MASTER OF SCIENCE IN PSYCHOLOGY: EXPERIMENTAL CONCENTRATION

Background: Required Undergraduate Courses in Psychology

An applicant should have completed a minimum of 27 hours of undergraduate psychology courses to include Introduction to Psychology, Statistics, Experimental Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Personality, AND any 6 additional psychology hours PLUS one from each of the following 3 choices:

1) Developmental OR Social Psychology

2) Psychological testing OR Foundations/history

3) Learning OR Cognitive OR Memory

Any required deficient undergraduate courses may be taken concurrently while taking graduate courses.

Experimental Program Specialty Areas

Behavioral Neuroscience is the broad study of the biological basis of behavior. Areas of research include learning and memory, behavioral pharmacology, and behavioral toxicology. Student research has included topics such as the effects of  alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, chronic exposure to lead and/or  social housing on behavior using rats as an animal model. Some of the research equipment includes computerized operant boxes, runways, a Morris Water Maze, an elevated plus maze, place preference chambers, and an open foraging field. Contact http://www.emporia.edu/grad/moreinfo.htm for more information.

Developmental Psychology is the scientific study of the psychological changes that humans undergo throughout the lifespan. Areas of research include social, cognitive, emotional and physical development. Research opportunities exist in almost every stage of lifespan development, from preschool-aged to elderly. For example, students can study the effects of parenting styles on children's social development or locus of control in nursing home residents. Dr. MacDonald also has experience researching the effectiveness of programs using therapy animals with at-risk youth, and supervises students interested in Social Psychology. Contact http://www.emporia.edu/grad/moreinfo.htm for more information.

Additionally, both Dr. Grover and Dr. MacDonald work with students interested in research concerning teaching and learning,  and mentor students who want to teach at the college level. We provide students with opportunities to gain teaching experience by guest lecturing, and those qualified may be employed as a graduate teaching assistants.

Graduate Curriculum

			Hours
I.	CORE COURSES		9
* * *	PY 600 ER 851 ER 857	Advanced General Psychology (3 hrs) Research Design & Writing (3 hrs) Statistics II (3 hrs)
II.	PRACTICUM AND FIELD WORK		3
	PY 839	Internship (3 hrs)
III.	RESEARCH		3
	PY 800	Thesis (3 hrs)
IV.	EXPERIMENTAL CONCENTRATION		9
* * *	PY 707 PY 811 PY827	Memory (3 hrs) Seminar in Human Growth and Development (3 hrs) Seminar in Psychopathology (3 hrs)
V.	EXPERIMENTAL ELECTIVES (ANY 4 courses below, others available)		12
* * * * * * * *	PY 540 PY 560 PY 570 PY 624 PY 707 PY 722 PY 727 PY 803	Drugs and Behavior (3 hrs) Physiological Psychology (3 hrs) Sensation and Perception (3 hrs) Theories of Motivation (3 hrs) Introduction to Neuropsychology (1 hr) Theories of Learning (3 hrs) Psychopathology of Childhood (3 hrs) Research Problem in Psychology (1-3 hrs) TOTAL HOURS REQUIRED	36

* Students must earn an "A" or "B" in this course.

Additional Requirements

1. A Degree Program must be completed and approved before the second semester of enrollment (your Advisor will assist you with this).

2. The student should apply for degree candidacy after completing six hours of course work (usually between 6 and 15 hours). A student must be a Degree Candidate before enrolling in either PY800 Thesis or PY839 Internship.

3. Graduate students have 7 years to complete their graduate degree from when they begin the program. A maximum of 9 graduate credit hours may be transferred from another institution with approval from the graduate program.

4. For Students Admitted on Academic Probation : A student who is on academic probation and does not maintain a "B" average for the first 12 hours selected by the advisor will be automatically removed from the graduate program.

Further Information

To request additional information about our Experimental Psychology graduate program please contact us at http://www.emporia.edu/grad/moreinfo.htm

 Applying

Admission to the graduate program requires a cumulative 3.00 GPA or higher or 3.25 on last 60 hours based on a 4.0 scale and submitting the following:

1) Online application at http://www.emporia.edu/grad/appinstr.htm

2) Graduate Record Examination scores

3) letters of recommendation from professors and others who know you well enough academically to comment on your academic success at the graduate level

4) statement of personal academic goals that addresses the following: research experiences (presentations, lab work, conference attendance), work/volunteer/

internship/field experiences especially relative to your area of interest in psychology, why you want to pursue a Master's degree at ESU, and your future plans with your Master's degree

5) Academic Vita

6) official copies of all undergraduate and graduate transcripts

7) application fee (see online application for amount)

Submit all application materials and fee to:

Office of Graduate Studies

Emporia State University

1200 Commercial, Box 4003

Emporia, KS 66801

*Applications for the Experimental Psychology graduate program are accepted throughout the year. However, for maximum consideration of financial aid, awards, and assistantship opportunities, students should have a completed graduate application submitted by March 1 (for a Fall Semester start date), or October 1 (for a Spring Semester start date). Students will be contacted about their admittance into the graduate program within one month upon the department's receipt of all required and completed graduate application materials.

*Accepted students should return their Postcard stating their "Intent to Enroll" in the program as soon as possible so they can make arrangements to meet with their assigned Advisor.

*For Applicants Who Have Been Rejected for Admission : Before reapplying for a graduate program, an application must: (1) complete all required deficiencies and (2) repeat undergraduate courses to raise the GPA on the last 60 hours to 3.15 (on a 4.0 scale).

Financial Assistance & Further Information

Visit http://www.emporia.edu/finaid/ for general financial aide information.

To apply for a Graduate Assistantship, please visit: https://www.emporia.edu/grad/asstshp.htm