SCHOOL OF SOCIAL ECOLOGY GRADUATE PROGRAMS
Graduate training in the School of Social Ecology is organized around the study of contemporary problems in the social and physical environment. Emphasis is placed primarily upon theory and research that have implications for policy and intervention. Problems are investigated from the complementary perspectives of a multidisciplinary faculty that includes specialists in social, developmental, clinical, environmental, and health psychology; urban and regional planning and architecture; urban sociology; law; criminology; and environmental health.
Among issues of long-standing interest in the School are crime and justice in society, social influences on health and human development over the life course, and the effects of the physical environment on health and human behavior. The graduate curriculum emphasizes an interdisciplinary orientation, training students to draw upon the knowledge offered by several of the traditional academic fields in order to examine important social, legal, and environmental problems from a perspective of breadth as well as depth.
The School offers M.A., M.S., M.U.R.P., and Ph.D. degree programs. Doctoral students have the opportunity to pursue an individualized course of study in the principles and methods of social ecology for the Ph.D. in Social Ecology, or a specialized course of study for the Ph.D. in Social Ecology with a concentration in Environmental Analysis and Design. Additional degree programs offered are: Ph.D. in Criminology, Law and Society; Ph.D. in Environmental Health Science and Policy; Ph.D. in Planning, Policy, and Design; and Ph.D. in Psychology and Social Behavior. Master's degree students may elect to pursue the M.A. in Social Ecology, the M.A. in Social Ecology with a concentration in Demographic and Social Analysis, the M.A.S. in Criminology, Law and Society, the M.S. in Environmental Health Science and Policy, or the Master of Urban and Regional Planning. In addition, many students in the Ph.D. programs in Criminology, Law and Society and in Psychology and Social Behavior obtain an M.A. in Social Ecology on the way to their Ph.D.
Social Ecology faculty members apply diverse methods of scientific inquiry to social and environmental problems. Evaluation research, legal research, questionnaire and survey methods, field research, naturalistic observation, and quasi-experimental techniques receive emphasis along with laboratory experimentation. Collaborative research with faculty members is an important component of graduate education in the School.
A sampling of faculty research and teaching interests includes human stress, health promotion, biobehavioral bases of health and illness, program evaluation, economic change and behavioral disorders, atypical child development, adaptive aging, end-of-life medical decision-making, violence and aggression, legal sanctions and deterrence, white-collar and organized crime, police work, transitions to parenthood, personality and psychopathology, effects of social environments on early child development, urban growth management and policies, transportation policies, poverty and homelessness, water quality and water policy, air quality, biotechnology, epidemiology, the use of scientific information in public policy formation and litigation, community approaches to HIV/AIDS prevention, the health impacts of work environments, and processes involved in environmental regulation.
ADMISSION
Students should submit their complete application file including the application form, transcripts, three letters of recommendation, and Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores by December 15 if they are applying to the Department of Psychology and Social Behavior, or by January 15 if they are applying to the Department of Criminology, Law and Society; the Department of Environmental Health, Science, and Policy; and the Department of Planning, Policy, and Design. The deadline for the M.A.S. in Criminology, Law and Society is April 9. Additional information is available from the Social Ecology Graduate Counselors; telephone (949) 824-5918.
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
Graduates enjoy a wide variety of career opportunities and have succeeded in obtaining positions in academic institutions such as Stanford University; Rutgers University; The Johns Hopkins University; Temple University; University of California, Los Angeles; University of California, San Diego; University of Colorado; University of Kansas; University of Minnesota; the University of Oregon; the University of Wisconsin; Indiana University; Carnegie-Mellon University; and the City University of New York. Other graduates have established research and administrative careers in government agencies and private firms throughout the United States and Canada, including the National Institutes of Health, the Toronto Department of Public Health, The United Cerebral Palsy Foundation, The Philadelphia Geriatric Center, The New Mexico Tumor Registry, Orange County Superior Court, Southern California Metropolitan Water District, and in marketing and research firms such as the Yankelovich Group.
