As a special-purpose institution of higher  education  for urban programming,  Texas Southern University  embraces  the concept of a liberal arts education, particularly as it addresses the biopsychosocial needs and societal values and norms of culturally diverse populations in urban environments. Within this context, the mission of the Master of Arts degree program in the Department of Psychology is to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge, values, and competencies of professional psychology through didactic training and practical experience; to develop a master’s level psychologist who is clinically competent, ethically- grounded, scientifically informed, and culturally responsive to the practice,  research,  and policy  mandates  of psychology  as a profession; and to lay the foundation for doctoral level training or professional licensure at the master’s level. The learning objectives of the graduate program in the Department of Psychology are as follows:

1. To enhance students’ understanding of the major theories, concepts, current research, and historical trends in professional psychology;
2. To train students in basic research methods, including study design, data analysis and reporting, and interpretation of results so that they can conduct research and be scientifically  informed  consumers of the empirical literature;
3. To promote students’ acquisition of critical thinking skills, skeptical inquiry, and evidenced-based approaches to solving human problems of living and disorders related to behavior and mental processes;
4. To train students to apply psychological principles and techniques to personal, social, and organizational issues; and
5. To promote professional competence so that students will be able to reflect the values underlying the practice of psychology by weighing evidence, tolerating ambiguity, acting ethically, and keeping abreast of advancements in the field.

Degree Programs

The Department of Psychology provides academic studies leading to the Master of Arts (M.A.) degree.  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) approves only the awarding of the M.A. degree  in Psychology  with no specialization. The department, however, offers two areas of concentration, Clinical- Community and School Psychology.  Students  are required to choose one of the areas of concentration, meet the required semester credit hours and those requirements designated  in the degree plan for successful completion of the program. Students also have the option of completing a Master’s Thesis.

Master’s Thesis Option

Students in both the Clinical-Community concentration and the School Psychology concentration have the option of completing a Master’s Thesis. After completing 12 hours of coursework in the program and being advanced to candidacy, students may enroll in PSY 832 Masters Res & Thesis I one semester and PSY 833 Masters Res & Thesis II the following semester. No more than 6 credit hours may be earned toward the Master’s Thesis. The 6 hours of Master’s Thesis coursework may be used to replace two courses on the student’s degree plan. However, students may not replace courses that are required for licensure.

Thesis research courses receive grades of satisfactory or unsatisfactory only. Grades are assigned only after the defense of the thesis. A successful defense and submission of the thesis requires the supervising member of the faculty to assign a satisfactory grade for the appropriate research courses.

Degree Requirements

In general, the departmental requirements for advancement to candidacy for the Master of Arts degree in Psychology are as follows:

1. Demonstrated proficiency in English by passing an examination in English or by completing the course English 501. A GRE analytical writing score of 3.5 or more may be presented to satisfy this requirement.
2. Departmental recommendation to candidacy status for the Master of Arts in Psychology.
3. Successful completion of the department’s Comprehensive Examination in Psychology. This examination is offered once during the fall semester and once during the spring semester. Students who fail one or both parts of the Comprehensive Examination will be given a second chance to take the part(s) they fail. A third attempt to pass the Examination will be permitted only after consultation and/or remediation.
4. Completion with a GPA of not less than 3.00 in all required and elective graduate courses taken to satisfy program requirements.
5. Complete 60 semester credits of graduate course work of which:
   1. All must have been earned within the past 7 years immediately preceding completion of the requirements for the degree.
   2. Not more than 6 hours may be transfer, extensions, and/or Classified or Unclassified Post- baccalaureate courses. In addition, a grade of B or better must have been earned in courses to be transferred into the program.
   3. Not more than 15 hours may be a combination of fieldwork and thesis/project when taken as individual supervision.
6. Earn no more than 6 semester hours with a grade of C+ or below. Grades of C+ or below are not accepted toward the Master of Arts in Psychology.

Candidacy

Advancement to candidacy as a formal candidate for the master’s degree requires prior completion of the following steps:

1. Completion in classified graduate status of four or more courses at the 500 level (minimum of twelve (12) hours) within the Department of Psychology.
2. Maintenance of a 3.0 GPA or better in all departmental coursework and in overall coursework.
3. Acceptance by the department of a proposed formal degree plan.
4. Recommendation by the faculty of the department for acceptance as a candidate.