calibration, issues of well-being including predictions and experiences, regret and counterfactuals. The goal is threefold: to foster a critical appreciation of existing research on individual judgment, to develop the students’ skills in identifying and testing interesting research ideas, and to explore research opportunities for adding to existing knowledge. Students generally enroll from a variety of disciplines, including cognitive and social psychology, behavioral economics, finance, marketing, political science, medicine, and public health. T 4:10pm-7:10pm

PSYC 561a, Algorithms of the Mind   Ilker Yildirim

This course introduces computational theories of psychological processes with a pedagogical focus on perception and high-level cognition. Each week students learn about new computational methods grounded in neurocognitive phenomena. Lectures introduce these topics conceptually; lab sections provide hands-on instruction with programming assignments and review of mathematical concepts. Lectures cover a range of computational methods sampling across the fields of computational statistics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, including probabilistic programming, neural networks, and differentiable programming. Prerequisites: Students must have a programming background, ideally in a high-level programming language such as Python, Julia, or Matlab. Students must also have college-level calculus. The course substantially uses Julia and Python.   0 Course cr TTh 11:35am-12:50pm

PSYC 576a, Social and Cultural Factors in Mental Health and Illness   Jeannette Ickovics

This course provides an introduction to mental health and illness with a focus on the complex interplay between risk and protective factors and social and cultural influences on mental health status. We examine the role of social and cultural factors in the etiology, course, and treatment of substance misuse; depressive, anxiety, and psychotic disorders; and some of the severe behavioral disorders of childhood. The social consequences of mental illness such as stigma, isolation, and barriers to care are explored, and their impact on access to care and recovery considered. The effectiveness of the current system of services and the role of public health and public health professionals in mental health promotion are discussed. T 1pm-4:50pm

PSYC 626a, Topics in Law and Psychology   Arielle Baskin-Sommers

This class is an introduction to topics in law and psychology. Topics include eyewitness identification; confessions; interrogation; jury decision-making; racism/sexism; media violence; and issues of culpability and mental illness. Enrollment limited to twenty. Self-scheduled examination or paper option. Note: This course follows the Law School calendar. W 10am-12pm

PSYC 664a, Health and Aging   Becca Levy

This course explores the ways psychosocial and biological factors influence aging health. Topics include interventions to improve mental and physical health; effects of ageism on health; racial and gender health disparities in later life; and how health policy can best adapt to the growing aging population. Students have the opportunity to engage in discussions and to develop a research proposal on a topic of interest. T 5pm-6:50pm

PSYC 684a, Introduction to Psychotherapy: Technique   Mary O'Brien

The focus of the seminar is on formulating and conceptualizing psychological problems from a cognitive-behavioral perspective. Special consideration is paid to individual and cultural diversity in conceptualizing cases and planning treatment. Also discussed are ways in which cognitive-behavioral perspectives can be integrated with other theoretical orientations (e.g., interpersonal theory, experiential therapy). HTBA

PSYC 685b, Introduction to Psychotherapy   Mary O'Brien

Open only to doctoral students in clinical psychology. This course is designed to prepare students to conduct therapy as clinical scientists. The class blends theoretical and empirical readings with practical training in applying interventions. Evidence-based therapy processes as well as the development of nonspecific therapeutic techniques (such as communicating empathy and structuring therapy sessions) are emphasized so that these skills can be applied across a wide range of client populations and problem presentations. In this second term of the yearlong course we discuss and practice skills related to dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), psycho-educational family therapy with serious mental illness, and three evidence-based approaches to couple therapy: a cognitive behavioral approach taken by John and Julie Gottman, an acceptance-enhanced CBT approach taken by Christensen and Jacobson, and Emotionally Focused couple work by Sue Johnson. The course includes discussion of multicultural and diversity issues as they apply to these therapeutic approaches. HTBA

PSYC 689a, Psychopathology and Diagnostic Assessment   Mary O'Brien

Didactic practicum for first-year clinical students. Main emphasis is initial assessment. Treatment planning and evaluation of progress also covered. Students first observe and then perform initial interviews. Applicable ethics and local laws reviewed. HTBA

PSYC 690b, Ethics, Diversity, Supervision, Consultation, and Professional Practice   Mary O'Brien

Introduction to ethical and legal guidelines for clinical practice. In addition, supervision on diagnostic interview using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV is provided. HTBA

PSYC 695a or b, History of Psychology: Racism and Colonial Power   Tariq Khan

This course examines the history of psychology with a focus on racism and colonial power embedded in psychology and the psychological sciences more broadly. Students will grapple with primary and secondary sources which prompt them to think critically about the past and present of psychology and the ways in which systems of race, gender, and class inequality interact with major institutions, systems, and their own research practices. Students will study the historical relationship between the “mind sciences” and the intertwined systems/institutions of white supremacy/racial hierarchy, cisheteropatriarchy, capitalism, empire, and colonialism from the 17th century to the present. Students will also examine the role some psychologists and related scientists and scholars have played in challenging and resisting those same intertwined systems and institutions. This course is interdisciplinary in that, in addition to studying works by psychologists, students will study, analyze, and critique works in other fields – such as history, anthropology, ethnic studies, and postcolonial studies – which are relevant to understanding the historical development of the psychological sciences. HTBA

PSYC 702a or b, Current Work in Cognition   Woo-Kyoung Ahn

A weekly seminar in which students, staff, and guests report on their research in cognition and information processing. HTBA

PSYC 704a or b, Current Work in Behavior, Genetics, and Neuroscience   Gregory McCarthy

Examination of the current status of research and scientific knowledge bearing on issues of behavior, genetics, and neuroscience. Weekly speakers present research, which is examined methodologically; recent significant journal articles or technical books are also reviewed. HTBA

PSYC 708a or b, Current Work in Developmental Psychology   Julian Jara-Ettinger

A luncheon meeting of the faculty and graduate students in developmental psychology for reports of current research and discussion on topics of general interest. HTBA

PSYC 710a or b, Current Work in Social Psychology and Personality   Melissa Ferguson

Faculty and students in personality/social psychology meet during lunchtime to hear about and discuss the work of a local or visiting speaker. HTBA

PSYC 719b, History and Systems in Psychology   Arielle Baskin-Sommers

Basic and applied current research on the history and systems in psychology is presented by faculty, visiting scientists, and graduate students and examined in terms of theory, methodology, and ethical and professional implications. Students cannot simultaneously enroll in PSYC 720 . Open to clinical psychology graduate students only. HTBA

