GRADUATE
STUDENT
MANUAL
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK,
UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO
DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
Revised August 2022
CONTENTS
Preface……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Contacts……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
PART ONE: THE MA IN PSYCHOLOGY
I. Requirements for the MA in Psychology……………………………......................................1-3
II. Graduate School Requirements for the MA……………………………………………………….....4
PART TWO: THE Ph.D. IN PSYCHOLOGY
I. Requirements for the Ph.D. in Psychology………………………………………………………....5-7
A. Residence…………………………………………………………………………………………….….………..5
B. Statistics…………………………………………………………………………………………….………….....5
C. Distribution Courses…………………………………………………………………………….…...…….5-6
D. Responsible Conduct of Research Training Requirement……………………………………...7
II. Student Evaluation Procedures………………………………………………………………………..8-10
A. Student Academic Evaluation……………………………………………………………….……..…..8-9
B. Evaluation for Financial Support…………………………………………………………………………9
C. Preliminary Requirements…………………………………………………………………….…………..10
D. Oral Defense of Thesis………………………………………………………………………….……….....10
III. Doctoral Candidates………………………………………………………………………………………...11-14
A. Admission to Candidacy………….………………………………………………………………………...11
B. Full-Time Status……………………………………………………………………………………………….11
C. The Dissertation Committee………………………………………………………………………….11-12
D. The Dissertation Proposal (DP Form)…………………………………………………………..……12
E. Dissertation Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………….….12
F. The Dissertation………………………………………………………………………………………..……..12
G. Psychology Department PT-D Form…………………………………………………………………..12
H. Clinical Internship………………………………………………………………………………………..….12
I. Distribution of Dissertation Copies………………………………………………………….….………13
J. Continuous Registration…………………………………………………………………………………….13
K. Ph.D. Checklist……………………………………………………………………………………….……..…13
L. Grade Change & Deadlines for Degree Conferral……………….…………………………....…..14
M. Deadlines for Receipt of Paperwork for Degree Conferral…………………………….……....14
N. Graduation Ceremony Policy…………………………..………………………………….…………….15
IV. Policies and Procedures…………………………….………………………………………………….…15-23
A. Assistantships……………………………………………….…………………………………………..…15-18
Proctoring………………………………………………………………………………………………....17
Failure to Proctor…………………………………………………………………………………...17-18
B. Types of Assistantships…………………………………………………………………...…………........18
Teaching Assistants…...………………………………….…………………………………………...18
Graduate Assistants…………………………………………………………………………….…...…18
Research Assistants…………………………………………………………………………………….18
C. Financial Assistance…………………………………………………………………………….……....18-19
Tuition Scholarships……………………………………….….……………………………….…..….19
New York State Residency…………………………………………………………………..……….19
Terms of Appointment………………………………………………......................................19
D. Opportunities to Teach…………………………………………………………………………...………..19
E. Registration Policies………………………………………………………………………………..…..20-23
1. Leave of Absence…………………………………………………………………………………….20
2. Readmission………………………………………………………………………………………….20
3. Time Limits………………………………………………………………………………….………..21
4. Transfer Credits……………………………………………………………………………………..21
5. Transfer between Areas……………………………………………………………..……….…..21
6. Undergraduate Courses for Graduate Credit……………………………………….…….21
7. Informal Courses…………………………………………………………………………………….21
8. Incompletes………………………………………………………………………………..………...22
9. Use of Incomplete Grades……………………………………………………………………….22
10. Dissertation and Thesis Work………………………………………………………….…..…22
11. Robert W Rice Memorial Award/Early Excellence in Research................................23
12. Grievance Procedures………………………………………………………………………….…23
13. Equity, Diversity & Inclusion………………………………...……………….….………23-24
14. Alumni Surveys……………………………………………………………………………..………24
15. University Required and Optional Trainings…………………………………………….24
PART THREE: NON-MATRICULATING STUDENTS
Admission Policy for Non-Matriculating Students……………………………………………………………...24
PART FOUR: ADVANCED CERTIFICATE IN DEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE
Admission & Requirements for Advanced Developmental Science Certificate…….………...25
PREFACE
This manual has been prepared as a guide to help students anticipate deadlines, navigate
procedures and regulations successfully, and answer questions that may arise in the course of
graduate study. It is our interpretation of policy and practice.
In addition to this Department of Psychology Graduate Student Manual, students should become
familiar with the manuals prepared by some of the areas within the department and, most
important, with the manual prepared by the Graduate School.
.........
Graduate School Policies and Procedures: A Manual for Graduate Students and Advisors
(www.grad.buffalo.edu
, Rm. 408 Capen Hall, 645-2939) includes information on
registration, grading procedures, graduate school policies (including transfer credits, time limits,
application to candidacy, informal courses, and degree conferral timetable), procedures for
master's and doctoral candidates (committee, oral defense, dissertation checklist, degree forms,
etc.), student records (change of name or address, transcripts, etc.), research involving human
participants, grievance procedures, etc.
If there are important questions regarding university or departmental regulations which have not
been covered in this manual, please let us know so that future editions can be more useful.
You MUST activate your UB e-mail account. Both the Graduate School and the Department of
Psychology will send important notices to ONLY your University e-mail account. You may
continue to use an off-campus e-mail account (e.g., Yahoo, gmail). However, if you will not be
checking your University e-mail account daily, you should have all messages from this account
automatically forwarded to your off-campus account.
Graduate Students are NOT to paint their offices. If they believe that their offices need painting,
they should notify the department chair.
ADMINISTRATION
Chair Jennifer Read, Ph.D.
Associate Chair Sandra Murray, Ph.D.
Executive Officer Rita Hamilton
Director of Graduate Studies Craig Colder, Ph.D.
Director of Undergraduate Studies Micheal Dent, Ph.D.
AREA HEADS
Behavioral Neuroscience Paul Meyer, Ph.D.
Clinical Jamie Ostrov, Ph.D.
Cognitive Eduardo Mercado, III, Ph.D.
Social Personality Mark Seery, Ph.D.
STAFF
Executive Officer Rita Hamilton
Asst. for Academics/Coordinator of Grad Studies Mary Schnepf
Coordinator of Undergraduate Studies Christa Greenberg
Director, Psychological Services Dr. Sarah Taber-Thomas
Grants Administrator Melissa Miller
Grants Administrator Laurie Wikander
Secretaries Michelle Hacker
......... Mary Wlodarczyk
- 1 -
PART ONE: THE M.A. IN PSYCHOLOGY
I. REQUIREMENTS FOR THE M.A. IN PSYCHOLOGY
Introduction
The graduate program leading to a Master's Degree in Psychology is designed to provide
an advanced background in all areas of psychology. Our goal is to give students both
broad and deep exposure to current ideas and evidence in the study of behavior. However,
the student should be aware that this is not a professional training program. Applicants
desiring professional training should apply to one of the department's doctoral programs.
Admission to the Master's program is separate from and does not constitute admission to
our doctoral program.
Advisement
M.A. students are matched to a departmental faculty member and this faculty member
will serve as the student’s advisor.
Application To Candidacy
As the M.A. program is completed, each student must file an Application to Candidacy
(ATC) prior to the expected degree conferral date. M.A students should file their ATC form
by the end of their second semester in the program. Application to Candidacy forms are
available by contacting the department’s Assistant for Academics
(mschnepf@buffalo.edu). Once the ATC is approved, students are required to apply for
graduation through their Student HUB Center. Once M.A. students have an approved
ATC on file and have applied for graduation, they will be eligible to apply for full-time
status via the Certification of Full-Time Student Status for Master’s Students Form. If full-
time status is granted, students may take less than 12.0 credit hours while keeping the
benefits of being a full-time student.
