Skip to content

Master of Arts in Psychology Curriculum

Curriculum Details

36 TOTAL CREDITS REQUIRED

The curriculum for the online M.A. in Psychology program can be completed in as little as two years and focuses on advanced principles in general and applied psychology. The program is designed for students who want to work in psychology settings that do not require licensure, and it caters to those who wish to make an immediate impact with their social science training in human service fields.

Students have the option of selecting one of the five guided elective focus areas to center their studies around based on their specific area of interest. Each guided elective focus area consists of three courses that students can choose to fulfill the elective credits required for the program. The focus areas are:

  • Forensic Psychology: This guided elective focus area allows students to engage in theories and applications of psychology relevant to criminal and civil legal settings.
  • Assessment Psychology: This guided elective focus area is for students looking to use the techniques and validated tools of the field to develop hypotheses about personality, symptoms, behavior and cognitive ability.
  • Treatment Psychology: This guided elective focus area allows students to understand the theories and empirically validated treatment skills needed to work with a wide array of people struggling with mental health issues.
  • Therapeutic Arts Psychology: This guided elective cluster is for students who want to integrate their passion for the arts and humanities into their psychology coursework.
  • Exploration Psychology: This guided elective cluster provides an opportunity for students to take a wider breadth of courses across multiple cluster groups to develop a unique academic path.

Core Courses

Credits

This graduate-level MAP course takes an active approach in identifying how the theory and research in the field of positive psychology is useful across clinical, forensic, medical, educational, and industrial/organizational settings. Additionally, emphasis will be placed on how interventions from positive psychology can be used to support behavior change. Attention will be placed on the development of counseling skills useful to the application of interventions from positive psychology.
This graduate-level MAP course considers the foundations of temperament and personality and how these traits affect both healthy and problematic development. Specifically, the course will address the relationship between traits and the emergence of mental health and personality related disorders. Additionally, students will gain deeper knowledge on the way that parenting, environment, and trauma affect adult development and consider new research that challenges the historical assumptions of personality as we age. Lastly, this knowledge will be considered through the lens of common forms of diagnostic assessment such as the DSM-5 and ICD-11.

This graduate-level MAP course teaches the practical principles and application of cognitive-behavioral theory. This includes the conceptualization and development of cognitive behavioral psychotherapy techniques for psychological problems with adults and children.

The course exposes students to the full range of cognitive-behavioral therapy and the underlying assumptions and theoretical models, including empirical foundations in classical and operant conditioning as well as social learning theory. It also provides students with the practical application of these theories to a wide spectrum of specific psychological problems and psychiatric disorders.

This graduate-level MAP course considers the foundations and influences of existential theory and other dynamic approaches that encompass the following themes: identity, freedom, meaning, isolation, and death – with an emphasis on their appearance and direct application in therapy and counseling. The student will learn the history and background of these perspectives, concepts, principles and research relevant to application, critiques and case conceptualizations, and other integrative techniques and implications. Additionally, students will gain deeper knowledge on the way that existential themes and related agents affect personality and lifespan development.
This graduate-level MAP course provides students with the opportunity to further develop research skills and apply these skills on independent, supervised, or collaborative research projects. The course is structured as a seminar in which students discuss their various projects while receiving instruction on research design, research ethics, and data analysis. Student research work will culminate in a paper and/or presentation as warranted by the scope and nature of the selected project. Statistics training is delivered in a self-directed online module that students can navigate at their own speed throughout the semester.

This graduate-level MAP course explores the psychometrics used to develop, evaluate and administer psychological tests and measures. In addition, approaches to assessing the strengths and limitations related to administering, scoring and interpreting psychological tests are investigated. Emphasis is placed on enhancing student skills in selecting and utilizing appropriate tests and measures across the domains of functioning, practice settings, age, cultural identity and other domains of diversity. Ethical and legal considerations in assessment will be examined in accordance with professional ethics codes, IDEA and U.S. civil rights law. Accommodations and adaptations for people with disabilities will be explored in accordance with the principles of least restrictive environments.

This graduate-level MAP course will explore seminal theories and theorists of human development, such as Erikson, Piaget, Bronfenbrenner, and Vygotsky. A heavy emphasis will be placed on recent research and developments in the area of Developmental Psychology, as well as the real-world application of theories and research findings. The course will focus on the developmental span from infancy through late adolescence; yet we will emphasize the continuous nature of developmental psychology, which will include associations between early life development and adjustment, personality and psychopathology in adulthood.

