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Cognitive Psychology Graduate Program

Department of Psychological Sciences

Cognitive psychology encompasses most topics in human experimental psychology. Faculty research interests in this area include sensory processes, perception, information processing, memory, attention, judgment, thinking, problem solving and human factors. Faculty specializing in mathematical psychology, behavioral neuroscience and animal learning also participate in the cognitive graduate program.

Human factors is an interdisciplinary research area jointly operated by the Department of Psychological Sciences’ cognitive psychology program and the School of Industrial Engineering. It focuses on the systematic application of human sensory, perceptual, mental, psychomotor and other characteristics to the design of the many human-made facilities.

Program Highlights

• Graduate training in cognitive psychology consists of coursework, research and teaching experience with formal supervision provided by the student’s faculty mentor and an advisory committee.
• Students are evaluated at the end of each semester. Students may be evaluated as in good standing or not in good standing — or they may be placed in an intermediate category, in which the student technically remains in good standing but is given low priority for financial support.

Potential Careers

• University faculty member
• Human factors engineer
• Data scientist

Plan of Study

Each graduate student admitted to a degree program must file an individualized plan of study to guide their academic progress. The plan of study is an academic contract between the student, advisory committee members and the Graduate School. Students filing their plan of study should complete their plan electronically via the Plan of Study Generator on MyPurdue. More information about creating a plan of study can be found in the Department of Psychological Sciences’ graduate handbook.

Program Quick Facts

Degree Type : Doctoral

Program Length : 5 years

Location : West Lafayette, IN

Department/School : Department of Psychological Sciences

Students are expected to actively participate in research. New students typically begin research projects under the close supervision of their faculty mentor and become more independent as their graduate careers progress. Students can receive course credit for research by enrolling in individualized research courses and thesis or dissertation research courses.

First-year graduate students are required to conduct a research project under their faculty mentor’s supervision. Students must present an oral report of the project in the Cognitive Colloquium series by the end of their second semester. A written report is due prior to the start of the next academic year.

Bridge Topics

Within the cognitive psychology program, faculty also have research interests in several bridge topics, including individual differences, learning and memory, and perception and performance. Cognitive psychology faculty studying individual differences focus on the role of working memory capacity in relation to attention control, fluid intelligence and multitasking. Faculty in the program who focus on learning and memory examine comprehension and knowledge application; the relationship among attention, memory and cognitive control; and cognitive training. Further, perception and performance research investigates human factors, selection and control of action, and how different neural systems mediate linguistic meaning.

Research Opportunities

• Memory and judgment across the life span
• Human learning and memory
• Cognitive science and education
• Complex learning, comprehension and knowledge application
• Learning and cognitive strategies in children
• Metacognition and self-regulated learning
• Educational technology and computer-based learning
• Selection and control of action
• Human factors
• Human-computer interaction
• Cybersecurity
• Stephen Broomell
• Yu-Chin Chiu
• Gregory Francis
• Sebastien Hélie
• Jeffrey D. Karpicke
• David Kemmerer
• Thomas Redick
• Darryl Schneider
• Anne B. Sereno
• Brooke Macnamara

Admissions/Requirements

The graduate major in cognitive psychology is primarily focused on doctoral training. All students are required to complete a master’s thesis leading to an MS degree before continuing in the doctoral program.

Students with research experience and a strong background in science are preferred. However, lack of these qualifications should not hinder otherwise strong candidates from applying. Students with either a bachelor’s or master’s degree will be considered for admission.

“Faculty recruiting new students for Fall 2025 admission:

• Greg Francis
• Sébastien Hélie
• Jeff Karpicke

Connect with Us!

If you have questions or to learn more about this program, please contact the Department of Psychological Sciences Graduate Program Coordinator, Nancy O’Brien at [email protected] .

Nancy O’Brien Purdue University 701 Third Street West Lafayette, IN 47907

(765) 494-6067

[email protected]

Educational Psychology & Research Methodology

Welcome to Educational Psychology & Research Methodology at Purdue!

Our master’s and Ph.D. programs prepare students to be leaders in research that addresses significant educational and psychological problems. Coursework introduces the content and research methodologies for addressing these broad challenges. The content of the coursework includes motivation, cognition, learning, development, and instruction. Students specializing in Research Methodology take additional courses in psychometric theory and statistical methods in education, depending on their interests. Our internationally-recognized faculty members offer students strong, individualized mentoring and opportunities to develop your skills to design and conduct research.

We equip graduates for careers that create knowledge and improve the welfare of children, families and schools. Our graduates work as professors, education specialists, learning analysts, psychometricians, program evaluators and corporate trainers in higher education, research institutions, school systems, the testing industry, government agencies and private industry.

Degree Options

YOUR GIANT LEAP WITH ONE SMALL STEP

Our Faculty

Our award-winning Educational Psychology & Research Methodology faculty have received grants, conducted interdisciplinary research and “wrote the books” on learning and teaching. See our faculty and their research projects at the following link:

Educational Psychology & Research Methodology Faculty

• Ackerman Center
• Serious Games
• CnI Online Fac
• Curriculum Studies
• Education for Work and Community
• Elementary Education
• English Education
• English Language Learning
• Learning Design and Technology
• Literacy and Language Education
• Mathematics Education
• Science Education
• Social Studies Education
• Applied Behavior Analysis
• Counseling and Development
• Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
• Educational Psychology and Research Methodology
• Gifted Education
• Special Education

Hua Hua Chang

Brenda downing, chantal levesque-bristol, yukiko maeda, p. youli mantzicopoulos-james, helen patrick, toni kempler rogat, ala samarapungavan, david sears, anne traynor.