Funding
Funding for M.A. students is limited within the Psychology Department, but students may
want to consult with the university Financial Aid office regarding loans and special
programs and grants. Some M.A. students secure funding upon arrival, through
university-affiliated employment or may be eligible for funding from a sponsoring faculty
person’s research grant.
Probation
Students must have a 3.0 cumulative graduate GPA in order to maintain good standing
in the program and to be eligible for degree conferral. Any graduate student who receives
a grade of 'U,' 'F,' or 'D' in any course, who has a cumulative GPA under a 3.0, or who
indicates a lack of ability as determined by the Director of Graduate Studies and/or the
student's academic advisor, will receive an immediate academic review. Upon completion
of the academic review, the director of graduate studies may place the student on
academic probation.
Students determined to be making unsatisfactory academic progress must be placed on
academic probation. A probationary letter will be issued to the student, with a copy to the
academic advisor, indicating the conditions that must be met and outlining an
appropriate time frame in which to regain good academic standing in the graduate
program. The outcome that will result if the conditions are not met must also be included
in the probationary letter. Probationary letters will be made in writing by the director of
graduate studies or the student’s academic advisor at the end of the semester and will
indicate the terms of the probation and its removal. After the specified time frame
- 2 -
outlined in the probation letter, the student must be sent a letter removing the
probationary status, or a dismissal letter, or a second probationary letter with a new set
of conditions for regaining good academic standing.
Courses
30 credit hours:
• 1 graduate statistics courses (PSY 608 or PSY 607, 3 credits)
• One distribution course from each of our four areas (12 credits)
o Behavioral Neuroscience (513 Biological Bases of Behavior or 634
Animal Behavior)
o Clinical (618 Developmental Psychopathology, 624 Psychopathology,
625 Community Psychology)
o Cognitive (627 Perception, 639 Cognitive Processes*, 642
Psycholinguistics, 645 Cognitive Development, 728 Memory)
o Social-Personality (680 Advanced Social Psychology*, 725 Attitudes
and Social Cognition)
• Electives (15 credits)
o Only one approved course may be from outside the Department of
Psychology
o 1 credit of PSY 600 is required for the MA project/thesis. This credit
can also count towards the required electives
o No more than 6 total credits of PSY 600 can be applied towards the
30 required credit hours
o Note that MA students are not eligible to enroll in PSY 699, PSY 700
or PSY 799 without permission and cannot use PSY 700/799
towards the 30 required credit hours for the MA degree. A student
may use a combined total of 6.0 credit hours of PSY 699 and PSY
600 towards the elective requirement.
• Students must obtain
o a grade of B- or higher in statistics courses and the four distribution
courses
o at least a B average across all courses (overall GPA of 3.0 or higher)
Responsible
Conduct of
Research Training
Requirement
All M.A. students are required to document successful completion of
Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training by the end of their first
semester in the graduate program. To meet this requirement, students must
complete the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) online
Responsible Conduct of Research course with a score of 80% or higher. The
University at Buffalo has an institutional membership in the CITI online RCR
program. That online program can be accessed through the following webs
ite:
http://www.citiprogram.org.
After completing this requirement, the student must send an electronic copy
of the "Completion Report" or certification to the Assistant for Academics. You
should also keep a copy for your files for future IRB and grant submissions.
Students who fail to complete this requirement by the end of their first
semester will be placed on probation and their research activities will be
suspended.
- 3 -
Project
•
The M.A. project is a well-organized and thoroughly documented
scholarly paper with an identifiable research question. The project can
take several forms depending on the needs of the student, including but
not limited to, an original empirical study, a critical review paper, or a
paper reporting meta-analysis.
• The student must assemble an M.A. committee of at least TWO
members, composed of Department faculty of professorial rank. The
committee chairperson must also be a member of the faculty of the
Graduate School. Faculty with qualified academic rank (research,
clinical, adjunct) may be an additional member on an M.A. project
committee, but may NOT count as one of the required members.
Faculty with qualified rank may chair an M.A. project committee if she
or he is a member of the Graduate School faculty, in which case, the
committee must consist of three members, two of which hold regular
appointments in the department.
• Students should include an MA Thesis/Project Evaluation form when
they disseminate their document to their committee. Committee
members will complete the form and return to the Assistant for
Academics.
*Note that the clinical doctoral program has different requirements for the distribution
courses. See Page 6 for more details on these requirements.
- 4 -
II. GRADUATE SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS FOR THE
M.A.
If you should decide to earn the M.A. degree in the Department, either on your way to the
Ph.D. or as a terminal degree, the following points should be kept in mind:
• A minimum of 30 semester hours of formal course work with a B grade average
(3.0) beyond the Bachelor's Degree is required.
• The minimum residence requirement for the M.A. in Psychology degree is one
year (24 semester credit hours).
• All M.A. students are expected to meet the statistics and distribution
requirements.
• The student must complete either an M.A. project or thesis. An M.A. thesis is
distinguished from an M.A. project in that the thesis option requires a copy to
be electronically submitted to the graduate school and a public oral defense
attended by the major professor and M.A. committee.
• The student must file an M.A. Application to Candidacy with the department,
describing his or her project or thesis research. If a student chooses to write a
thesis, he/she MUST PUBLICALLY DEFEND THIS THESIS.
• In addition to the above, if the student has elected to call the report a "thesis",
he or she should check with the Assistant for Academics in Psychology and the
Graduate School for the appropriate filing/paperwork procedure.
• An MA Degree Conferral Form is signed by the certifying members of the
student's committee and the Director of Graduate Studies when all the
requirements have been satisfactorily met.
• Continuous registration is mandatory. Graduate students must register (and
pay all unwaived tuition and fees) for a minimum of one credit hour each fall
and spring term until all requirements for the degree are completed. Supported
students must be registered full-time or have filed an Application to Candidacy
and Certification of Full Time Status form. If such registration should be
impossible or inappropriate at any time, the student must secure a leave of
absence or withdraw from the Graduate School. Request for leaves of absence
are negotiated through the Graduate Studies Office.
• Any international student who is planning for an August 31 conferral may be
required to register during the summer. Please visit
http://www.buffalo.edu/international-student-services/immigration-visa/f-1-
student/curricular-practical-training--cpt-.html for more details.
ALL DISTRIBUTION AND STATISTICS COURSES MUST BE PASSED WITH A GRADE
OF B- OR HIGHER.
- 5 -
PART TWO: THE Ph.D. IN PSYCHOLOGY
I. REQUIREMENTS FOR THE Ph.D. IN PSYCHOLOGY
A. RESIDENCE
The minimum residence requirement for the Ph.D. degree shall be one year (24 semester
credit hours). This shall include two semesters of continuous full-time study taken under
the auspices of this institution. A student who believes he or she can complete the
substantive degree requirements in less than the recommended time may petition for
relief. *Clinical Ph.D. students should refer to the Clinical Student Handbook for
information regarding APA requirements for residency.
The policy of requiring full-time status has implications for the criteria against which
student progress is evaluated by the Department. Please refer to the section on Student
Evaluations.
