Joint Degrees

Students admitted to any doctoral program in Social Sciences may subsequently petition the University to create a joint program with another department. Such individually-created joint degree programs begin in the second year of graduate studies or later. In all cases, students complete the separate program requirements for each degree, with no additional residence requirement, and write one Ph.D. dissertation that separately meets the dissertation requirements of each department. One such established program in Psychology is the Joint PhD in Business and Psychology. Other programs that have had joint students in Psychology include the Department of Comparative Human Development and the Department of Linguistics. 

Application to a Joint Degree Program in Psychology

Students can apply to a joint degree program after completing the first year of doctoral study in their primary department. To apply to Psychology as a second or joint degree program, the student should first identify and gain the support of a Psychology faculty member who meets the requirements for advising doctoral students in Psychology. The proposed Psychology advisor will write a letter of recommendation for the official application to the Psychology PhD program as a joint PhD student.

The application is submitted to the SSD Dean of Students Office and should include a plan and timeline for completing the requirements for the PhD in Psychology, including area requirements and required teaching, an unofficial transcript of graduate work at UChicago, and letters of support from the student’s current advisor and proposed Psychology advisor.

Joint Degree Requirements and Timelines

Joint degree students are expected to meet the timelines for completing coursework and research requirements proposed in their application. Course substitutions or waivers may be approved at the time of application to Psychology and/or through the petition process. Joint students follow the petition process for deadline extensions and for applying for a sixth year of enrollment in the Psychology PhD program. Enrollment and funding remains in the student's home department throughout their program. Joint students should contact the DGS for approval of any variations in dissertation committee composition needed to meet the requirements of the home department.

Joint PhD in Business and Psychology

The Joint Program in Psychology and Business was established in 2009, and is overseen jointly by the Behavioral Science dissertation area at Chicago Booth and the Department of Psychology in the Division of the Social Sciences. The aim of this program is to connect the large number of social, cognitive, and organizational psychologists at Chicago Booth and within the Department of Psychology. To qualify for the joint program, a student must be admitted into either the Psychology or the Business graduate program. PhD students in Psychology or Business who want to earn a PhD in Psychology and in Business will need an adviser in both schools. The adviser from the program the student was initially admitted into will be a primary adviser and the one from the other program, the secondary adviser. Once the student and the faculty member agree on the advising relationship, the student applies for Joint status after completion of their first year in the primary program.