Applied Psychology

Program Overview

The Master of Science in Applied Psychology at A&M-Central Texas offers students an opportunity to advance their understanding of the human mind and behavior and fulfill their desire to assist others outside of a counseling context. The program offers a choice of one of four emphasis areas, including experimental psychology, institutional research, industrial/organizational psychology, and educational psychology with a teaching in higher education focus. Students enrolled in the program will hone the skills they gain from their coursework during an applied thesis experience supported by faculty members with subject matter expertise in the area. Graduates are prepared to enter doctoral programs, seek careers in psychology-related fields, or apply their expanded skill sets to their current careers.

The MS in Applied Psychology program advances psychological science through teaching, research, and service. Students develop psychology-specific knowledge, data analysis skills, professional writing abilities, and critical thinking abilities. Students are challenged to integrate psychological theory with research in applications that serve others as citizens of a globally connected community.

Emphasis Areas

Core courses in the Applied Psychology program expose students to foundations of the discipline, including its history, behavioral statistics, research methods, social psychological processes, learning theories, and human development. Emphasis area courses allow students to tailor the program to their individual interests and career plans:

• Experimental Psychology: Study research-based teaching and learning practices, physiological psychology, and advanced quantitative methods. Design and conduct experimental research to inform practice.
• Institutional Research: Study administration of higher education, instructional design and assessment of learning, and advanced quantitative methods. Analyze institutional data and make recommendations to inform continuous improvement.
• Industrial/Organizational Psychology: Study organizational behavior, human resource management, and career counseling. Collaborate with an organization to identify needs and address them with data-driven solutions.
• Educational Psychology with Teaching Emphasis: Study instructional design and assessment of learning, research-based teaching and learning practices, and physiological psychology. Design and deliver lessons to meet learning outcomes, assess student learning, remediate learning gaps, and draw conclusions to advance the scholarship of teaching and learning in higher education.

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Student Outcomes

After completion of the program, graduates will be able to:

• Compute, interpret, and present descriptive and/or inferential analysis of data.
• Write summaries of existing research, addressing all sections of APA style manuscripts.
• Identify, summarize, and integrate relevant theories and research in content areas of specialization.
• Analyze the limitations of existing research and/or data, articulate gaps in knowledge, and write a logical argument to justify position or project.
• Write hypotheses for research or learning outcomes for applied projects that are directly supported by existing theory, research, and/or organizational data.
• Develop and design a novel project supported by existing theory, research, and/or data to address a problem, issue, or gap in knowledge.
• Integrate project results with existing theory, research, and/or data in an area to draw evidence-based conclusions and recommendations. 

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Program Application

Fall Admission:  July 1st

Spring Admission: November 1st

Summer Admission: April 1st