Your advisor can help you choose your class schedule, research projects and thesis.
Program Requirements
Select your option area
You will also complete a set of core courses.
Degree requirements
The program has been designed as a full-time, two-year (four semester) course of study. The total number of credits required for graduation is 47 semester hours. Because most required courses will not be offered nights or weekends, and the Practicum, Internship, Directed Research, and Thesis require time blocks available during the day, a student will be unable to complete all of the degree requirements on a part-time basis. The student must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or better, show satisfactory progress toward completion of degree requirements, and correct any unsatisfactory performances.
If deficiencies are not removed during the succeeding semester, the student may be terminated from the program.
Students are expected to conform to the Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct of the American Psychological Association. All students will be evaluated periodically on performance in course work, development of research skills, and professional development. Performance of assistantship duties will also be evaluated if applicable.
The purpose of these periodic evaluations is to determine if the student's continuation in the program is warranted. Evaluation procedures are available in the departmental office.
Core requirements (required for all options)
| Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| PSY 745 | Statistics and Research Design | 3 hrs |
| PSY 752 | Research Methods | 3 hrs |
| PSY 761 | Ethical and Professional Issues | 3 hrs |
| PSY 780 | Social Psychology | 3 hrs |
| PSY 796 | Practicum | 6 hrs |
| PSY 798 OR PSY 799 | Internship or Thesis | 3 hrs |
| Total | 21 hrs |
Industrial-Organizational option course requirements
| Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Core Courses – see above | 21 hrs | |
| Required I-O Courses – see below | 21 hrs | |
| PSY 716 | Applied Psychology in Human Resource Management | 3 hrs |
| PSY 718 | Organizational Psychology | 3 hrs |
| PSY 750 | Advanced Survey | 3 hrs |
| PSY 798 OR PSY 799 | Internship or Thesis | 3 hrs (total of 6 hrs in core and track) |
Plus at least three (3) courses from the following list:
| Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| PSY 753 | Program Evaluation | 3 hrs |
| PSY 771 | Occupational Health Psychology | 3 hrs |
| PSY 772 | Performance Assessment | 3 hrs |
| PSY 773 | Human Factors | 3 hrs |
| PSY 774 | Training and Development | 3 hrs |
| PSY 776 | Personnel Selection, Placement and Classification | 3 hrs |
| PSY 778 | Group Processes | 3 hrs |
| PSY 779 | Topics in Industrial-Organizational Psychology | 3-9 hrs |
| Electives: Graduate courses chosen from the offerings of Psychology, Management, Communications and Mass Media, and other departments must be approved by the student's committee. | minimum of 5 hrs |
Clinical option course requirements
| Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Core Courses – see above | 21 hrs | |
| Required Clinical Courses – see below | 26 hrs | |
| PSY 720 | Individualized Intelligence Test | 3 hrs |
| PSY 740 | Psychological Assessment | 3 hrs |
| PSY 760 | Clinical Communication Skills | 3 hrs |
| PSY 765 | Psychotherapy & Counseling: Theories & Techniques | 3 hrs |
| PSY 764 | Group Psychotherapy | 3 hrs |
| PSY 766 | Psychopathology | 3 hrs |
| Electives: With approval of the advisor, 600- and 700-level courses from Psychology and other departments may be used to complete the electives.. | 8 hrs |
Experimental option course requirements
| Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Core Courses – see above | 21 hrs | |
| Required Experimental Track Courses – see below | 26 hrs | |
| PSY 750 | Advanced Survey | 3 hrs |
| PSY 799 | Thesis | 3 hrs (total of 6 hrs in core and track) |
| Plus 4 courses selected from the following: | 12 hrs | |
| PSY 606 | Perception | 3 hrs |
| PSY 614 | Introduction to Applied Behavior Analysis | 3 hrs |
| PSY 612 | Personality Theory and Systems | 3 hrs |
| PSY 619 | Cognitive Development | 3 hrs |
| PSY 622 | Physiological Psychology | 3 hrs |
| PSY 625 | Motivation and Emotion | 3 hrs |
| PSY 629 | Psychological Tests and Measurements | 3 hrs |
| PSY 634 | Psychology of Infancy | 3 hrs |
| PSY 701 | Symposium in Psychology | 3 hrs |
| PSY 703 | Human Growth and Development | 3 hrs |
| PSY 708 | Memory | 3 hrs |
| PSY 751 | Seminar in Methods of Research | 3 hrs |
| Electives: Under direction of the student’s committee, 600- and 700-level courses from psychology and other departments may be used to complete the electives. | 8 hrs |
Comprehensive examination
A written comprehensive examination must be passed by the candidate before a degree will be granted.
Culminating experiences
Culminating experiences are crucial to the MS in Psychology program because these experiences are typically a major consideration in employment and in opportunities for doctoral study. Students must complete six hours of either PSY 798 (Internship) or PSY 799 (Thesis), or three hours for the Clinical option, before they earn their degrees.
Internships will be congruent with program goals and will be conducted in sites appropriate to the career goals of each student. For each credit hour, students must serve 60 hours at the internship agency. Evaluation of student performance will come from two sources: first, supervisors and caseworkers at the agency, and second, university faculty including the Graduate Program Coordinator and the director of the internship. Besides providing extensive, supervised fieldwork, the internship will allow students to integrate theoretical and research knowledge with specific aspects of the applied experience.
The primary purpose of the thesis is to allow the student to establish and demonstrate research competency. In the pursuit of this goal, students will learn the following:
- How to identify an original and significant research problem;
- How to conduct comprehensive background literature searches on the topic;
- How to collect, analyze, and interpret data; and
- How to communicate research results in a scientifically lucid fashion.
The written thesis followed by an oral defense will serve this function.