Program Offerings
Our Psychological Sciences graduate programs are designed for students wishing to pursue the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees and continue on to university-level teaching and research, or to work in applied settings that require these degrees. Program flexibility and unprecedented collaborative opportunities result in our students' successful post-graduate placements and continued career achievements.
Our doctoral program is unique in that our faculty, together with our graduate students, work in Research Interest Groups (RIGs) allowing for tailor-made programs based on shared research interests. This collaborative environment encourages easy mentor/student interactions which our students continue to enjoy even after graduation. Students engage in interdisciplinary coursework and participate in research opportunities through collaborative links with nearby world-renowned medical institutions in the Texas Medical Center (TMC) and NASA.
Separate from our doctoral program, we also offer two different professional Master’s degrees as described below.
Research Interest Groups (RIGs) within the doctoral program
The doctoral program has a strong research orientation, and whether or not students plan to pursue a research career, they are expected to spend a large portion of their graduate years actively engaged in research.
Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
The Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience RIG seeks an understanding of the relationship between the human brain and higher forms of behavior, including sensation, perception, attention, memory, language, social cognition, emotion, emotion regulation, and health.
Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine
The Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine RIG examines the interplay of psychological, social, biological, and behavioral factors that enhance, preserve, or threaten mental and physical well-being.
Human-Computer Interaction and Human Factors (HCI/HF)
The Human-Computer Interaction & Human Factors RIG investigates interactions among humans and other elements of a system. We are especially concerned with the interaction of humans with computer systems.
Industrial-Organizational Psychology
The Industrial-Organizational (I-O) Psychology RIG studies human behavior in organizational and work situations. Topics include motivation at work, the aging workforce, discrimination in the workplace, job performance, and team training.
Psychometrics and Quantitative Psychology
Psychological science critically depends on data that are reliable, accurate, valid, and fair. Serving this purpose, Ph.D. students in the Psychometrics and Quantitative Psychology RIG obtain specialized skills related to the substantive development; statistical modeling and analysis; and resulting interpretation of psychological measures, experiments, and interventions.
Professional Master's Programs
Master of Arts in Human-Computer Interaction and Human Factors (MHCIHF)
This 2-year full-time program will expand students’ knowledge of critical concepts and methods in psychology, and how to apply those concepts to real-world problems. Graduates of the program will be well-positioned to lead human factors and human-computer interaction efforts across a broad range of industries, including IT/telecommunications, health care, defense, e-commerce, and energy.
Visit psychology.rice.edu/MHCIHF
Master of Arts in Industrial-Organizational Psychology (MIOP)
This 2-year full-time program offers students graduate-level training in an applied area of psychology for which there is a very high demand. Students are provided with scientific and practical knowledge about the nature of the psychology of work and the workplace, the future of work, and a deep set of methodological and statistical skills. Graduates of the program will be well positioned to work in a wide variety of corporate, nonprofit, and government settings, on projects ranging from medical safety to the promotion of inclusive cultures (and prevention of harassing ones).
Visit psychology.rice.edu/MIOP