Biological and Health Psychology Program Student Handbook

Health psychology is a rapidly emerging field of basic and applied research. In broad terms, health psychology seeks to elucidate the role that behavior and its physiologic concomitants play in the etiology, treatment and prevention of disease. Behavioral influences on physical health encompass environmental, psychosocial and sociocultural factors, as well as individual behavioral attributes (e.g., personality). Health-related phenomena studied by scientists in this field range from preventative, diagnostic and therapeutic interventions to disease pathogenesis at the levels of system and cellular physiology.

A few specific topics figuring prominently in health psychology include: the behavioral epidemiology and pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease; psychoneuroimmunology and behavioral influences on infectious disease susceptibility; psychosocial factors in oncology; the physiology and management of chronic pain; disorders of weight regulation; behavioral pharmacology and the treatment of addictive disorders; and the neurobehavioral sequelae of surgical and pharmaceutical interventions.

In 1996, graduate training in health psychology was established as a primary academic program of the Psychology Department. The program's training objective is to produce research scientists whose academic careers will advance the study of behavior, health and disease. This program superseded an earlier departmental graduate program in Psychobiology and accommodates health psychology students who have clinical interests within a joint Health Psychology-Clinical program consortium.

In 2002, the Program in Health Psychology was re-titled the Graduate Program in Biological and Health Psychology, to better reflect the prominence of biological research in our program and to convey the representation of psychobiological science in our Department. It is our philosophy that training in health psychology requires acquisition of knowledge and skills in four generic areas: (1) research methods and quantitative analytic techniques; (2) principles of behavior (and in clinical contexts, behavior change); (3) mammalian physiology and psychophysiology; and (4) the pathobiology of disease and disease-related conditions.

Depending on students' particular interests, specific content of the graduate curriculum at the more advanced levels will naturally vary somewhat among individuals (e.g., research methods in epidemiology are less relevant to students pursuing experimental research in animal models; students focusing on cardiovascular research may study different areas of disease pathogenesis than those having a primary interest in psychoneuroimmunology).

In overview, students are exposed to a core curriculum covering research methods in health psychology, statistics, systems physiology (including functional anatomy and physiology of the central nervous system), and area-specific courses within three program concentrations: (1) cardiovascular behavioral medicine; (2) psychoneuroimmunology; and (3) addictive behavior and psychopharmacology. The number and timing of specific courses varies somewhat between students enrolled in the joint Health Psychology-Clinical track and in Biological and Health Psychology alone, and all students' programs of study are monitored and approved by a two-member advisory committee composed of Program faculty.

As in all Department programs, students complete a masters thesis or thesis equivalent, specialty examination and dissertation while in residence. Finally, because of the significant curriculum and practicum demands of the Clinical Program, it is expected that students participating in the joint Clinical-Health track will typically require additional time to complete the doctoral requirements.

Rules and regulations governing the Biological and Health Psychology program are detailed under topical headings below:

Admissions

Students with a BA or BS degree in Psychology, Biology or related majors will be admitted on the basis of: (1) achievement in their undergraduate courses; (2) performance on the Graduate Record Examination; (3) three letters of recommendation; (4) prior research experience; (5) a written essay detailing their professional goals and interests; (6) a personal interview, whenever possible; and (7) the match between student research interests and faculty expertise. Students may apply for co-admission to any other program of the Department or to the Joint Health Psychology-Clinical program consortium. In such cases, the core requirements of both programs must be satisfied and, for admission, the applicant must be acceptable to both programs.

Graduate students of other programs in the Psychology Department may apply to transfer into Biological and Health Psychology. Requests for transfer are handled on a case-by-case basis, with applicants required to follow the same formal admissions procedure as new applicants (including interviews).