B. STATISTICS
All students must complete two courses in statistical methods during their first year of
study. Normally, this requirement is fulfilled by satisfactory completion of Psychology
607 and 608, or 607 and 613 (Data Analysis), or the equivalent from another department.
The entering student should consult with his or her advisor early to assess his or her
background in statistics in order to determine the options available for the completion of
the statistics requirement. Statistics courses MUST be passed with a grade of B- or higher.
Each area must plan its course requirements so that Ph.D. students can take two
distribution courses during their first two years.
C. DISTRIBUTION COURSES
Each student must complete at least two (Clinical Psychology Ph.D. students must
complete three) psychology distribution courses (with a grade of B- or higher), chosen
from two (three for Clinical Psychology Ph.D. students) different areas outside the
student's area of specialization. None of the distribution courses are to be taken outside
the Department except in exceptional circumstances which make it impossible for the
student to complete the three courses within the Department. These three courses must
be selected from courses listed for distribution credit listed in this handbook. They must
be completed prior to the filing of the student's Application to Candidacy. In the case of
courses not appearing in the handbook, the student must petition the Graduate Studies
Committee for approval.
Student petitions for distribution credit should provide (a) an adequate course
description, (b) major readings of the course, (c) justification as to how the course
presumably strengthens the student's program of study. No tutorial course of any kind is
acceptable for distribution credit (supervised research, supervised teaching, dissertation
guidance or any other individually arranged tutorial inside or outside the Department).
No methodological courses are acceptable inside or outside the Department. Courses in
the 860 group are generally acceptable only if a Request for Approval of Graduate Course
has been filed for that course. Final disposition of petitions remains the Committee's
responsibility.
- 6 -
As of the Fall of 2022, only the following courses are approved as distribution courses for
the Ph.D. (MA distribution requirements can be found on page 2 of the manual – Ph.D.
students intent on earning the MA degree along the way should take the distribution
requirements found on page 2):
Behavioral Neuroscience
o 513 Biological Bases of Behavior*
o 629 Biopsychology of Ingestive Behavior
o 634 Animal Behavior
o 714 Central Nervous System Recovery
o 715 Behavior Genetics
o 744 Biological Rhythms in Behavior
o 749 Biopsychology of Stress
o 757 Psychoneurochemistry
o 813 Hormones and Behavior
o 814 Limbic System
o 815 Experimental Models of Psychological Disorders
Clinical
o 604 Research Methods in Clinical Psychology
o 618 Developmental Psychopathology
o 624 Psychopathology*
o 713 Psychophysiology
o 830 Psychology of Drug Addiction
Cognitive
o 627 Perception
o 639 Cognitive Processes*
o 642 Psycholinguistics
o 645 Cognitive Development*
o 728 Memory
Social - Personality
o 616 Prosocial Motivation
o 680 Advanced Social Psychology*
o 685 Social Psychophysiology
o 704 Research Methods in Social Psychology
o 725 Attitudes and Social Cognition
o 730 The Social Self
o 735 Close Relationships
*As of Fall 2019, the courses marked with an * are the only distributions accepted by the
Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program.
- 7 -
D. RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT OF RESEARCH TRAINING
REQUIREMENT
All doctoral students are required to document successful completion of Responsible
Conduct of Research (RCR) training by the end of their first semester in the graduate
program. To meet this requirement, students must complete the Collaborative
Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) online Responsible Conduct of Research course
with a score of 80% or higher. The University at Buffalo has an institutional membership
in the CITI online RCR program. That online program can be accessed through the
following website: http://www.citiprogram.org.
After completing this requirement, the student must send an electronic copy of the
"Completion Report" or certification to the Assistant for Academics
(mschnepf@buffalo.edu). You should also keep a copy for your files for future IRB and
grant submissions. Students who fail to complete this requirement by the end of their
first semester will be placed on probation and their research activities will be suspended.
- 8 -
II. STUDENT EVALUATION PROCEDURES
A. STUDENT ACADEMIC EVALUATION
Formal evaluations are currently required by the Department at three points: semester
performance evaluations, preliminary examinations, and the final oral defense of thesis
examination.
Semester Performance Evaluation
Immediately following the close of each semester, the area faculty meets to evaluate
masters’ and doctoral student performance. Attention is given to first-year students who
are not meeting requirements in a timely fashion, to students who are not completing
course work or maintaining a "B" average, and to students not meeting standards of
academic honesty or professional conduct. Recommendations for negative department
action (termination or denial of support) concerning any student may be considered and
acted upon.
Each area may make any of the following decisions about student progress.
1. The student's performance is well above adequate and he or she should be
commended.
2. The student's performance is adequate and he or she should be retained.
3. Although the student's general academic performance is adequate, it is the
considered opinion of the area that he or she should not continue in his or her
present program.
4. Although the student's overall academic performance is not failing, it is the
opinion of the area that it is marginally satisfactory and he or she should be put
on probation.
5. The student's academic progress is below that considered adequate for work
toward a Ph.D. in Psychology and he or she should be terminated.
Area Procedures
Any student for whom negative action is being recommended will be notified in sufficient
time to enable them to be represented at the Committee meeting if they wish, by
designating a faculty or student advocate. The advocate may participate as a non-voting
member of the Committee. Voting in these meetings shall be by secret ballot.
Department Procedures
A student who is recommended for termination from an Area shall no longer be a member
in good standing in the Department and shall be terminated from further work toward
the Ph.D. in psychology.
Students dropped from an Area may petition the Graduate Studies Committee for review
of their status in the Department. Students for whom negative action has been taken by
an area who so petition must be notified in sufficient time to enable them to present their
case and/or be represented at a Graduate Studies Committee meeting by a designated
faculty or student advocate who may participate as a non-voting member of the
committee. Voting in these meetings shall be by secret ballot.
Grades
Students must maintain an overall "B" average. This is a graduate school requirement.
Students who fall below this average are automatically on probation. They are not eligible
for financial support unless they maintain a "B" average. All distribution and statistics
courses must be passed with a grade of B- or higher. All PSY 600 and PSY 700 courses
receive either an “S” grade (satisfactory) or a “U” grade (unsatisfactory) and do not
contribute to the overall GPA.
- 9 -
Standards
It is recognized that our graduate students are highly selected and that in accepting a
student to the Department we undertake an obligation to help that student develop his or
her abilities to the fullest. Evaluation is undertaken not only to determine whether a
student is adequately meeting the demands of the area and the department, but also to
attempt to determine what the student needs in order to help him or her develop as a
psychologist. Therefore, no explicit definition of minimum academic standards has been
established. Rather, the department relies heavily on the judgments of its faculty in
setting standards of adequate performance. If a student questions the fairness of this
judgment, the student has ready recourse to both department and University grievance
procedures, as well as the safeguards built into the evaluation procedures described
above.
In reaching a final determination in the assessment of student performance, area
committees are guided by the following considerations:
• Each student must be making normal progress in the completion of degree
requirements. This implies satisfactory progress of approximately 18 to 24
credits per year for the first three years. Students must maintain a "B" (3.0)
grade point average.
• A grade of B or S is considered to indicate adequate performance. A grade of
B- or below is taken to indicate marginal or failing performance. In order to
receive credit towards fulfilling the statistics and distribution requirements,
courses must be passed with a letter grade of B- or higher.
In the College of Arts and Sciences, the following additional policy on S/U grading has
been in effect since December, 1973 (reconsidered and approved, March, 1976): In order
for a graduate student to receive a grade of S in lieu of a letter grade in a graduate course,
he must be doing A or B work.