M.A. IN SOCIAL ECOLOGY
At the graduate level, the emphasis in the School of Social Ecology is on the Ph.D. program, with the exception of the M.A. in Social Ecology with a concentration in Demographic and Social Analysis; the M.A.S. in Criminology, Law and Society; the M.S. in Environmental Health Science and Policy; and the Master of Urban and Regional Planning. In very rare circumstances a student may be admitted directly to the M.A. degree program in Social Ecology. Students interested in this option only must call the Social Ecology Graduate Office at (949) 824-5918 before submitting their applications.
Master's degree students are assigned a faculty advisor with whom the student discusses an individual program of education. The program leading to the M.A. degree in Social Ecology requires a thesis and satisfactory completion of seven approved courses (28 units), including the Seminar in Social Ecology (Social Ecology 200), Research Methods (Social Ecology 201), and at least one additional approved course in statistics or methodology. Other courses should be selected with regard to the student's academic and career objectives, and must be approved by the faculty advisor. The seven required courses must include at least five graduate courses and must be exclusive of any directed study, independent study, or thesis courses (Social Ecology 298, 299, or 295). A grade of B or better must be achieved in all courses. Students are advanced to candidacy for the M.A. degree, and a thesis committee is appointed, after a review of their graduate work and thesis plans by a faculty committee.
M.A. IN SOCIAL ECOLOGY WITH A CONCENTRATION IN DEMOGRAPHIC AND SOCIAL ANALYSIS
The M.A. in Social Ecology with a concentration in Demographic and Social Analysis offers training in the practical research skills needed to address analytical problems confronting society, business, government, and the nonprofit sector. The concentration emphasizes the Pacific Rim and issues defining Southern California's population, such as immigration, changing household and family structure, racial and economic inequalities, and the impact of local and regional population growth. Informed by the interdisciplinary field of demography, the program draws on faculty and courses in the Schools of Social Ecology and Social Sciences.
The concentration in Demographic and Social Analysis offers the option of additional professional certification for doctoral students already admitted to the School of Social Ecology. Admission, core course, and thesis requirements are identical to those for the general M.A. in Social Ecology. In addition, students must complete 12 units of designated electives in population issues or research methods. Up to two upper-division undergraduate courses may be approved to fulfill the elective requirement. Students interested in this concentration should call the Graduate Counseling Office at (949) 824-5924 for more information.
M.A.S. IN CRIMINOLOGY, LAW AND SOCIETY
The Master of Advanced Study (M.A.S.) in Criminology, Law and Society, the first online program of its kind in the University of California system, prepares professionals for leadership positions in the criminal justice and legal communities. The curriculum emphasizes theoretical and practical applications on topics that are central to crime and its control, social policy, and the law. In keeping with one of the main tenets of the School of Social Ecology, faculty and students approach topics from a multidisciplinary perspective.
This program is ideally suited for professionals interested or working in the criminal justice or legal fields who are seeking a graduate degree for career advancement. The program consists of 52 units of course work completed over a two-year period (six quarters) plus a one-week in-residence requirement during the first summer. In lieu of a thesis, students are required to take a capstone course in the winter quarter of the second year of study. A degree is awarded upon completion of 10 required courses, plus three elective courses. One traditional face-to-face course taken on the UCI campus, in an accelerated format (five days), is required at the beginning of a student's course of study.
M.S. IN ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCE AND POLICY
The Master of Science (M.S.) in Environmental Health Science and Policy (EHSP) trains environmental professionals for applied analytical and administrative positions in environmental businesses, government, and the nonprofit sector. In common with the doctoral program in EHSP, training focuses on the integration of natural and social science knowledge for the promotion of human health within a sustainable ecosystem. M.S. students must complete a core of five required courses: Environmental Health Science (EHS) I, II, III; Data Analysis, Part A (Social Ecology 264A); and Data Analysis, Part B (Social Ecology 264B) or Ecological Modeling (Social Ecology 252); and three electives. Students must also complete a field study of about six months in duration, resulting in a defended Master's thesis and degree completion within two to three years.
