M.S. in Psychology - General Psychology Concentration
The M.S. program in General Psychology is designed primarily for those students who seek to improve their knowledge, skills, and research experience in psychology to strengthen their educational background for application to doctoral programs. A strong focus on student research experience helps to prepare students for continuing graduate study at the doctoral level. The program may also prepare students for a range of occupations in business, government, and other non-academic research settings, as students learn critical thinking and data analysis skills that are attractive to both public and private research firms.
Course work for the General Psychology program is designed around a core curriculum of statistics, research design, substantive areas of psychology, and a research-based thesis. Students enrolled in this program are expected to develop an understanding of the fundamental areas of psychology, to acquire a high level of sophistication in statistics, experimental design, data analysis, psychological measurement, and quantitative methods, and to conduct research in a specialized area of study. The M.S. program in General Psychology does not provide clinical training. The program does not provide training to apply for licensure and practice as a licensed psychologist. Students interested in a career that includes clinical preparation should consider the Clinical Psychology PsyD program.
Curriculum
The General program includes 15 semester hours of required course work including: PSY 510, PSY 524, PSY600, PSY601, PSY602. Students will choose 9 semester hours of Core Foundations in Psychology courses from PSY 506, PSY 512, PSY 540, PSY 562, PSY 568, PSY 605, PSY 607, PSY 608, PSY 609, PSY 700, PSY 701. In addition, 12 semester hours of electives must be taken. Electives may include two courses taken outside of the Psychology department. Completing a thesis (PSY610) is optional in the General Psychology M.S. program.
General MS Advising Guide Sample Course Plan
Admission Requirements for the M.S. Degree Programs
The minimum requirements for consideration for admission in Psychology are:
- An undergraduate overall GPA of 3.0
- A GPA of 3.25 or more in Psychology courses. Applicants who are not psychology majors may be required to complete undergraduate psychology courses as a condition of admission to the program after review of academic transcript by the Graduate Coordinator.
- Three letters of recommendation addressing the applicants’ areas of growth and specifying the length of time and in what capacity the recommender knows the applicant. At least one of the letters should come from an academic source.
- A 2000-word personal goals statement addressing the applicants’ professional goals, academic background, and professional experiences and why WCU is a good fit for the chosen program of study.
Admission to the degree programs is Fall only, with March 1 as the deadline for initial review. Applications received after March 1 will be reviewed only on a space-available basis. Students may not change programs of study in Psychology without approval of the Graduate Coordinator.
Provisional Admission Policy
Provisional admission is available to applicants at the discretion of the Graduate Coordinator after a complete review of the applicant’s file. Provisional admission will be considered if the applicant can demonstrate substantial, but not complete, satisfaction of the requirements for full admission, and if the applicant can demonstrate the strong potential for successful completion of the program. Relevant work experience will also be considered for provisional admittance. Students may be permitted to change from one concentration to other after a review by the Graduate Coordinator. Students admitted on a Provisional basis must petition to be admitted to Full status when they have successfully met the provisions specified at the time of their admission.
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Should you have questions about the Graduate Admission Application process or wish to make any changes after you submit your application, please contact The Graduate School or call us at 610-436-2943. If you call our office, please note our hours of operation are from 8:00AM until 4:30PM Monday through Friday.