B. EVALUATION FOR FINANCIAL SUPPORT
It is an Area responsibility to determine whether students’ financial support is continued.
The following guidelines are used to make this decision:
1. Students who are not making satisfactory progress will probably not be offered
financial support for the next academic year. Thus, some students who have not
made satisfactory progress may find themselves in good standing within their
areas but without departmental support.
2. Progress may be judged "unsatisfactory" or "minimally acceptable" if you are
accumulating incomplete grades and/or you are not completing degree
requirements in a timely manner, e.g. prelims. Elsewhere in this handbook, the
official requirements established by the State Education Department for minimal
accomplishments in order to receive student loans, tuition waivers, etc. are listed.
3. Students should become professionally involved with faculty in their Area. If no
members of the faculty are sufficiently well acquainted with a student to testify to
his or her professional competencies, then questions might be raised as to whether
the student is doing anything other than course work.
- 10 -
C. PRELIMINARY REQUIREMENTS
Preliminary requirements are usually completed during the student's second and third
year and are "preliminary" to the beginning of the student's doctoral research project. In
addition to an original "master's level" research project, each area has the responsibility
for the conduct of the student's prelim requirements. There are different policies and
procedures in the different areas. The student should consult with his or her area head
for details. Following the completion of the preliminary requirements, students are
notified in writing. Prelims must be completed before a student files for Ph.D. candidacy.
D. ORAL DEFENSE OF THESIS
The oral defense of thesis examination is conducted as the final step toward completion
of the student's Ph.D. degree requirements. This examination is scheduled by the
Assistant for Academics after he or she has received the Dissertation Proposal (DP)
signed by all the committee members and all prior requirements have been fulfilled.
The defense should be scheduled at least one month prior to the planned dissertation
date and defenses should be scheduled on a date that is at least one month prior to the
final graduation deadline posted by the Graduate School. Deadline dates can be found
on the Graduate School website: http://grad.buffalo.edu/succeed/graduate/requirements.html
Students must submit their dissertation to all of their committee members at least one
month prior to the defense date. Also, students must file a Permission to Defend form
with the Assistant for Academics at least two weeks prior to their scheduled defense.
Oral defense is required to be a public event. All defenses should be scheduled through
the Assistant for Academics. Remote defenses must have prior approval in writing from
the Director of Graduate Studies.
The oral examination is usually confined to the dissertation and immediately related areas
of knowledge. All interested members of the academic community are invited to the
examination. The chair of the student's dissertation committee has the responsibility for
the conduct of the examination. These exams typically last between one and two hours.
At the end of the exam, the candidate and student members of the audience leave the
room. Two possible motions may then be entertained by the student's committee: Fail
or Pass. Motions shall carry by a majority vote of the committee. These motions pertain
solely to the defense examination; the dissertation itself is not in question.
The Graduate School Multi-Purpose M Form should be presented to the dissertation
committee at the end of the oral examination for their signatures. This form must be
returned to the Office of Graduate Studies, 210 Park Hall.
- 11 -
III. DOCTORAL CANDIDATES
A. ADMISSION TO CANDIDACY
A student is formally admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree when he or she files an
Application to Candidacy and it has been approved by the Dean’s Office and the Graduate
School.
A PhD student is expected to file the Application to Candidacy after six
semesters of graduate school (three years).
Keep in mind that two weeks are required in order to obtain necessary signatures and
approval from the Director of Graduate Studies, Dean’s Office and Graduate School.
Forms for filing the Application to Candidacy are available on the graduate school website
(www.grad.buffalo.edu).
The Application to Candidacy requires a total of 72 credit hours. Programs are reviewed
by members of the Divisional Committee and Graduate School who are members of
departments other than psychology. Programs are frequently disapproved and returned.
The chief reasons for return have been lack of descriptive titles for courses and lack of
proper signatures.
A student may not register for thesis guidance until the semester that his or her
Application to Candidacy is submitted to the Divisional Committee of the Graduate
School. No student may register for thesis guidance credit (700) unless engaged in thesis
or dissertation research. A maximum of 12 hours of Psychology 700 is permitted to count
towards the 72 credits hours required for degree conferral.
Exclusive of 'S’ grades, courses submitted for candidacy in a master's or doctoral program
must average a 'B' or better. All distribution and statistics courses must be passed with a
grade of B- or higher.
B. FULL-TIME STATUS
All graduate students must be registered for a minimum of 12 credit hours during each
fall and spring semester (a minimum of 9 hours with a graduate, teaching, or research
assistantship) to be considered full-time by loan agencies, the U.S. Immigration Service,
or for tuition award purposes. Students registered for fewer than 12 credit hours can be
certified as full-time if they are registered for a minimum of 1 credit hour at UB AND have
filed an ATC and are working on their theses, dissertations or projects, preparing for a
comprehensive exam, or participating in a University-approved foreign exchange project
to the extent required by the schedule listed on the chart found on the full-time status
form.
C. THE DISSERTATION COMMITTEE
The Ph.D. Committee must be composed of four faculty members who have been
appointed to the Graduate Faculty and who hold regular professorial appointments in the
University. Three of the four faculty members MUST hold regular professorial
appointments in the Department of Psychology. "Regular" faculty does not include those
with qualified rank or visiting or part-time appointments or those with lecturer status.
Faculty with qualified academic rank (research, clinical, adjunct) may be an additional
member on a dissertation committee, but may not count as one of the required members.
Faculty with qualified rank may not chair a dissertation committee. Two of these four
must be from the student’s own area within the Department. One member of the
- 12 -
committee must be a faculty member in the department who is not a member of the
student’s own area. The fourth committee member can be from any department at the
University as long as they have Member status on the Graduate Faculty Roster. If there
is any question regarding the appropriateness of a particular faculty member, the student
should check with the Director of Graduate Studies.
D. THE DISSERTATION PROPOSAL (DP Form)
The student prepares, under the guidance of his or her major professor, a dissertation
proposal to be distributed to each of the members of his or her Ph.D. Committee.
Approval of the dissertation proposal shall be by unanimous vote of the Ph.D. Committee,
following a meeting of the whole. At the discretion of the candidate, any members of the
academic community may be invited to this meeting. The committee signifies their
approval by signing the DP form. The DP form should be returned to the Office of
Graduate Studies in Park 210.
E. DISSERTATION ABSTRACT
The maximum acceptable length for an abstract to be published in Dissertation Abstracts
International is 350 words. Authors are welcome to prepare a lengthy abstract for
inclusion in the dissertation as well as the concise summary for publication in
Dissertation Abstracts International.
F. THE DISSERTATION
The conduct of the dissertation research and supervision of the preparation of the
dissertation itself is primarily the responsibility of the Chairperson of the Ph.D.
committee. The early drafts of the dissertation are first presented to the chair of the
committee. Only when the chair's criticisms and comments have been incorporated into
the draft should it be circulated to other committee members. Prior to the preparation of
the final version of the dissertation, the student should obtain comments and approval of
all members of the committee.
G. PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT PT-D FORM
Dissertations should be in substantially final form before the oral defense is held. PRIOR
TO SCHEDULING THE ORAL DEFENSE OF THESIS, THE STUDENT SECURES
APPROVAL FROM HIS/HER COMMITTEE, WITH THE PERMISSION TO DEFEND
FORM (PT-D). THIS FORM NEEDS TO BE SUBMITTED TWO WEEKS PRIOR TO THE
SCHEDULED DEFENSE.