MASTER OF URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING
The Master of Urban and Regional Planning (M.U.R.P.) program trains researchers and professionals in contemporary methods of planning and policy analysis. The program is fully accredited by the national Planning Accreditation Board and has 16 core full-time faculty. Students gain familiarity with planning problems and practices through a series of courses on the growth and development of metropolitan areas, and the environmental, economic, and social challenges that modern communities face. This program views planners as mediators between the market-driven forces of metropolitan change and the environmental, economic, and social impacts of such change.
The M.U.R.P. degree program--Master of Urban and Regional Planning--requires the completion of 72 units, distributed between core and elective courses. Required courses are History of Urban Planning (U202), Theoretical Foundations of Planning (U203), Microeconomics Analysis for Urban Planning (U206), Quantitative Analysis for Planners (U214), Development Control Law and Policy or Environmental Law and Policy (U207 or U252), Analytical Methods for Planning (U215), Regional Analysis or Housing or Demographics for Planners (U223 or U246 or U275), and two quarters of Urban Planning Studio (U280A-B). Master's degree specializations include community development and social policy, economics and public policy, land use policy, environmental policy and planning, transportation policy, community health planning, and urban design and behavior. In addition, a written comprehensive examination or a professional report is required during the last quarter of residency in the program. Successful completion of the examination or professional report is required before the degree can be awarded. A thesis is not required.
Some of the specific planning issues addressed include the environmental, social, health, and economic impacts of urban and regional development; regional growth management; state and municipal fiscal policy; poverty-related concerns; urban design; the operation of housing and land markets; land-use law and regulation; transportation planning; and planning for urban development in newly industrialized countries. Students are provided not only with a rigorous foundation in the tools that public and private sector planners use, but also with the intellectual wherewithal to use them effectively in addressing these concerns.
Practical experience in community planning in the form of part-time planning internships is strongly encouraged and supported as part of a student's education. Additionally, a two-quarter Planning Studio in the second year of study links classroom learning to work on a community-based and client-based planning project. Students have access to drafting stations and computers for use in planning studies, geographic information systems (ARC-VIEW) courses, and research. Students also have full access to computer laboratories in the two Social Ecology buildings which are equipped with word processing, statistical, spreadsheet, and database programs; electronic mail, and World Wide Web browsers.
The range of employment opportunities for professional planners in the public and private sectors is expanding due to rapid metropolitan growth, rising concerns over health and environmental issues, and the continuing need for redevelopment and social services in older communities. Career paths exist in government agencies dealing with urban planning, economic development, transportation planning, regional growth management, air quality and water treatment, public utilities, health care organizations and public health agencies, and conservation organizations and agencies. Many employment possibilities also exist with private consulting firms specializing in environmental impact assessment, with residential and commercial development firms, and many engineering and architectural firms.
The doctoral programs offered by the School of Social Ecology prepare students for academic careers in research and teaching. Graduates also are well qualified for employment in private or government agencies, where they can bring advanced academic training, strong methodological and statistical skills, and special expertise to such issues as environmental health and design, urban and regional planning, criminal justice, and social policies affecting mental and physical health across the life course. The normal time for completion of the Ph.D. degree is either five or six years, depending upon the specific program.
Each incoming Ph.D. student is assigned a faculty advisor with whom the student should meet at least once every quarter to discuss an individualized program of graduate education. The following core courses are required of all Ph.D. students except those enrolled in the Environmental Health Science and Policy doctoral program and the Planning, Policy, and Design doctoral program: Seminar in Social Ecology (Social Ecology 200), Research Methods (Social Ecology 201), two approved quarters of graduate-level statistics, and one additional approved research methods course.
In addition to these five required core courses, doctoral students take additional required and elective courses, as summarized in subsequent sections that describe the individual Ph.D. programs. This additional course work is exclusive of any field study, directed study, independent study, or dissertation research courses (Social Ecology 297, 298, 299, or 296).
