Graduate
Why pursue a Ph.D. in Psychology at Notre Dame?
Housed in a state-of-the-art research facility with over 30 labs, Notre Dame's Department of Psychology offers unsurpassed training in research methods and statistics and provides graduate education in four broad areas.
No matter which area of focus you choose, you will work alongside and learn from faculty who are leading experts in their field, outstanding teachers, and caring mentors.
You will receive substantial financial support, and join a welcoming department that is deeply committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
You will gain teaching experience by serving as both teaching assistants and instructors of record; you can also receive certification in teaching excellence through the Kaneb Center.
Our Ph.D. program will prepare you to make active contributions to scholarly research and solve problems in various community, clinical, and other nonacademic settings.
Accordingly, our alumni have found career success both in the academy and in a variety of other areas, including health care, government, and private industry.
If you are admitted into our graduate program, you will receive specialized training in one of the following four areas:
Work with outstanding faculty
The faculty in each of these areas are leaders in their fields of research — they routinely publish in the top psychology journals and win grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Health, and the Institute of Education Sciences. Because of their expertise, Notre Dame Psychology faculty are regularly invited to serve as editors and associative editors of major journals and as grant reviewers for the major federal funding agencies.
As a graduate student in our department, you will typically work closely with one or two faculty mentors during your education. Before you apply, you should identify faculty members in a particular area who share similar interests as you, and you should explicitly mention those faculty in your personal statements.
Enhance your quantitative skills
Regardless of your area of specialization, you will have the opportunity to pursue the Advanced Quantitative Social Science Minor which provides advanced training in the application of psychometrics, social science data modeling, and state-of-the-art statistical and (big) data analysis techniques.
Explore disciplinary intersections
We also have close interdisciplinary relations with other departments, centers, and institutes, including the joint Ph.D. in Psychology and Computer Science, the joint Ph.D. in Psychology and Peace Studies (Kroc Institute), and the Shaw Center for Children and Families.