H. CLINICAL INTERNSHIP
Because the internship is an integral and required part of the clinical program, the formal
granting of the degree will be delayed until the student has satisfactorily completed the
internship. Students must register for at least one credit hour per semester until both
their internship and their dissertation defense have been satisfactorily completed. Ph.D.
degrees cannot be conferred prior to the end date of the internship.
- 13 -
I. DISTRIBUTION OF DISSERTATION COPIES
After the final oral examination, the candidate must make any required corrections and
submit an electronic copy to the Graduate School prior to the deadlines established by the
Graduate School for degree conferral. Guidelines for the electronic submission can be
found on the Graduate School website. Members of the student's committee also expect
to receive final copies of the thesis.
J. CONTINUOUS REGISTRATION
A graduate student must register (and pay all unwaived tuition and fees) for a minimum
of one credit hour each fall and spring term until all requirements for his or her degree
are completed. If such registration should be impossible or inappropriate at any time, the
student must secure a leave of absence or withdraw from the Graduate School. Requests
for leave of absence are negotiated through the Graduate Studies Office.
Any international student who is planning for an August 31 conferral may be required to
register during the summer. Please visit http://www.buffalo.edu/international-student-
services/immigration-visa/f-1-student/curricular-practical-training--cpt-.html for more
details.
K. PH.D. CHECKLIST
_____1. Identify a problem
_____2. Do pilot work
_____3. Locate a chair (must be a member of the Graduate Faculty)
_____4. Get together a committee (chair and three other members)
_____5. Write a proposal
_____6. Get approval at proposal meeting. File Dissertation-Proposal Form (D-P)
_____7. File ATC (Application to Candidacy) at least one semester prior to degree
conferral
_____8. Do the research
_____9. Write an acceptable draft
____10. Make corrections. The process of reviewing drafts and incorporating suggestions
may require several months with your advisor and committee members.
____11. Get each committee member’s signature on the PTD form
____12. Schedule orals two weeks prior to defense. Orals will not be scheduled until ALL
committee members have signed off on the PTD form and it is on file in 206
Park
____13. Defend your thesis.
____14. Get committee’s signature on M FORM and return to 210 Park
____15. Electronically submit your dissertation to the Graduate School
- 14 -
L. GRADE CHANGE & DEADLINES FOR DEGREE CONFERRAL
The Office of Records and Registration has been unable to properly evaluate degree
candidate credentials because of late removal of Incomplete (I) or No Report (J) grades
for courses being applied to a degree. All grades of "Incomplete" or "No Report" must be
cleared according to the following schedule:
For February Conferral
January 1
For June Conferral
May 1
For September Conferral
August 1
Those candidates not cleared by the deadline will be removed from the conferral roster
and will need to update their degree conferral date. THIS IS THE STUDENT'S
RESPONSIBILITY.
BE SURE TO CHECK DATE RESTRICTIONS FOR REMOVAL OF INCOMPLETES!
M. DEADLINES FOR RECEIPT OF PAPERWORK* FOR DEGREE
CONFERRAL
For Degree
Conferral on…
FEBRUARY 1
JUNE 1
AUGUST 31
Recommended date to
submit your ATC to
your department:
September 1
February 1
April 1
Complete ATC w/ ALL
signatures and required
attachments due in the
Graduate School:
October 1
March 1
July 1
ALL* required
materials (MFORM) are
received in the Office of
the Graduate School
by…
Friday before Spring
classes begin (due to
Psych Dept one week
prior to that)
Day after last day of
Spring exams (due to
Psych Dept one week
prior to that)
Friday before Fall
classes begin (due to
Psych Dept one week
prior to that)
BEFORE LEAVING THE UNIVERSITY, YOU MUST UPDATE YOUR ADDRESS WITH
HUB and WITH THE PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT. IF YOU ARE EXPECTING W2’s
FROM HUMAN RESOURCE SERVICES, YOU’LL ALSO NEED TO UPDATE YOUR
ADDRESS WITH HUMAN RESOURCES.
- 15 -
N. GRADUATION CEREMONY POLICY
The Graduation Commencement Ceremony for Ph.D. students takes place once per year
in mid-May. Students must register to be hooded at commencement. The registration
deadline for students in the College of Arts & Sciences is in March.
In order to walk and be hooded in the ceremony, Ph.D. students must have completed
ALL degree requirements, including successful defense of their final dissertation.
Students are permitted to register for commencement in March if they have a
dissertation defense scheduled on or before the M-form deadline. However, if the
dissertation is not successfully defended by the M-form deadline, the student must
withdraw from the commencement. They will not be permitted to participate in the
commencement ceremony.
Note that it is common for a student to have a successful oral defense of the dissertation
but with revisions required by the committee to the written document. It is permissible
to participate in commencement with revisions pending on the written dissertation
document as long as the oral was passed.
Clinical Ph.D. students who have defended their dissertation prior to the M-form
deadline but will finish their internship over the summer or in the early fall may
participate in the commencement ceremony.
IV. POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
A. ASSISTANTSHIPS - GUIDELINES
Assistantships are awarded on the basis of academic accomplishments and potential and
are intended to assist students in acquiring the skills and understanding they will need in
order to complete the requirements of their graduate degree programs. Three categories
of assistantship appointments are available, each providing specific apprentice-type
learning opportunities: research assistantships, teaching assistantships and graduate
assistantships. Graduate and teaching assistantship appointments are made by individual
departments to students, usually on a yearly basis. Research assistant awards are made
by departments and/or faculty members holding sponsored/unsponsored research
grants or contracts.
MEANINGFUL TEACHING EXPERIENCE IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF A DOCTORAL PROGRAM.
The following guidelines should be observed by both appointing units and students:
• Assistantship appointments should be made only to students who will be able
to devote their full attention to their graduate programs. Every graduate
student appointed to an assistantship must be in good standing in a degree
program and maintain a full registration (9 semester hours minimum)
concurrent with the appointment. Assistants holding jobs outside the
university must inform the department chair of that fact and of the amount of
time required by that employment.
- 16 -
• Students on assistantships must register for a minimum of 9 hours if funded.
Appropriate registration, in addition to courses, includes Psychology 799
(Applied Skills Supervision), or Psychology 600 (Independent Study).
Teaching assistants may register for Psychology 699 (Supervised Teaching).
• Assistantship duties and responsibilities normally entail approximately 20
hours per week. When a teaching assistant holds full responsibility for an
undergraduate course, the University subscribes to a one course per semester
assignment.
• Summer appointments should be at a proportional rate. Project directors with
outside support may wish to employ persons as technicians or researchers at a
different rate of compensation during the summer.
• University personnel on full or half-time appointments are not eligible to
receive assistantships or fellowships.
• During the year, a number of stipend positions are available for teaching in the
Department’s undergraduate program, or during Summer Session. The
department policy is to reward students who 1) are doing well academically in
their areas of specialization, 2) are judged to be fully qualified to teach any
particular course; 3) have completed teaching assistantships critical to the
department (e.g., large sections of 207, 250, 607-608, other large sections such
as 101 and 200 level courses); 3) have attended teaching workshops and
courses; and 4) have done departmental service. Evaluation ratings from
previously taught courses are also considered.
• Proctor and Teaching Assistant duties.
