About this document

This document represents the details of the Cognitive Psychology program at the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York. Last revised, February, 2002.

Cognitive Area Requirements

Course Requirements. Aside from Department course requirements (three distribution courses outside of the Area and the graduate statistics sequence), Cognitive Area students are required to take three of the following graduate courses:

• Categorization
• Cognitive Processes
• Higher Cognitive Processes
• Memory
• Perception
• Psycholinguistics
• Visual Attention

Cognitive Area students are strongly encouraged to take as many Area courses and seminars as feasible. The Area expects students to complete a minimum of 45 substantive credit hours of coursework. Substantive hours do not include credit received for research or teaching. Aside from Area and Department requirements, the student need not take all substantive courses in the Area or Department. The Individualized Mentoring Committee (henceforth IMC) will have oversight and discretion on all matters concerning Cognitive Area course requirements.

Research Requirements. Cognitive Area students are expected to maintain an active role in research, both independently and in collaboration with faculty and fellow graduate students. Formal research opportunities include:

1. the pre-dissertation research project,
2. research projects fulfilling the qualifying work requirement, and
3. dissertation research.

The Pre-Dissertation Research Project. The pre-dissertation research project will be supervised by the student’s mentor. The pre-dissertation research project should ideally be initiated in the first semester and completed by the end of the sixth semester.

This project should result in a manuscript of publishable quality that reports novel empirical findings. The IMC will be responsible for approving the project proposal and determining that the resulting manuscript meets the requirements of the pre-dissertation project, namely that it is of publishable quality.

Dissertation research will also be conducted under the supervision of the student’s mentor, although the mentor’s role is expected to be primarily advisory. Candidates for the Ph.D. are expected to conduct independent research for which they alone are primarily responsible.

Qualifying Work. A student is required to complete two qualifying projects or a formal written and oral examination, before he or she is admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D.

Until the qualifying work is completed, the student may not undertake the formal requirements for the doctoral degree, including formation of the dissertation committee and approval of the dissertation proposal.

Qualifying projects will be determined by the student in conjunction with his or her IMC. The two qualifying projects must focus on topics that are not directly related to the student's pre-dissertation project or planned thesis research. Students will be informed of the qualifying requirements by their IMC early in their first year in order to begin planning potential projects.

In consultation with the IMC, the student will submit brief proposals for each qualifying project, to be approved by the IMC. Each proposal must specify:

1. the project supervisor,
2. the proposed topic and nature of the project,
3. the criteria for demonstrating completion,
4. the expected benefits of the project for the student, and
5. the expected project start and completion dates

The project supervisor must be a UB faculty member (any department) and must be approved by the IMC.

With approval of the IMC, a faculty member outside the University may also serve as supervisor. The project supervisor may not be the student’s mentor and need not be a member of the IMC.

Ideally, the projects will be supervised by two different faculty to ensure breadth and exposure to a wider range of faculty. However, supervision of both projects by one faculty is acceptable if the particular needs of the student are better served.

After IMC approval, the student will append a signature form to each project proposal. The form is to be signed in duplicate by the IMC chair and the project supervisor. One copy of the project proposal with the signature form will be placed in the student's file and the other given to the student.

This form acts a contract regarding mutually agreed upon criteria for completion. The expected start and completion dates are intended to ensure that the IMC and the student have considered the feasibility of the project given the student's schedule but are not intended to be binding or to negatively impact the student if such dates are not met.

Qualifying projects may be modified or substituted at any point prior to completion, with approval of the IMC. Substantial changes are discouraged because they may impede the student’s timely progress in the program.

The following may meet the requirements for qualifying projects:

1. Publishable review paper*. This should be a substantial review modeled on the types of papers published in Psychological Bulletin, Psychological Bulletin and Review, or Psychological Review.
   
   
2. Publishable empirical paper*. This should be based on data collected in whole or in part by the student and may not be based on work related to the pre-dissertation project or the planned dissertation topic.
   
   Students entering the Ph.D. program with an M.A. may choose to submit their master’s thesis as an empirical paper in fulfillment of one qualifying project. The IMC will judge the acceptability of thesis as it would any other empirical paper.
   
   
3. Short grant proposal. Students may write (and are encouraged to submit) a proposal for an NRSA pre-doctoral fellowship. Students may also write a B-START, R03, or short NSF research proposal.
   
   
4. Co-authored book chapter or invited paper (with a faculty member other than the student’s mentor). The student must demonstrate substantial involvement in the writing of the chapter or paper.
   
   
5. Co-edited book (with a faculty member other than the student’s mentor). The student must demonstrate substantial involvement in the editing process.
   
   
6. Competence in a tool skill. To assist a student in meeting their goals in the program they may get credit for acquiring advanced skills in the service of their research, such as learning a programming language, complex methodology, analytic technique, etc. The student must propose to the IMC how he or she will demonstrate competence in the tool skill. The tool skill must involve acquiring competence in an area beyond that required for successful functioning in the student’s home laboratory. Fulfillment of the tool skill requirement may include taking an advanced methods class outside of the Department, although the IMC may request additional work that demonstrates competence.
   
   
7. Generation of a novel computer model for some empirical phenomenon. The student must submit a detailed description of:
   1. the model,
   2. the human data being modeled (which may have already been published or otherwise reported), and
   3. the outcomes of the simulation
      
      
8. Self-Designed Research. Proposal for, and execution of, a project of the student’s own design. As for all other projects, a student’s self-designed project must be approved by the IMC.

Only one qualifying project may be submitted from each of these possibilities, with the exception of those indicated by an asterisk.

