Doctoral Program

The doctoral program at SPCS aims to help students gain knowledge and enhance their capacity in the following aspects: (1) master fundamental theories and systematic professional knowledge in psychological and cognitive sciences; (2) acquire skills in doing scientific research independently; (3) make innovative contribution to the development of science and technology.

Currently, the doctoral program has two tracks - basic psychology and applied psychology. Doctoral candidates in the basic psychology track engage in research of brain and cognitive sciences or developmental and educational psychology. And doctoral candidates in the applied psychology track engage in research of managerial and social psychology or clinical and health psychology.

Cultivation plan for doctoral students

Before they apply for their doctoral degree, all doctoral candidates need to have at least one published or accepted paper in a SCI or SSCI journal. Candidates should be the first author with Peking University as his/her primary affiliation.

Master programs

To fulfill the need for application-oriented talents in the development of China, upon the authorization of the Academic Degree Committee of the State Council, SPCS started to enroll master students in applied psychology in 2012. Training in the master program of applied psychology focuses on developing the ability to apply psychological theories and techniques to solve practical problems. The goal of the master program is to cultivate top talents in various areas of applied psychology The Department of Managerial and Social Psychology and the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology play major roles in this master program and they run the program independently. There are a small number of student in this master program who are interested in the application aspects of brain and cognitive sciences and developmental and educational psychology. These two departments provide corresponding courses and training.

In 2019, SPCS set up a part-time master program of applied psychology. This is the first time our school enrolled part-time master students of applied psychology. This program focuses on training professional counselors who are working or plan to work in college or school counseling centers. Students in this program will take courses offered by SPCS, and get practical training and supervision in the Center for Mental Health Counseling and the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology at SPCS. This program cooperates with the University Health Services Center at the University of California, Berkeley. Students in this program will have the opportunity to receive didactic and experiential training given by senior psychologists in the University Health Services Center at UC Berkeley in summer.

Cultivation plan for master students