Psychology, MA

Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences

Vision Statement

The Master of Arts in psychology is designed to give students a broad background in the field of psychology plus a sufficient degree of specialization to prepare them for either careers or further graduate training.

Program Contact Information

Joseph Brown, PhD, Graduate Program Chair (GPC)
347J Arts & Sciences Hall (ASH) 
402.554.2313
josephbrown@unomaha.edu

Program Website

Admissions

General Application Requirements and Admission Criteria

Program-Specific Requirements

Application Deadlines (Fall 2023)

• Fall: January 10
  • The Social/Personality Psychology concentration is not accepting applications for Fall 2023

Other Requirements

• Baccalaureate degree with a minimum of 3.0 GPA.
• A minimum of 15 undergraduate semester hours or the equivalent of psychology or related courses including: basic statistics and an upper level laboratory course, independent research, or equivalent, emphasizing the experimental method, data collection, statistical analysis, and report writing are required.
• Entrance Exam: Graduate Record Examination (GRE)  
  • Due to COVID-19, the reporting of GRE scores is OPTIONAL for those applying to the Psychology MA Program. All applications will be reviewed whether or not GRE scores are included.
• English Language Proficiency: Applicants are required to have a command of oral and written English.  Those who do not hold a baccalaureate or other advanced degree from the United States, OR a baccalaureate or other advanced degree from a predetermined country on the waiver list, must meet the minimum language proficiency score requirement in order to be considered for admission.

  • Paper-based TOEFL: 550, Internet-based TOEFL: 80, IELTS: 6.5, PTE: 53, Duolingo: 105

• Statement of Purpose
• Writing Sample (preferred APA style)
• Resume
• Letters of Recommendation: Three letters of recommendation from professors and individuals who can speak to applicant’s potential for success in a graduate program are required.

Degree Requirements

Student must select an area of concentration.

Required Course

Total number of required credits is determined by the area of concentration completed.

Other Requirements Needed for a Student to Complete the Program

Obtaining a score of at least 600 on the Advanced Psychology Test of the GRE. (NOTE: not required for the applied behavior analysis, neuroscience & behavior, developmental, cognitive areas of concentration).

Total Credit Hours: 30-37

Concentrations

Cognitive Concentration (Thesis Option 30 hours)

¹

 PSYC 9910: (Cognitive topic)

Exit Requirements

• Comprehensive Examination
• Thesis
  • All candidates should carefully review the Graduate College requirements for forming the Supervisory Committee, Thesis/Thesis Equivalent Proposal Approval Forms and final approval of a thesis and final submission of the thesis. 

Developmental Concentration (31-37 hours)

Plan A (Thesis Option 31 hours)

Plan A is recommended for students who plan to pursue a PhD and/or who wish to complete an independent research project (the thesis).

This plan requires completion of a minimum of 31 credit hours, as listed below:

¹

PSYC 9960: (1-6 credit hours)

²

Note you must take either PSYC 9070 or PSYC 9230 as one of the options.

Plan B (Non-Thesis Option 37 hours)

Plan B is recommended for students who plan to work in an applied setting involving children and/or families and who do not plan to pursue a PhD. This plan requires completion of a minimum of 37 credit hours. In addition to required course work, students choose 3 elective courses (within or outside the Department of Psychology).

Instead of a thesis, students complete two applied practica (6 credit hours).

¹

PSYC 9960: (1-6 credit hours)

²

PSYC 8980: (6 credit hours) 

Exit Requirements

• Comprehensive Examination
• Thesis
  • All candidates should carefully review the Graduate College requirements for forming the Supervisory Committee, Thesis/Thesis Equivalent Proposal Approval Forms and final approval of a thesis and final submission of the thesis. 

Industrial Organizational Concentration (Thesis Option 36 hours)

Exit Requirements

• Comprehensive Examination
• Thesis
  • All candidates should carefully review the Graduate College requirements for forming the Supervisory Committee, Thesis/Thesis Equivalent Proposal Approval Forms and final approval of a thesis and final submission of the thesis. 

Neuroscience and Behavior Concentration (Thesis Option 30 hours)

Social/Personality Concentration (Thesis Option 30 hours)

This program is not taking applicants for Fall 2023

Exit Requirements

• Thesis
  • All candidates should carefully review the Graduate College requirements for forming the Supervisory Committee, Thesis/Thesis Equivalent Proposal Approval Forms and final approval of a thesis and final submission of the thesis. 
• Social/Personality MA Comps
  • Option 1- PSYC GRE
    • Proseminar requirement (3 non-stat prosems or 2 non-stat prosems and a waiver/substitution) with a grade of B- or better.
    • PSYC GRE score of 600 or better.
  •  Option 2- Research
    • Proseminar requirement (3 non-stat prosems or 2 non-stat prosems and a waiver/substitution) with a grade of B- or better.
    • Research requirement- one from the list below. All research must be conducted at UNO and be supervised by a faculty member from the social/personality psychology area.
      1. Co-author on a presentation or poster at an approved international or national level conference.
      2. First author on a presentation or poster at an approved regional level conference.
      3. Co-author on an accepted publication in a peer review journal.
    • We expect that the student will play a significant role in the research process for satisfaction of the comps requirement. If a co-author, the student must have contributed significantly and meaningfully to the paper or manuscript.
    • List of approved conferences (other conferences may be approved by request).
      1. International/National: APA, APS, SPSP, SPSSI, SESP, EASP.
      2. Regional: regional APA conference (e.g., MPA).
    • Student will submit an e-mail of request to the Social/Personality director and his/her advisor. Student letter must include citation (authors, title, and conference) and a letter or e-mail showing acceptance.
    • Social/Personality area faculty will review the request in case there are any concerns, or the conference is not on the approved list.
    • If approved, Social/Personality director will submit the comps completion form to the graduate office.

Special Performance Quality Rule

If at any time a grade of "C", (2.0 on a 4.0 scale) in graduate courses become a matter of record, a graduate student in the Department of Psychology will be placed on probation. An unexcused grade of "W" in a proseminar course will be considered equivalent to a grade of "C" for purposes of this policy. An excused "W" must be approved by the chair of the department of psychology. Students placed on this probation will forfeit any departmental graduate assistantship they may have and any approved programs of study will be subject to re-evaluation and change. Before registering for additional courses, a student placed on probation must, with the assistance and approval of his/her advisor, submit a plan for remediation of his/her academic problems, and have that plan approved by the Graduate Program Committee. The Graduate Program Committee will review and, if appropriate, modify the plan. Further, any enrollment in graduate courses must be approved by the Graduate Program Committee. The student will remain on probation until the Graduate Program Committee approves termination of probation status.  If a student earns a second "C", the student will be dismissed from the program and the GPC will work to come up with a plan, and evaluate if it is possible for the student to return to the program at some point.