Students are not admitted directly to the Master of Arts program. However, students admitted to the Ph.D. program may, with the approval of the faculty, pursue a Master of Arts degree. This option is available only to students who are initially admitted to the Ph.D. degree program. Students admitted to the Psy.D. program are not permitted to pursue a Master of Arts degree in psychology.

Non-Terminal M.A. in Psychology (students continuing in the doctoral program)

Students are encouraged to earn their M.A. in psychology by:

• Completing the core courses marked with an asterisk (*),
• Registration and completion of three additional hours of NSC 5V99 Thesis/PSY 5V99 Thesis, and
• Proposing, completing, and defending a thesis.

M.A. requirements are usually completed by the second or third year of study.

Terminal M.A. in Psychology

In rare circumstances, a student admitted to the doctoral program may leave before completing all of the work required of the Ph.D. In exceptional cases, the student may be given the opportunity to complete a terminal M.A. in psychology. This terminal M.A. requires completion of at least five additional hours, taken from PSY 5V51 Supervised Teaching, PSY 5V96 Research Methods in Experimental Psychology and/or electives, and may or may not require completing and defending a thesis, depending on the nature of the work and the decision of the psychology faculty and program director.