Psychological Science, Accelerated 4+1 BA/MA

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This five-year B.A.+M.A. program draws on two existing degree programs: the B.A. in Psychology and the M.A. in Psychology (Psychological Science track). A 4+1 program will provide an efficient path for highly qualified undergraduate students to complete both a B.A. and a M.A. degree in five academic years instead of the six normally required, while completing the same number of graduate courses. The program allows for 12 credits of graduate coursework to be applied toward both the B.A. and M.A. degrees. A main goal of the program is to provide graduates with solid preparation for employment or for a Ph.D. program in psychology or a related discipline. This program may be particularly suitable for psychology majors in the University Honors and Scholars programs.

Admission to Program

The following are the minimum requirements for undergraduate students to be admitted to the 5-year B.A.+M.A. in Psychological Science program:

96 undergraduate credit hours earned¹
Declared psychology major at CSU (PSY, PSYLR or PSYLK); and
Cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0

Prior to applying, an interested applicant must consult with the director of the Psychological Science Program or a faculty member who is actively associated with the Psychological Science Program.

Otherwise, the application requirements for the 4+1 program are the same as those for conventional M.A. program admission. A student who is applying must submit the following materials during the spring semester of his or her third undergraduate year (by May 1):

Application to the M.A. program;
Application fee;
Scores from the GRE general exam;
Personal statement;
Departmental information form;
Two letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with his or her academic abilities;
Undergraduate transcript(s)²

¹A student should apply having earned at least 80 credits; admission will be contingent on a student having earned at least 96 credits by the end of the third undergraduate year.
²An applicant who has completed all undergraduate work at CSU need not submit transcripts formally.

Program Requirements

For a student in the 4+1 program, the B.A. is awarded after completion of at least 120 credit hours and all General Education, University, College and Major Field requirements. Up to 12 credits of graduate courses may count toward both the B.A. degree and the M.A. degree. Of these, two courses are required:

PSY 511 - Univariate Statistics and Experimental Methodology and

PSY 597 - Advanced Data Analysis with Computer Applications.³

The M.A. degree is awarded after the student has completed at least 25 additional graduate-level credits and has completed all of the requirements of the M.A. program in Psychological Science.⁴

During the fourth undergraduate year, following admission to the 4+1 program, a student, in addition to completing PSY 511 and PSY 597, must complete a third graduate-level psychology course, plus one 1-credit section and one 0-credit section of PSY 509. The graduate-level course may topically duplicate an undergraduate course taken to satisfy a core requirement if the graduate-level course is to be counted as an elective toward the undergraduate degree. A student must earn a grade of B or better in each graduate-level course in order to be admitted to the M.A. Program and the Graduate College.

NOTE: A student admitted to the 4+1 program who fails to meet subsequent program requirements reverts to conventional status at whatever point that reversion occurs (i.e., to conventional B.A. status if the reversion occurs in Year 4; to conventional M.A. status if the reversion occurs in Year 5). The graduate-level courses taken to satisfy undergraduate requirements may be applied to the B.A. degree. A student who reverts to coventional status prior to Year 5 may re-apply to the M.A. program; if admitted, such a student would be subject to conventional M.A. program policies and requirements.

³PSY 597 is cross listed with and is identical to PSY 611.

⁴A total of 36 graduate-level credits are required for the M.A. degree.