Psychology, M.A.

Return to: 3500 Department of Psychology  

A Master of Arts (M.A) degree is completed by students as part of their course of study for the Ph.D. degree. The master’s level education of graduate students focuses upon basic psychological knowledge and methodologies common to the science and profession of psychology across program areas. Although students typically begin specialized coursework at this level, the master’s degree is intended as preparation for continued learning in pursuit of the doctoral degree. Doctoral-level study then provides students the opportunity to acquire the additional knowledge and skills necessary for professional careers in teaching, research, clinical service, and consultation.

The facilities of the department permit work in cognition, development, behavioral neuroscience, neuropsychology, learning, infant behavior, sensation and perception, motivation, aging, social psychology, assessment, individual psychotherapy, group and family therapy, behavior therapy, and community psychology. Students may work with both human and nonhuman populations. Human populations include all age ranges and a variety of ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Nonhuman populations include several rodent and primate species.

The graduate program in clinical psychology is accredited by the American Psychological Association.

Applicants may obtain additional information about the Department of Psychology by contacting the Director of Graduate Studies at the addresses at 3500 Department of Psychology . 

Policy on Non-Degree Admission

Students may take no more than six hours of coursework in non-degree status without petitioning the department for an exception to this policy. Students enrolled in non-degree status in a psychology graduate course may not at the same time be applicants to a degree program and may not apply for admission to a graduate degree program in the department for one year following the semester in which the non-degree course was taken. Applications for non-degree admission may be obtained from the College of Arts and Sciences. Application deadlines for non-degree status are the same as the general deadlines for the College of Arts and Sciences and can be found in the section of the catalog entitled “Admission Policies.”

Admission Deadlines

Applications for all programs are considered for the fall semester only. The Application for Graduate Study, $50 application fee, and all supporting materials (transcripts, GRE scores, letters, and supplemental form) must be postmarked by the posted deadline for admission the following fall.

Additional Admission Requirements

In addition to the general requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of Psychology has the following requirements:

1. Applicants are expected to have a background in psychology, although an undergraduate major is not required. A minimum of four courses is required: psychological statistics, a course in research methods in psychology, plus two or more content courses in psychology at the junior or senior level. It is recommended that applicants to the clinical program take abnormal psychology as one of the content courses.
2. The applicant must submit scores that are well above average on the general test of the Graduate Record Examination.
3. A student in possession of a graduate degree or coursework who is admitted to graduate study may be accorded advanced standing after an evaluation of previous graduate work. The evaluation ordinarily will be conducted during the first semester of enrollment. If the student’s previous graduate work did not include courses equivalent to the required core courses and a thesis, these will be required. Students given full credit for master’s work elsewhere will have one year in which to complete all work stipulated as conditions of admission or transfer of credit.
4. Each student must fill out the Supplementary Form for Graduate Study in Psychology.