PSYC 720a or b, Current Work in Clinical Psychology   Mary O'Brien

Basic and applied current research in clinical psychology that focuses on the cognitive, affective, social, biological, and developmental aspects of psychopathology and its treatment is presented by faculty, visiting scientists, and graduate students. This research is examined in terms of theory, methodology, and ethical and professional implications. Students cannot simultaneously enroll in PSYC 718 or 719 . HTBA

PSYC 724a or b, Research Topics in Cognition, Emotion, and Psychopathology   Jutta Joormann

This weekly seminar focuses on the role of cognition and emotion in psychopathology. We discuss recent research on basic mechanisms that underlie risk for psychopathology such as cognitive biases, cognitive control, and biological aspects of psychological disorders. The seminar also focuses on the interaction of cognition and emotion, on the construct of emotion regulation, and on implications for psychopathology. HTBA

PSYC 725a or b, Research Topics in Human Neuroscience   Gregory McCarthy

Discussion of current and advanced topics in the analysis and interpretation of human neuroimaging and neurophysiology. HTBA

PSYC 727a or b, Research Topics in Clinical Neuroscience   Tyrone Cannon

Current research into the biological bases of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, including topics related to etiology, treatment, and prevention. HTBA

PSYC 728a / AFAM 778a, Research Topics in Racial Justice in Public Safety   Phillip Atiba Goff

In this seminar, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows have a chance to present their research, and undergraduate research assistants learn about how to conduct interdisciplinary quantitative social science research on racial justice in public safety. The course consists of weekly presentations by members and occasional discussions of readings that are handed out in advance. The course is designed to be entirely synchronous . Presenters may request a video recording if they can benefit from seeing themselves present (e.g., for a practice talk). This course is intended for graduate students, postdocs, and undergraduates interested in conducting original quantitative social science research about race and public safety. Permission of the instructor is required. T 12pm-1:30pm

PSYC 731a, Research Topics in Cognition and Development   Frank Keil

A weekly seminar discussing research topics concerning cognition and development. Primary focus on high-level cognition, including such issues as the nature of intuitive or folk theories, conceptual change, relations between word meaning and conceptual structure, understandings of divisions of cognitive labor, and reasoning about causal patterns. HTBA

PSYC 733a or b, Research Topics in Social Cognitive Development   Yarrow Dunham

Investigation of various topics in developmental social cognition. Particular focus on the development of representations of self and other, social groups, and attitudes and stereotypes. HTBA

PSYC 735a or b, Research Topics in Thinking and Reasoning   Woo-Kyoung Ahn

In this lab students explore how people learn and represent concepts. Weekly discussions include proposed and ongoing research projects. Some topics include computational models of concept acquisition, levels of concepts, natural kinds and artifacts, and applications of some of the issues. HTBA

PSYC 737a or b, Research Topics in Clinical and Affective Neuroscience   Avram Holmes

Seminar focusing on ongoing research projects in clinical, cognitive, and translation neuroscience. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor. HTBA

PSYC 739a or b, Research Topics in Autism and Related Disorders   Fred Volkmar

Focus on research approaches in the study of autism and related conditions including both psychological and neurobiological processes. The seminar emphasizes the importance of understanding mechanisms in the developmental psychopathology of autism and related conditions. HTBA

PSYC 741a or b, Research Topics in Emotion and Relationships   Margaret Clark

Members of this laboratory read, discuss, and critique current theoretical and empirical articles on relationships and on emotion (especially those relevant to the functions emotions serve within relationships). In addition, ongoing research on these topics is discussed along with designs for future research. HTBA

PSYC 742a or b, Research Topics in Computation and Cognition   Julian Jara-Ettinger

Seminar-style discussion of recently published and unpublished researched in cognitive development and computational models of cognition. HTBA

PSYC 744a or b, Research Topics in Philosophical Psychology   Joshua Knobe

The lab group focuses on topics in the philosophical aspects of psychology. HTBA

PSYC 745a or b, Research Topics in Disinhibitory Psychopathology   Arielle Baskin-Sommers

This laboratory course focuses on the study of cognitive and affective mechanisms contributing to disinhibition. We discuss various forms of disinhibition from trait (e.g., impulsivity, low constraint, externalizing) to disorder (e.g., antisocial personality disorder, psychopathy, substance use disorders), diverse methods (e.g., psychophysiology, self-report, neuroimaging, interventions), and multiple levels of analyses (e.g., neural, environmental, social). Members of this laboratory read and critique current articles, discuss ongoing research, and plan future studies. HTBA

PSYC 752a or b, Research Topics in Social Neuroscience   Steve Chang

This weekly seminar discusses recent advances in neuroscience of social behavior. We discuss recent progress in research projects by the lab members as well as go over recently published papers in depth. Primary topics include neural basis of social decision-making, social preference formation, and social information processing. Our lab studies these topics by combining neurophysiological and neuroendocrinological techniques in nonhuman animals. HTBA

PSYC 753a or b, Research Topics in Legal Psychology   Tom Tyler

This seminar is built around student research projects. Students propose, conduct, and analyze empirical research relevant to law and psychology. Grades are based upon final papers. Permission of the instructor required. HTBA

PSYC 754a or b, Research Topics in Clinical Affective Neuroscience and Development   Dylan Gee

This weekly seminar focuses on current research related to the developmental neurobiology of child and adolescent psychopathology. Topics include typical and atypical neurodevelopmental trajectories, the development of fear learning and emotion regulation, effects of early life stress and trauma, environmental and genetic influences associated with risk and resilience, and interventions for anxiety and stress-related disorders in youth. HTBA

PSYC 755a or b, Research Topics in Intergroup Relations   Jennifer Richeson

Students in this laboratory course are introduced to and participate in social-psychological research examining interactions and broader relations between members of socioculturally advantaged and disadvantaged groups. For instance, we examine the phenomena and processes associated with one’s beliefs about members of social groups (stereotypes), attitudes and evaluative responses toward group members (prejudice), and behaviors toward members of a social group based on their group membership (discrimination). We also study how these issues shape the experiences of social group members, especially when they are members of low-status and/or minority groups. We primarily focus on large societal groups that differ on cultural dimensions of identity, with a focus on race, ethnicity, and gender. Notably, we apply the theoretical and empirical work to current events and relevant policy issues. HTBA

PSYC 758a or b, Research Topics in Cognitive Neuroscience   Nick Turk-Browne

Seminar-style discussion of recent research in cognitive neuroscience, covering both recent studies from the literature and ongoing research at Yale. HTBA