This graduate-level MAP course explores differences and similarities in the experiences, beliefs, needs, and behaviors of diverse groups in our society. This course provides a theoretical foundation from which to develop a more comprehensive understanding of how to work from a culturally sensitive framework. Patterns, dynamics, experiences, and consequences of discrimination, oppression, biases, and prejudices are discussed with particular emphasis on racial and culturally diverse groups and communities, women, the LGBTQ+ community, religion and SES. Emphasis will be placed on examination of one’s own culture, biases and assumptions and how those impact one’s work with clients from diverse backgrounds.

This graduate-level MAP course provides students with the opportunity to further develop research skills and apply these skills on independent, supervised, or collaborative research projects. The course is structured as a seminar in which students discuss their various projects while receiving instruction on research design, research ethics, and data analysis. Students in the course can choose to work on an independent project of their own, supervised research with a faculty member, or collaborative research with the course instructor and peers. Student research work will culminate in a paper and/or presentation as warranted by the scope and nature of the selected project.

Prerequisites: PYM 706

This graduate-level MAP course is designed to assist students in attaining competence as future leaders in the fields of psychology and criminology, as well as to provide direct contact with a variety of clients in relevant settings. Students will also apply the APA Ethics Code to a variety of scenarios with actual clients during their practicum training. A typical 2 credit practicum course entails 120 total hours of practicum service. Each site is different, but the goal is for students to complete at least 40 of their hours in a direct service role (i.e., therapy, intakes, group support, milieu work, research interviews, teaching, case consultation, supervision, etc.). Students may also count their hours in direct supervision with the practicum class (those classes that meet “in-person” online where student work is discussed). Students should discuss their sites with their academic adviser the semester before they enter PYM 704 so as to ensure that the practicum experience will meet all of the necessary standards.

Prerequisites: PYM 701, PYM 702 or PYM 705, PYM 711

This graduate-level, field placement course is designed to assist students in attaining competence as future leaders in the fields of psychology and/or criminology, as well as to provide direct contact with a variety of clients in relevant settings. Students will also develop a deeper knowledge of their own personal theoretical model of personal change and distress alleviation. A typical 2 credit practicum course entails 100 total hours of on-site work.

“This graduate-level MAP course allows students to expand their research skills in a group format with other peers under direct faculty supervision. The purpose of the research team is for students to engage in the development of original research, as well as pursue publication and/or presentation opportunities relevant to their career paths. Supervising faculty will work closely with their student-team to develop a “project management” plan for the semester. Each plan must clearly articulate the objectives of the project, a brief explanation of how each member of the team will contribute to the project, and a time-table.

This graduate-level MAP course focuses on a variety of teaching techniques that are necessary for successful college teaching. The topics will include evidence-based best practices in the classroom and online. The students will complete a teaching portfolio that will demonstrate proficiency in a series of required teaching documents.

Elective Courses (Choose 3)

Credits

This graduate-level MAP course is focused on the intersection between psychology and the justice system. The three critical areas of knowledge and skill that define the scope of practice for psychologists working in forensic psychology are:

  • Clinical (e.g., diagnosis, treatment, psychological testing, and intervention/rehabilitation)
  • Forensic (e.g., response style, forensic ethics, tools and techniques for assessing symptoms and risk, and relationship to answering specific legal questions)
  • Legal (e.g., knowledge of law and the legal system, knowledge of legal proceedings and protocol)

Within these areas of scope (clinical, legal, and forensic) that define psychological practice in forensic settings, students will learn how professionals in the forensic field develop sound and empirically based decision-making related to forensic populations. This course will help students develop knowledge related to the legal system and to the different types of law and processes that underlie the legal system. This course is designed to provide students with a survey of the many different sub-populations within the criminal and civil law systems. Emphasis will be placed on the role of mental health professionals working in forensic settings and use of research, advocacy, and knowledge of legal terminology and proceedings that allow psychologists and other professionals to effectively fulfill these roles. An in-depth exploration will be conducted regarding the landmark legal cases that have significantly impacted the field of forensic psychology, as well as, the roles of psychologists working in this field.