Advisors

As noted above, incoming students are selected on the basis of academic qualifications and research interests. Whenever possible, students are therefore assigned a faculty research advisor on the basis of correlated research interests. In addition, each student is assigned a program co-advisor from among core Health faculty on entrance into the program. Program co-advisors are selected by the chair based on the student's background and interests and in consultation with the student's major advisor. The major advisor and the program co-advisor constitute the student’s advising committee, which is designed a) to help the student formulate his/her course curriculum, b) to track student progress during training and to help address problems and barriers as they arise. First year students will have a fall or a mid-year meeting with their advising committee to provide them with some early feedback on their progress, and to address any initial difficulties that may arisen before they become too serious.

An annual meeting will be scheduled with the faculty advisor, the program co-advisor, any other faculty supervisors (if relevant) and the student early each summer. This meeting will be chaired by the student’s program co-advisor and will typically be held in conjunction with the program’s annual evaluation of students. The major focus of the meeting should be on student advising needs in conjunction with progress and plans with respect to department and university milestones. In cases where there appears to be an imbalance between emphasis on the advisor’s own demands or expectations for the student and the expectations of the department with respect to student progress and performance, this should be explicitly addressed during the meeting by the student’s program co-advisor and/or other faculty member(s) who are present. Department expectations should be reviewed and clarified, and a plan should be made for achieving a satisfactory balance. The co-advisor should communicate to the program chair that the meeting has taken place. Students will be asked to indicate on their annual self-evaluation when the meeting has occurred. The program chair should ascertain that these meetings occur annually. Additional meetings of the advising committee may be initiated upon student or faculty request.

Students are encouraged to contact the department's student ombudsman or the program chair if there are problems with advising or other related matters that cannot be resolved in the context of the two-person advising committee.

During the first year in residence, students are expected to become involed in their advisor's research program and to spend from 10-20 hours per week contributing to some aspect of an ongoing project. This preliminary involvement should lead to a thesis proposal (by the beginning of the second year). As a function of divergent interests or stylistic differences, students may not wish to pursue a thesis project with the initial advisor. Such students will be encouraged to change advisors, with the approval of the Program faculty, in order to establish more productive relationships.

Core Curriculum

All students must fulfill coursework in: (1) a Health Fundamentals seminar which covers basic concepts and methods associated with the field; (2) research methods in health psychology; (3) statistical analysis; and (4) a two-course sequence in systems physiology. These requirements may be satisfied by various course options, based on recommendations of the student's two person advising committee and approval by the Program faculty.

Occasionally, exceptions to these requirements may be made based on students' particular needs or prior coursework. A student having research interests in addictive behavior and psychopharmacology, for instance, may be advised to take a graduate course in pharmacology; if that student also has a sufficient background in physiology, as judged by his/her advisory committee, it may be possible to substitute pharmacology for systems physiology.

Students must also complete at least 14 credits (approximately 5 courses; for clinical/health students, at least 8 credits or approximately 3 courses) relating to the program’s several fields of research concentration. Examples of such courses (several of which overlap multiple concentrations) include: human cardiovascular psychophysiology, psychoneuroimmunology, behavioral medicine interventions, health judgment and decision making, and other, "special topics" courses and seminars, as available. Beginning with the 2003/2004 entering class, at least two (or for joint clinical students, one) of the electives must be outside the student's area of concentration/specialization. In most cases, what counts as an "outside" course will be clear (e.g., students in cardiovascular behavioral medicine might take a course in psychoneuroimmunology); where this is unclear, the student can request that a given course be approved as outside their specialization area. Finally, all students are expected to enroll and participate in the Program Research Seminar, which is scheduled in both the Fall and Spring academic terms. This seminar serves to bring together graduate students, faculty and postdoctoral fellows to provide a forum for discussion of conceptual and methodological issues bridging the various specialty areas of biological and health psychology.

Exemptions and Grades

Students with adequate background in areas covered by the core curriculum may wish to request exemption from certain required coursework. Such requests should be directed to the student's two person advising committee, accompanied by documentation of prior courses, syllabi, grades, etc. The committee will decide whether or not to recommend a waiver of the particular core requirement, and if recommending the waiver, will communicate this in writing to the Program Chair. The Chair will then either approve the request or bring the matter to the Program faculty for review and decision.

