Overview
Lehigh University, founded in 1865, was one of the first American institutions to offer a technical education. Its first five schools included a school of general literature and four scientific schools. The innovative concept of offering both technical and nontechnical courses of study has continued to be a successful formula at Lehigh. Today, Lehigh has a graduate school of education and three colleges: Engineering and Applied Science, Arts and Sciences, and Business and Economics. More than 50 percent of the students are enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences. Women have always been admitted to Lehigh at the graduate level, and, in 1971, the University began admitting women at the undergraduate level. In 1987, the campus expanded to 1,600 acres with the addition of the former Homer Labs of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation; the Mountaintop Campus houses the College of Education.

The department has 14 students enrolled, half of them women. Three are international students. There is a projected future enrollment of 15 to 20 students. The department seeks highly motivated students with strong academic credentials, an affinity with the cognition-centered mission, and demonstrated research aptitude.

Students are trained primarily for research and teaching positions in universities and liberal arts colleges as well as relevant nonacademic settings. All graduating students in the last three years have secured teaching positions at liberal arts colleges. Other graduates moved initially to postdoctoral training positions upon graduation. Examples of recent nonacademic placements include analyst with a research group and research engineer with a leading software company.

The Location and Community
Lehigh is on the north slope of South Mountain, overlooking Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley (population 500,000), with its cities of Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton. Bethlehem is a mostly residential community of 70,000. It has a rich cultural heritage and industrial history. Bethlehem is 60 miles north of Philadelphia and 90 miles west of New York City. The Pocono Mountains are less than an hour away.

Programs of Study and Degree Requirements
The Department of Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences offers a distinctive Ph.D. program, with a focus on human cognition and development. Training is provided by a core curriculum and specialization in one of three intersecting clusters: cognition and language, social cognition and personality, and social and cognitive development.

The program provides research-intensive training in basic psychological research. Requirements include a first-year paper/project, a second-year project/master's thesis, a third-year general examination, and a dissertation. Course work includes two semesters of experimental design and analysis; three core courses devoted to fundamental issues in cognition, development, and social cognition; and at least three advanced-psychology seminars. Students are strongly encouraged to complete all requirements in five years.

The department's research subspecialties include cognition and language, social and cognitive development, and social cognition and personality. Cognition and language includes broad training in cognitive psychology and the psychology of language, in addition to special expertise in concepts and word meanings, lexical structure, language production and perception, language impairment, and foundational issues in cognitive science, including cognitive control and attentional processes. Cross-linguistic analysis has recently become a significant focus. Social and cognitive development research covers many central developmental topics, including cognitive, metacognitive, and perceptual development; social, emotional, and self-understanding; sociocultural and narrative development; and life-span development. Relational, social, and cultural influences on development are a significant focus. Social cognition and personality provides an examination of how situational influences, individual differences, and information processing mechanisms combine to create social cognition and behavior. Current emphases include conscious and unconscious influences on social judgment, prejudice and stereotypes, and social-cognitive changes associated with aging and health status.

Facilities & Resources
Cognitive, developmental, and social psychology laboratories, many of them recently renovated, are located in Chandler-Ullmann Hall. They are equipped with state-of-the-art computer and recording facilities for research on topics such as concepts and word meanings, cognitive development, cognitive neuroscience, language production, narrative analysis, stereotyping and prejudice, and social judgment. Research participants for studies on adults are drawn from the in-house participant pool. Infants, children, and older adults are recruited in the amply populated Lehigh Valley. Substantial off-site data collection and research are conducted in preschools, area schools and hospitals, and the Lehigh University Child Care Facility.

The University libraries contain one of the most technologically advanced information systems in the U.S. Through the campus network, all services are received electronically in offices, classrooms, and laboratories. Collections include 1 million volumes, 10,000 serials, 1.7 million microforms, and 550,000 government documents, in addition to audiovisual materials, CD-ROM databases, a media production center, and listening and viewing facilities.

Expenses and Aid
The department normally covers tuition costs for all full-time students in the program. In cases where tuition is charged, the rate is $1,270 per credit.

Financial Aid:
Students are supported for five years of study through teaching, research, and other assistantships and fellowships. The stipend level is $16,130 for nine months, with a full tuition waiver. Opportunities to supplement stipend income exist in the summer.

Housing/Living Expenses:
Lehigh University offers two housing options to graduate students: Saucon Village (136 unfurnished units with free parking for single, partnered, or married students, 3½ miles south of the campus) and Warren Square D (a small number of single rooms within walking distance of the campus). Off-campus housing is also available. Most units are houses that are shared by 4 to 6 people and two- or three-bedroom apartments. The average monthly rent varies, depending on the type of housing. Students living alone in a one-bedroom apartment pay from $400 to $895 per month plus utilities; those sharing a five-bedroom house pay rates starting at $300 per month plus utilities.

How to Apply / Application
Applications for fall term admission are accepted until January 15. To be considered for financial aid, completed applications must be received by the College of Arts and Sciences Graduate Office by January 15 for the following academic year. Completed applications, including the standard applications form, college transcript(s), and two letters of recommendation, should be submitted to the Graduate Programs Office. Applicants should inquire at their prospective departments to determine the tests required and submit all scores to the Graduate Programs Office. TOEFL scores are required of international graduates.

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