Masters Program Overview
DESCRIPTION OF THE MASTERS PROGRAM IN PSYCHOLOGY
The 1-Year MA Program in General Psychology provides an advanced education preparing students for a career in psychology or related fields directly after graduation or to further graduate education in psychology or related fields such as business, law, medicine, and social work.
The full-time program begins with the first Summer Session and continues through the second Summer Session as well as the Fall and Spring academic semesters.
- MA students are required to enroll in a statistics course during the Summer (PSY501). Students are also required to enroll in a weekly seminar in the Fall semester with all first year graduate students (PSY504), which include discussions of current research and research practices by faculty and visiting speakers.
- MA students can select among a wide range of courses in the Psychology Department from clinical psychology, cognitive science, developmental psychology, integrative neuroscience, and social and health psychology. For information on the courses offered, see the link below. (Note: not all courses are offered every year.)
https://www.stonybrook.edu/sb/graduatebulletin/current/academicprograms/psy/
- In the Fall and Spring semesters, MA students have the opportunity to enroll in weekly seminars in either Cognitive Science, Integrative Neuroscience, or Social and Health Psychology (PSY581, 582, 583, 584, 585, or 586). These seminars include presentations on current research problems.
- MA students have a faculty advisor specifically for the MA program who is available for consultation on course selection, career opportunities, and other matters.
- The MA program includes professional development opportunities that address students’ concerns about graduate school, career and personal goals, professional presentation, etc.
- Depending on students’ interests and qualifications, MA students have the opportunity to engage in research under the direction of faculty in the Psychology and Psychiatry Departments.
- A wide variety of internships are available to MA students, which provide them with experiential learning relevant to their future careers.
- Applicants to the MA program will be evaluated on the basis of their GPAs (minimum 3.25), three letters of recommendation, and their personal statement. GREs are optional.
TIMELINE:
- End of February: Application period ends.
- March and April: Offers of admission are made.
- End of May (Summer Session 1): Program begins.
- Mid-May of the following year: Graduation.
In light of the extraordinarily short period between admissions offers and the start of the MA program, applicants should carefully consider whether they will be able to satisfy all bureaucratic and practical tasks to join the MA program on time.
- Completion of the MA program will be contingent on completion of 30 credits with at least a 3.0 GPA, as per the regulations of the Graduate School. Additionally, students are expected to earn grades of C or better in all courses.
Sample Curriculum:
| Semester | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Summer session 1 | Professional Skills Seminar (PSY610) | 3 |
| Summer session 2 | Graduate Statistics (PSY501) | 3 |
| Fall | Weekly seminar (PSY581, 583, or 585) | 0 |
| First year seminar (PSY504) | 0 | |
| Course in Abnormal Psychology | 3 | |
| Course in Social Psychology | 3 | |
| Research | 3 | |
| Internship | 3 | |
| Spring | Weekly seminar (PSY582, 584, or 586) | 0 |
| Course in Cognitive Science | 3 | |
| Course in Integrative Neuroscience | 3 | |
| Research or other elective | 3 | |
| Internship | 3 | |
| Total | 30 |