MS in Psychology

The School of Psychological Science offers a M.S. in Psychology. The M.S. is earned as part of the Ph.D. completion; it is not a terminal degree. The program focuses on the application of psychological methods and research to solving practical problems, with areas of concentration in Applied Cognition, Engineering Psychology, and Health Psychology. Graduates of the program will be qualified to define access, analyze, and evaluate problems in both the private and public sectors that are behavior based. The program has a strong research component, ensuring that graduates have the tools to tackle a variety of applied problems. The program has three areas of concentration: applied cognition, engineering psychology, and health psychology. Applied cognition is the application of research on thinking, learning, decision-making, perception, social judgment, and other cognitive processes to applied issues. Examples of relevant application areas include the psychology of teaching and learning, the effects of contemplative practice, and risk perception. Engineering psychology refers to research at the intersection of psychology and technology. Relevant topics include such things as the improvement of technology, human-machine interfaces, transportation, information systems, and work and living environments (as in the Mission of Division 21 of the American Psychological Association). Health psychology concerns the relations between psychological factors (e.g., cognition, motivation, individual and interpersonal behavior, emotion) and human wellness broadly defined (as in the mission of the APA Division 38).