The Master of Arts in Psychology program is a 42 - 43 semester hour program designed to develop mastery of the scientific principles and methods of psychology and their application. Students may elect to take a Clinical Pyschology Track or a General Psychology Track. All students are required to take a sequence of core curriculum coursework that emphasizes major academic areas within the discipline of psychology. In addition, students take specialized coursework to either prepare them for the professional aplication of psychological principles (Clinical Track) or to conduct psychological research (General Psychology Track). Upon admission, each student will meet with the Graduate Academic Advisor to develop a degree plan, and will then be assigned a faculty advisor who will assist them with acadmic decisions during the course of their degree program.

Clinical and General Psychology Track Options:

Clinical Track:

The primary education and training mission of the Clinical Track is to provide a program of study with an applied clinical emphasis to prepare students for the practice of psychology or counseling at the master’s level of licensure. In addition to the required course work, students will receive supervised clinical practicum experience as part of their training.Upon completion of the program, Clinical Track graduates will meet the necessary qualifications to take the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists examination for certification as a Licensed Psychological Associate (LPA). With additional coursework and experience, graduates may elect to take the Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), or Licensed Specialist in School Psychology (LSSP) examinations. Following licensure, graduates typically work under the supervision of a licensed psychologist, or as independent practitioners in a variety of public agency and private settings.

Clinical Track with Thesis Option:

Students who complete the Clinical Track may also elect to do an empirical master’s thesis in addition to their required clinical coursework. This option may be best suited to those students who wish to pursue advanced clinical training at the doctoral level. In general, students who complete the Clinical Track with a thesis option can expect to take longer to complete the required program of coursework.

General Psychology Track:

The purpose of the General Psychology Track is to provide a program of study with a research emphasis. In addition to the required course work, students will conduct an empirical master’s thesis under the direction and supervision of the student’s thesis committee. Graduates who complete the General Psychology Track typically go on to apply to research-oriented doctoral programs or find employment in various non-clinical positions within private industry. The General Psychology Track option does not include supervised clinical experience and thus does not prepare the student for any form of clinical licensure.