It is expected that students will maintain at least a B average in all graded coursework; in addition, students must earn a grade of B or better in all core courses and B- or better in all electives. Students who failure to meet the minimum requirement for graded performance on a specific course will need to retake the course; in the case of electives, students receiving an unacceptable grade may either retake the course or substitute an additional course in satisfaction of their electives requirement.

Masters Thesis

Students are required to complete a Masters Thesis or an equivalent piece of research. The thesis work is overseen by a committee of three faculty members (selected by the student based on their expertise in the topic area). At least two members should be from the Program in Biological and Health Psychology, with at least one of these having his or her primary (i.e., tenured or tenure-stream) appointment in the Psychology Department. The research plan is approved at a proposal meeting, after which the student conducts the proposed research and data analysis. On completion of the thesis document, the student presents and defends the thesis at an oral examination.

Students are expected to complete the thesis (or equivalent) by the end of their second year in residence. Unless exempted by approval of the faculty and Program Chair, students who fail to successfully defend a thesis by the end of the third year will not be permitted to continue on to doctoral study. They will be given one additional year to complete all requirements for the MS (a thesis plus the core curriculum) and then be terminated from the program.

Students who completed a thesis at another institution may request exemption from the thesis requirement. Exemptions will be granted by the Program faculty upon determination that the completed thesis is equivalent to our requirements (i.e., a formally prepared document describing an empirical study that reflects meritorious science). To seek exemption, the student should first present copies of the thesis to his or her three-member academic advisory committee for review; in turn, the advisory committee will make a recommendation to the program faculty to approve or disapprove the request.

For students enrolled in the Joint Health Psychology-Clinical program consortium, all of the above regulations apply, as well as any guidelines unique to the Clinical Program. In the case of exemptions, the student must receive approval from both the Biological and Health Psychology and Clinical Psychology program faculties.

Format: The master's thesis proposal should be in PHS/SF424 format, should be no longer than 25 pages (excluding references), and should include the following sections: Specific Aims, Background and Significance, Preliminary Studies/Expected Results, and Research Design and Methods. The final masters thesis should be in journal article format (APA guidelines) and should be no more than 35 pages (excluding references and tables, 1" margins, 12 pt font).

Background: The PHS/SF424 grant proposal format includes the following features. Those that may not commonly appear in a masters thesis proposal are highlighted, along with the opportunities that particular sections permit. As a whole, the format is felt to provide a helpful structure to facilitate proposal writing (for example, the notion that one starts the writing task by organizing the specific aims rather than by detailing the background and significance).

SPECIFIC AIMS:

Emphasis on “broad, long-term objectives”
Emphasis on brevity (one page recommended)
Opportunity to put hypotheses up front, to practice organizing the literature to build a “data-based” case for pursuing specific questions.
Opportunity to emphasize parsimony, simplicity, in terms of the model examined and the number of aims to be tested.

BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE:

Emphasis on critical evaluation of existing knowledge
Emphasis on specifically identifying “the gaps that the project is intended to fill.”
Emphasis on “the importance and health relevance of the research,” “relating the specific aims to the broad, long-term objectives.”
“ If the aims of the application are achieved, state how scientific knowledge or clinical practice will be advanced. Describe the effect of these studies on the concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services or preventative interventions that drive this field.”

PRELIMINARY STUDIES/EXPECTED RESULTS (This section can vary depending on the nature of the work to be proposed):

Opportunity to discuss preliminary studies (from mentor’s lab or other relevant research) in more detail than might be warranted in typical masters proposal.
Opportunity to discuss questions of feasibility (as pertaining to recruitment as well as to methods), and to present pilot data pertaining to these issues, if relevant.
Students are also encouraged to present the pattern of expected results from the proposed study in this section, along with alternative patterns of results that might prevail if the hypotheses are not supported, with potential interpretations (for example, consideration of potential confounds).

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS:

“Describe the research design conceptual or clinical framework, procedures, and analyses to be used to accomplish the specific aims of the project.” “… include how the data will be collected, analyzed, and interpreted.”
“Describe any new methodology and its advantage over existing methodologies.”
“Describe any novel concepts, approaches, tools, or technologies for the proposed studies.”
“Discuss the potential difficulties and limitations of the proposed procedures and alternative approaches to achieve the aims. “
“Provide a tentative sequence or timetable for the project.”

