Psychology

Degrees:

Master of Arts, thesis option only
Doctor of Philosophy

Areas of Specialization:

Human Factors
Clinical Psychology

Specialty Track within Clinical Psychology

Clinical/Disaster Psychology

Department Chairperson: Professor Randal P. Quevillon
Director of the Clinical Psychology Training Program: Professor Barbara Yutrzenka
Director of the Human Factors Program: Professor Jan Berkhout
Director of the Disaster Mental Health Institute: Professor Gerard Jacobs
Director of the Psychological Services Center: Associate Professor Elizabeth Boyd

Program Description

The Department of Psychology offers the state’s most complete and fully implemented Psychology program with degrees through the Doctoral level. In 1961, the Department of Psychology began training students at the Master’s level. Soon to follow, in 1964, the Department of Psychology was authorized to offer the Ph.D. degree. The specialty areas within the Department’s graduate programs are Clinical Psychology and Human Factors Psychology. The Clinical/Disaster Psychology Specialty within the Clinical Psychology Training Program and the Graduate Certificate Program in Disaster Mental Health were both approved in January of 1999. Also in 1999, the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS) named USD’s Psychology Department the Department of the Year.

The Clinical Psychology Training Program offers graduate training leading to the M.A. (non–terminal) and Ph.D. degrees. Please note, students seeking the Ph.D. earn the M.A.; the M.A. is not offered as a separate degree program except through the joint JD/MA Program (see page 111). The American Psychological Association (APA) has continuously accredited the program since 1971. In 1994, the Clinical Psychology Training Program received the Outstanding Training Program award by the National Alliance of the Mentally Ill, and in 2002, the Program received the John R. Williams award for its significant contributions in service to Native American students at USD.

The Disaster Mental Health Institute (DMHI), a South Dakota Board of Regents Center of Excellence, is affiliated with the Department of Psychology and the Clinical Psychology Training Program. The DMHI offers a Doctoral Specialization in Clinical/Disaster Psychology and a Graduate Certificate in Disaster Mental Health. The Institute is committed to the emerging field of Disaster Psychology, which involves applying psychological knowledge to assist persons affected by natural and technological disasters, ethno-political conflicts, and other large-scale traumatic events. Furthermore, The University of South Dakota is the first university in the nation to offer a full curriculum in Disaster Psychology and the first to offer this approved Doctoral specialty.

The Human Factors Training Program offers graduate training leading to the M.A. (non–terminal) and Ph.D. degree, with specialization in the broad area of Human Factors Psychology. Human Factors involves the discovery of information regarding human behavior, abilities and limitations, and applies these characteristics to the design of systems, tasks, machines, tools, and environments to enhance efficiency, safety, and productivity in their use.

Graduate Faculty

Jan Berkhout, Professor & Director of the Human Factors Program, Ph.D., University of Chicago. Specialization: Ergonomics.

Elizabeth Boyd, Associate Professor & Director of the Psychological Services Center, Ph.D., University of Houston. Specialization: Family Systems, Native American Mental Health.

S. Jean Caraway, Associate Professor, Ph.D., University of North Dakota. Specialization: Traumatic Victimization and Cross-cultural Psychology.

Jon Elhai, Assistant Professor, Ph.D. Nova Southeastern University, Specialization: Disaster Psychology, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Raluca Gaher, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., University of South Dakota. Specialization: PTDS and Substance Use.

Michael Granaas, Associate Professor, Ph.D., University of Kansas. Specialization: Research Design and Quantitative Methods.

Gerard Jacobs, Professor & Director of the Disaster Mental Health Institute, Ph.D., University of South Florida. Specialization: Disaster Psychology.

Douglas Peterson, Associate Professor, Ph.D., Kansas State University. Specialization: Aviation Psychology, Training and Use of Complex Knowledge Structures.

Randal P. Quevillon, Professor & Department Chairperson, Ph.D., University of Montana. Specialization: Rural Mental Health, Disaster Psychology.

Francis Schieber, Professor, Ph.D., University of Notre Dame. Specialization: Aging and Human Performance, Vision, and Transportation.

Jeffrey S. Simons, Associate Professor, Ph.D., Syracuse University. Specialization: Substance Use and Emotional Regulation.

Gemma D. Skillman, Associate Professor, Ph.D., Syracuse University. Specialization: Developmental and Cultural Factors in Adjustment.

Holly Straub, Associate Professor, Ph.D., Texas Tech University. Specialization: Cognitive Psychology.

Cynthia J. Struckman-Johnson, Professor, Ph.D., University of Kentucky. Specialization: Social Psychology, Sexual Coercion, Transportation Safety.

Xiao Tian Wang, Professor, Ph.D., New Mexico State University. Specialization: Physiological and Cognitive Psychology, Decision Making.

Barbara Arneson Yutrzenka, Professor & Director of the Clinical Psychology Training Program, Ph.D., University of North Dakota. Specialization: Professional Ethics, Administration, Diversity in Training.

Admission Requirements

An undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or better, based on a 4.0-point scale.
The GRE General test is required. There is no minimum score required; the scores are considered along with the other application materials. Applicants generally score at or above 500 on the GRE general subtests. Average scores over the past several years are as follows: approximately 550 Verbal and 560 Quantitative. Students applying to the Clinical Psychology Program are also required to take the GRE Subject test in Psychology.
Applicants should have a minimum of 18 credit hours of undergraduate psychology course work, with a distribution among standard course work in general psychology.
For students who are entering the Human Factors program, a prerequisite class in calculus is strongly recommended.
Students proposing to enter the Doctoral program with a Master’s degree from another institution are required to submit a copy of their Master’s thesis in support of their application.
Additional requirements exist for international applicants.

- Admission decisions are made separately by the Clinical and Human Factors graduate programs. It is strongly recommended that prospective students contact the program director for specific program requirements and recommendations. Students in the Clinical/Disaster Psychology Specialty Track come from those students who have been admitted to the Clinical Psychology Training Program.

Application Deadlines

January 5 for the Clinical Psychology Training Program.
February 15 for the Human Factors Program.
Newly admitted students for both programs begin in the fall semester.

For Additional Information

The University of South Dakota
Department of Psychology
South Dakota Union, Room 105
414 East Clark Street
Vermillion, SD 57069
Phone: 605-677-5353 (Clinical Psychology)
605-677-5295 (Human Factors)
www.usd.edu/psychology