This graduate-level MAP course will examine the development and structure of the criminal justice system, including police, courts, and corrections. Topics will include the history, present status, and possible reform solutions for the criminal justice system. Students will formulate policy solution strategies to address the issues that are identified in each branch of the criminal justice system.
This graduate-level MAP course will focus on the concepts of deviance in human society, specifically that which is found in Western cultural norms. Theories of deviance, as well as the cultural, biological, and temporal nature of these theories will be explored in depth through both sociological and psychological lenses. Some other fundamental foci of the course include the: the nature of sexual paraphilias, the cultural context of drug abuse, the underlying determinants of “cultic’ membership, and the identification of psychopathic traits through both objective and projective assessment.

This graduate-level course is designed to provide a basic understanding of clinical techniques and the relationships with adult and juvenile offenders in society. Major topics include: mental health issues, assessment and diagnosis, role of clinicians, recidivism reduction measures, stressors specific to incarceration, and current best-practice treatment approaches. Additional considerations will address the balance between community safety and offender treatment success. This course will also introduce students to the theory, principles, and skills of motivational interviewing (MI), and will focus primarily on the use of MI by those working with individuals within the criminal justice system (i.e., incarceration, release, post-parole).

This graduate-level MAP course provides students with the opportunity to integrate an understanding of the history of the field (within academic institutions, but also via non-structured environments), to study works of literature that deal with mental health issues, and to have hands-on workshop experience with creative writing that can enhance personal healing. Students will also consider the effects of mental health on the generation of artistic products.

This graduate-level MAP course covers the theory and research that inform the roots and contemporary practice of therapeutic art approaches and techniques across settings as related to the most predominant models of treatment in the United States (CBT, Humanistic, Psychodynamic, Narrative, Group). Developmental stages of creativity, special populations, settings of practice, and goal setting for art therapy integrated with traditional forms of psychotherapy will be explored in-depth. Students will have opportunity for additional practice with researching, designing, and implementing exercises in other therapeutic arts of interest.

This graduate-level MAP course takes an interdisciplinary approach to exploring art as a set of socio-cultural, meaning-making and therapeutic processes that both shapes and disrupts normative culture. This course will pursue an embodied praxis of art history, art theory, and curatorial studies as they interrelate to conceptualizations of trauma, therapeutic processes, cultures of care and healing within the context of visual art practice. In this course, we will incorporate slow looking exercises, object-centered inquiry, and an exploration of making as a cultural process.

This graduate-level MAP course explores several areas relevant to trauma care including:

  • personality and symptomology assessment
  • proper interviewing techniques for both children and adults affected by violence
  • current research on traumatic memory
  • empirically validated interventions utilized in trauma treatment

The purpose of this course is to prepare students for immediate entrance into the field in working with populations afflicted by PTSD, complicated grief, or prolonged trauma reactions. 3 credits.

Prerequisite: PRC 736

This graduate-level MAP course explores the symptomology of childhood DSM disorders, but also expands on the specific assessment possibilities available to those working with younger populations. This course is designed for students to gain a deeper level of sophistication in the utilization of assessments that address psychopathology as well as normative development. Additionally, this course will examine the trends and controversies associated with child psychology and prepare students to work in a variety of settings including hospitals, schools, and community mental health agencies. Developmental norms will also be explored within this course as well as the etiology of violence, the research on child abuse and neglect, and the nature of parental influence on a variety of childhood disorders. Lastly, students will consider assessment that promotes a child’s individual strengths and gifts and how learning disorders intersect and exacerbate mental health-related issues.

This graduate-level MAP course is an advanced seminar with the goal of introducing students to the theory and application of neuropsychology. This specialized subfield of psychology aims to assess and interpret the relationship between nervous system function, cognition, emotions and behavior; and to apply this knowledge to the design of individualized patient intervention. Students will gain an understanding of the field through review of adult and pediatric cognitive and neurological disorders. The psychosocial adjustment of patients living with each disorder and the dynamics among individual involved in their care are additional themes of emphasis. The course takes an interdisciplinary approach integrating information from several subfields of medicine (neurology, neuroradiology, and psychiatry) and psychology (cognitive, abnormal, developmental, biological, and health psychology). This course will introduce a variety of neuropsychological tests & discuss the major cognitive domains in neuropsychology, with an emphasis on the process by which such tests are interpreted in light of all of the data available.