School faculty believe that Ph.D. students should become involved in research very early in their graduate careers. To encourage such involvement, doctoral students in Criminology, Psychology and Social Behavior, the concentration in Environmental Analysis and Design, and the Social Ecology degree are encouraged to complete a research project before advancement to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree. The method of research may include experiments, questionnaire and interview studies, systematic field observation, secondary analysis, computer simulations, legal research, and other methods. It is expected that students will begin their project during the first year in residence and will complete it during the second year.
A student may be formally advanced to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree when all requirements except the dissertation have been completed, and when the student's dissertation plan has been approved by the candidacy committee appointed by the School of Social Ecology, on behalf of the Dean of Graduate Studies and the Graduate Council. The student will appear before this committee for an oral examination. The dissertation plan will include a thorough examination of the history of the problem being proposed for investigation, its current status, the way in which the proposed research will further knowledge, a detailed specification of the proposed method of investigating the problem, and a description of the planned methods for analyzing the data collected. The normal time for advancement to candidacy is either three or four years, depending upon the program. In no case will students be allowed to advance to candidacy after the end of their fifth year of study.
Formal advancement to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree will be approved by the Dean of Graduate Studies upon recommendation by a unanimous vote of the student's candidacy committee. Alternatively, the committee may recommend a course of action to strengthen the student for advancement to candidacy at a future date. When the student is advanced to candidacy, a doctoral committee will be appointed on behalf of the Graduate Council. The doctoral committee, ordinarily consisting of three members of the faculty, will supervise the preparation and completion of the doctoral dissertation. The dissertation should be completed and accepted within one to two years, and no later than three calendar years after the student's advancement to candidacy.
All Ph.D. students who have not been advanced to candidacy will be formally evaluated by members of the Social Ecology faculty at the end of each year. At that time, the faculty may recommend that the student continue toward the Ph.D. degree, complete the M.A. degree only, or cease graduate studies in the School. Evaluation of Ph.D. students who have advanced to candidacy is the responsibility of the student's doctoral dissertation committee. Prior to the award of the Ph.D. degree, each doctoral student must serve as a Teaching Assistant under faculty supervision for at least two quarters.
Ph.D. IN SOCIAL ECOLOGY
The Ph.D. program in Social Ecology allows students to develop a tailored course of graduate study that draws upon the knowledge of several traditional academic disciplines. This is a small distinguished program intended for genuinely interdisciplinary doctoral students. The emphases of this training program are in keeping with the academic mission of the School, namely, its emphases on an ecological approach to research and policy, an interdisciplinary approach to research and community intervention, and the application of theory and research to community problem solving. Students are encouraged to integrate the diverse theoretical and methodological insights of several disciplines in order to analyze important social and environmental problems from a perspective of breadth as well as depth. In doing so, students gain familiarity with the classic and contemporary literature in social ecology and with the application of the ecological paradigm, as it has evolved in the natural and behavioral sciences. This program is ideally suited for independent students who wish to develop a unique interdepartmental program of study in consultation with faculty from several departments.
Each incoming student takes the five core courses required of most Ph.D. students, noted above, and six elective courses, chosen in consultation with the faculty advisor. The normative time for completion of the Ph.D. is five years, and the maximum time permitted is seven years. Students are encouraged to become involved in research in their first year of study by participating in the research projects of the faculty. Students complete a supervised research project before they begin work on their doctoral dissertation. Research is broadly construed to include experimental methods, questionnaire and interview studies, systematic field observation, secondary analyses, and legal analyses. This predissertation research project should be completed during the second year in residence and must be evaluated and approved by a committee of three faculty members.
