The Master of Arts in Psychology program prepares students for professional roles in public service, business, and industry or to advance into a doctoral program. In addition to developing extensive knowledge in the theory, research, and applications of the science of psychology, students will focus their plan of study in one of the concentrations listed below:
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User Experience (UX)
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Applied Social Psychology
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Organizational Behavior and Evaluation
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Positive Developmental Psychology & Evaluation
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Positive Organizational Psychology & Evaluation
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Industrial Organizational Psychology
Graduates of these programs hold major leadership, research, consulting, and evaluation positions in private corporations, non-profit organizations, government, health care, public heath, community organizations, research institutes, and higher education think tanks around the world.
This program is offered in-person with some coursework offered in an hybrid/online modality and can be completed in six semester of full-time attendance (eight units/semester).
Degree Requirements
A minimum of 48 units is required for the degree.
Coursework
Required Courses (12 units)
All students, regardless of concentration, are required to complete the Research Methods requirement and all courses in the Statistics Sequence. All courses must be passed with a grade of B- or higher.
Research Methods (4 units)
Students who have taken a comparable graduate-level course should consult with the instructor about a waiver examination.
Statistics Sequence (8 units)
Students who have taken comparable statistics courses may consider taking the waiver examination given at the beginning of each module. Courses from other institutions cannot be considered for transfer credit unless the waiver examination is passed and grades in the comparable course(s) were B- or better.
Concentration Requirements (36 units)
User Experience
Applied Social Psychology
All students must earn a grade of B- or higher for each course in the Evaluation Sequence.
Organizational Behavior and Evaluation
All students must earn a grade of B- or higher for each course in the Evaluation Sequence.
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Evaluation Sequence (10 units)
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PSYCH 319 - Organizational Behavior (4 units)
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Two courses selected from:
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Two units of Evaluation Electives selected in consultation with the academic advisor
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12 additional units of Organizational Behavior or related coursework, in consultation with the academic advisor.
Positive Developmental Psychology and Evaluation
All students must earn a grade of B- or higher for each course in the Evaluation Sequence.
Positive Organizational Psychology and Evaluation
All students must earn a grade of B- or higher for each course in the Evaluation Sequence.
Industrial Organizational Psychology
Thesis
A thesis is not required but may be completed with the consent of the student’s advisor.
Field Internship
Students pursuing a concentration in User Experience are required to complete a field internship in UX Research or human-centered design, to be approved by core faculty members in the program.
Division of Behavioral & Organizational Sciences (DBOS) Practical Experience Milestone
MA students in the DBOS may meet the Practical Experience Milestone through one of the following:
This milestone is to be completed during the Time to Degree at CGU. Students can have a maximum of one year of experience for the Practical Experience Milestone.