This graduate course prepares students to make scientifically-sound treatment decisions for a wide array of adult mental health disorders. Through evidence-based practice, students will develop the knowledge and skills needed to effectively treat PTSD, bulimia, OCD, panic attacks, bipolar disorder, phobias, alcohol use disorders, depression, and anxiety. Additionally, this course will examine ineffective and disproven applications of psychology that persist in the field today.

Forensic Psychology

Credits

This graduate-level MAP course is focused on the intersection between psychology and the justice system. The three critical areas of knowledge and skill that define the scope of practice for psychologists working in forensic psychology are:

  • Clinical (e.g., diagnosis, treatment, psychological testing, and intervention/rehabilitation)
  • Forensic (e.g., response style, forensic ethics, tools and techniques for assessing symptoms and risk, and relationship to answering specific legal questions)
  • Legal (e.g., knowledge of law and the legal system, knowledge of legal proceedings and protocol)

Within these areas of scope (clinical, legal, and forensic) that define psychological practice in forensic settings, students will learn how professionals in the forensic field develop sound and empirically based decision-making related to forensic populations. This course will help students develop knowledge related to the legal system and to the different types of law and processes that underlie the legal system. This course is designed to provide students with a survey of the many different sub-populations within the criminal and civil law systems. Emphasis will be placed on the role of mental health professionals working in forensic settings and use of research, advocacy, and knowledge of legal terminology and proceedings that allow psychologists and other professionals to effectively fulfill these roles. An in-depth exploration will be conducted regarding the landmark legal cases that have significantly impacted the field of forensic psychology, as well as, the roles of psychologists working in this field.

This graduate-level MAP course will examine the development and structure of the criminal justice system, including police, courts, and corrections. Topics will include the history, present status, and possible reform solutions for the criminal justice system. Students will formulate policy solution strategies to address the issues that are identified in each branch of the criminal justice system.
This graduate-level MAP course will focus on the concepts of deviance in human society, specifically that which is found in Western cultural norms. Theories of deviance, as well as the cultural, biological, and temporal nature of these theories will be explored in depth through both sociological and psychological lenses. Some other fundamental foci of the course include the: the nature of sexual paraphilias, the cultural context of drug abuse, the underlying determinants of “cultic’ membership, and the identification of psychopathic traits through both objective and projective assessment.

Assessment Psychology

Credits

This graduate-level MAP course explores several areas relevant to trauma care including:

  • personality and symptomology assessment
  • proper interviewing techniques for both children and adults affected by violence
  • current research on traumatic memory
  • empirically validated interventions utilized in trauma treatment

The purpose of this course is to prepare students for immediate entrance into the field in working with populations afflicted by PTSD, complicated grief, or prolonged trauma reactions. 3 credits.

Prerequisite: PRC 736

This graduate-level MAP course explores the symptomology of childhood DSM disorders, but also expands on the specific assessment possibilities available to those working with younger populations. This course is designed for students to gain a deeper level of sophistication in the utilization of assessments that address psychopathology as well as normative development. Additionally, this course will examine the trends and controversies associated with child psychology and prepare students to work in a variety of settings including hospitals, schools, and community mental health agencies. Developmental norms will also be explored within this course as well as the etiology of violence, the research on child abuse and neglect, and the nature of parental influence on a variety of childhood disorders. Lastly, students will consider assessment that promotes a child’s individual strengths and gifts and how learning disorders intersect and exacerbate mental health-related issues.

This graduate-level MAP course is an advanced seminar with the goal of introducing students to the theory and application of neuropsychology. This specialized subfield of psychology aims to assess and interpret the relationship between nervous system function, cognition, emotions and behavior; and to apply this knowledge to the design of individualized patient intervention. Students will gain an understanding of the field through review of adult and pediatric cognitive and neurological disorders. The psychosocial adjustment of patients living with each disorder and the dynamics among individual involved in their care are additional themes of emphasis. The course takes an interdisciplinary approach integrating information from several subfields of medicine (neurology, neuroradiology, and psychiatry) and psychology (cognitive, abnormal, developmental, biological, and health psychology). This course will introduce a variety of neuropsychological tests & discuss the major cognitive domains in neuropsychology, with an emphasis on the process by which such tests are interpreted in light of all of the data available.

Treatment Psychology

Credits

This graduate-level MAP course teaches the practical principles and application of cognitive-behavioral theory. This includes the conceptualization and development of cognitive behavioral psychotherapy techniques for psychological problems with adults and children.