Students complete the breadth requirement during their third year of study. This is accomplished through successful completion of either a written comprehensive examination or the submission of a major paper or series of papers that intensively examine specific substantive problems and bodies of research. Preferably, the perspective taken should be multidisciplinary, but a single disciplinary approach is acceptable if it is more congruent with the student's educational goals and is acceptable to the student's committee. Each student's plans for completing the breadth requirement are developed in collaboration with a committee of three Social Ecology faculty members. Students are encouraged to meet with this committee as early as possible during their graduate career and are required to do so by no later than the third quarter of their second year. Once the student's plans have been approved and implemented, the examining committee will determine whether the breadth requirement was successfully completed, and will recommend additional academic work if it is deemed necessary. The normal time for advancement to candidacy is three years. The fourth and possibly fifth years of study are devoted to developing and defending a dissertation proposal and conducting dissertation research.
Ph.D. IN SOCIAL ECOLOGY WITH A CONCENTRATION IN ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS AND DESIGN
The doctoral concentration in Environmental Analysis and Design prepares students to conduct research on questions of vital importance to professionals in environmental analysis and evaluation and on related questions on the formulation of environmental and health policy. These questions reflect an overarching concern with the effects of the natural and built environments on the health and social well-being of humans.
This doctoral concentration particularly focuses on insights from a social ecological perspective. One of the concentration's strengths is its research sequence which spans the disciplines within the Department of Environmental Health, Science, and Policy and the Department of Planning, Policy, and Design. Students typically choose the majority of their graduate classes from those two departments, although students are encouraged to take classes across the campus to improve their knowledge of related fields as well.
Students conduct analyses of sociocultural, behavioral, biological, chemical, and physical factors that influence health and well-being of humans, including public and private sector policy as well as the environment as a whole. They are also trained to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions designed to enhance the health of individuals and the community as a whole. The curriculum and diversity of faculty within the concentration afford unique opportunities for multidisciplinary research and training.
Potential employment sources for graduates include academic and research institutions; state and federal agencies; policy-making organizations; national, community, and workplace health-promotion programs; and a diverse range of consulting firms ranging from engineering to design.
Each incoming student takes the five core courses required of most Ph.D. students, noted earlier, and eight elective courses drawn from the focal areas within this concentration: Environmental Analysis, Environmental Policy, Earthquake Geology and Environmental Hazard, Social Epidemiology, Environmental Health, and Health Promotion. The elective courses cover topics such as environmental health risks, behavioral epidemiology, demography, technological hazards and change, international environmental policy, and geographical information systems. The normative time for completion of the Ph.D. is five years, and the maximum time permitted is seven years. Students are expected to become involved in research activities in their first year of graduate study. Students complete a supervised research project before they begin work on their doctoral dissertation. This predissertation research project should be completed during the second year in residence (preferably by the end of the winter quarter of the second year). The research project must be evaluated and approved by a committee of three faculty members. Students complete the breadth requirement, described earlier, during their third year of study. The normal time for advancement to candidacy is three years. The fourth and possibly fifth years of study are devoted to developing and defending a dissertation proposal and conducting dissertation research.
Ph.D. IN CRIMINOLOGY, LAW AND SOCIETY
The study of crime, institutional responses to illegal behavior, and the interaction of law and society are the foci of the doctoral program in Criminology, Law and Society. Students examine issues related to the etiology of crime, the process of changing criminal behavior, social regulation, the civil justice system, and the social and cultural context of law.
Students gain familiarity with a number of subjects including sentencing; crime rates; modes of modifying criminal behavior; police behavior; white collar and organized crime; hate crimes; behavior of courts, juries, and regulatory agencies; environmental law; immigration law; Native American justice issues; and the interaction among law, culture, and identity. In general, students are introduced to the leading classical and contemporary issues in criminology, law and society and to ways of understanding them through interdisciplinary research. The program aims to develop theoretical sophistication and to prepare the graduate student for faculty positions at major universities; and for research and administrative work in institutions in the legal system, the criminal justice system, and related organizations.
