University of Toledo
Psychology
Toledo, Ohio

Overview
The University of Toledo is a Carnegie Foundation Doctoral/Research University-Extensive. As a research university, faculty members work with students in the discovery and application of new knowledge and its dissemination to the scientific community and to society. As a state-assisted metropolitan institution, The University is dedicated to using its research to benefit the state and local region. This may involve investigation of problems of critical state and local interest, opportunities to improve the competitiveness of industry through University-industrial collaboration, or ways to improve the health and well-being of local residents. As a leading development force and center of culture, the University serves the metropolitan region in which it is located with outreach initiatives, research projects, continuing education programs, and economic development support. The University of Toledo promotes cultural pluralism, racial diversity, gender representation, and respect for divergent views in its quest to improve education at all levels. High ethical values, freedom of expression, and social justice are guiding principles of the University.

Applicants for graduate study represent more than sixty undergraduate institutions in a typical year. For an incoming class of 10 to 12 students, the average GPA is 3.5 and the GRE, 550 (verbal) and 600 (quantitative).

The purpose of the doctoral program is to prepare students for careers in academia (teaching, research, and clinical work), mental health programs, clinical intervention settings, and the growing number of nonacademic careers that draw on and apply basic principles of psychology.

The Location and Community
The University of Toledo is located in one of Toledo's finest residential sections and covers an area of more than 200 acres. Its location provides a suburban atmosphere while retaining access to the civic and cultural life of the community. Toledo is located on the western shore of Lake Erie and is the fourth largest city in Ohio, with a metropolitan population of approximately 500,000. The city offers a wide array of cultural opportunities including a world-class art museum, a symphony orchestra, a zoo, a science museum, and a variety of fine arts festivals and events. Other activities are within easy driving distance in nearby Ann Arbor, Cleveland, and Detroit.

Programs of Study and Degree Requirements
The Department of Psychology at the University of Toledo offers the Doctor of Philosophy degree in two areas of concentration, behavioral science and clinical psychology, and the Master of Arts degree in general psychology. Training in behavioral science includes the following areas of student specialization: behavioral neuroscience and learning, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, and social psychology. Training in clinical psychology provides students with a broad educational foundation in the science and the practice of clinical psychology. The purpose of the doctoral program is to prepare students for careers in academia (teaching, research, clinical work), in mental health programs, in clinical intervention settings, as well as in other settings. Each student must complete specific course-related requirements, a master's thesis, doctoral examinations, a doctoral dissertation; and the department's foreign language requirement.

The behavioral science concentration involves a systematic course of study and research. It provides the comprehensive background in basic psychological science that is necessary for those interested in academic and research careers and the growing number of nonacademic careers that draw on and apply the basic principles of psychology. Student programs are tailored to meet each student's career interests and provide opportunities for student specialization in behavioral neuroscience and learning, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, or social psychology. In addition, all students receive in-depth training in quantitative methods and research methodology. Faculty members and graduate students carry out research in such diverse areas as nonverbal communication, group behavior processes, cognitive processes in infants and young children, comparative differences in hearing processes, the effects of effort and secondary reinforcement on learning, and cerebral lateralization of perceptual, motor, and cognitive functions.

The concentration in clinical psychology develops clinical psychologists capable of serving within a wide range of professional contexts and provides a broad and flexible view of the discipline of psychology that enables graduates to engage in new fields of interest and emerging specializations. The three traditional functions of clinical research, diagnostic assessment, and psychotherapy are emphasized. Training in research conceptualization and methodology is an integral part of the educational sequence. On the continuum between practitioner and researcher, the clinical psychology concentration at the University of Toledo strives for an equal balance between research and practice.

Facilities & Resources
Behavioral neuroscience and animal learning facilities accommodate the latest anatomical, chemical, and physiological techniques for research investigating the neuroanatomical basis of behavior and the evolution of the nervous system. They also accommodate behavioral techniques for assessing sensory processes and perceptual abilities of animals. Learning laboratories for instrumental and classical conditioning studies are equipped with computer-controlled operant chambers and other appropriate apparatus. Cognitive psychology labs contain an extensive collection of computer hardware and software designed to study lower and higher order cognitive processes and to analyze data. Laptop and Web technologies are available for those interested in collecting data on-site. Rooms are available for individuals and small groups and are used for a variety of purposes, including survey and index data collection. A 3,700-square-foot developmental psychology facility includes laboratories for studying cognitive processes in infants and young children. Infant labs contain observation chambers and are equipped with computers as well as equipment for displaying visual and auditory stimuli. Preschool labs are equipped with one-way observation capability. Research facilities in social psychology include customized observation rooms with one-way windows and the latest audiovisual recording devices. The Center for the Study of Anxiety Disorders and Depression is a clinical research center specializing in assessment and treatment of depression and anxiety disorders for children, adolescents, and adults. The Program for the Study of Immigration and Mental Health is devoted to the study of mental-health-related issues among immigrant/ethnic groups, refugees, and other acculturating individuals.