PSYC 759a or b, Research Topics in Affective Science and Culture   Maria Gendron

A seminar-style discussion of recent research and theory in affective science and culture. The lab group focuses on the social and cultural shaping of emotions. We also discuss the biological constraints on variation and consistency in emotion as revealed by physiological research on emotion (in both the central and peripheral nervous system). Some discussion of current and planned research in the lab group also takes place. HTBA

PSYC 760a or b, Research Topics in Cognitive and Neural Computation   Ilker Yildirim

Lab meetings of the Cognitive & Neural Computation Laboratory at Yale.  HTBA

PSYC 761a or b, Research Topics in Computational Decision and Affective Neuroscience   Robb Rutledge

Seminar focusing on ongoing research projects in computational approaches to clinical, cognitive, and affective neuroscience. HTBA

PSYC 762a or b, Research Topics in Skill Learning   Samuel McDougle

This weekly seminar covers various themes in human learning, with an emphasis on motor learning, motor memory, reinforcement learning, and decision-making. We discuss recently published and ongoing research on these topics, with special attention to behavioral studies, computational models of learning, and neural correlates. HTBA

PSYC 763a or b, Research Topics in Implicit Social Cognition   Melissa Ferguson

Weekly seminar on contemporary research projects in implicit social cognition, with a special focus on the topics of changing minds, prejudice, and self-control. Permission of the instructor required. HTBA

PSYC 764a or b, Research Topics in Children’s Learning and Motivation   Julia Leonard

This weekly seminar covers cutting-edge research in cognitive science, developmental psychology, and neuroscience on young children’s learning and motivation. We discuss how theoretically and empirically grounded science can be applied to the real world. Permission of the instructor required. HTBA

PSYC 765a or b, Research Topics in Philosophy and Cognitive Science   Laurie Paul

A weekly meeting to discuss relevant philosophical and psychological topics. Permission of the instructor required. HTBA

PSYC 766a or b, Research Topics in Perception and Cognition   Brian Scholl

Seminar-style discussion of recent research in perception and cognition, covering both recent studies from the literature and the ongoing research in the Yale Perception and Cognition Laboratory. HTBA

PSYC 771a or b, Research Topics in Nonconscious Processes   John Bargh

The lab group focuses on nonconscious influences of motivation, attitudes, social power, and social representations (e.g., stereotypes) as they impact on interpersonal behavior, as well as the development and maintenance of close relationships. HTBA

PSYC 775a or b, Research Topics in Animal Cognition   Laurie Santos

Investigation of various topics in animal cognition, including what nonhuman primates know about tools and foods; how nonhuman primates represent objects and number; whether nonhuman primates possess a theory of mind. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor. HTBA

PSYC 778a or b, Research Topics in Clinical and Affective Neuropsychology   Hedy Kober

Lab meeting is held once a week throughout the year and is attended by undergraduate and graduate students, research staff, postdoctoral fellows, and other researchers interested in the weekly topics. In a rotating fashion, both internal and external speakers present data and ideas from various research projects, and/or research and methods papers in related areas, including the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging to answer questions in clinical and affective psychology. HTBA

PSYC 801a or b, Clinical Internship (Child)   Mary O'Brien

Advanced training in clinical psychology with children. Adapted to meet individual needs with location at a suitable APA-approved internship setting. HTBA

PSYC 802a or b, Clinical Internship (Adult)   Mary O'Brien

Advanced training in clinical psychology with adults. Adapted to meet individual needs with location at a suitable APA-approved internship setting. HTBA

PSYC 805a or b, Affective and Developmental Bases of Behavior   Mary O'Brien

This course aims to provide a broad survey of the affective and developmental bases of behavior, drawing on key topics in affective science and developmental psychology. Readings include reviews and empirical articles that highlight core issues relevant to the topics, from early theoretical perspectives to recent advances in the field. Topics broadly fall into several domains, including evolutionary, cultural, and developmental perspectives on emotion; neurocognitive and affective development; early experiences, attachment, and sensitive periods; emotional reactivity and regulation; and the role of emotion in illness and well-being. HTBA

PSYC 811a or b, Mood and Anxiety Disorders Practicum   Mary O'Brien

This is a course for graduate students in clinical psychology. Group supervision of therapy provided at the Yale Psychology Department Clinic. HTBA

PSYC 817a or b, Other Clinical Practica   Mary O'Brien

For credit under this course number, clinical students register for practicum experiences other than those listed elsewhere in clinical psychology, so that transcripts reflect accurately the various practicum experiences completed. HTBA

PSYC 920b, First-Year Research   Staff

By arrangement with faculty. HTBA

PSYC 923a or b, Individual Study: Theme Essay   Staff

PSYC 930a or b, Predissertation Research   Staff

Print Options

Send Page to Printer

Print this page.

Download Page (PDF)

The PDF will include all information unique to this page.

Download 2022-2023 Graduate PDF

Cognitive Science

Graduate students.

Graduate Students pursue degrees in each of our affiliated departments, as well as in the combined Philosophy and Psychology PhD program.

Graduate Student Advisory Panel:

Links to each of the programs:

Anthropology

Combined Philosophy and Psychology

Computer Science

Linguistics

School of Law

School of Management

It looks like you're trying to zoom in on this page. For best results: use the most recent version of your browser, disable your browser's 'zoom text only' setting, and use your browser's default font size settings.

To zoom in, use [Ctrl] + [+] in Windows, and [Cmd] + [+] on a Mac. To zoom out, use the keyboard shortcut [Ctrl] + [-] in Windows and [Cmd] + [-] on a Mac.

Yale University

yale phd in psychology

Additional Navigation

Graduate & professional study.

