The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program is awarded on the basis of a thesis reporting an original piece of research. No formal coursework is normally involved, but candidates may have the opportunity to participate in seminars and special courses offered in psychology and other programs. The full-time course duration is three to four years.

Our PhD program offers supervision from experts in the following areas:

• Social psychology
• Clinical psychology
• Health psychology
• Applied social and organisational psychology
• Cognitive psychology
• Neuropsychology and neuroimaging
• Perception
• Developmental psychology
• Decision science
• Behavioural neuroscience.

Students considering entry into an PhD program should review the School's areas of research for more information on projects and people.

Environment & resources

Following are some of the benefits that the ANU Research School of Psychology can offer PhD students.

Resources & office space

Psychology research students normally share an office with an average of four other students during their first two years. In later years research students will normally share an office with one other student. All students have desktop computers and receive a high level of technical and administrative support. Students receive financial support for research needs and peak-conference attendance based on the submission of an annual budget.

Supervisory panels

Students work closely with their principal supervisor to identify supervisory panels within three months of enrolment. For information about the areas that have available supervision, please visit this link: http://psychology.anu.edu.au/research/staff-research-interests

Excellent statistical & methodological support

ANU psychologists that carry out the advanced (ie fourth year) research methods training have published extensively on research methods and statistics.

Active research environment

Psychologists at ANU are actively involved in publishing research. They are at the forefront of international developments in their fields. ANU students have multiple opportunities to obtain publications.

Equipment & research space

The Research School of Psychology has large, dedicated psychology research laboratories, equipped for running most forms of research including computer-mediated communication. The School employs a full-time postdoctoral research officer whose duties include managing the laboratory.

Teaching opportunities

Casual employment as tutors is available during semester. Interested students have the opportunity to complete training in teaching through the Graduate Teaching Program.

Other local facilities

Unlike other Australian universities, ANU is primarily a research institution. The Research School of Psychology is part of the ANU College of Medicine, Biology & Environment. It hosts a variety of research schools and centres. Library facilities are excellent and the National Library is just across the lake.

Visitors & overseas contacts

Along with regular visitors by established scholars, the Research School of Psychology has hosted visiting students from the University of Munster, The University of Amsterdam, The Free University of Amsterdam, and the Catholic University of Louvain. A number of students from ANU have attended the summer school of the European Association for Experimental Social Psychology in recent years. These interchanges allow students to develop long-term contacts with overseas scholars.