Educational Psychology & Research Methodology Affiliated Faculty

F. Richard Olenchak

Similar programs.

Psychology is the study of behavior and mental processes (thought) where the focus is on individuals. The word psychology comes from the Greek words “psyche” (mind) and “logos” (knowledge of). Psychology, as a recognized field of study, has only been around for a little over a hundred years, but people have had discussions of human behavior for centuries.

The Department of Psychological Sciences at Purdue is consistently among the top 50 psychology departments in the US (out of more than 300). The many professors you will have in class wear a number of different hats. They conduct and publish research that advances the field of psychology and train graduate students. They also teach more than 90% of our undergraduate classes, giving you the opportunity to learn from several of them during your time at Purdue.

With a bachelor’s degree in psychology, your career opportunities will be many and varied. You could obtain advanced training in Psychology or seek a career in affiliated fields such as clinical social work, social work, mental health counseling, marriage & family therapy, or school counseling. Another option is to enroll in a graduate program in such fields as law, medicine, or business. Your knowledge of psychology will be invaluable in all these areas. You may also choose to take a job immediately after graduation, in diverse settings such as a hospital, group home, government agency, business or industry, applying your skills in areas such as personnel selection, advertising, consumer-product research, or public opinion polling. Because you will learn about many aspects of psychology while at Purdue, you will be well-prepared for many career opportunities.

Areas of Psychology

• Mental health, various forms of mental illness, and other facets of Clinical Psychology
• Perception, attention, memory, and other facets of Cognitive Psychology
• Industrial / Organizational Psychology
• Arousal, brain functioning, and other facets of Behavioral Neuroscience
• Statistics, measurement of human characteristics, and other facets of Mathematical and Computational Cognitive Science
• Stereotyping, attitudes, relationships, social influence and other facets of Social Psychology

Faculty (website)

Contact information.

Psychological Sciences Psychological Sciences Building 703 Third Street West Lafayette, IN 47907 Phone: (765) 494-6061 Fax: (765) 496-1264

Graduate Information

For Graduate Information please see Psychological Sciences Graduate Program Information   .

• Brain and Behavioral Sciences, BS
• Psychological Sciences, BS
• Psychology Minor
• PSY 10000 - Introduction To The Science And Fields Of Psychology
• PSY 12000 - Elementary Psychology
• PSY 12300 - Beyond Mental Health: The Science Of Well-Being
• PSY 20000 - Introduction To Cognitive Psychology
• PSY 20100 - Introduction To Statistics In Psychology
• PSY 20200 - Introduction To Quantitative Topics In Psychology
• PSY 20300 - Introduction To Research Methods In Psychology
• PSY 22200 - Introduction To Behavioral Neuroscience
• PSY 23099 - Cooperative Education Seminar I
• PSY 23500 - Child Psychology
• PSY 23900 - The Psychology Of Women
• PSY 24000 - Introduction To Social Psychology
• PSY 24400 - Introduction To Human Sexuality
• PSY 27200 - Introduction To Industrial-Organizational Psychology
• PSY 29200 - Topics In Psychology
• PSY 30500 - Understanding And Analyzing Psychological Data
• PSY 30600 - Understanding And Analyzing Experiments
• PSY 31000 - Sensory And Perceptual Processes
• PSY 31100 - Human Memory
• PSY 31400 - Introduction To Learning
• PSY 32400 - Introduction Cognitive Neuroscience
• PSY 32700 - Psychology Of Helping
• PSY 33099 - Cooperative Education Seminar II
• PSY 33500 - Stereotyping And Prejudice
• PSY 33600 - Issues In Developmental Psychology
• PSY 33700 - Social Cognition
• PSY 34200 - Introduction To Psychology Of Personality
• PSY 35000 - Abnormal Psychology
• PSY 35200 - Introduction To Neuropsychology
• PSY 35400 - Close Relationships
• PSY 35600 - Social Image And Self-Identity
• PSY 36100 - Human Development I: Infancy And Childhood
• PSY 36700 - Adult Development And Aging
• PSY 37600 - Attention And Cognitive Control
• PSY 38000 - Behavior Change Methods
• PSY 39000 - Research Experience In Psychology
• PSY 39100 - Readings In Psychology
• PSY 39200 - Special Topics In Psychology
• PSY 39800 - Independent Research In Psychology
• PSY 40100 - Language And The Brain
• PSY 40300 - Psycholinguistics
• PSY 40400 - Honors Research Seminar I
• PSY 40500 - Honors Research Seminar II
• PSY 41800 - Understanding Autism
• PSY 42100 - Alcohol Use And Disorders
• PSY 42200 - Genes and Behavior
• PSY 42600 - Language Development
• PSY 42800 - Drugs And Behavior
• PSY 42900 - Hormones And Behavior
• PSY 43099 - Cooperative Education Seminar III
• PSY 43200 - Social Psychology In Film
• PSY 43400 - Neurobiology Of Disease
• PSY 43600 - Foods And Behavior
• PSY 43700 - Behavioral And Neural Systems Of Learning And Memory
• PSY 43800 - Introduction To Clinical Psychology
• PSY 44300 - Aggression And Violence
• PSY 46400 - Research Ethics In Psychological Sciences
• PSY 47300 - Selection And Performance Appraisal In Organizations
• PSY 47500 - Work Motivation And Job Satisfaction
• PSY 48400 - The Psychology Of Consciousness
• PSY 49800 - Senior Research

Relationships and Mental Health Lab

Dr. Susan C. South, Ph.D.