computer generated graphic of the brain

What does it cost?

Check out our cost calculator or visit student financial services for information on estimated costs.

Typically, graduate students receive stipends (≈$20,000/year) and tuition waivers.

How long will it take?

Typically, students complete the Ph.D. in 6-7 years.

Where will I take classes?

Application Deadlines View Admissions Requirements

  • Fall: December 1
  • Spring: Does not admit
  • Summer: Does not admit

Psychology, Ph.D., Cognitive Sciences

Department of Psychology: 
[email protected]

Graduate Program: 
[email protected]

The Cognitive Sciences concentration encompasses interdisciplinary interests in experimental psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, computer science and translational science. With cognition as its unifying thread, the program provides opportunities to specialize in research and training in basic or applied cognitive psychology, cognitive neuroscience, social cognition, language and cognitive development, psycholinguistics and comparative cognition.

Research methods include noninvasive behavioral and cognitive testing with children, adults and non-human primates, as well as electroencephalography, magnetic resonance imaging, transcranial magnetic stimulation, diffusion tensor imaging, eye-tracking, virtual reality/virtual environment testing, neurogenomics and cognitive neuroinformatics.

We accept students with wide-ranging interests across the cognitive sciences for this terminal Ph.D. program. Students shape their own programs of research in consultation with their advisers. Prospective applicants should contact faculty for more information about individual research programs.

Specific faculty interests include learning and memory; language acquisition and use, including the roles of experience, gesture and specific brain structures and processes; economic decision-making; attention and executive functioning (such as metacognition, planning, cognitive control); false memories and eyewitness accuracy; decision-making, including speeded judgments, economic decision-making and reasoning; inequity perception and response; comparative cognition; individual and group differences (such as species, race, gender, diagnostic category, age); cooperation and prosocial behavior; and brain-behavior relations that underlie various cognitive competencies.

Welcome from the Directors of Graduate Studies

FAQs for Graduate Program Applicants

Faculty Accepting Students

Program Details
  • Statement of purpose
  • Resume/curriculum vitae
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • Transcripts (one from each institution attended)
  • The GRE is not required and GRE scores will not be reviewed
  • Writing sample

The statement of purpose should summarize your skills and experiences that are relevant to your particular area(s) of interest in graduate study in psychology. Discuss how your experiences might have shaped the research questions you are interested in exploring. Address the fit between your objectives and the graduate training offered at Georgia State (including the fit with the faculty member(s) with whom you would most like to work). We are particularly interested in specific examples that illustrate your quantitative abilities, problem-solving skills, initiative, leadership, perseverance and maturity. We are also interested in how your educational, professional, clinical (if applicable), or personal (e.g., cultural, economic or social) experiences prepare you to contribute to our department's emphasis on diversity and inclusion during your graduate career. It should be approximately 1000-1500 words.

Please submit a writing sample from your past work, preferably on a topic relevant to psychological science. There are no specific parameters or required length for the writing sample. You might submit a class paper, honors thesis, conference submission, journal article for which you are the primary author, or another writing sample that demonstrates your writing, critical thinking, and research skills.

The resume or CV should summarize your academic, research, clinical and other relevant experiences.

Previous research experience and, in the case of the Clinical and Community programs, relevant applied experience are evaluated favorably in the admission process.

Although an undergraduate major in psychology is not required, applicants are expected to have a background in psychology that includes a minimum of two courses that cover psychological statistics and research methods.

* Institutional code 5251 should be used for reporting TOEFL scores.

Please review the following resources before starting your application:

Students shape their own programs of research in consultation with their advisers. Prospective applicants should contact faculty for more information about individual research programs.

Students are offered a monthly stipend during their first four years of graduate school as long as they remain in good standing with the department by maintaining the required GPA and meeting departmental responsibilities.

The level of support for incoming students is determined when they are accepted. No separate financial application procedure is required. All support includes a tuition waiver. Beginning students may also make application to the University’s Office of Financial Aid (404-413-2400) for non-departmental sources of aid, such as loans and university-provided scholarships.

Graduates of the Cognitive Sciences program will be prepared for industry, government or academic positions that focus on research or teaching.

Description

Careers

Graduates of the cognitive sciences area pursue careers in academia and industry. Our alumni hold academic positions that focus on research and/or teaching and work in government agencies or in industry or corporate settings, including positions focused on research in marketing, sales and product development.

Contacts

Office/Delivery Address:
Department of Psychology
Georgia State University
Urban Life Building
11th Floor
140 Decatur Street
Atlanta, GA 30303-3083

General Inquiries
[email protected]

Psychology Graduate Program
[email protected]

USPS Mailing Address:
Department of Psychology
Georgia State University
P.O. Box 5010
Atlanta, GA 30302-5010

College of Arts & Sciences Lockup25 Park Pl NE #2500
Atlanta, GA 30303

The information shared provides an overview of Georgia State’s offerings. For details on admissions requirements, tuition, courses and more, refer to the university catalogs.