Yale offers advanced degrees through its Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and 13 professional schools. Browse the organizations below for information on programs of study, academic requirements, and faculty research.

yale phd in psychology

Graduate School of Arts & Sciences

Yale’s Graduate School of Arts & Sciences offers programs leading to M.A., M.S., M.Phil., and Ph.D. degrees in 73 departments and programs.

yale phd in psychology

School of Architecture

The Yale School of Architecture’s mandate is for each student to understand architecture as a creative, productive, innovative, and responsible practice.

yale phd in psychology

School of Art

The Yale School of Art has a long and distinguished history of training artists of the highest caliber.

yale phd in psychology

Divinity School

Yale Divinity School educates the scholars, ministers, and spiritual leaders of the future.

yale phd in psychology

David Geffen School of Drama

The David Geffen School of Drama graduates have raised the standards of professional practice around the world in every theatrical discipline, creating bold art that engages the mind and delights the senses.

yale phd in psychology

School of Engineering & Applied Science

The Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science is at the cutting edge of research to develop technologies that address global societal problems.

yale phd in psychology

School of the Environment

The School of the Environment is dedicated to sustaining and restoring the long-term health of the biosphere and the well-being of its people.

yale phd in psychology

Jackson School of Global Affairs

The Jackson School of Global Affairs trains and equips a new generation of leaders to devise thoughtful, evidence-based solutions for challenging global problems.

yale phd in psychology

Yale Law School hones the world’s finest legal minds in an environment that features world-renowned faculty, small classes, and countless opportunities for clinical training and public service.

yale phd in psychology

School of Management

School of Management students, faculty, and alumni are committed to understanding the complex forces transforming global markets and building organizations that contribute lasting value to society.

yale phd in psychology

School of Medicine

Yale School of Medicine graduates go on to become leaders in academic medicine and health care, and innovators in clinical practice, biotechnology, and public policy.

yale phd in psychology

School of Music

The Yale School of Music is an international leader in educating the creative musicians and cultural leaders of tomorrow.

yale phd in psychology

School of Nursing

The Yale School of Nursing community is deeply committed to the idea that access to high quality patient‐centered health care is a social right, not a privilege.

yale phd in psychology

School of Public Health

The School of Public Health supports research and innovative programs that protect and improve the health of people around the globe.

Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS)

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences is composed of the departments and academic programs that provide instruction in Yale College and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Centers & Institutes

A number of our centers and institutes offer additional opportunities for graduate and professional study.

Department of Philosophy

Graduate program overview.

yale phd in psychology

The graduate program in the Philosophy Department offers a wide range of courses in various traditions of philosophy, with strengths and a well-established reputation in the history of philosophy, ethics, metaphysics, and epistemology, as well as other central topics. Graduates of the program have gone on to a diverse range of careers, including higher education, law, and software engineering. The Department offers combined programs with the  Classics  and  Psychology  Departments.

Behavioral Marketing

Shane Frederick

The PhD degree in Behavioral Marketing is a research degree that prepares students for academic positions at top research universities. Students choose the behavioral marketing track if they are interested in the psychological aspects of consumer behavior.

The Ph.D. in Behavioral Marketing

Faculty interests cover a variety of topics including Judgment and Decision-Making, Heuristics and Biases, Attitudes and Persuasion, Motivation, Goals, Cognition, and Emotions. A small number of students are accepted into the PhD Program in Behavioral Marketing each year. Students are encouraged to pursue research collaborations with multiple faculty, and to tailor their program of study to match their own unique interests.

The PhD in Behavioral Marketing is a research degree that prepares students for academic positions at top research universities. The program has an excellent placement record for PhD students, many of whom have gone on to secure tenure-track positions at top research institutions including Stanford, Northwestern, and Columbia.”

New joint concentration in Marketing and Psychology

PhD students admitted to the Behavioral Marketing program can apply to pursue a joint doctoral concentration in Psychology and Marketing. The primary expectation of Ph.D. students admitted to the program is that they (in collaboration with faculty members from both the Department of Psychology and Marketing group) develop a project spanning topics in Psychology and Consumer Behavior.

Open Yale Courses

You are here.

The Department of Psychology at Yale conducts research in major areas of the field, including behavioral neuroscience, clinical, cognitive, developmental, and social/personality psychology. The B.A. in psychology has been designed to provide undergraduates reasonable grounding in psychology in the context of a general liberal arts education. At the graduate level, the primary goal is the training of research investigators in academic and applied settings. Learn more at http://www.yale.edu/psychology

  • Reserve WLH 309

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Combined phd program in wgss.

The WGSS Program at Yale is proud to announce our new Combined PhD degree! We are thrilled to work with a new generation of scholars committed to feminist and queer inquiry, and to researching gender and sexuality across axes of difference and inequality. Our faculty work on questions of gender and sexuality from a wide range of theoretical and methodological locations, concentrating our attention on transnational politics and security regimes, public law and sexual violence, reproduction and reproductive technologies, incarceration, social movements and protest, race and racism, neoliberalism, and Islam. We hope you will join us to pursue your WGSS scholarship.

Students may pursue a Combined PhD in WGSS with one of our five spartnering departments: African American Studies , American Studies , Anthropology , English or Sociology .

Program Requirements

In their first two years of study, students in the Combined PhD program will complete Introduction to Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies (WGSS 600), Feminist and Queer Theory (WGSS 700), Methods in Gender & Sexuality Studies (WGSS 800)* and one elective.  Typically, electives taken in the student’s partnering Department will be cross-titled with WGSS or will substantively examine gender and sexuality.  Students will enroll for two sequential semesters in WGSS 900, Colloquium & Working Group.  The Colloquium and Working Group convene several Monday evenings throughout the semester; faculty and graduate students present works in progress.

*The WGSS DGS will determine, case-by-case, whether or not the methods course offered by the student’s primary department fulfills our methods requirement.

WGSS 600: Introduction to Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies (typically offered fall semester)

Introduction to women’s, gender, and sexuality studies as a field of knowledge and to the interdiscipline’s structuring questions and tensions. The course genealogizes feminist and queer knowledge production, and the institutionalization of WGSS, by examining several of our key terms.

WGSS 700: Feminist & Queer Theory (typically offered spring semester)

Survey of feminist and queer theoretic contestations, focusing both on historical foundations and contemporary articulations. Students examine the Marxist, critical race, postcolonial, transnational and liberal philosophical coordinates of feminist and queer theories.

WGSS 800: Methods in Gender & Sexuality Studies (offered alternate years)

A practical forum that explores interdisciplinary methods and modes of analysis and evidence building for research in WGSS. Examines interventions from cultural studies, archive studies, ethnography, STS and media studies. Foci on the historicity of knowledge production, ethical research, and scholarship examining (what’s “feminist” or “queer” about) feminist and queer methods.

Teaching Fellowship

WGSS Combined PhD students will typically teach or serve as a teaching fellow in their third and fourth years in the program, unless their dissertation research plans require other arrangements. The courses will usually be WGSS-titled and undergraduate level.

Dissertation Proposal

Students in their third year of study will undertake a dissertation proposal workshop with faculty from the WGSS program.