Preliminary Academic Evaluation

While the Psychology Department does not admit students into a distinct Masters Degree program, students are not automatically eligible to pursue the PhD degree. Rather, the Health Psychology Program will conduct a formal Preliminary Evaluation of each student after completion of the Masters Thesis, with the aim of determining whether or not the student should be allowed to continue his/her studies toward the PhD. Successful completion of earlier requirements does not guarantee that the student will be permitted to continue, as the faculty will consider other factors as well (such as overall quality of performance, and professional ethics and competence) in making a determination.

The Preliminary Evaluation is conducted after the successful defense of a Masters Thesis, but before the student is permitted to take the Specialty Examination. If the faculty concludes that the student is not eligible for further study, he/she will be terminated from the program at that point. If the decision is positive, the student will be permitted to take the Specialty Examination.

For students enrolled in the Joint Health Psychology-Clinical program consortium, this evaluation is conducted separately by each Program; this is necessitated by the fact that the evaluation is made by Program faculty as a whole. If the student is passed by the Biological and Health Psychology Program faculty, but not be faculty of the Clinical Program, a decision will be made as to whether he/she may continue on towards the doctorate in the Biological and Health Psychology Program alone. However, if a student is not passed in the Biological and Health Psychology Program's preliminary evaluation, he/she will be terminated from the Joint Program.

Specialty Examination

The Specialty Examination has two major purposes: One is to enable the faculty to evaluate the student's mastery of a specialized topic and preparedness for the dissertation. Students will have acquired a general knowledge of various health psychology subjects through the prior program of core courses and research seminars. However, they also need to demonstrate their mastery of a specific set of topics within the general domain of health psychology. That mastery implies an in-depth knowledge of a particular research literature and the problems associated with it. Thus, passing the Specialty Examination demonstrates that the student knows the theories and research methods that have developed around a set of related problems and can articulate the issues that are central to these problems.

The second major purpose of the Specialty Examination is to provide the student with a special training experience. Students need experiences that exemplify the kind of sustained, elective, problem-oriented scholarship that is consistent with their professional development goals. Writing a paper that critically reviews the research on a particular topic can serve this purpose (as well as provide background for the dissertation). Thus, the basic format for the Specialty Examination is a scholarly paper written on the student's specialty interests. The paper may be envisioned as a review article of the kind published in the Psychological Bulletin or as a grant proposal that would be submitted to a funding agency.

In either case, the paper should contain a critical review of an area of research, where such review does not currently exist in the published literature. In reviewing that research, the paper should comment on the unsolved problems and methodological issues that have characterized work within the area. Furthermore, the paper should propose various modes of approach in studying those problems (as in a Psychological Bulletin paper) or a particular program of research, e.g., a set of experiments that can solve those problems (as in a grant proposal).

The student is given one term to complete the paper (limited to a maximum of 50 double-spaced pages) after approval of a proposed topic by the student's major advisor and two other members of the Program who, collectively, function as the student's Specialty Examination committee. Upon submission of the paper to the committee, the student is required to defend the work at a 1-2 hour oral examination, during which he/she will be questioned about the problems addressed in the paper. Final action on the Specialty Examination is in the form of a pass, fail or resubmit, the latter indicating that the committee views the paper as acceptable with suitable revisions. Students who fail the Specially Examination are permitted one additional opportunity to pass.

It may be noted that the Specialty Examination in the Clinical Psychology Program serves much the same goals of scholarship listed above, but differs in some procedural details (e.g., submission/approval of the paper prospectus, time to completion, composition of the examination committee, role of the advisor). For this reason, students enrolled in the Joint Health Psychology-Clinical program consortium are permitted to satisfy the Specialty Examination requirement under either the Biological and Health Psychology or the Clinical Psychology Program regulations, subject to approval of the Clinical Psychology faculty.