Graduate students on state-funded assistantships are expected to provide 20 hours of
service per week during the academic year, to be divided between graduate research
assistant and teaching assistant duties. These duties often cannot be precisely measured
in relation to a given period of time. It is anticipated that there will be fluctuations above
and below this general expectation.
Students on state funded assistantships must serve as teaching assistants in each of the
fall and spring semesters for each of the first three years of funding. To ensure that
teaching assistant assignments are fair, the DGS has the discretion to:
• Assign students half TAs (i.e., half the responsibility for a class)
• Assign students double TA duties in one semester instead of assigning one
course per semester
• Assign students who have had a higher than average TA load a semester free
of TA obligations (with the exception of exam proctoring)
The Department’s goal is to limit each student’s teaching assistant duties to
approximately 300 hours per year with the remainder of the student’s time preserved for
graduate research assistant duties. The DGS conducts occasional surveys of graduate
students and faculty regarding expected and actual hours of teaching assistant duties in
order to ensure that assignments are fair. Volunteering to teach a class or teaching a class
as part of an area requirement DOES NOT relieve you from Department TA obligations.
Moreover, any additional teaching you are doing will NOT be considered when TA
assignments are made.
- 17 -
In completing TA preference sheets each semester, all students supported on state lines
are required to indicate all sections of PSY 207 (Psychological Statistics) that they are
available to TA (in addition to noting which other classes they are available to TA). To be
waived from the 207 requirement, students must be able to document course conflicts
with all possible sections of PSY 207. Only courses that are required for a student’s degree
program will be considered in this capacity. The DGS will do his/her best to accommodate
student preferences in assigning TAs, but students should be aware that the DGS has the
discretion to assign students to TA non-preferred classes should that be necessary.
Students who are on state funding during their fourth year or later will serve as the
Instructor for one course (one semester). Continuation of state-funded assistantships is
contingent upon satisfactory job performance, as well as satisfactory academic progress
towards the degree.
Proctoring
ALL students on state funding should expect to proctor up to six (6) exams per semester
and two (2) final exams each semester (in addition to proctoring for a courses to which
they have been assigned as a teaching assistant). Students must be available to proctor
during the final examination periods (or make arrangements for other students to serve
in their place).
Failure to Proctor
Graduate Students who do not honor their commitment to assist with proctoring force
the administration of an examination under conditions that can be conducive to cheating.
This undermines the efforts of instructors to administer exams that are fair to all students,
especially those who have studied hard in preparation for the exam, and it undermines
the real and perceived integrity of the department’s teaching, of course grades, of degrees
that are granted, and of the University.
The following procedures will be followed when a graduate student fails to fulfill his or
her obligation to proctor for semester or final examinations. In order to ensure fairness
in these procedures, it is essential that all course instructors and all fellow proctors report
all instances in which graduate students fail to fulfill their proctoring obligations.
(1) For an explained, unavoidable absence without providing a replacement (e.g., being in
a car accident en route), the student should sign up for one (1) additional proctoring
assignment (if possible, taking the place of another student).
(2) For an unjustified late arrival or failure to show up or send a replacement (e.g.,
oversleeping; not allowing enough time to find a parking space; just forgetting):
First offense: The student should sign up for three (3) additional proctoring
assignments (if possible, taking the place of three other students); and the student’s
advisor and Area Head should be notified, with a copy for the student’s department file;
and there should be periodic notification to department faculty of graduate students who
are both reliable and unreliable.
Second offense: The student should be excluded from department teaching
opportunities for three semesters (for example, spring, summer, fall); and the student’s
advisor and Area Head should be notified, with a copy for the student’s department file;
and there should be periodic notification to department faculty of graduate students who
are both reliable and unreliable.
- 18 -
Third offense: The student should become ineligible for department
assistantship support for the following semester. If the student is in the last semester of
support, then this support should be terminated immediately (through withholding of the
next and all subsequent paychecks); and the student’s advisor and Area Head should be
notified, with a copy for the student’s department file; and there should be periodic
notification to department faculty of graduate students who are both reliable and
unreliable. The first, second, and third offenses for unjustified late arrival or failure to
show up or send a replacement proctor are cumulative over all years of department
assistantship support.
B. TYPES OF ASSISTANTSHIPS
1. Teaching Assistants
Students appointed as teaching assistants must be competent in the subject matter of the
courses they teach and must be competent teachers. Teaching assistants are assigned
teaching duties in courses or sections which are regularly offered by the university and for
which there is reported student registration. The assigned teaching responsibilities may
be as second instructor for a class, laboratory or recitation section. Duties may include
lecturing, conducting laboratory or recitation sessions, grading papers or laboratory
notebooks, etc., under the supervision of an experienced teacher. Experienced teaching
assistants may have essentially full responsibility for a course or section, including the
submission of final grades. All students who are not native English language speakers are
required to take and pass the SPEAK test. The Intensive English Language Institute
(IELI) gives this test just before each semester begins. Non-native English speaking
students must pass the SPEAK test by the end of their second semester to
ensure continued funding on a state line.
2. Graduate Assistants
This title is a non-instructional one, and persons appointed to such a position may be
assigned duties in support of the department's or an individual faculty member's research
activities. These duties would ordinarily include assignments connected with research
activities of the department, faculty member, or the students. Students are expected to
devote at least 20 hours per week to this assignment. Where research duties are light,
students will be expected to pick up a TA assignment each semester to fulfill their
assistantship.
3. Research Assistants
This title is used only for graduate student appointments where the appointment is
funded from resources other than state funding. It is a non-instructional appointment.
Research assistants may be assigned duties appropriate to the purposes and activities of
the library, laboratory, or field study for which support has been awarded. For research
assistants on grant support, the responsibilities are determined by the project director
but the assigned duties should not exceed a prorated (by stipend) fraction or multiple of
the teaching assistant workload.
C. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
Reference materials on financial aid are available at the Graduate School Office in 402
Capen Hall and on the Graduate School website. Additional fellowship information can
be found online at buffalo.edu/fellowships. Students should avail themselves of this
material. All students are encouraged to compete for whatever local and national
scholarships they may be qualified to receive.
- 19 -
Tuition Scholarships
Students who are currently employed at UB as Teaching, Graduate, or Research
Assistants normally receive tuition scholarships. In order to receive a tuition scholarship,
students must be registered for a minimum of 9 credit hours during each fall and spring
semester or have full time status (see sections on Application to Candidacy and Full Time
Status). Students enrolled in a doctoral program are eligible to receive tuition scholarship
support for a maximum of eight semesters. Students may not receive tuition scholarship
support in excess of the total of 72 hours required for a Ph.D. program. (Students may
petition the Graduate School for extension of the time and credit hour limits. However,
if approved, such an extension will provide only one credit of tuition support). Transfer
credits that are applied to a student’s degree program will be deducted from the credit
hour limit.
Tuition scholarship forms must be filed prior to the start of the Fall semester for academic
year appointments and prior to the start of the Spring semester if the appointment is for
Spring only. Tuition scholarship forms will be distributed to the students receiving
scholarships from the Psychology Graduate Studies Office.
In practice, students who are employed as Teaching, Graduate, or Research Assistants
and are awarded tuition scholarships can apply these towards the 72 hours required for
the Ph.D. program by enrolling for 9 credits each semester.
The Department of Psychology is NOT always able to provide TA, GA, or RA funding for
all advanced students.
