PhD in Psychology in Madison United States | University of Wisconsin-Madison

Psychology provides six specialized focus areas (referred to as area groups): biological, clinical, cognitive and cognitive neuroscience, developmental, perception, and social/personality. While there's significant collaboration between these groups, each concentration has distinct graduate study requirements, and students are generally accepted into one specific area.

While most new graduate students align with these six concentrations, some don't. It's natural in an elite department to find students whose interests span multiple disciplines or connect with other university programs, reflecting psychology's evolving boundaries. A unique program feature is the Individualized Graduate Major, created for students who don't fit within existing area groups and want to combine multiple psychology specializations or integrate training from other programs. Note that this individualized path still results in a psychology PhD and isn't suitable for those whose graduate work doesn't primarily focus on psychological science.