Social-Personality Psychology PhD Program

Sandra Murray, Ph.D.
Social Area Head

Course Descriptions

Program Highlights

  • A strong, productive, and collegial group of researchers
  • Leading research in fundamental areas of social psychology, including:
    • Close Relationships
    • Self-concept and self-esteem
    • Personal and social identity
    • Social inference
    • Motivated cognition
    • Stereotyping and prejudice
  • Exceptionally strong research emphasis
    • Students are encouraged to work with one or more faculty members
    • Students involved in research from first semester on
  • Excellent laboratory facilities
    • Large research participant pool
    • Social interaction laboratories
    • Computer assisted data collection laboratories
    • State of the art audiovisual recording systems

Program Faculty

Faculty who may be accepting graduate students for the upcoming academic year are indicated by an asterisk (*).

  • *Shira Gabriel (Ph.D., Northwestern University): Social self, attachment style and social comparison, need to belong.
  • *Sandra Murray (Ph.D., University of Waterloo): Close relationships; self-esteem; and motivated cognition.
  • Lora Park (Ph.D., University of Michigan): The self, self-esteem, contingencies of self-worth, motivation, interpersonal processes. .
  • *Michael Poulin (Ph.D., University of California, Irvine): Prosocial motivation; meaning; physical and psychological adjustment to stress and trauma.
  • *Mark Seery (Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara): Stress and coping, the self, motivation, psychophysiology.

An Overview of the Program

Apply Online

*Please note: Applications for both the Masters and the Ph.D. programs for Fall 2010 will be available online on August 1, 2009. The final deadline for Fall 2010 Ph.D. applications will be December 1, 2009.