New York State Residency - Students who are receiving support must apply for NYS
residency after their first semester if not already a NYS resident. Students who do not
apply for residency by December 1
st
of their first year in the program will be required to
pay the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition until residency is established.
Begin to gather the necessary data, application, rent receipts, utility receipts, NYS driver's
license ASAP (during your first semester at UB). Residency applications are available in
the Financial Aid Office in 232 Capen Hall and online at
http://studentaccounts.buffalo.edu/policies/residency.php.
Terms of Appointment - GA’s and TA’s are formally appointed to a nine-month term,
though some students are paid over a period of ten or twelve months and are expected to
be available to the department for the entire appointment period (including final exam
weeks). Assistants are entitled to all academic vacations. The State Education
Department has implemented new standards of satisfactory academic progress for the
purpose of determining eligibility for state student aid regarding incompletes.
D. OPPORTUNITIES TO TEACH
Opportunities exist each term for graduate students to gain teaching experience by
volunteering to organize and teach a standard section of a 100-300 level Psychology
course or a Psychology 400 level Topics course. Typically, Topics courses are classes
designed to cover specific topics which may not be of sufficient scope or general interest
to justify a regular course. However, these courses may develop later into more
permanent courses if they have backing from a permanent faculty member. Courses
developed in the past several years included Psychology of Emotion, Mental Health
Perspectives, History and Psychology of the Holocaust, Psychology and Society, Etiology
and Treatment of Emotional Disease, Psychology of Religion, and Psychology of Social
Class. Proposals for Topics in Psychology are reviewed by the Undergraduate Studies
Committee. In order to meet University deadlines for course scheduling, it is necessary
to have such proposals reviewed by November in order for courses to be taught the
following fall, and by April in order for courses to be taught the following January.
- 20 -
E. REGISTRATION POLICIES
Students who have not pre-registered may initially register within the first few days of
each semester. WARNING!! Late registration fees are strictly enforced. There is a cutoff
date for registration each semester. If you don't register by that date, you are no longer a
student in the University. The deadlines are strictly enforced. IT IS EACH STUDENT'S
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY TO REGISTER, ON TIME, WHETHER OR NOT HE OR
SHE IS IN BUFFALO. Detailed information on registration procedures, including leaves
of absence and full-time student status, available online from the Registrar’s Office
(http://registrar.buffalo.edu).
A STUDENT MUST BE REGISTERED IN THE SEMESTER THEY ARE SCHEDULED TO
RECEIVE THEIR DEGREE CONFERRAL.
1. Leaves of Absence
Students are required to maintain continuous registration during their course of study
(with the exception of summer). If for some reason it is not possible to maintain this
enrollment, the student must secure in advance a leave of absence or withdraw from the
Graduate School. The student is also responsible for canceling his or her courses if
currently registered.
A leave of absence is appropriate only under conditions in which the student is
temporarily unable to continue his or her studies for reasons of poor health, financial
exigency, or absences from the vicinity of the University unrelated to the student's
academic program. A leave of absence is inappropriate if the student will in any way be
utilizing the time of his or her professors or other resources of the University.
Requests for leaves of absence are negotiated through the Director of Graduate Studies
and must receive prior approval in writing by the area head upon receipt of a written
request from the student stating his or her reason for requiring a leave. Petition forms
are available online from the Graduate School website. These leaves will be approved by
the Divisional Committee of the Graduate School. Students who are not in good academic
standing are normally not eligible for leaves of absence.
A student on leave is required to indicate his or her intention of applying for an extension
of that leave or returning as an active student by March 15 of the calendar year in which
the leave expires. Normally the Divisional Committee will approve no more than two
petitions for leave of absence. The maximum time limit on a leave is normally one year.
The student who fails to obtain a leave of absence or whose leave extends beyond the
approved period must reapply for admission to the department in order to activate his or
her status as a degree candidate.
2. Readmission
All applications for readmission to graduate study in the department are handled by the
Graduate Studies Committee. Part of the procedure is a consideration of the
recommendation of the appropriate area.
- 21 -
3. Time Limits
The Graduate School and the College of Arts and Sciences require that all graduate work
credited toward the doctorate must be completed within seven years (official leaves of
absence excluded) from first registration date. Students who are unable to complete a
program within these time limits must petition the Graduate School for an extension of
time limits using an Extension of Time Limit for Degree Completion form which is
available on the Graduate School website. Such petitions must provide evidence of
progress toward the degree and receive prior Area approval.
4. Transfer Credits
Transfer credits for the doctoral degree may not constitute more than one-half the total
credits beyond the baccalaureate level. Transfer credits to be applied to area requirements
are evaluated by the area head. All other transfer credits are evaluated by the DGS often
in consultation with other relevant faculty members. Only those graduate courses
completed with grades of 'B' or better are eligible for consideration as transferable credit.
ALL REQUESTS FOR TRANSFER CREDIT MUST BE MADE DURING THE STUDENT’S
FIRST SEMESTER IN THE PROGRAM PER GRADUATE SCHOOL POLICY.
5. Transfer between Areas
Students who want to transfer to a new area in the Department are required to apply and
be accepted to the new area program. First year students who wish to apply to a new area
program must wait until after their first semester's work is completed before submitting
an application. The student should notify the Director of Graduate Studies in writing of
intent to apply to a new program. In practice, students seldom transfer between areas.
6. Undergraduate Courses for Graduate Credit
Undergraduate courses may be taken by graduate students as appropriate prerequisites
to their chosen field of study, but may not carry graduate credit. Exceptions are possible
on approval by the Graduate Dean. In order to obtain approval, the student must file a
petition which includes:
a. Justification for taking an undergraduate course for graduate credit; for example,
demonstration that the required material is important to the student's program and
not offered in a graduate course.
b. Signature of course instructor over a brief description of the nature and extent of the
extra work to be assigned graduate students in order for them to receive graduate
credit.
c. Signature of the department chairperson or director of graduate studies. The petition
must be approved before the course is started, so that a lead time of several months is
advisable. A student may file a maximum of two (2) petitions of this nature.
7. Informal Courses
Informal courses include projects, theses, dissertations, directed research, directed
readings, and independent studies. For informal courses other than a thesis, dissertation,
or project in which there is no description in the Graduate Bulletin (600, 699, 700, 799,
860 and higher) a statement of the proposed semester's activities, references or reading
lists, and its relevance to the student's educational goals and degree programs must be
filed with the student's records and accompany the statement of program forms. It is the
responsibility of the students, the instructors, and the advisors, in that order, to see that
the statements are filed at the appropriate time. The number of contact hours for the
semester (on informal course description forms) should be the number of credit hours
times 15.
- 22 -
8. Incompletes
Although the department has no formal policy regarding incompletes, the expectation is
that each student will complete 18-24 semester hours each year to maintain full-time
status. Students should be aware that failure to do this will prejudice their standing in
their area's semester student evaluation and thus may give them low priority in
consideration for future financial support. Students should study carefully the policy of
the Graduate School which governs incompletes.
9. Use of Incomplete Grades
• A grade of "Incomplete" (I) may be given only in those instances in which the student
has not been able to complete all of the assigned projects and/or examinations in a
course due to illness or other unforeseeable and compelling circumstances.
"Incompletes" are not available to students who have not satisfactorily completed
the other academic requirements of the course. "Incomplete" should not be used for
dissertation guidance, theses or projects in which continuous registration is
required by the University.