Expenses and Aid
Graduate assistants typically do not pay tuition. They are required to have medical insurance (which may be purchased from the University), pay a general fee of about $550 each semester, buy textbooks, and pay the costs of printing the thesis. Stipends are subject to U.S. federal and Ohio state income tax.

Financial Aid:
Financial support is usually available in the form of graduate assistantships and tuition scholarships. Most entering students are offered research assistantships; advanced students may apply for research or teaching assistantships. The current academic year stipend for doctoral students is $13,000, plus remission of the tuition fee. Summer support is also usually available to qualified students.

Housing/Living Expenses:
Major apartment complexes, smaller apartment buildings, houses, rooms, and duplexes are all listed on the University housing Web site (http://www.student-services.utoledo.edu/residencelife/offcampus/ocl.html). For example, complexes within 1 mile of campus or served by campus shuttle buses offer one-bedroom apartments for $450 to $600 per month. Food and entertainment costs are low compared with those in larger cities.

How to Apply

Applicants must satisfy admission requirements of the Graduate School (http://www.utoledo.edu/grad-school/admission.html). The department requires that each applicant submit an application, transcripts of previous academic work, three letters of recommendation, and scores from the Graduate Record Examinations (including the advanced psychology test). A brief biographical sketch is also required from each applicant in clinical psychology.

Who to Contact
Department of Psychology
University of Toledo
Toledo, Ohio 43606

419-530-2717

Web site home page

Faculty and Research
• Harvard L. Armus. Learning and conditioning in animals; the effect of physical and cognitive effort on subjective reward value; factors influencing symbolic reward; conditioning in unicellular organisms.

• Wesley A. Bullock. Public mental health issues and the application of the mental health recovery paradigm within the public mental health arena, including forensic settings.

• Michael Caruso. Teaching methods, technology and teaching, aging, memory.

• Stephen D. Christman. Understanding different information-processing abilities of the cerebral hemispheres in humans by presenting visual and auditory information to each hemisphere and comparing the performance of right- and left-handers.

• Alexander M. Czopp. Prejudice and stereotypes, social cognition, attitude formation and attitude change.

• Robert K. Elliott. Evaluation of humanistic-experiential psychotherapies: emotion focused, growth oriented, and egalitarian.

• Jeanne B. Funk. Factors influencing children's preference for violent electronic games, e.g., their experiences of game playing, their attitudes toward violence, violence prevention, autistic disorders.

• Andrew L. Geers. The influence of expectations on affect, emotion, and social judgment; optimism-pessimism in social interaction; perception of ongoing behavior; psychology and law.

• Henry E. Heffner. Role of primate auditory cortex on hearing, comparative study of mammalian hearing.

• Rickye Heffner. Hearing sensitivity and sound localization in animals, how characteristics of other senses affect hearing in animals.

• Joseph D. Hovey. Mental health of acculturating individuals; anxiety, depression, and suicide risk factors; evaluation of prevention activities in the community.

• John D. Jasper. Cognitive processes involved in judgment and decision making, consumer behavior, health attitudes and beliefs.

• Gregory J. Meyer. Cognitive assessment, personality assessment, neuropsychological testing.

• Joni L. Mihura. Personality assessment, reliability and validity of the Rorschach, psychodynamic theory and therapy.

• Lisa A. Neff. Interpersonal relationships, social cognition, cognitive processes involved in close relationship maintenance and deterioration.

• Laura D. Seligman. Anxiety and depression in youth; issues of comorbidity in childhood psychopathology; cognitive-behavioral treatments for children, adolescents, and families.

• Alice Skeens. Gender research, assessment of teaching methods.

• P. Hull Smith. Infant cognitive processes, early language acquisition and conceptual development, temperament and cognition.

• Mojisola Tiamiyu (Center for Applied Psychology). Community psychology, University-community collaboration and human services.

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