Doctoral Candidacy

Upon passing the Specialty Exam, the student can proceed to assemble a dissertation committee. The committee consists of five faculty: the student's major advisor, at least three members of the Biological and Health Psychology faculty (one may be the advisor and committee chair), and at least one member of the Graduate Faculty from another department. The committee chair or co-chair must be a member of the Biological and Health Psychology Program faculty, and at least two of the three Program faculty serving on the committee must have primary (i.e., tenured or tenure-stream) academic appointments in the Psychology Department. Formal admission to doctoral candidacy does not actually occur until the student has had a successful dissertation proposal meeting. Upon approving the proposal, the committee recommends to the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies that the student be admitted to candidacy.

Dissertation

The doctoral dissertation is meant to be a scholarly document reporting on an empirical contribution to the knowledge base in the student's area of expertise. It should be of publishable quality. As noted above, the dissertation proposal must be presented for approval to the student's dissertation committee before he/she begins to conduct the research. A proposal may be approved, disapproved, or major or minor revision may be requested. In the case of major revision, a second meeting may be necessary before approval is granted. If a proposal is not approved, the student will be permitted to write and defend a new proposal.

At the discretion of the dissertation committee, a second meeting should be held following data collection and at the time of analysis to review the student's progress. On completion of the final write-up, the dissertation must be defended at an oral examination. Again, major or minor revisions may be requested by the committee, or the dissertation may be approved, or in rare cases, disapproved. In most cases, at least minor revisions will be required before the degree is granted.

The doctoral dissertation is meant to be a scholarly document reporting on an empirical contribution to the knowledge base in a student's area of expertise. It should be of publishable quality. For the dissertation, students are expected a) to play a significant role in the development of an important question or set of questions in their selected area of research; b) to be actively involved in the process of designing a study, collecting data, and/or developing measurement/analytic procedures to address the question(s). Under most circumstances, data collection will be designed specifically for the dissertation project, but it is understood that time and monetary constraints frequently do not permit students to plan dissertations of a scope that could meaningfully address questions that are at the cutting edge of the student's field of interest. In such cases, use of pre-existing data from large scale or longitudinal studies may be appropriate. When students use data from a pre-existing data set, they are still expected to play an independent role in formulating the questions (e.g., the hypotheses drawn from the advisor's grant application do not constitute an appropriate dissertation topic), and in designing or facilitating new measurement or analytic procedures appropriate to the topic (e.g., the project must involve more than a simple data analysis involving existing variables). Dissertation candidates have an added responsibility in undertaking a study involving existing data, as they must demonstrate to the committee that their ability to address the question of interest is not substantially compromised by the use of available data, as opposed to using a de novo data collection.

Because candidates for research positions will be evaluated in terms of their projected ability to develop a laboratory and to design new projects, it behooves them to move beyond involvement with pre-existing data sets at some point in their graduate career:

Faculty mentors are expected to counsel students on the importance of developing a diverse range of laboratory and research skills to prepare them for future employment, and to create opportunities for trainees to design and carry out new studies during their graduate training (if not during the dissertation) as well as working with existing data sets. In some cases, this may involve collaboration with other faculty and research laboratories affiliated with the program.

All students are expected to be involved in all stages of one or more research projects from start to finish, including original data collection, at some point in their graduate training. As part of all research experiences during graduate training, of course, students are also expected to present and to publish their work.

Research Experience/Professionalization

The major goal of the Program in Biological and Health Psychology is to train research scientists. To this end, students will be expected to enter the laboratory of a participating faculty member at the beginning of his/her first year and become involved in an ongoing research project. Continued growth and development into an independent scientist will be the primary basis of evaluation in the Program.

Since the Program is highly interdisciplinary and collaborative in its orientation and makeup, students are expected to develop these perspectives, once a firm foundation in basic research methodology and an area of specialization have been established. Because successful research careers require more than laboratory skills, students should give frequent program presentations (e.g., brown bags of their research progress, journal club presentations), and are encouraged to submit papers to academic journals, to attend (and present at) professional meetings, and to submit fellowship applications as ways of developing communication and professional socialization skills.