Curtis Puryear Lab at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW)

Available Fields

• Psychology

The Curtis Puryear Lab at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) is recruiting one PhD student for Fall 2027. Dr. Curtis Puryear is an Assistant Professor of Psychology and a computational social scientist studying how digital environments and new technologies shape moral values, political beliefs, social judgment, and intergroup conflict. His work combines experiments, surveys, natural-language processing, archival text analysis, and large-scale social-media data.

Supervisor

Dr. Curtis Puryear

Department

Department of Psychology — PhD Concentration: Psychological Science

This is a non-clinical research PhD. The Psychological Science concentration emphasizes psychological research, quantitative and methodological training, and preparation for research careers in academia, government, and industry. It does not lead to clinical psychologist licensure.

Location

Wilmington, North Carolina, USA

Research Areas

The opportunity is particularly relevant to applicants interested in:

• Computational Social Science
• Social Psychology
• Social Media
• Moral Psychology / Moral Cognition
• Political Psychology
• Political Beliefs
• Intergroup Conflict
• Political Polarization
• Online Behavior
• Natural Language Processing
• Large-scale text and social-media analysis
• Experimental Social Psychology
• Decision-making and social judgment

Programme Structure

The Psychological Science PhD requires at least 66 post-baccalaureate graduate credits. Students first complete the requirements for an M.S. in Psychological Science, including an empirical thesis, before progressing to doctoral coursework, qualifying examinations, research, and dissertation work.

Who Can Apply

Applicants generally need:

• A Bachelor’s degree or equivalent
• A Psychology major or at least 21 credit hours of Psychology coursework
• Psychology-course GPA of at least 3.0/4.0
• Statistics coursework
• Psychology research-methods coursework
• Strong research preparation and fit with the prospective faculty mentor

Applicants who already hold a Master’s in Psychology can apply to the Psychological Science PhD concentration.

GRE

Not currently required/considered.

International Students

Yes — international applicants may apply. UNCW accepts international graduate applications. International applicants may need an approved English-language test and, after admission, an external course-by-course evaluation of foreign academic credentials.

English Language Requirements

Current UNCW Graduate School minimums include:

• IELTS: 6.5 for admission; 7.0 for teaching-assistantship consideration
• Duolingo: 115
• TOEFL iBT: 79 under the pre-January 21, 2026 scoring system, or 4.5 under the revised scoring scale

Exemptions apply in specified circumstances.

Funding

Assistantships and tuition support available; exact Fall 2027 funding package varies. UNCW Psychology offers Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA), Research Assistantships (RA, dependent on available faculty grant funding), other Graduate Assistantships, competitive tuition support, and competitive out-of-state tuition remissions. Assistantships are competitive and not guaranteed.

Application Requirements

• Online UNCW Graduate School application
• CV / Resume
• 500–800 word statement of interest
• 3 recommendation letters (at least 2 from faculty members)
• Academic credentials/transcripts
• Interview if selected
• International English-language documentation where applicable

The statement should address research experience, other Psychology-related experience, proposed graduate research interests, career goals, and other strengths relevant to doctoral study.

Faculty Research Fit

Applicants interested in this position should clearly demonstrate fit with Dr. Curtis Puryear’s research programme, especially interests related to computational social science, morality and politics, social media, polarization, or intergroup relations. UNCW currently also lists Curtis Puryear among the faculty considering students for the Psychological Science PhD programme.

Contact

Dr. Puryear explicitly invites prospective applicants to contact him with questions. UNCW Email: puryearc@uncw.edu

Application Opening Date

1 September 2026. The official UNCW application portal currently lists Fall 2027 applications as opening on this date.

Application Deadline

The Fall 2027 exact priority/final deadline is not yet published by UNCW. UNCW states that its Psychological Science review timeline is built around beginning review shortly after December 1, so applicants should aim to have a complete application around that point — but this is not yet a confirmed final deadline. Check the university portal again once the Fall 2027 cycle opens.