In addition to the five core courses required of most Ph.D. students, noted earlier, students take at least four required courses, Crime and Public Policy (C230), Theories of Crime, (C235), Law and Society, (C239), Legal Reasoning, (C237), and three elective courses in Criminology, Law and Society. These elective courses should be chosen in consultation with the student's faculty advisor. Students become involved in research activities from the earliest stages of their training and complete an independent, supervised research project during the second year of graduate study. Methods of research may include questionnaires and surveys, systematic field observation, computer simulation, legal analyses, and archival research. Students complete a written comprehensive examination during year three, which requires them to demonstrate mastery of major theoretical, substantive, and methodological issues in criminology, law and society. The normal time for advancement to candidacy is four years (three years for students who entered with a master's degree). The fourth and, possibly, fifth years of study are devoted to developing and defending a dissertation proposal and completing dissertation research. The normal time for completion of the Ph.D. is six years, and the maximum time permitted is seven years. (For students who entered with a master's degree the time to degree is five years, with a maximum of six years.) Opportunities for field placements in legal and criminal justice settings also are available.
Ph.D. IN ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCE AND POLICY
Human health and the integrity of the natural environment are interdependent. More now than ever, challenges in public health and the environment must be faced using knowledge both from the social and the natural sciences. The graduate program in Environmental Health Science and Policy (EHSP) is rooted in existing disciplines, but emphasizes cross-disciplinary research that is emerging from common bases that span both the social and the natural sciences. To optimize flexibility, including options for primary emphasis on laboratory and field work, the curriculum is organized around four concentrations. The concentration in Environmental Biotechnology provides training in the use of microbial, genetic, or molecular applications for environmental monitoring, environmental cleanup, and public health prevention and diagnostics of environmental hazards. The concentration in Environmental Health Science expands the conventional focus of this discipline to approach research questions in an ecological context. The concentration in Environmental Management and Policy explores the linkages between physical environmental problems and the social institutions that are both their cause and solution. The concentration in Epidemiology and Public Health embeds traditional approaches in these fields within a framework of physical, natural, and social systems.
Within each concentration, students are expected to develop interests in particular substantive problems, for example, those of the core faculty, including water quality monitoring and bioremediation, toxic metals in the environment (their characterizations, exposure levels, and health effects), international conflict and cooperation in resource management, habitat restoration and conservation biology, epidemiology of environmental cancers as well as of violence and injury-prevention. Students are prepared to become active researchers, able to assume positions in higher education, government, commerce, or the nonprofit sector--wherever environmental quality is of concern.
Students must elect one of the four EHSP concentrations within their first year. For all concentrations, students must complete a core of five required courses: Environmental Health Science (EHS) I, II, III; Data Analysis, Part A (Social Ecology 264A); and Data Analysis, Part B (Social Ecology 264B) or Ecological Modeling (Social Ecology 252). In addition, students must complete six approved electives relating to their respective concentrations. Consistent with the program's multidisciplinary nature, elective courses may be drawn not only from within the Department of Environmental Analysis and Design but (with approval) from throughout the School of Social Ecology and the campus (including, for example, the College of Medicine, Schools of Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Engineering). After the second year, students must submit a written doctoral research proposal. Advancement to doctoral candidacy is achieved upon successful defense of the proposal during an oral, comprehensive qualifying examination. In addition, doctoral students must serve a minimum of three quarters as a teaching assistant. The normal time for advancement to candidacy is three years. The normal time for completion of the Ph.D. is five years, and the maximum time permitted is seven years.
Ph.D. IN PLANNING, POLICY, AND DESIGN
The Planning, Policy, and Design doctorate program trains scholars to have national and international prominence in the analysis of social problems related to the built and natural environments. Faculty strengths span planning, policy, and design, and faculty are at the cutting edge of teaching and research that examines the interplay of these three currently distinct approaches.
There is a growing recognition that many pressing social problems require perspectives that combine an understanding of planning, policy process, and the built environment. For example, efforts to control transportation problems by building neighborhoods that encourage alternatives to the automobile require an understanding of travel behavior and human interactions with the built environment. Understanding how to reduce tobacco use requires an appreciation of how behavior is shaped by programmatic interventions, community settings and norms, and policy tools. Environmental cooperation across national borders often requires understanding of political processes, infrastructure systems, and metropolitan structure and governance in regions, such as the U.S.-Mexico border, where population is concentrated in urban settlements that span the border. And, issues of public safety are increasingly related to the design of public and private spaces, and how those spaces are used and regulated.
