The mission of the M.A. program in Psychology is to develop student abilities in the use of scientific methods to study human behavior.
Tenets:
A solid basis in research skills. Our approach to training in the psychological sciences emphasizes the development of student’s research skills, through a combination of course work, hands-on research experience, and mentorship. The core courses in this program push students to develop skills in the critical evaluation of scientific literature, as well as a strong theoretical understanding of the principles of ethical research design, and of the proper collection, management, and statistical analysis of empirical data.
Research mentorship and hands-on experience. This program uses a mentorship model of training to help students develop and reinforce strong research skills. Each student will identify a faculty mentor with shared research interests, who will be expected to integrate the student into her or his research program, develop the student’s research skills, and guide the student through an empirical thesis project. Thus, students that matriculate into this program will have the opportunity to work closely with affiliated faculty members and gain hands-on experience in all aspects of the research process.
The faculty members affiliated with the M.A. in Psychology program is comprised of researchers with a diverse set of research interests arrayed across several psychology subdisciplines, including biological, cognitive, social, developmental, clinical and health psychology. Prospective students are encouraged to consider any affiliated faculty member as a possible mentor, to pursue a thesis project relevant to their mentor’s research expertise, and to submit their research for publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals, or for presentation at relevant scientific conventions.
A broad base of psychological knowledge. Coursework in the MA in psychology program will expose students to concepts from a broad range of psychological subdisciplines. The knowledge students accumulate will prepare them to conduct research in any psychology subdiscipline.