The program emphasizes both the specialized advanced training that will prepare students for productive teaching and research in their chosen areas and also the diversity of background that is a prerequisite for excellence in classroom, laboratory, and applied settings. Yet these fundamental personality variables and processes do not exist in isolation from their contexts. The personality area of the University of Michigan Psychology Department is committed to the analysis and interpretation of personality in context. The distinctive feature of our area, however, is that while recognizing the powerful effects of contexts, we emphasize the variability of these effects across people.
Interdisciplinary work is valued and encouraged.
Students determine the focus of their own individual programs of study, and area encouraged to work with several faculty members during their graduate education. The curriculum within the personality area is designed to provide the student with a broad background of psychological knowledge, while at the same time allowing early concentration in a specialized area of interest. A one-semester course on personality research methods is also required. All students are expected to make at least one such presentation during each year. Following completion of course work and the 619, students prepare for and take prelim exams, which involve a survey of the entire field of personality.