All Experimental and Clinical PHD students must meet the Requirements for the Master's Degree prior to advancement to candidacy for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
Overview
The terminal Master of Arts in Experimental or Clinical Psychology is aimed at students who wish to pursue a doctorate and want to strengthen their credentials to be competitive for doctoral programs, students who wish to pursue careers that require research skills, or students who wish to gain an understanding of research as it pertains to intervention and prevention. A thesis-based and a non-thesis based option is offered. For students who wish to pursue research-related careers and/or increase their competitiveness for PhD programs, the thesis option is recommended. For students who need a Master’s degree for a non-research related career, for example in education, law, or business, the non-thesis option is recommended.
For the thesis-based option, applicants are required to identify a thesis mentor among the faculty in the Department of Psychological Science.
Learning goals for Master of Arts in Psychology students are:
- Development of a foundational understanding in the area of research specialization.
- Development of effective skills in communicating Psychological Science.
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Thesis option: Development of strong research skills
NOTE: It is not the program's goal to train licensed therapists pursuing a career in clinical practice. Hence, this program’s curriculum does not provide any supervised practicum or internship hours necessary for licensure. Students interested in a career as a licensed therapist should pursue that goal via the Master’s program in Counseling through the College of Education and Social Services.
Specific Requirements
Requirements for Admission to Graduate Studies for the Degree of Master of Arts
A major or its equivalent in undergraduate psychology is recommended, with a recommended minimum overall GPA of 3.3 and a GPA of 3.5 in the major. For the thesis-based option, applicants to the concentration in Experimental Psychology should have coursework in experimental psychology, and applicants to the concentration in Clinical Psychology should have completed abnormal psychology. 3 letters of recommendation are required, and letter-writers should comment on the readiness of the applicant for a graduate program. For the thesis-based option, 1 of the 3 letters of recommendation must be from the prospective faculty mentor and there must be completion of 3 or more undergraduate research credits with the prospective mentor prior to admission. Satisfactory scores on the Graduate Record Examination are required. Subject scores (Psychology) are not required but are strongly recommended for students applying without a psychology major. An interview is required of top applicants.
Minimum Degree Requirements
Students pursue the thesis-based option with either a Experimental Psychology or Clinical Psychology concentration. The non-thesis based option does not have a concentration. For students pursuing the thesis-based option in Experimental Psychology, 9-15 credits must be accumulated in Master’s Thesis research, in addition to successful defense of an empirical Master’s Thesis. For students pursuing the concentration in Clinical Psychology, 9 credits must be accumulated in Master’s Thesis research, in addition to successful defense of an empirical Master’s Thesis. Detailed information on courses of study is available on the department website.
Thesis-Based Option: Experimental Psychology Concentration
| CATEGORY A: RESEARCH (6 credits) | ||
| 1 of the following combinations: | ||
| Adv Statistical Methods I and Adv Statistical Methods II | ||
| Seminar in Psyc Research Meth and Adv Statistical Methods I | ||
| CATEGORY B: EXPERIMENTAL (minimum of 6 credits) | ||
| At least 2 of the following: | ||
| Biobehavioral Proseminar | ||
| Proseminar in Exp Social Psych | ||
| Developmental Proseminar | ||
| CATEGORY C: ELECTIVES (minimum of 3 credits) | ||
| At least 1 additional 6000-level Psychology course | 3 | |
| CATEGORY D: MASTER'S THESIS RESEARCH | ||
| PSYS 6391 | Master's Thesis Research | 9-15 |
Thesis-Based Option: Clinical Psychology Concentration
| CATEGORY A: RESEARCH (6 credits) | ||
| 1 of the following combinations: | ||
| Adv Statistical Methods I and Adv Statistical Methods II | ||
| Seminar in Psyc Research Meth and Adv Statistical Methods I | ||
| CATEGORY B: CLINICAL (minimum of 9 credits) | ||
| At least 1 course from each pair below is required: | ||
| PSYS 6705 | Child Psychopathology | 3 |
| or PSYS 6720 | Adult Psychopathology | |
| PSYS 6715 | Behavior Therapy: Children | 3 |
| or PSYS 6730 | Adult Cognitive & Behav Thrpy | |
| PSYS 6710 | Child & Adolescent Psyc Assess | 3 |
| or PSYS 6725 | Adult Psychological Assessment | |
| CATEGORY C: ELECTIVES (6 credits) | ||
| 2 additional 6000-level Psychology courses. | 6 | |
Students may substitute 1 of the following 2 courses for 1 of the additional 6000-level Psychology courses: | ||
| Special Topics (Advanced Fit Kids: Applied Res) | ||
| Special Topics (Advanced Fit Kids: Special Populations) | ||
| CATEGORY D: MASTER'S THESIS RESEARCH | ||
| PSYS 6391 | Master's Thesis Research | 6-9 |
Non-Thesis Option
| CATEGORY A: STATISTICS AND RESEARCH METHODS (6 credits) | ||
| 1 of the following combinations: | ||
| Adv Statistical Methods I and Adv Statistical Methods II | ||
| Seminar in Psyc Research Meth and Adv Statistical Methods I | ||
| CATEGORY B: ELECTIVES (24 credits) | ||
| 8 additional 6000-level Psychology courses | ||
Comprehensive Examination
For the thesis-based option, a written thesis proposal and an oral examination serves as the comprehensive examination. For the non-thesis option, a written examination based on coursework serves as the comprehensive examination. The Comprehensive Examination requirement should be completed by the end of the first semester of the second year in the program.
Requirements for Advancement to Candidacy for the Degree of Master of Arts
Satisfactory completion of the comprehensive examination.