Dissertation

Students will typically research and write their dissertations in their final two- to three-years of study. At least one faculty committee member of the student’s dissertation will hold a primary, tenured or tenure-track appointment in WGSS.

How to Apply

To apply to the Combined PhD in WGSS (and AFAM, AMST, ANTH, ENGL or SOCY), please visit the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences admissions page .   The deadline to submit an application to a combined program is always the earlier deadline of the two individual programs, or December 15, whichever comes first.

Requirements for Transfer into the Combined Ph.D. Program

Students already pursuing a Ph.D. in one of the five partnering departments and programs listed above may apply for transfer into the combined Ph.D. in WGSS.

Interested students should submit a departmental transfer request form and a 2-3 page statement of interest describing why you wish to pursue the Combined Ph.D. to wgss.dgs@yale.edu .  Please indicate whether you have completed WGSS 600 and/or WGSS 900, and if not, when you intend to do so.  Your statement of interest should also outline a plan of completion for any outstanding WGSS course requirements.     Only current students in the first or second year of their degree study in American Studies, Anthropology, English, and Sociology are eligible to apply.  (Interested students in their *first* year of other Ph.D. programmes may apply to do an ad hoc combined degree with WGSS, but must first get permission from their current DGS.  See here for more information about ad hoc joint degrees.) 

For admission in fall 2024, please submit your form and statement of interest to wgss.dgs@yale.edu by 15 December 2023. The WGSS graduate admissions committee hopes to inform applicants of its decisions in early March 2024.

Still have questions? Please see the  Combined PhD FAQs .

INFORMATION FOR

Yale Psychiatry Announces 2024 Match Class

Yale psychiatry 2024 match class.

The Yale Department of Psychiatry on March 15 announced its 2024 Match Class for the Yale Psychiatry Residency Program.

The 20 new residents join the department from 15 medical schools. They hail from hometowns within 11 different states and five countries. Collectively they speak 12 languages. Ten have attained additional degrees, including master’s degrees of sciences, public health, business administration, and doctoral degrees.

Beyond these accomplishments, the incoming residents bring a broad range of hobbies, passions, and life experiences which include athletic pursuits (varsity swimming, circus fitness, competitive figure skating, scuba diving); innovative work within podcast production; entrepreneurship and business development; teaching and mentorship; enthusiasm for anime, crochet, building Lego, latte art, and cooking; and artistic talents within art, music, and dance including playing Setar, playing piano, and dancing ballet folklorico.

The new residents are:

Megan Aguilera, MD , University of Colorado School of Medicine

Shante Barnes, MD , Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine

Sanam Bhatia, MD , Weill Cornell Medicine

Kapil Chauhan, MD , Howard University College of Medicine

Rayne Dhana, MD, MBA , Morehouse School of Medicine

Samuel Dienel, MD, PhD , University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, (Neuroscience Research Training Program)

Eleni Friligkou, MD, MSc , Medical School Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Neuroscience Research Training Program)

Clara Guo, MD, MBA , Yale School of Medicine

Rachel Hennein, MD, PhD , Yale School of Medicine (Solnit Integrated Training Program

Noa Katz Shroitman, MD , Sackler School of Medicine

Harun Khan, MBBS, MPH , Imperial College School of Medicine

Victoria Kozar, MD , University of Connecticut School of Medicine

Ariyaneh Nikbin, MD , Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Robert Palmer, MD , Yale School of Medicine (PGY-2)

Yasmin Rawlins, MD , Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (PGY-2)

Alysha Rose, MD , Yale School of Medicine Yasna Rostam Abadi, MD, MPH , Tehran School of Medicine Sciences Joshua Tanner, MD , University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine Hui Yang, MD, PhD , Albert Einstein College of Medicine (Neuroscience Research Training Program)

Eric Zheng, MD, PhD , Weill Cornell Medicine (Neuroscience Research Training Program)

Institution for Social and Policy Studies

Advancing research • shaping policy • developing leaders, the dispersion of power: samuel bagg’s urgent call to redefine democracy.

Samuel Bagg speaks in a classroom

Samuel Bagg’s publisher, Oxford University Press, bills his new book, “The Dispersion of Power” as “an urgent call to rethink centuries of conventional wisdom about what democracy is, why it matters, and how to make it better.”

But it wasn’t always so urgent.

The book began more than a decade ago as his Ph.D. thesis, which was a largely theoretical exploration of democracy.  And after the domestic and global political “upheavals” of the late 2010s, he felt he needed to grapple more directly with the demands of democracy in practice.

“It quickly became clear to me that my issues with common ways of thinking about democracy weren’t just abstract — they had real consequences,” Bagg said. “I wanted to highlight those consequences and show how thinking differently about democracy could help us get out of some of the problems that we’re now facing.”

The Institution for Social and Policy Studies’ Democratic Innovations Program invited Bagg, an assistant professor of political science at South Carolina University , for a two-week residency at Yale, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Ethics, Politics, and Economics in 2009. Democratic Innovations seeks to identify and test new ideas for improving the quality of democratic representation and governance.

“We could not be happier to have Sam here for what has been a wonderfully productive and thought-provoking visit,” said Alan Gerber, director of ISPS and Sterling Professor of Political Science. “Sam’s sharp, compelling work deploys political science, history, psychology, and critical theory to challenge common views of democracy. He is asking big questions, pointing toward new and hopefully more effective ways of dealing with the problem of special interest capture of policymaking so we can build a more functional and equitable society.”

During his stay, we spoke with him about his new book and how he envisions democracy’s purpose not primarily as the expression of a population’s collective self-rule but as the need to prevent the capture of state power by private interests.

ISPS: You note in your book’s conclusion that you intentionally de-emphasized current specific challenges to democracy, such as polarization and disinformation, which are now roiling politics in the United States, Brazil, India, Hungary, Turkey and elsewhere. Why make that choice?

Sammuel Bagg: The first reason is just that many other people have been writing about those issues. So, they are important, and we need to address them directly, but I didn’t know how much I had to add to what’s already been said. The place where I saw a gap is that when people discuss those problems, they are not always getting at the underlying issues causing them. They are often looking at the symptoms, which are important to consider. But it’s also important to see where those symptoms come from and address those causes as well.

ISPS: And in the case of challenges to democracy, you argue the underlying causes relate primarily to power dynamics.

SB: Exactly. The electoral institutions we have, the rights that are protected, the way people access trustworthy information — all these things are crucial, and they are all under threat right now. So, we need to protect them.  But unless we address underlying imbalances of economic and social power, similar threats are going to keep emerging.

