Psychological Science, Accelerated Master’s BA/MA

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This 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). An accelerated program will provide an efficient path for highly qualified undergraduate students to complete both a B.A. and a M.A. degree, while completing the same number of graduate courses. The program allows for 9 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 B.A.+M.A. in Psychological Science program:

Ordinarily, the applicant will have completed 90 credits prior to admission in the program (which includes having completed the following courses: PSY 217 , PSY 317 , and PSY 312 or their equivalent)¹
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.

A student who is applying must submit the following materials during the spring semester of their third undergraduate year (by February 10; review of applications will begin as early as February 11; applications will be accepted until all program spots are filled or until April 30, whichever occurs first). These materials can be submitted–via email–directly to the program director (letters of recommendation can be directly submitted to the program director via email from the recommenders).

Personal statement detailing qualifications for the program and identifying one or more potential research/thesis supervisors;
Two letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with his or her academic abilities;
Undergraduate transcript(s)²

¹Ordinarily, a student should apply having earned at least 75 credits; ordinarily, admission will be contingent on a student having earned at least 90 credits prior to the start of the fourth undergraduate year.

²An applicant who has completed all undergraduate work at CSU need not submit transcripts formally.

Program Requirements

For a student in the accelerated 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 9 credits of graduate courses may count toward both the B.A. degree and the M.A. degree. Those 9 credits will be fulfilled through these three required courses:

PSY 511 - Univariate Statistics and Experimental Methodology and

PSY 597 - Advanced Data Analysis with Computer Applications³ and

PSY 509 - Proseminar in Psychological Science⁴

The M.A. degree is awarded after the student has completed at least 27 additional graduate-level credits and has completed all of the requirements of the M.A. program in Psychological Science.⁵

During the fourth undergraduate year, following admission to the accelerated program, a student, in addition to completing PSY 511 (4 credits) and PSY 597 (4 credits), must complete a third graduate-level psychology course (3 credits), plus two 1-credit sections of PSY 509, PSY 511, PSY 597, and one credit of PSY 509 will count towards both the undergraduate and M.A. degrees. The other credit of PSY 509 and the third graduate-level psychology course will count towards the graduate degree only; those credits will be applied as transfer credit after the student enters the graduate phase of the program.⁶ 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 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 conventional 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.

⁴PSY 509 is a 1-credit course taken each semester of both the undergraduate and graduate year.

⁵A total of 36 graduate-level credits are required for the M.A. degree.

⁶During the senior undergraduate year, students may be advised to enroll in additional graduate coursework not counting toward the bachelor’s degree; those credits will also be applied as transfer credit after the student enters the graduate phase of the program. Altogether, a maximum of 9 credits may be applied as transfer credits from the undergraduate record to the graduate record.