Psychology, M.S.

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For the graduate programs in Clinical Psychology, Family Therapy, School Psychology and Industrial/Organizational Psychology, please see their respective sections.

The graduate program in psychology leads to the Master of Science degree. The program is a vehicle for advanced study of human behavior and provides students with a variety of theoretical perspectives from across psychology such as social, cognitive, developmental, and neuroscience. The program is designed for students planning to work in social service or research centers, teach at the community college level or pursue doctoral programs. This program does not prepare students for licensure to provide therapy services.

The Master of Science in Psychology requires 36 hours with a thesis or project as the master’s option or 39 hours with the internship or comprehensive exam as the master’s option. Any undergraduate prerequisite hours not completed before enrollment will become additional requirements. Concentrations are available in the following areas: Human Factors Psychology and Neuroscience and Behavior. Students accepted into concentration areas may be required to take additional hours. For more information about concentration opportunities, refer to individual concentration sections in this catalog.

All applicants whose GPA in the last 60 credit hours is less than 3.50 must submit a GRE score. For applicants whose cumulative GPA falls below 3.00, a combination of GPA and GRE must at least meet HSH admission requirements listed under “Admission into an HSH program of study” in this catalog.

Prerequisites

The following prerequisites are required for this degree.

PSYC 2301 or equivalent (three hours).
Course in statistics. Students whose undergraduate work does not include three hours in statistics must take PSYC 4370 or PSYC 4371.
Students are expected to demonstrate graduate-level writing ability. Those students whose writing is deemed unacceptable will be advised to take remedial courses.

Grades

Only grades of B- or better will count toward the Master of Science in Psychology. Grades of C+ or below are not acceptable.

Degree Requirements

Research and Statistics (6 hours)

Choose TWO of the following courses.

PSYC 6035 - Qualitative Research Methods Credit Hours: 3
PSYC 6036 - Advanced Nonexperimental Methods and Statistics Credit Hours: 3
PSYC 6037 - Advanced Experimental Methods and Statistics Credit Hours: 3

Psychology Core (12 hours)

PSYC 5031 - Human Growth and Development Credit Hours: 3
PSYC 5235 - Learning Principles Credit Hours: 3
PSYC 5532 - Advanced Social Psychology Credit Hours: 3
PSYC 6134 - Biological Basis of Behavior Credit Hours: 3
PSYC 6832 - Advanced Cognitive and Affective Psychology Credit Hours: 3

Electives (12 hours)

Twelve additional hours are selected from Psychology and/or other relevant disciplines. Up to nine hours may be come from a combination of ANTH, CRCL, or SOCI. Courses from other disciplines may be approved by the faculty adviser.

Psychological Diversity

Students completing the Graduate Internship or Comprehensive Exams Master’s Option will choose one of the following options. Another comparable class may be approved by the faculty adviser.

PSYC 5437 - Aging Credit Hours: 3
PSYC 5438 - Development of Gender and Racial Identity Credit Hours: 3
PSYC 5533 - Psychology of Gender, Race, and Sexuality Credit Hours: 3

Master’s Option

Choose ONE of the following options. For thesis and project, complete 6 hours. For internship, complete 6 hours plus a psychological diversity course. For the comprehensive exam, complete one additional psychology core course, one additional PSYC elective and a psychological diversity course.

PSYC 6739 - Graduate Internship Credit Hours: 3
PSYC 6839 - Master’s Project Research Credit Hours: 3
PSYC 6909 - Psychology Comprehensive Exam Credit Hours: 0
PSYC 6939 - Master’s Thesis Research Credit Hours: 3

Additional Information

A psychology faculty member must agree to supervise a thesis or project and may choose to cease supervision if a student does not make satisfactory progress. Master’s projects, theses, and internships require continuous registration during each fall and spring semester until completion for a minimum of six hours. If students do not maintain continuous registration in the master’s project, thesis, or internship, previously accumulated master’s option credits will not count toward the master’s degree.

Coursework with a comprehensive exam option is available to students. In addition to the Research and Statistics courses, students should complete 15 hours of Psychology core, 15 hours of Electives, 3 hours of Psychological Diversity, and PSYC 6909 in the last semester of the degree. The comprehensive exam will consist of questions from the five core courses in psychology and research/statistics, therefore, it is suggested that no course substitution be made.