Psychological Sciences MS

Child Study The master of science in psychological sciences program provides advanced psychology training to prepare serious student scholars for nationally prominent doctoral programs in clinical and experimental psychology. Students will obtain research experience, advanced coursework and applied experience in psychology.

This research-focused program requires students to work with a research mentor and to be actively involved in at least one research laboratory throughout the two-year training. Students also have the opportunity to gain additional applied experiences through the thriving internship program in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences.

Degree Program	Program Contacts
Career Paths	Program Faculty
Research	Program Resources
Admissions

Degree Program

The masters of science in psychological sciences curriculum is designed to offer opportunities for specialization in one of the following core fields: developmental, cognitive, social and personality, or neuroscience. Masters students will take mostly doctoral-level coursework.

The degree requires 36 graduate credit hours: six hours of core courses in the student’s area of specialization, six hours of core courses from an area other than the student’s specialization, six hours of core courses in research methods, 12 hours of advanced electives and six hours of independent research or a practical internship.

The graduate catalog provides an overview of course descriptions. To compile all your academic, campus and extracurricular interests into a presentation you can print out, follow the steps to Create Your Own Guide to UT Dallas.

Career Paths

The master of science in psychological sciences is excellent preparation for doctoral programs in psychology, which can lead to professional careers as academic, clinical, counseling, industrial and other kinds of psychologists. This program does not provide clinical training or lead to licensure as a counselor or psychologist.

Research

Child Study The psychological sciences faculty has strong expertise in development from infancy through the lifespan, social relationships at all stages of life, and cognition and neuroscience, including an emerging emphasis on brain imaging. Students in the program will be exposed to the research and clinical activities at vibrant centers: the Center for BrainHealth, the Callier Center for Communication Disorders, the joint Center for Brain Imaging with UT Southwestern, the Center for Children and Families and the Center for Vital Longevity.

Students’ participation in research and clinical activities will be carefully planned to offer optimal preparation for the leading doctoral programs in clinical and experimental psychology. All entering students will be assigned to a research mentor. Master’s degree students will be active participants in the research mentor’s lab, assisting with data collection, coding, data entry and analyses, and helping to supervise undergraduate research assistants. Master’s students will gradually become more independent in their laboratory work, and at the start of their second year will begin a focused research project (often involving the data collected with the mentor’s lab), to be analyzed and presented at a special research poster session at the end of the second year.

Admissions

Admission to the psychological sciences program is based on a review of the applicant’s GPA, quantitative and verbal scores for the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), letters of recommendation, and narrative description of interests and career goals. This program is designed for full-time students; most courses are offered during the day. Students are admitted to begin this program only for each fall semester. Cohorts of students move together through the program, so starting in the spring or summer semesters is not possible.

To submit an application:

Check the application deadlines.
Submit the Graduate Application for Admission online.
Submit official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended and GRE scores to the UT Dallas Office of Enrollment Services.
Submit three letters of reference and a statement of purpose directly to the MS in Psychological Sciences program.

The UT Dallas graduate admissions page will help guide you through the process. You can check your status using the University’s Orion program. If you’ve been accepted into the program, please read the University’s steps after admission page.