Admissions Criteria

Stage 1 – Written application

Candidates need to provide with their application:

1. An accredited Bachelors degree*
2. An accredited Masters degree*
3. Initial Research Proposal (Information on how to prepare the proposal available below)
4. Statement of Purpose: Applicants are required to submit a comprehensive letter outlining their academic and individual competencies and state why they believe they are suitable for admission to the Program. The statement should not be more than one page long (Times New Roman 12, single spaced)
5. Letters of Recommendation: Applicants must obtain two recommendation letters from individuals who have known the applicant in an educational and/or professional environment. At least one of the recommendation letters must be from an academic institution where the applicant has studied previously.
6. English Language Proficiency: TOEFL (paper based test 600, computer based test 250, internet based test 100) or IELTS 6.5. For students who graduated from an English speaking University, English language is not a requirement.
7. Application form: Applicants must submit an application form for admission and enrolment to the program. The application form requests general information about the applicant, their qualifications, relevant experience.

*At least one of the previous degrees (Bachelors or Masters) must be in Psychology.

Deadlines: 30th May for Fall Semester start 30th November for Spring Semester start

Applications submitted after the deadline (late) will not be assessed and only be considered at the next deadline

Criteria of assessment include:

1. Minimum Entry requirements
2. Quality of the research proposal (more detailed information is available on the “Regulations for application proposal” document).
3. Quality and appropriateness of the recommendation letters
4. Fit of the proposed project with current supervisor research areas (note that applications that fall outside the areas of expertise of the supervisory team will not be considered)

Stage 2 – Interview

The Department Postgraduate Programs Committee (DPPC) and the Director of Doctoral Programs will assess all written applications and invite for an oral interview only those applicants who pass the first stage of assessment. The interview will assess the candidate’s abilities in critical thinking, scientific communication, fit of the proposed project with the department’s lines of research and supervisory match and availability. If the candidate is successful at interview level, an invitation letter to join the program will be sent within two weeks of the interview date.

Interview dates*:

2nd and 3rd week of January (for Spring Semester start)

1st and 2nd Week of July (for Fall Semester start)

*these are only provisional timings. These can be changed depending on staff’s availability at the time.

Regulations for application proposal

Purpose

The proposal provides the School and potential research supervisors with a clear indication of the topic in which the applicant is interested. It also gives an indication of the student’s ability to identify and develop an interesting research question. Most potential supervisors will consider research proposals as preliminary indicators of the applicant’s area of interest and will not necessarily assume that the proposal defines exactly the research that the student will undertake. The proposal should be linked to a specific potential supervisor research area (note that applications that fall outside the areas of expertise of the supervisory team will not be considered)

Word length

We recommend that the proposal is between 2000 and 3000 words. The candidate needs to provide a word count at the beginning of the proposal. The word count should include all text and tables used in the proposal (references are not part of the word count). PROPOSALS WITH MORE THAN 3000 WORDS WILL NOT BE EVALUATED!

Structure

The proposal should be structured using the following headers and content.

1. Abstract (maximum 250 words)

This should give a summary of the project and should be structured with the following sections:

• Objectives
• Methods
• Potential Contribution of the project

2. Background and rationale (maximum 1500 words)

This section should outline the subject of research in terms of both theoretical issues and relevant empirical applications. This section provides a justification to the project based on theory and previous literature. The applicant should also demonstrate familiarity with the major lines of argument which have been developed in the area and demonstrate an understanding of the ideas and findings of key studies on the topic using the most relevant and up-to-date sources. This background section should:

• Outline the general background to the research (key concepts and their theoretical underpinnings)
• Identify a particular gap in the literature and/or a novel approach to the understanding of the specified field of research (merely saying that you are repeating a previous study/ies on a local population is not enough)
• Provide research questions and hypotheses that you have identified.

3. Methods and plan of analysis (maximum 1000 words).

This section should indicate the methods used within the study, including the sample, recruitment, procedure, design and method of analysis. If your proposed research involves empirical work, you should provide an indication of the form and location of that empirical work and where and how you might collect relevant data. You should also give consideration to the feasibility of collecting the data (Do not expect the University to provide access to your population of Choice). An estimate of sample size and power should be provided (please use GPower for your calculations if using a quantitative approach – http://www.gpower.hhu.de/ ). Ensure that the research question and methods match. The method section should:

• Indicate the methodological strategy or philosophy you intend to follow.
• Identify the main features of your sample (Participants inclusion and exclusion criteria)
• Describe the sampling strategy and how you will recruit participants
• Identify, define and how you are going to measure the major constructs (variables) in your study/studies. Provide information regarding the psychometric properties of any quantitative measure being used.

4. Statement of contribution to research and practice (maximum 250 words).

This section should summarise the potential impact of the proposed research. Although no indication of the research findings can be presented, it is beneficial to demonstrate how you envisage your research to contribute to debates and discussions within the area, make a contribution to the existing work and extend understanding.

5. References

Finally, you should provide references for the research proposal. These are not counted for the word count.

The proposals will only be accepted if written in English (UK). Candidates are required to pay particular attention to tone (an academic tone and writing in the passive voice are essential) and grammar (grammar and spelling mistakes will be taken into consideration when making a decision regarding the proposal). All proposals are assessed by the Departmental Doctoral Programs Committee and when appropriate by another member of staff with extensive expertise in the research area of the proposal.

Submission of a proposal does not automatically guarantee invitation for Interview.

Αssessment comprises of the examination of the thesis proposal, the thesis, the presentation of the thesis as a public lecture and the oral examination (viva).

The PhD Program requires the completion of at least 180 ECTS, allocated to the preparation of the research proposal, the main study(ies), data analysis and the writing of the thesis. The program has been structured into six (6) distinct phases (semesters), each consisting of 30 ECTS.
All courses are evaluated as Pass/No pass

Programme Learning Outcomes

By the end of the period of doctoral study, students are expected to:

1. Demonstrate a systematic understanding of a specific field of Psychology and mastery of the skills and methods of research associated with that field
2. Demonstrate the ability to conceive, design, implement and adapt a substantial process of research with scholarly and ethical integrity
3. Have made a contribution through original research that extends the frontier of knowledge by developing a substantial body of work, some of which merits national or international refereed publication
4. Be capable of critical analysis, evaluation and construction of new and complex ideas
5. Be capable to communicate with their peers, the larger scholarly community and with society in general about their areas of expertise, through, for example, conferences presentations, seminars, lectures, research articles
6. Be able to promote, within academic and professional contexts, technological, social or cultural advancement in the field of Psychology.

Semester 1

Semester 2

Semester 3

Semester 4

Semester 5

Semester 6