In all of these areas, public and private officials are increasingly working on topics that span the boundaries of several traditional academic disciplines. The PPD program is designed to give students a strong background in one of four specializations and thus to produce scholars and practitioners capable of responding to the complexity of problems facing contemporary society.
The PPD program offers four specializations--urban and community development, design-behavior research, environmental policy, and health promotion and policy. Urban and Community Development examines contemporary planning approaches to managing local, community, and regional development. Students explore the spatial dynamics of urbanization in diverse settings and how public policy can guide urban and regional growth to balance environmental and economic concerns. Design-Behavior Research investigates the inter-relationships of people and their socio-physical environments at all scales, from micro to macro, with emphasis on urban design and community-scale issues. The School of Social Ecology is an international leader in Design-Behavior research since the field's earliest developments. Environmental Policy focuses on the environment and natural resources as important policy and planning issues. A clear understanding about how politics, economics, ethics, and institutions affect planning and policy choices is the emphasis of this specialization. The School has among the largest concentrations of environmental policy faculty of any planning department in the United States. Health Promotion and Policy focuses on the interface between planning and community and individual health, examining the public welfare, psychological, and health implications of social and physical planning; and the techniques and goals of public health policy making.
The Ph.D. curriculum is composed of three parts: (1) Planning, Policy, and Design core (required of all students); (2) area cores (each student affiliates with one of four areas of specialization and is required to complete the core courses for that area); and (3) electives. All doctoral students take a total of 16 four-unit graduate courses, distributed across these three types of courses.
Required courses in the Planning, Policy, and Design core are Seminar in Social Ecology (Social Ecology 200); Research Design (Social Ecology 201); two courses in research methods/data analysis chosen from among the following: Data Analysis A (Social Ecology 264A), Data Analysis B (Social Ecology 264B), and Qualitative Research Methods: Overview (Social Ecology U209); and two courses selected in consultation with a faculty advisor that provide disciplinary/theoretical orientation.
In total, PPD students complete 84 units of study in their first two years (64 units of seminar classes, six units of Planning, Policy, and Design Seminar, six units of area seminar, and eight units of Independent Study.) Participation in a faculty-supervised research project is required during the second year of study. The third year includes preparation for, and completion of, a comprehensive examination. The normal time for advancement to candidacy is four years. Following this, dissertation proposals and research begin. The normative time for completion of the Ph.D. in Planning, Policy, and Design is six years, and the maximum time permitted is seven years.
Graduates with a doctorate degree in Planning, Policy, and Design are employed in a wide array of activities, ranging from university teaching and research, to administrative and research-oriented positions in governmental agencies, international organizations, nonprofit organizations, and private consulting practices.
Ph.D. IN PSYCHOLOGY AND SOCIAL BEHAVIOR
The Department of Psychology and Social Behavior offers a Ph.D. program in Psychology and Social Behavior. The main goal of this program is to train behavioral scientists to apply theory and methods in psychology, together with perspectives and knowledge from allied disciplines, to the analysis of human behavior and health across the life span and in diverse sociocultural contexts. This program values both basic and applied research that is relevant to the improvement of individual, community, and societal functioning. A particular emphasis is placed on the integration of knowledge from several subspecialties in psychology in order to understand the antecedents and developmental course of adaptive or maladaptive behavior, and to conduct research that has implications for social policies, programs, and interventions.
Training in this program emphasizes four core areas of psychology. The specialization in Developmental Psychology focuses on the development of individuals at various periods in the life course and the effects of the varying social and cultural contexts on cognitive, social, and health outcomes. Health Psychology focuses on identifying, evaluating, and enhancing the psychosocial and behavioral factors that promote mental and physical health, prevent disease, and optimize medical treatments. The specialization in Psychopathology and Behavioral Disorder focuses on psychological, biobehavioral, and social environmental mechanisms that influence the development, expression, and amelioration of psychopathology and behavioral disorder. Social and Personality Psychology focuses on the effects of social and personality variables on individual behavior, attitudes, perceptions, motives, and intergroup relations. In addition, several faculty are doing research in the area of psychology and law.
