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MS in Psychology

Chapter 6 Graduate Program Requirements/Course Descriptions
College of Liberal and Fine Arts

DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY

Master of Science Degree in Psychology

The Master of Science degree in Psychology is designed to address the needs of two groups of students: students who wish to pursue doctoral studies and need additional coursework and research experience in order to be competitive for admission to doctoral programs, and students who need graduate-level training in order to be competitive for jobs in behavioral science laboratories or industrial/organizational settings. The program is designed to give students extensive research experience and coursework in experimental methodology, statistics, and the content areas of experimental psychology (e.g., social, personality, cognitive, developmental, clinical).

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Program Admission Requirements. Degree-seeking students normally are not admitted for the summer semesters due to course-sequence requirements in the program. Applicants for unconditional admission in the Fall or Spring Semesters must meet University-wide admission requirements in addition to the following psychology admission requirements:

  1. Scores on the verbal and quantitative sections of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) must be submitted before the application is considered complete and will be used as part of the selection criteria for admission to the program.
  2. Completion of a minimum of 18 undergraduate semester credit hours in psychology (12 of which must be at the upperdivision level). These hours must include at least one course in statistics and one course in experimental psychology. A single course that combines instruction in statistics and experimental methodology may be accepted, pending the approval of the Graduate Committee in Psychology.
  3. A grade point average of at least 3.0 in the last 60 hours of undergraduate coursework and a 3.0 grade point average in psychology courses.
  4. Completion of the Psychology Graduate Application, which addresses issues pertaining to research experience and professional goals. Call the Department of Psychology to request the application.
  5. Two letters of recommendation from behavioral scientists with whom the applicant has taken undergraduate or graduate courses. Recommendation forms are included with the Psychology Graduate Application.
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All application materials must be submitted by the University’s fall application deadline. The Psychology Graduate Application and the letters of recommendation should be sent directly to the Graduate Advisor of Record in the Department of Psychology. The University application form and application fee, official school transcripts, and GRE scores should be sent directly to the Office of Graduate Studies.

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Applicants who do not meet requirements for unconditional admission will be considered for admission on a conditional basis if there are indications of unrealized potential.

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The highly individualized nature of the program dictates that a limited number of students be admitted each year. For this reason, early submission of application materials is strongly encouraged.

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Degree Requirements. The minimum number of semester credit hours required for this degree, exclusive of coursework or other study required to remove admission deficiencies, is 36. Typically, students complete the program in two years (taking three courses a semester, excluding summers) or three years (taking two courses a semester, excluding summers).

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Degree candidates must complete

A. 15 semester credit hours of core courses

PSY 5113 Contemporary Research Paradigms in Psychology
PSY 5213 Design Considerations in Behavioral Research
PSY 5413 Inferential Statistics
PSY 6113 Perspectives in Measurement of Behavior
PSY 6213 Correlation and Regression Analyses

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B. 9 hours chosen from

PSY 5303 Research Seminar in Developmental Psychology
PSY 5313 Research Seminar in Psychopathology
PSY 5323 Research Seminar in Individual Differences and Personality Assessment
PSY 5333 Research Seminar in Social Psychological Research
PSY 5343 Research Seminar in Human Cognition
PSY 5353 Research Seminar in Industrial/Organizational Psychology
PSY 5363 Research Seminar in Health Psychology and Stress
PSY 5373 Research Seminar in Program Evaluation

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C. 6 hours of electives chosen from

PSY 6513 Psychology Research Internship
PSY 6523 Research Apprenticeship in Psychology
PSY 6951-3 Independent Study
PSY 6973 Special Problems

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D. Option 1 (with thesis): A Master’s thesis and 6 hours of PSY 6983 Master’s Thesis

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Option 2 (without thesis): 3 additional hours must be completed from the seminar option listed in Section B and PSY 6513 or PSY 6523 must be completed for an additional 3 hours of credit from the electives listed in Section C. Students seeking this option must notify the Psychology Graduate Program Committee of their intent at least one semester prior to their anticipated graduation date. Students should expect to take the comprehensive examination required for this option during the semester in which they plan to complete the degree. The comprehensive examination can be attempted twice but only once a semester.

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Students admitted to the program should consult their assigned faculty advisors or the Graduate Advisor of Record for specific program requirements.

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The program does not require proficiency in a foreign language. A written thesis proposal, approved by the student’s thesis committee, is required before the student may register for PSY 6983 Master’s Thesis.

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