Psychological Research (MA)

Psychological Research

Students acquire skills and competencies relevant to the ethical conduct of basic and applied psychological research.

Students work closely with highly qualified faculty mentors, learning about research relevant to their interests. The Department of Psychology has resources to assist and support graduate students, such as office space, specialized facilities and software for data collection and analysis, funding for conference travel and graduate assistantships.

Course Work

The M.A. in Psychological Research is a two-year, full-time program of study. The program requires the completion of 38 credit hours, consisting of 20 hours of core courses (six thesis hours taken in the second year) and 18 hours of electives. Courses are taught by faculty renowned for their expertise in developmental, health, clinical, cognitive and social psychology, as well as human factors and neuroscience (both basic and clinical). At least 12 hours of elective course credit must be obtained by completing courses offered by the Department of Psychology. Elective courses completed outside of the department require the consent of the program director to be added to a student’s degree plan.

Program Details

The faculty is a diverse group of experts with specialized labs for electrophysiology, sleep, exercise, salivary analysis, data science, eye-tracking and behavioral testing with children and adults, including software for online remote data collection and analysis.

Program Mission

The mission of the program is to foster competence in the methodological foundations and conduct of psychological research across a wide variety of settings. Students will gain expertise regarding the impact of biological, social, emotional, cognitive and behavioral factors on psychological phenomena and use this knowledge to conduct original research in their area of interest. Focus is placed on learning interpersonal, research and statistical skills and competencies relevant to the responsible and ethical conduct of both basic and applied psychological research.

Career Options

Graduates are prepared to work as research associates in academic, clinical, community, corporate and government settings. Students will learn skills that enable them to design and conduct ethical research, evaluate/synthesize information derived from various sources and communicate effectively in both written and oral formats. Competencies gained also benefit individuals wishing to pursue clinical or experimental doctoral degrees in psychology.

Program Faculty

The graduate faculty in the Department of Psychology consists of internationally recognized individuals trained at universities such as Harvard, Yale, Duke, and Northwestern, who are highly active in research. Faculty members work closely with students to develop original research in a mutual area of interest. Research interests of graduate faculty include:

• clinical psychology
• cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience
• developmental psychology
• health psychology
• social and international psychology
• psychology and diversity
• human factors
• psychometrics and quantitative psychology