• If an "I" is given, a letter grade must be assigned after no more than two additional
semesters plus the intervening summer as established by the academic calendar. If
the course requirements are not completed by that date, the "incomplete" will
automatically be changed to an "Unsatisfactory" (U) grade.
• Individual instructors may set their own conditions for removing "Incompletes" as
long as the time limit is not longer than the time limit is specified in Section B above.
Furthermore, each instructor must clearly state his or her policy with respect to
"Incompletes" so that all students in the class are fully aware of that policy.
• If there is a valid reason for waiving the deadline for removing an "Incomplete"
grade, the student may petition the appropriate Divisional Committee prior to the
deadline. The petition should include:
o Reason the grade cannot be removed within the specified time period.
o Permission of the instructor who originally gave the "Incomplete" and of the
chair of the instructing department.
• Once an "Incomplete" is changed to a grade, the course, if offered again, may be
repeated for credit.
10. Dissertation and Thesis Work
"Satisfactory" (S) or "Unsatisfactory" (U) or letter grades should be assigned each
semester for dissertation and thesis work, since these grades do not imply approval of the
dissertation or thesis itself. Many departments use the term "Research" for work being
performed by students who are at the dissertation stage, and such work is normally
graded on an "S" or "U" basis each semester.
- 23 -
11. Robert W. Rice Memorial Award for Early Excellence in Research
The purpose of the Robert W. Rice Memorial Award is to recognize the high quality of our
students and to memorialize the substantial contributions of Dr. Rice, who was a member
of the Department of Psychology from 1975 to 1991, to psychology and to graduate
education. Recipients of the award will have their names inscribed on a plaque displayed
in the department office and will receive a monetary award as well.
All students in their first four years are encouraged to consider applying for this award.
To be eligible, a student must complete a project and submit it for publication in a timely
manner. The material submitted for consideration for the Robert W. Rice Memorial
Award should meet the following criteria:
(1) Must be an empirical research paper based on research completed before the
beginning of the fourth year of graduate study and submitted for publication with
the graduate student as senior author by the first semester of the student’s fourth
year.
(2) Paper must be submitted for consideration no later than the spring of the fourth
year of graduate school.
(3) Submission should include the journal-length manuscript (30 pages or less) and a
letter of support from either the faculty mentor or the Area Head commenting on
both the project submitted and the general research competence of the student.
(4) Each area group should have a subcommittee for selecting finalists for review by
the Memorial Award Committee.
12. Grievance Procedures
Grievance Procedures are outlined in the Graduate School Policies and Procedures
Manual www.grad.buffalo.edu.
13. Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
The Psychology Department follows the policies and guidelines as established by the
Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). EDI manages and assists with UB policies
on discrimination, harassment, reasonable accommodation, religious accommodation
and expression, recruitment, recruitment exceptions, web accessibility, child protection,
sexual violence response policy, and the student preferred name policy. More information
can be found on EDI’s website: http://www.buffalo.edu/equity.html
The University at Buffalo is committed to ensuring equal employment, educational
opportunity, and equal access to services, programs, and activities without regard to an
individual's race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, gender, pregnancy,
gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, predisposing genetic
characteristics, marital status, familial status, veteran status, military status, domestic
violence victim status, or criminal conviction status. Employees, students, applicants or
other members of the University community (including but not limited to vendors,
visitors, and guests) may not be subjected to harassment that is prohibited by law or
treated adversely based upon a protected characteristic.
The University’s policy is in accordance with federal and state laws and regulations
prohibiting discrimination and harassment. These laws include the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title IX of the
Education Amendments of 1972, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as Amended by
- 24 -
the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, and the New York State Human Rights
Law. These laws prohibit discrimination and harassment, including sexual harassment
and sexual violence.
Inquiries regarding the application of Title IX and other laws, regulations and policies
prohibiting discrimination may be directed to the Director of the Office of Equity,
Diversity and Inclusion and Title IX/ ADA Coordinator, 406 Capen Hall, Buffalo, New
York 14260; Tel. (716) 645-2266; email diversity@buffalo.edu. Inquiries may also be
directed to the United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, 32 Old
Slip 26th Floor, New York, NY 10005-2500; Tel. (646) 428-3900; Email
14. Alumni Surveys
Right before degree conferral, students are expected to fill out an exit survey which will
be emailed to them by the department. After graduation, alumni can expect to be
contacted on a yearly basis in order to complete surveys from the department. The
department uses these surveys mainly for accreditation and report purposes. It is the
graduate’s professional obligation to complete any such surveys from the department.
15. University Required and Optional Trainings
UB requires mandatory yearly training in both Sexual Harassment Prevention and
Workplace Violence Prevention. These required trainings can be found here:
http://www.buffalo.edu/administrative-services/training/training-catalog.html under
the “compliance - required for job” heading. Other trainings are also available at this URL,
including communication, computing, university orientation, safety, and wellness are
also available to students.
PART THREE: NON-MATRICULATING STUDENTS
ADMISSION POLICY FOR NON-MATRICULATING STUDENTS
Non-matriculating students who wish to take graduate courses in the Department of
Psychology MUST:
∗ Apply Online
∗ Have documented evidence of a GPA of 3.0 or greater
∗ Have documented evidence of combined Verbal and Quantitative GRE scores
above the 50
th
percentile
∗ Obtain written permission of the instructor. (E-mail from the instructor to the
Director of Graduate Studies is sufficient)
The Instructor may submit a written request to the Director of Graduate Studies for
waiver of the GPA and GRE requirements. This request must provide an explicit rationale
for the waiver. If compelling reasons are not provided for waiving the departmental
requirements, the Director of Graduate Studies may deny the request.
- 25 -
PART FOUR:
ADVANCED CERTIFICATE IN DEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE
Introduction
The Advanced Certificate in Developmental Science allows graduate students in
psychology to study developmental science theory, methods and application. This
certificate is designed to enhance the formal training opportunities of graduate students
in psychology so that they are able to effectively contribute to knowledge generation and
knowledge transfer within the developmental science field.
Admission
Students may apply to the certificate program after matriculation into one of the
Department of Psychology's graduate degree programs (Behavioral Neuroscience,
Clinical, Cognitive or Social-Personality PhD programs, or MA in General Psychology
program). The admissions requirement is good academic standing in one of these
graduate programs.
Requirements
Students are required to complete 16 credit hours of certificate coursework:
• 3 credits: PSY 617: Advanced Developmental Psychology
• 3 credits: PSY 644: Developmental Science Seminar (1 credit seminar
taken over the course of 3 semesters)
• 9 credits of electives selected from the following:
o PSY 611: History and Systems of Psychology (3 credits)
o PSY 614: Structural Equation Modeling (3 credits) or PSY 609:
Multivariate Statistics (3 credits)
o PSY 618: Developmental Psychopathology (3 credits)
o PSY 645: Cognitive Development (3 credits)
o PSY 747: Language Development (3 credits)
o *PSY 600: Graduate Work (1-3 credits)
• 1 credit course: PSY 600: Graduate Work for a developmentally
informed research paper, review article or project (such as a conference
presentation) based on a lab experience.
Research Paper/Article/Project Requirement: The research
paper/article/project would need to be related to developmental science. A doctoral
project or an MA thesis could meet this paper/article/project requirement pending
approval of two faculty affiliated with the advanced certificate program (one of
whom will be the research mentor/supervisor).
*This is an independent study option. Students must work in a lab related to
developmental science for this course to fulfill an elective option.
MANUALWEB.PSY
8/2022
