Fifth-Year M.A. Program
Application Deadline: February 1
The Fifth-Year M.A. program allows selected students to earn both a B.A. or B.S. in Psychology or Neuroscience and an M.A. in Psychology in five years.聽涩里番下载 undergraduate majors may apply to continue their studies beyond the B.A. or B.S.聽and earn an M.A. with the equivalent of a fifth, consecutive year of full-time study. The purpose of the program is to allow students a greater opportunity for concentrated study and research training. Such training is excellent preparation for application to a Ph.D. program.
Applications聽are due by February 1 of the junior year. Students interested in the program must find an advisor in the Psychology Department willing to supervise their research. Students who are studying abroad in their junior year should find an advisor before leaving the country, and can apply from abroad. Students apply for admission to the Graduate School of the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences.
Students apply to one of our five graduate areas, which determines the two 5000-level area seminars required. Students must submit a statement of purpose, two letters of recommendation, and an official transcript. The GRE is not required. Admission to the program normally requires an overall and a Psychology GPA of 3.33. Students accepted in the聽Fifth Year M.A. program may also apply to Ph.D. programs in their senior year. If admitted, they may choose to go to a Ph.D. program instead of completing the Fifth Year M.A. program.
If admitted to the Fifth-Year M.A. program, all tuition and fees are the responsibility of the student. There is no additional financial support available to students in the Fifth Year M.A. program.
Students admitted to the program must take two courses in their senior year: PSYC5501 Experimental Design and Statistics and a 5000-level seminar required by the student鈥檚 area. These courses count for graduate credit as well as for the undergraduate degree. In their fifth year, students take an advanced statistics course and the second 5000-level seminar required by the student鈥檚 area.
Students also begin intensive research with an advisor and complete this research in the form of a Master鈥檚 research project.
Fourth Year (6 credits towards the M.A. degree)
- PSYC5501 Experimental Design & Statistics
- A 5000-level course determined by the student鈥檚 area
Fifth Year (24 credits toward the M.A. degree)
- A second advanced statistics course: SOCY7703, ERME8668, or the equivalent (3 credits)
- A second 5000-level course determined by the student鈥檚 area (3 credits)
- Two research workshops with the student's advisor (6 credits)
- Four other courses (possibly independent studies) (12 credits)
- PSYC6692 Professional Development Workshop (0-credit, ungraded course)
In addition to coursework, the student completes a Master's research project. The project reports original empirical research initiated and carried out in the Fifth Year M.A. program. Although the entire project is done in close collaboration with the advisor, the student should be the major contributor. Thus, the student should qualify for senior authorship on the project when it is submitted for publication (which we strongly encourage). Evaluation of the project is based on the criterion of publishability鈥攚ith the exception that results need not have turned out statistically significant. The project is to be written in the form of an article publishable in a good journal in the student's area.
Defense
An oral defense of the completed project must be held in front of the three-person Master's committee. The student must submit an approval form (Form 4 from the Ph.D. track) by March 31.
Frequently Asked Questions
With the exception of Statistics, we generally offer graduate courses every other year.
Yes.
Students must begin research during their senior year so that it is completed by the end of their fifth year. However, only the two courses (6 credits) listed above under Fourth Year count as credit for the Master's degree.
Research conducted in the fifth year through Research Workshop and Independent Study courses counts for credit.
Yes, students may be enrolled in both the Psychology Honors Program and the Fifth Year M.A. program. The Master's research project may be an extension of the research constituting the undergraduate honors thesis.
Use the standard form for applying to the graduate program, and choose the Ph.D. option. After you apply your application will be handled as an M.A. application.
Scott Slotnick, the Graduate Program Director.