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This web page is being reviewed and is expected to be updated for the Fall 2009 semester. In the meantime, please contact the department's administrative office for updates about academic requirements. The Master of Arts in general psychology is a full- or part-time program designed to meet the needs of three distinct groups:
- students planning to use a master's degree to advance their career
- students interested in future doctoral level training but who need additional preparation to apply competitively for such a program
- students with a general interest in psychology but who have not yet determined a specific career path.
Graduates with an M.A. in general psychology may obtain employment in a range of settings including research laboratories, mental health clinics, social work agencies, law enforcement agencies, or private industry.
This 36-credit program is composed of five required courses (15 core credits) and seven electives (21 elective credits) organized in clusters relating to specific tracks: preclinical psychology, forensic psychology, or industrial-organizational psychology. If students choose a concentration, they must select at least five electives from that cluster plus any other two electives. However, it is not necessary to select a specific concentration. In that case, students may select any seven electives. All master’s courses are three credits.
Preclinical Concentration
The Master of Arts in Psychology with a pre-clinical cluster is designed for students who are studying psychology for their personal enrichment, who are majoring in a related field and seek to enhance their status with a broader perspective, or who need additional psychology courses in order to apply to a doctoral program. This program does not provide competence in mental health services, such as counseling, psychotherapy, or clinical assessment.
Although not required, an internship is strongly recommended. It is incumbent upon the student to contact the organization or agency to obtain an internship. Once the internship is established, the student should register for a 3-credit independent study which can serve as one of the electives.
PRE-CLINICAL CONCENTRATION
Students should choose at least five courses from the following:
- Clinical Assessment
- Clinical Interventions
- Trauma
- Multicultural Issues in Counseling
- Internship
- Behavior Disorders of Childhood
- Play Therapy
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
- Brief Therapies
- Vocational Counseling
Forensic Concentration
Forensic Psychology is a growing field. Graduates may be employed as assistants to forensic psychologists. The program will not provide training in mental health services, such as independent counseling, psychotherapy, or forensic examinations.
FORENSIC CONCENTRATION
Students should choose at least five courses:
- The Criminal Mind
- Juvenile Delinquency
- Forensic Assessment
- Family Violence
- Profiling the Homicidal Offender
- Internship
- Forensic Seminar
Industrial/Organizational Concentration
The Master of Arts in General Psychology with a cluster of courses in Industrial/Organizational Psychology can prepare students for a position in human resource (HR) management. Coursework prepares students in areas such as personnel selection, management/employee relations, and motivation and executive coaching. The concentration of courses prepares students to be more productive in their organizations by teaching concepts and skills needed to plan, control and direct organizational requirements for effective and efficient use of human resources. This concentration will lead to a certificate in Human Resource Management.
INDUSTRIAL/ORGANIZATIONAL CONCENTRATION:
Students should take the following five courses:
- Organizational Behavior * (0210-561)
- Developing World Class Human Resources (0208-765)
- Executive Theory and Assessment (0208-763)
- Selecting for Organizational Excellence (0208-764)
- Performance Appraisal & Compensation (0208-766)
* Organizational Behavior can be waived if a similar course has been taken either undergraduate or at the graduate level.
Master's classes are scheduled in the Fall, Intersession, Spring, and Summer Students may complete the program in one year or create a part-time schedule more conducive to their needs.
Classes are held once per week and are offered daytime, evening, nighttime weekdays and weekends. Although most classes are held at the Garden City campus, students may also take courses at the Hauppauge Center.
Admission Requirements
Applicants are required to have a GPA of at least 3.0 and to submit:
- Transcripts from all previous attended schools
- Listing of grades in all undergraduate and graduate psychology courses
- General GRE scores (highly recommended)
- Personal essay
- Two letters of recommendation
- Prerequisite courses (or equivalents):
- General Psychology/Introduction to Psychology
- One additional psychology course
- Personality
- Developmental
- Statistics
- Abnormal/Psychopathology
- Social/Cognitive
The APA style format is required on all written work for students enrolled in the program. Please obtain a copy of the American Psychological Association Publication Manual for instructions.
Admission to the Master's Program in General Psychology is considered on a rolling basis for Fall, Spring, Winter intersession and Summer.
Graduation Requirements
To meet the requirements for the Master of Arts, students must earn a minimum grade of B in all core courses. Students will have to repeat any core course in which they received a grade below B. Electives in which students earned less than a B will not count toward graduation. However, students may choose to take a different elective.
After completing all course requirements students must pass the Comprehensive Exam, with a minimum grade of 80. The comprehensive exam consists of questions about the core courses. You will have four hours to complete the four questions. There is a $50. One-time fee for taking this exam.
All four sections of the Comprehensive Exam need to be passed before a student can earn his/her degree. A student may retake the sections that he/she fails up to two times within a one year period. Exams are generally given in August and in January. It is the student’s responsibility to contact the department to get the exact date once the student knows which administration he/she wishes to take.
If a student does not pass all sections of the Comprehensive Exam within the first year, the student will receive an F on his/her transcript. This F cannot be removed (Course # 0502-634-01) from his/her transcript. The student is allowed to retake the Comprehensive Exam one more time but will need to re-register for the Comprehensive Exam (Course# 0502-634-01), complete the entire exam, and pass all four sections within the subsequent year. In addition, the student must register for Continuous Matriculation (Course # 0502-599) for each semester until he/she completes all requirements of the degree program. Students will be allowed to register for the Comprehensive Exam only twice. If the student fails both attempts, the student will not be eligible to receive a Master’s Degree. If all degree requirements have not been completed successfully after three years of continuous matriculation, the student will be withdrawn from candidacy for the degree.
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