Thank you for inquiring about graduate study in psychological and brain sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM)! UWM is located in a vibrant urban setting on Milwaukee’s North Shore close to Lake Michigan. It serves nearly 23,000 undergraduate and graduate students, with the most diverse population of any school in the UW system. UWM is among the nation’s major research universities. It is one of only 187 universities nationwide to receive the highest rating for a research institution (Research 1, also known as R1) from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
The Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences places a premium on excellence in teaching and scholarly research. As a result, we are one of the most dynamic and productive departments on the UWM campus. The faculty are recognized experts in their various disciplines as well as accomplished teachers. Our clinic provides psychotherapy and assessment services to both the UWM campus and the greater Milwaukee community.
Perhaps the best indicator of our success, however, is the quality of our students. Our graduate students have been extraordinarily successful in research and scholarship. They publish cutting-edge research with our faculty, successfully compete for national funding awards, consistently secure postgraduate positions at some of the most prestigious universities in the country as well as employment in industry, government and academia.
a. Overview of Psychological and Brain Sciences Graduate Program
The Department offers two graduate degrees: the PhD in Psychology and the MS in Psychology.
We are currently accepting applications to two of our PhD programs (both of which include earning the MS):
- Clinical Psychology (accredited by the American Psychological Association)
- Neuroscience*
- We offer one terminal MS program:
- Health Psychology
Note that our doctoral programs are actually combined MS/PhD programs (although applicants with advanced degrees are also encouraged to apply; see pp. 3, 4, 8 and 11 for more information for students with advanced degrees). All programs train students in the facts, methodologies, and theories of psychology, with special emphasis on developing research competence. The department has well-equipped laboratories and an on-campus training clinic. The city of Milwaukee provides additional opportunities for training at hospitals, social service agencies, and the Medical College of Wisconsin.
The department refers students interested in Counseling Psychology or School Psychology to the Department of Educational Psychology in the School of Education.
In addition to the information in this brochure, information about our programs and faculty can be found at our website.
b. Financial Support in the PhD Programs
Each admittee to our PhD programs will receive an academic-year (mid-August to mid-May) teaching assistantship (TAship), which includes a stipend, full remission of tuition, and benefits such as health insurance. The academic-year TAship stipend is $14,774 (for those who don’t hold a thesis-based master’s degree in psychology or neuroscience) or $16,334 (for those who hold a thesis-based master’s degree in psychology or neuroscience). TAs work approximately 20 hours per week and are typically assigned to lead discussion sessions or assist in face-to-face and online courses. Our department’s doctoral students generally hold TAships or equivalent forms of support (e.g., research assistantships or full fellowships sponsored by the Graduate School) throughout their years at UWM. We anticipate providing 5 years of TA support for each incoming student.
Based on a review of credentials, admittees to the Neuroscience PhD program will receive an additional $4,000 per year, and admittees in the Clinical Psychology PhD program will receive an additional $2,500 per year through the Chancellor’s Graduate Student Award (CGSA) for their initial five years in the program. The resulting total minimum financial package for students in their first year is $18,484 for Neuroscience admittees and $16,984 for Clinical.
Additional funding may be provided to incoming students by advising faculty with extramural grants, which may increase the first-year (and perhaps beyond) support package by another $1,500 to $3,500.
Notably, based on a review of credentials, two outstanding admittees—one Clinical and one Neuroscience—will be offered Cialdini Fellowships providing $5,000 per year for 5 years instead of CGSAs. These fellowships are funded by a generous gift to UWM from Dr. Robert Cialdini ‘67 and Bobette Gorden. An internationally recognized social psychologist, Dr. Cialdini is an alumnus of our department who received UWM’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015. A regents’ professor emeritus at Arizona State University, his books, including the New York Times bestseller Influence: Science and Practice, are the result of decades of peer-reviewed research on why people comply with requests.
In addition to departmental support during the academic year, some students may also receive research funding during the summer. Typically, this support comes from the major professor, although some support may be available from the department in the form of a competitive summer fellowship. Availability of summer support varies by year, so students should discuss this with their major professor.
*Important Note: The department does not offer Chancellor’s or Cialdini Awards, nor does it guarantee TA or RA positions, to students admitted into the Health Psychology master’s program.*
c. Major Professor
All graduate students must have a major professor (advisor) to oversee their progress and to supervise their research. It is therefore important that potential major professors be considered very carefully during the application process. Entering students will be assigned to one of the major professors indicated during the admissions process. The department also has a Director of Graduate Studies who advises students about courses and programs of study.
Faculty Recruiting Clinical Candidates for Fall, 2026
Clinical Psychology
| Name | Title | Phone | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| hobart@uwm.edu | 414-229-6594 | ||
| leehj@uwm.edu | 414-229-5858 | ||
| medinak@uwm.edu | |||
| sardana@uwm.edu |
Neuroscience
| Name | Title | Phone | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| bowman2@uwm.edu | |||
| frickk@uwm.edu | 414-229-6615 | ||
| georgiop@uwm.edu | |||
| larsoncl@uwm.edu | 414-229-4996 | ||
| lopezroj@uwm.edu | |||
| nmorton@uwm.edu | |||
| jrmoyer@uwm.edu | 414-229-5883 |
Health Psychology (MS)
| Name | Title | Phone | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| hobart@uwm.edu | 414-229-6594 | ||
| frickk@uwm.edu | 414-229-6615 | ||
| georgiop@uwm.edu | |||
| lopezroj@uwm.edu | |||
| merrittm@uwm.edu | 414-229-6145 |
d. Information for Students with Master’s Degrees in Psychology
Students admitted to the doctoral programs who already have a master’s degree in psychology or neuroscience that included an empirically based master’s thesis are exempt from the requirement of having to earn the MS at UWM. Students admitted with a master’s degree in psychology or neuroscience that did not include a thesis must complete a thesis and earn the MS at UWM. In many cases, students admitted to the doctoral program with master’s degrees in psychology or neuroscience are allowed to waive some of their UWM coursework based on courses they took in their master’s programs.
e. Time Limits
Departmental regulations stipulate that students in the doctoral programs must be full-time students; no part-time study is allowed. Doctoral students must earn the MS within three years of enrolling (by March 10 of their third year for most favorable consideration within the teaching assistant priority system), and the PhD within seven years (exclusive of the internship year for clinical students). The terminal master’s program in health psychology has a time limit of seven years for earning the MS to allow for the possibility of part-time study.