Coursework: Students in the EAPS program complete a sequence of methodology courses along with content courses of their choosing. Additionally, a variety of elective courses are taken throughout their training. Additionally, students attend a bi-weekly seminar.

Competencies: The doctoral program in the Psychology Department does not require graduate students to complete a traditional written/oral comprehensive exam.  Instead, a number of professional competencies have been identified that are directly relevant to students' chosen specialization  and are more closely tied to the professional tasks in which students will engage upon graduation. Competencies include (a) a paper presentation, (b) publishable article, (c) a research or training grant proposal.

Research: Students in the EAPS program conduct their own research. Working with a faculty mentor, students complete a master’s thesis and a doctoral dissertation.

Program costs: All incoming doctoral students are guaranteed an assistantship which "waives" them to the resident tuition schedule and student in the Combined Program generally pay in-state tuition during their graduate training. Tuition for resident graduate students are $373.40 per credit and $1308.54 for non-resident students. In general, students carry 10-12 credits per semester with overall tuition costs of $1692.89 - $1986.11 (resident) or $5925.45 - $6951.43 (non-resident). Fees range from $201 for one-credit to $292.50 for 10 or more credits.

Assistantships: A number of departmental teaching and research assistantships are available. Applications may be requested from the administrative assistant in the Department. Departmental assistantships range from $1750 to $3500 per academic semester.

A graduate instructor is a graduate student assigned to teach one or more sections of a course for an entire semester

A graduate teaching assistant (GTA) is a graduate student assigned to assist one or more faculty with instruction.  A GTA may lecture in a course occasionally, tutor students, or assist in some other teaching capacity, such as teaching a lab or recitation session under faculty supervision.

A graduate research assistant (GRA) is a graduate student assigned to work under faculty guidance on one or more research projects

Fellowships: Presidential Fellowships are grants of approximately $12,000 per academic year, plus providing waivers of out-of-state tuition and in-state tuition remission. These Fellowships carry no work requirements aside from the expectation of excellent academic progress. They are available only to entering doctoral students with Graduate Record Exam scores at or above 70% (V), 70% (Q) and 70% (A), plus outstanding letters of recommendation, and an overall grade point average of 3.5 or above.

Logan and the Cache Valley:

Cache Valley is a vibrant, growing, community of 94,000, the city of Logan (population 43,000) is located 80 miles north of Salt Lake City and is the cultural hub of the Cache Valley. Logan offers:

- Over two dozen parks, riverside nature trails, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a skate park, two golf courses, a summer gardener's market, a small zoo, health and fitness clubs, bus service, and a recently renovated central historic district.

- Eight local movie theaters—including the Logan Art Cinema which shows independent films. And if independent films are your style, be sure to check out the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, an hour’s drive from Logan.

- Shopping: along with several “big box” stores such as Borders, Best Buy, Pier One Imports, Pet Co, Staples, two home improvement stores (Lowe’s and Home Depot) Logan is also home to the Cache Valley Mall.

- Restaurants: the Cache Valley is also home a variety of good restaurants. Restaurants in the valley include national-chains (e.g. Olive Garden, Chilli’s) as well as many local-favorites. International cuisine is available. Some of the local favorites include the Indian Oven, Kamin (Thai Food), Happy Sushi, Café Sabor.

Logan is the long-time home to a coffee-house committed to “unbeatable for quality and freshness, while supporting social and environmental responsibility” (Café Ibis). More recent additions include another independent coffee house (Citrus and Sage) and Starbucks. Local musicians and artists are frequently featured at the local coffee house establishments.

Climate: The cache valley offers four distinct seasons: summers are hot and dry, autumns are colorful, winters are snowy and spring brings the valley’s brief “rainy season” (the valley receives very little precipitation (18.3” per year) and actually averages 219 sunny days per year). The average high temperatures range from 89 degrees in July to 32 in January. The climate, geography and local grant locals and tourists with a wide-variety of outdoor activities to enjoy. Utah State Universities Outdoor Recreation Center offers students, staff and faculty opportunities to try out a variety of outdoor sporting activities and visit scenic locations during day trips and multi-day trips (or something like this)X, Y and (undoubtedly) Z.

Activities. The Beaver Mountain Ski Resort is 27 miles northeast of Logan via the scenic Logan River Canyon. Ski Utah notes: “Beaver Mountain is one of Utah's best kept secrets. Over 664 skiable acres, Beaver has well-maintained slopes, northeastern exposure for morning sun and avalanche-free conditions. Family-owned and operated since 1939, Beaver Mountain believes in giving each skier the personal touch. Beaver Mountain is an all-around ski resort that is big on giving you and your family the best skiing experience around.”  Many of the most popular ski hills in Utah (i.e., Alta, Snowbird, Snowbasin, etc) are located within one to one and a half hours from Logan.  Could put a link to http://www.skiutah.com/resorts/

Cross-country skiing. And if downhill skiing is not your thing, the valley also offers access to backcountry and wilderness areas for cross-country skiing.

Campus Rec

USU regularly draws exciting lectures by a variety of individuals from entertainers such as Spike Lee to well known scientists such as Steven Pinker

Plays

USU’s own KUSU is an NPR station that has a little something for everybody: Morning Edition, All Things Considered, this American Life, Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, Performance Today, Car Talk, etc.

Music
Symphonic
Chamber
Opera
Campus
Ellen Eccles Presents

The cost of living in Logan is remarkably inexpensive compared to many other cities.

Logan is also very safe. It has one of the lowest crime rates compared to other cities its size.