ISPS: You write about how the power imbalance itself has not been the primary focus of most democratic theorists and reformers. Why do you think that is?

SB: Most of us associate the idea of democracy with processes of collective decision-making on equal terms, or in other words, collective self-rule. For some people, that ideal is realized by the way we elect representatives. Plenty of others see that our current systems do not reflect everyone’s views equally, and they look for other methods of incorporating people’s views, preferences, and ideas on a more equal basis more directly into decision-making. Maybe that means people need to have a more direct say in politics through referendums. Or maybe we need smaller-scale deliberative bodies to define people’s preferences and then incorporate them into decisions.

 A Critical Realist Theory of Democracy" by Samuel Ely Bagg, illustration of Liliputians tying down Gulliver from "Gulliver's Travels"

SB: I think many people recognize that improving democracy is going to require confronting the wealthy and powerful groups who currently dominate our political and economic systems. The issue that I have is not with the diagnosis of the problem, which a lot of people share. The problem comes when they suggest that the way to fix the problem is to fix the decision-making procedures. I agree that it could help on the margins. Some ways of making decisions are certainly fairer and better than others. But I believe that focusing exclusively on it will just lead us into a kind of never-ending cycle of reform and disappointment. Because whatever set of procedures we settle on will never be enough. Whatever institutions we use will still be influenced by these underlying imbalances of power.

ISPS: You said earlier that most people mistakenly define democracy as collective self-rule. Are you saying that collective self-rule is not necessary to a functioning society so long as state institutions operate for the public good?

SB: I would say the problem I have with collective self-rule has to do primarily with the way it structures our aspirations for reform. Because it focuses our attention on these particular decision-making procedures. We can still uphold self-rule as an abstract ideal and just reinterpret what it requires in practice in terms of resisting the capture of state power.

ISPS: So it can be an important ideal, just not the only one.

SB: Some people are very committed to this idea of collective self-rule, believing that’s just what democracy means. I say, great. The best way to achieve the outcome you want is to focus less on decision-making procedures and more on the underlying distribution of power.

ISPS: You devote a chapter to providing a realistic defense of elections without inflating the legitimacy or authority of their results. Why should we support such a flawed system?

SB: It’s true that I don’t think that elections and universal suffrage help achieve collective self-rule, which, as discussed, many people treat as a valuable ideal. There are too many problems identifying electoral procedures as a means for reflecting the unique individual will of each person and allowing them to make decisions on equal terms. That is simply not what elections do.

ISPS: Don’t elections at least provide some accountability for elected officials?

SB: The accountability offered by elections is extremely attenuated. You often have only a couple of choices, and trying to evaluate someone on thousands of policy decisions — all at once — it’s just way too much.

ISPS: And yet you still think elections are valuable. Why?

SB: For any response to any political problem, elections with universal suffrage are absolutely necessary. The reason is simply that any other way of selecting the leaders in a gigantic modern state enables those leaders or those affiliated with them to accrue too much power and corrupt the power of the state for their own private interests. Of course, they can still do that to some extent under an electoral system, which is why they are not perfect. But compared to all the other ways that people compete for power, democratic elections are more transparent, more open, and relatively peaceful. They give at least some incentive to the people competing to gain the respect of and perhaps promote the interests of other groups. And elections incentivize candidates to frame their polices in terms of a broad public interest.

ISPS: Your book posits a negative goal of resisting state capture that you call “a deliberately imprecise term” … “designed to encompass an ever-shifting variety of concrete threats.” That sounds exhausting. How might reformers with this mindset rally public support to assume and indefinitely maintain this posture?

SB: Part of the reason people feel so despairing and disappointed is their expectations are set by this fantasy of collective self-rule, which is never going to be achieved. People have an idea that public policy should reflect their individual views. They feel they should be co-authors and co-owners of the law. And that if they don’t feel that way, then it’s not really a democracy.

ISPS: Are you proposing that American citizens reject the idea of collective self-rule? Even if it’s a fantasy, it’s a potent one that we learn in grade school.

SB: Sure. I don’t think it is necessarily a problem for the public to embrace collective self-rule as an abstract ideal. My argument is more about how we should best make use of limited resources. If our goal is to advance democracy, what is worth prioritizing in terms of time and money?

ISPS: And for the typical voter?

SB: I think they should reorient how they view their task as voters and citizens more broadly.

ISPS: Meaning?

SB: One of the reasons people hate voting for what they perceive as the lesser of two evils is they see democracy as this thing where they get to choose their favorite candidate. Someone who serves as an expression of their values and political ideals. But elections rarely if ever promise such a choice. If they do anything consistently, it’s that they prevent the worst kinds of outcomes, such as tyranny. If you want more than that, you need to do more than vote.

ISPS: Your remedies include what you call “the dramatic expansion of radical practices that redistribute private power.” What are some examples of these types of reforms?

SB: One helpful question to ask at the outset is what kind of structure of society we should look toward as a utopian horizon. What does it look like in this best possible world? For me, a lynchpin of that is something I call unconditional wealth transfers. This builds on the idea of a universal basic income (UBI). But UBI is only a floor, a minimum people need to survive. The idea of unconditional wealth transfer is the constant rebalancing of power.

ISPS: OK, that does sound radical. And utopian.

SB: Right. It’s an ideal. Something to work toward. Not to make sure everyone has a minimum of sufficiency but to make sure that nobody gets too wealthy compared to others.

ISPS: Importantly, you are not calling for pure socialism. Your reforms embrace economic competition.

SB: I certainly believe there’s a lot more room for public ownership and control of certain industries, such as health care. And at least some public participation in housing. At the same time, we definitely need to keep markets alive.

SB: There is a real danger in eliminating all private ownership and competition and placing it in public hands. Even in communist countries, someone always has outsized power. In the U.S.S.R., for example, nobody had any wealth, but power was distributed unequally through access to political officials, status within the ruling party, and so on. Who was going to live in the nicest apartments? It was not determined by the amount of money you had to spend but who was in with the right people. Markets throw some degree of unpredictability into the mix that shakes up hierarchies. We need private ownership and markets to sustain a dynamic society.

ISPS: OK, but setting aside the idealized utopian horizon, what are some reforms we might implement now to oppose state capture by private interests?

SB: I think there are three basic categories of reform. One is substantive policies to help transfer power. For example, Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Kahn is trying to enforce anti-trust policy more effectively. That’s an important way to reduce the kinds of concentrations of power that make capture more likely.