Upon completion, the qualifying project will be submitted to the IMC. Each faculty member will provide a written review appropriate to the format of the project within one month of submission of the project. For example, if the project is in the form of a journal article, the review would be in the form of a manuscript review for a journal. If the project is in the form of a grant proposal, the review would be in the form of a grant proposal review. These reviews are to be provided to the student who will then revise the project and submit a final version for approval by the IMC.

The review process is intended to be beneficial and positive, affording the student the opportunity to learn from the peer review process and to improve his or her work; it is not intended to be a hindrance or degrading experience.

The IMC will have final say in the acceptability of the qualifying projects. If the student has a grievance regarding the decision of the IMC, he or she may appeal to the Cognitive Area as a whole. A Cognitive Area faculty member of the student’s choosing will be responsible for presenting the facts of the dispute to the Area. A majority vote of the Area faculty will be final. The Area may make binding recommendations to the IMC regarding the disposition and handling of the qualifying project(s) in cases of dispute.

Qualifying projects should ideally be completed by the end of the sixth semester. If both projects are not completed by the end of the eighth semester, the IMC will be required to review the student’s progress and make a recommendation about his or her standing in the Area.

Alternative to Qualifying Projects

A student may choose to substitute the two qualifying projects with a written qualifying examination and oral defense. The Area as a whole will administer the qualifying examination. The student and the Area must choose a date for the exam that falls between the end of the student’s sixth semester and beginning of the seventh.

A set of reading lists, one for each of five topic areas (at least four of which must be outside the student’s specialty), must be approved by the Area at least three months prior to the examination.

The possible topic areas are:

1. Attention,
2. Categorization,
3. Cognitive Neuroscience,
4. Comparative Cognition,
5. Higher-level Cognition,
6. Memory,
7. Perception, and
8. Psycholinguistics/Language.

The Area will be responsible for composing questions and administering and evaluating the examination and defense. The student will be required to answer six questions over a period of one week.

After the written examination, the Area will conduct an oral defense, aimed primarily, but not exclusively, at elaborating on and clarifying the student’s written answers. The student must pass both the written and oral portions of the qualifying examination.

In the event that the student does not perform satisfactorily on any portion of the exam, he or she may be requested to perform additional work (writing papers, presenting lectures, etc.) prior to passing the examination.

The student shall be granted two opportunities for successful completion of the qualifying examination and defense, with the second opportunity occurring within six months of the first.

Individualized Mentoring Committee (IMC)

The purpose of the IMC is to provide guidance and evaluation of various aspects of a student’s graduate career, including coursework, research, qualifying projects, and other Department and Area requirements. The committee shall be formed by the student, in consultation of his or her mentor, during the first semester of graduate training. Although the IMC shall serve until the student has achieved ABD status, the student has considerable discretion over the composition of the committee and may modify the IMC membership depending on his or her changing needs and interests.

The IMC will be responsible for:

1. providing guidance regarding planned coursework;
2. evaluation of progress toward completion of program requirements;
3. approval of the pre-dissertation project; and
4. approval of qualifying project(s)

Replacing Members of the IMC. Members of the IMC, including the mentor, may be replaced if:

1. a member requests to be removed or
2. the student, in consultation with at least one of the IMC faculty, requests replacement of a member.

If the mentor is replaced, the student must choose a different Area faculty member who will then assume all mentoring responsibilities, including chairmanship of the IMC. Because the IMC serves to facilitate student progress, the student should be allowed reasonable leeway in modifying the composition of the IMC as he or she sees fit.

Supervision of Coursework. The IMC will advise the student on the appropriate courses to be taken each semester. The student and the IMC are responsible for assuring that all course requirements are met and that satisfactory progress is made. The student should consult with the IMC if she or he experiences any extraordinary difficulties in completing his or her coursework.

Supervision of Research. Although the IMC will evaluate the pre-dissertation project, it is expected that the student’s primary mentor will be responsible for supervising laboratory research. Research conducted in fulfillment of a qualifying project will be evaluated by the IMC and will be directed primarily by the project supervisor. If the qualifying project supervisor is not a member of the IMC, the chair of the IMC will be responsible for communicating with the supervisor about all aspects of the project, including its suitability, the student’s progress, and final approval.

Supervision of Fulfillment of Area Requirements. The IMC will ensure that all Area requirements are completed in a timely fashion. Area deadlines may be modified only with permission of the IMC, and then only within a reasonable time frame. Modification of deadlines by the IMC should be enacted only in consultation with the Area head. The IMC should ensure that pre-dissertation and qualifying projects can be feasibly completed by the student within the available time frame. Finally, the IMC should ensure fair and equitable treatment of all Area students and should not show undue favor or lenience to any given student, unless there are extraordinary circumstances.

Meetings of the IMC. The IMC is required to meet before the beginning of the student’s third, fifth, and seventh semesters to evaluate the student’s performance and to provide feedback. The IMC need not include the student in its discussion of the student’s progress in the program, although the IMC must meet with the student to provide feedback on performance in the program and to assist the student with future plans.

The student or the mentor may request meetings of the IMC at any other time throughout the academic year. The mentor should make every reasonable effort to ensure that all committee faculty are able to attend all meetings. In the event a faculty member is unable to attend, he or she should provide relevant written comments prior to the meeting itself.

At each of the required meetings, the IMC will decide if the student is:

1. in good standing in the Area,
2. not in good standing, or
3. on probation

Decisions to designate a student as not being in good standing may be based on unsatisfactory performance or progress in coursework, research, or Area and Department requirements.

Failure to meet any of the specified deadlines requires a determination by the IMC of the student’s status in the Area. A student who is not in good standing may not receive state funding. A student who is not in good standing for more than one year may be dropped from the program. A student may not be put on probation for more than one year without a final determination by the IMC of the student’s standing in the program.

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