Students will learn to understand human behavior from a social ecological, contextual perspective. They will be exposed to the major theories in each specialization and learn various social science research methods. An important feature of the curriculum is a two-course sequence on the application of psychology research to social needs and problems, Applied Psychological Research (P209A) and Applied Psychological Research in Community Settings (P209B). In the first course, students learn about non-academic venues for their research skills and consider significant intellectual issues, including the ethics of research and practice. In the second (optional) course, students may take a supervised internship position in a non-academic setting.
All students are encouraged to become actively involved in research from the earliest stage of their training. Through close association with faculty members and participation in the faculty's research projects, students learn to conduct methodologically sophisticated research that addresses contemporary psychological and social issues. Current research teams are investigating stress, coping, and social support; biobehavioral mechanisms of cardiovascular reactivity; personality factors that increase resilience to health threats; child care and its effects on child development; transitions across the life course; the effects of divorce and custody arrangement; adaptive aging; end-of-life medical decision making; culture and adolescent psychosocial development; culture, self, and well-being; relations between cognitive and emotional development; emotion regulation; memory and eyewitness testimony; violence and anger management; the development of health behavior during childhood and adolescence; economic stress and psychopathology/behavioral disorders; and assessment of and responses to environmental and health risks.
Students take the following core courses required of most Ph.D. students in the School of Social Ecology (as noted in a previous section): Social Ecology 200, 264A-B, and an additional research methods/data analysis course. They are also required to take Research Methods in Psychology (P201), Professional Issues in Psychology (P231), Research Directions in Psychology and Social Behavior (P294A-B-C), and Applied Psychological Research (P209A). Additional courses are required for each specialization: Health Psychology (P258) and Biobehavioral Bases of Health and Illness (P273) for the Health Psychology specialization; Social Psychology (P214) and Personality (P233) for the Social and Personality Psychology specialization; Psychopathology and Behavioral Disorder (P239) and Ecological Context of Behavioral Disorder (P243) for the Psychopathology and Behavioral Disorder specialization; and, for each of these specializations, two elective courses from a specified list. The Developmental Psychology specialization requires Developmental Psychology (P220), two life-span courses, plus one additional course from approved developmental electives.
Finally, all students are required to select a minor specialization and complete one required specialization course and one elective course in this area. The minor specialization and elective courses should be chosen according to the plan that best meets the needs of the individual student, as determined in consultation with the student's faculty advisor and the departmental graduate advisor. In addition to courses offered by the Department of Psychology and Social Behavior and the School of Social Ecology, students may take courses offered by other departments in other schools such as the Departments of Cognitive Science, Anthropology, and Sociology in the School of Social Sciences and the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior in the School of Biological Sciences.
Students complete an independent, supervised research project during their second year. They take a written comprehensive examination during their third year, which requires them to demonstrate mastery of the principles of social ecology and of major theoretical, substantive, and methodological issues in the study of psychology and human behavior. The normal time for advancement to candidacy is four years. The fourth year, and possibly fifth year, is devoted to developing and defending a dissertation proposal and completing dissertation research. The normal time for completion of the Ph.D. is six years. Students must complete all requirements for the Ph.D. in Psychology and Social Behavior no later than their seventh year of study, adjusted for any approved leaves of absence that may have been taken. It is expected that most students will complete the degree requirements well in advance of this deadline.
Potential employment sites for graduates of the program include academic institutions, research organizations, government policy institutes, health care and human services settings (e.g., hospitals, schools, community agencies), and a variety of private sector employers. The Ph.D. Program in Psychology and Social Behavior specializes in the training of researchers, not in the training of clinical practitioners.