ISPS: What’s the second category of reform?

SB: Then there is procedural reform — changing not which policies are made, but rather how they are made. One example I discuss in the book is oversight by ordinary citizens, which is really important but also really difficult to get right. When you invite citizens into a process, there is a big power imbalance between them and the special interest groups that work in politics. These groups have much more experience, power, organization, and information. Nevertheless, it’s valuable to incorporate citizens precisely because they are not part of these networks of influence and capture. We need to find ways to make use of their unique ordinariness in ways that are not susceptible to the same types of influences.

ISPS: And the third type?

SB: The third category is the most important, and it exists outside the state entirely. To achieve policies that are going to genuinely threaten the influence of wealthy elites — the people too often making the rules — you first need to change the terrain, the balance of power. In order to do that, you have to make use of the power of numbers rather than wealth. You need to get people to build their collective ability to contest the power of these wealthy and entrenched elites.

ISPS: This is what you mean by “countervailing power” and “organizing for power.”

SB: That’s correct. If we are to overcome the influence of wealthy and entrenched interests on our government, we must cultivate robust and durable organizations that genuinely represent the interests of ordinary people and which are powerful enough to counterbalance those special interests.

ISPS: What might that look like?

SB: I realize that much of my book and our conversation might sound pessimistic. But we’ve seen similar efforts succeed before. History has shown us how something like the Montgomery bus boycott can threaten the material interests of people in power and force them to make concessions. Unions can go on strike. Teachers can demand changes to educational policy. As I write in the book, cracks always appear in the political order. There may be disagreements among elite factions or external shocks that offer openings to disrupt and redirect the way policy is made and carried out. Building organizations that can take advantage of those opportunities when they arise must be our first priority.

ISPS: Is your book cynical or realist? Is it both? Is cynicism a realistic way to view democratic governments in capitalistic societies?

SB: Well, I subtitled the book “A Critical Realist Theory of Democracy,” so I definitely consider myself a realist. And if a cynical point of view would be to expect the worst of everyone or everything, I guess a certain kind of cynicism can be useful.

ISPS: How so?

SB: The book makes a baseline assumption that most things we do are going to fail. Most forms of participation are going to be coopted by elites. Most forms of organization are not going to be effective at countering elite power. You have to be incredibly skeptical and disciplined when thinking about how to use the limited resources we have. And you have to be skeptical, perhaps to the extent of cynicism, about proposals for making things better.

ISPS: Does that make you a pessimist?

SB: I’ll be the first to admit that the things that I think are most promising are not even that promising. They are just less likely to fail when compared to everything else. And maybe that is a kind of pessimism. But I prefer to think of it as realism. Because the point is not that progress is impossible. The point is that progress is really difficult and rare, and in order to get it, you have to be really clear-eyed about what the obstacles are. So, whatever we call it, I firmly believe that this kind of perspective is necessary to at least have a chance of making things better.

Dr. John D. Hurlburt

Dr. John D. Hurlburt

Psychologist , phd.

yale phd in psychology

My Practice at a Glance

6655 S. Yale Ave.

Tulsa, OK 74136

Laureate Psychiatric Clinic-Outpatient Clinic

6655 South Yale Avenue

Qualifications

Specialties and Expertise

Top specialties.

3 Endorsements

Grace Evans

Client Focus

Participants, treatment approach, types of therapy.

Primary Location

Additional location, nearby areas.

Department of Political Science

yale phd in psychology

Program on Peace and Development: “Disentangling Disinformation | Doxing and Denunciation: Unpacking the Court of Public Opinion”

The Program on Peace and Development presents

Daniel Trottier, Associate Professor, Department of Media and Communication, Erasmus University Rotterdam: 

“Disentangling Disinformation | Doxing and Denunciation: Unpacking the Court of Public Opinion.”

Daniel Trottier’s current research considers the use of digital media for the purposes of scrutiny, denunciation and shaming. Daniel is the PI of a five-year NWO-funded project on this topic, entitled “Digital Vigilantism: Mapping the terrain and assessing societal impacts”. He is also participating in a joint NSF/NWO project on mobile privacy, and has previously participated in two European Commission projects on security, privacy and digital media. Daniel has authored several articles in peer-reviewed journals on this and other topics, as well as Social Media as Surveillance with Ashgate in 2012, Identity Problems in the Facebook Era with Routledge in 2013, and Social Media, Politics and the State (co-edited with Christian Fuchs) with Routledge in 2014.

Daniel previously held appointments as a Postdoctoral Fellow in Social and Digital Media at the Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI), University of Westminster, as well as Postdoctoral Fellowships in the Department of Informatics and Media at Uppsala University Sweden, and the Department of Sociology at the University of Alberta, Canada.

Daniel completed a PhD in Sociology at Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada. His doctoral research focused on the impact of digital media on interpersonal and institutional surveillance practices. Daniel obtained a BA in Psychology and Sociology at McGill University, and a MA in Sociology at Concordia University, both in Montreal, Canada.

Zoom Session.  Register here .

IMAGES

  1. Yale Psychology Sneak Peek for PhD programs

    yale phd in psychology

  2. Research

    yale phd in psychology

  3. yale

    yale phd in psychology

  4. Yale Doctoral Internship in Clinical & Community Psychology

    yale phd in psychology

  5. Home

    yale phd in psychology

  6. Graduate Program

    yale phd in psychology

VIDEO

  1. PhD Life Experience in India or Abroad

  2. Yale Poynter

  3. 3MT (2023) People’s Choice in Humanities/Social Sciences

COMMENTS

  1. Overview of the Program

    The primary goal of graduate education in psychology at Yale University is the training of researchers, for academic and applied settings, who will broaden and deepen the knowledge base on which the science of psychology rests. The graduate program in the Department of Psychology annually enrolls about 15 new Ph.D. students.

  2. Home

    Psychology Graduate School Bootcamp; Planning on applying to our Ph.D. graduate program? History. Recent Ph.D. Dissertation Titles; Psychology Dept. Ph.D. Graduates; ... [Recipient Name] Department of Psychology Yale University P.O. Box 208047 New Haven, CT 06520-8047. Phone: 203-432-4500 FAX: 203-432-7172 Graduate School Online Application

  3. Psychology

    https://registration.yale.edu/ Students must register every term in which they are enrolled in the Graduate School. Registration for a given term takes place the semester prior, and so it's important to stay on top of your academic plan. The University Registrar's Office oversees the systems that students use to register.

