Master of Science in Experimental Psychology: Program Goals

Prepare students for doctoral or professional study in psychology and related fields.

Prepare students for community college and college teaching in psychology.

Prepare students for research and evaluation positions with public and private employers.

Support our other master's programs in professional psychology with foundational instruction in conducting and interpreting psychological research.

Program Objectives

Assessment

Facilitate student progress to advanced levels of knowledge and practice in the methods of experimental psychology: typical research paradigms, general research design, and data analysis.

Papers, practice sets, and examinations in PSY 550, 555, and 558. Assess data from master's thesis research.

Facilitate student progress to advanced levels of knowledge of the fundamental content areas of experimental psychology, including learning, physiological, and cognitive bases of behavior. For many of our students, the comparative psychology of primate behavior is an additional emphasis.

Papers and examinations in content courses. For some students, additional assessment in research teams, directed research classes, teaching and research assistantships, and volunteer service in research settings.

Provide advanced study in selected specialized research areas of interest to students and in which at least one faculty member has interest and expertise. Form a close scholarly relationship between student and faculty member.

Papers and examinations in PSY 595, Directed Research, and PSY 700, Thesis. Graduate research and teaching assistantship activities for some students.

Create and execute an independent research study under the direction of a faculty committee. Aspects include a review of relevant past research and theory, statement of a research hypothesis, collection and analysis of data, and interpretation of results.

Papers and examinations in PSY 595, Directed Research, and PSY 700, Thesis.

Student Learning Outcomes

Assessment

Identify and describe the strengths and weaknesses of group and individual experimental designs. Describe and perform univariate and multivariate statistical analyses of experimental data from these types of studies.

Papers, practice sets, and examinations in PSY 550, 555,and 558. Assess date from master's thesis research.

Describe and contrast major concepts, theories, and supportive research in foundational areas of learning, physiological psychology, and comparative psychology.

Papers and examination in PSY 551, 576, and 588.

Describe and contrast major concepts, theories, and supportive research in at least one focused area of study in collaboration with a faculty mentor. Create and execute an independent piece of research in this area.

Papers and examinations in PSY 595, Directed Research, and PSY 700, Thesis.

Write experimental reports using APA format and language of the discipline.

Papers in all classes and master's thesis.