  4. Philosophy and Psychology Combined Ph.D. Program

    The Philosophy and Psychology Combined PhD Program is a program offered by the Departments of Philosophy and Psychology at Yale. Students enrolled in the program complete a series of courses in each discipline as well as an interdisciplinary dissertation that falls at the intersection of the two. On completing these requirements, students are ...

  5. Psychology < Yale University

    PSYC 500a, Foundations of Psychology I: Cognitive Psychology and Neuroscience Melissa Ferguson. An introduction to graduate-level cognitive psychology and the biological bases of human behavior for first-year graduate students in psychology. Topics include decision making, learning, memory, perception, and attention.

  6. Graduate Students

    Graduate Students pursue degrees in each of our affiliated departments, as well as in the combined Philosophy and Psychology PhD program. Graduate Student Advisory Panel: Area (s) Member. Anthropology. Dorsa Amir. Computer Science. Sarah Strohkorb. Linguistics.

  7. New Philosophy and Psychology joint Ph.D. program

    November 6, 2013. We are pleased to announce the creation of The Philosophy and Psychology Joint PhD Program, offered by the Departments of Philosophy and Psychology at Yale. Students enrolled in the program will complete a series of courses in each discipline as well as an interdisciplinary dissertation that falls at the intersection of the two.

  8. Graduate & Professional Study

    Graduate & Professional Study. Yale offers advanced degrees through its Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and 13 professional schools. Browse the organizations below for information on programs of study, academic requirements, and faculty research.

  9. Yale Perception & Cognition Lab

    P&C Lab: Graduate Student (Ph.D., 2021) After Yale: Postdoctoral Fellow, University College London, Fleming Lab. Currently: Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Waterloo. While in the lab from 2016 to 2022, Clara explored social perception, with a special focus on "perceiving perception" and "attending to attention", in the form of ...

  10. Graduate Program Overview

    The graduate program in the Philosophy Department offers a wide range of courses in various traditions of philosophy, with strengths and a well-established reputation in the history of philosophy, ethics, metaphysics, and epistemology, as well as other central topics. Graduates of the program have gone on to a diverse range of careers ...

  11. Behavioral Marketing

    The PhD program in Behavioral Marketing at Yale focuses on how individuals think and behave in consumer-relevant domains. The program of study is inter-disciplinary, drawing from the fields of consumer behavior, social psychology, cognitive psychology, decision research, and behavioral economics.

  12. Yale Program for Psychedelic Science < Psychiatry

    Psychology Faculty. Adjunct Faculty. Emeritus Faculty. Junior Faculty Mentoring Program. ... Graduate and Postgraduate Professional Training. CMHC Center for Digital Psychiatry. ... Yale has a long history in this area, beginning with studies of LSD in the 1950s and 1960s. Indeed, LSD was first found to act on serotonin receptors at Yale, in ...

  13. Psychology

    The Department of Psychology at Yale conducts research in major areas of the field, including behavioral neuroscience, clinical, cognitive, developmental, and social/personality psychology. ... At the graduate level, the primary goal is the training of research investigators in academic and applied settings.

  14. PDF Doctoral Internship in Clinical & Community Psychology Brochure

    enrolled in an APA or CPA accredited doctoral graduate program in clinical, clinical-community, or counseling psychology. The application deadline is November 1st. LOCATION Yale University is located in New Haven, Connecticut on the coast of Long Island Sound just under 2 hours northeast of New York City and 2½ hours southwest of Boston.

  15. Yale Doctoral Internship in Clinical & Community Psychology

    The Psychology Section within the Yale Department of Psychiatry offers one of the nation's premier internships in clinical and community psychology, developing the next generation of leaders in this field. Up to 14 students are accepted annually to this program, which has been continuously accredited by the American Psychological Association ...

  16. Combined PhD Program in WGSS

    The WGSS Program at Yale is proud to announce our new Combined PhD degree! We are thrilled to work with a new generation of scholars committed to feminist and queer inquiry, and to researching gender and sexuality across axes of difference and inequality. ... Yale University P.O. Box 208319 New Haven, CT 06520-8319. Building Address (for UPS ...

  17. Best Online Ph.D. In Organizational Psychology Programs Of 2024

    Industrial-organizational (I/O) psychology applies psychological principles to human problems in business and the workplace. Industrial-organizational psychologists help workers perform their best ...

  18. Yale Psychiatry Announces 2024 Match Class

    The Yale Department of Psychiatry on March 15 announced its 2024 Match Class for the Yale Psychiatry Residency Program. The 20 new residents join the department from 15 medical schools. They hail from hometowns within 11 different states and five countries.

  19. The Dispersion of Power: Samuel Bagg's Urgent Call to Redefine

    The Institution for Social and Policy Studies' Democratic Innovations Program invited Bagg, an assistant professor of political science at South Carolina University, for a two-week residency at Yale, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Ethics, Politics, and Economics in 2009. Democratic Innovations seeks to identify and test new ideas ...

  20. Dr. John Hurlburt, PhD, Psychologist, Tulsa, OK, 74136

    Dr. John Hurlburt, PhD, Psychologist, Tulsa, OK, 74136, I have been a psychologist in the Tulsa area for 30 years. I graduated from Oklahoma State University with a PhD in Counseling Psychology. I ...

  21. Program on Peace and Development: "Disentangling Disinformation

    Daniel completed a PhD in Sociology at Queen's University in Kingston, Canada. His doctoral research focused on the impact of digital media on interpersonal and institutional surveillance practices. Daniel obtained a BA in Psychology and Sociology at McGill University, and a MA in Sociology at Concordia University, both in Montreal, Canada.

  22. PDF The Master of Science in Psychology (Industrial/Organizational)

    GPA of 3.25 in Psychology classes 4. Applicants who were not Psychology majors may be required to complete undergraduate Psychology courses as a condition of admission to a program. 5. Three letters of recommendation are required. 6. A personal goals statement is required. *GRE scores are waived for application for the 2024-2025 academic year.

  23. Daniel Kahneman, pioneering behavioral psychologist, Nobel laureate and

    Daniel Kahneman, the Eugene Higgins Professor of Psychology, Emeritus, professor of psychology and public affairs, emeritus, and a Nobel laureate in economics whose groundbreaking behavioral science research changed our understanding of how people think and make decisions, died on March 27. He was 90. Kahneman joined the Princeton University faculty in 1993, following appointments at Hebrew ...