The course exposes students to the full range of cognitive-behavioral therapy and the underlying assumptions and theoretical models, including empirical foundations in classical and operant conditioning as well as social learning theory. It also provides students with the practical application of these theories to a wide spectrum of specific psychological problems and psychiatric disorders.

This graduate-level MAP course considers the foundations and influences of existential theory and other dynamic approaches that encompass the following themes: identity, freedom, meaning, isolation, and death – with an emphasis on their appearance and direct application in therapy and counseling. The student will learn the history and background of these perspectives, concepts, principles and research relevant to application, critiques and case conceptualizations, and other integrative techniques and implications. Additionally, students will gain deeper knowledge on the way that existential themes and related agents affect personality and lifespan development.

This graduate-level course is designed to provide a basic understanding of clinical techniques and the relationships with adult and juvenile offenders in society. Major topics include: mental health issues, assessment and diagnosis, role of clinicians, recidivism reduction measures, stressors specific to incarceration, and current best-practice treatment approaches. Additional considerations will address the balance between community safety and offender treatment success. This course will also introduce students to the theory, principles, and skills of motivational interviewing (MI), and will focus primarily on the use of MI by those working with individuals within the criminal justice system (i.e., incarceration, release, post-parole).

This graduate course prepares students to make scientifically-sound treatment decisions for a wide array of adult mental health disorders. Through evidence-based practice, students will develop the knowledge and skills needed to effectively treat PTSD, bulimia, OCD, panic attacks, bipolar disorder, phobias, alcohol use disorders, depression, and anxiety. Additionally, this course will examine ineffective and disproven applications of psychology that persist in the field today.

Therapeutic Arts Psychology

Credits

This graduate-level MAP course covers the theory and research that inform the roots and contemporary practice of therapeutic art approaches and techniques across settings as related to the most predominant models of treatment in the United States (CBT, Humanistic, Psychodynamic, Narrative, Group). Developmental stages of creativity, special populations, settings of practice, and goal setting for art therapy integrated with traditional forms of psychotherapy will be explored in-depth. Students will have opportunity for additional practice with researching, designing, and implementing exercises in other therapeutic arts of interest.

This graduate-level MAP course provides students with the opportunity to integrate an understanding of the history of the field (within academic institutions, but also via non-structured environments), to study works of literature that deal with mental health issues, and to have hands-on workshop experience with creative writing that can enhance personal healing. Students will also consider the effects of mental health on the generation of artistic products.

This graduate-level MAP course takes an interdisciplinary approach to exploring art as a set of socio-cultural, meaning-making and therapeutic processes that both shapes and disrupts normative culture. This course will pursue an embodied praxis of art history, art theory, and curatorial studies as they interrelate to conceptualizations of trauma, therapeutic processes, cultures of care and healing within the context of visual art practice. In this course, we will incorporate slow looking exercises, object-centered inquiry, and an exploration of making as a cultural process.

Exploration Psychology

Credits

This graduate-level MAP course is an advanced seminar with the goal of introducing students to the theory and application of neuropsychology. This specialized subfield of psychology aims to assess and interpret the relationship between nervous system function, cognition, emotions and behavior; and to apply this knowledge to the design of individualized patient intervention. Students will gain an understanding of the field through review of adult and pediatric cognitive and neurological disorders. The psychosocial adjustment of patients living with each disorder and the dynamics among individual involved in their care are additional themes of emphasis. The course takes an interdisciplinary approach integrating information from several subfields of medicine (neurology, neuroradiology, and psychiatry) and psychology (cognitive, abnormal, developmental, biological, and health psychology). This course will introduce a variety of neuropsychological tests & discuss the major cognitive domains in neuropsychology, with an emphasis on the process by which such tests are interpreted in light of all of the data available.
This graduate-level MAP course will focus on the concepts of deviance in human society, specifically that which is found in Western cultural norms. Theories of deviance, as well as the cultural, biological, and temporal nature of these theories will be explored in depth through both sociological and psychological lenses. Some other fundamental foci of the course include the: the nature of sexual paraphilias, the cultural context of drug abuse, the underlying determinants of “cultic’ membership, and the identification of psychopathic traits through both objective and projective assessment.
This graduate-level MAP course provides students with the opportunity to integrate an understanding of the history of the field (within academic institutions, but also via non-structured environments), to study works of literature that deal with mental health issues, and to have hands-on workshop experience with creative writing that can enhance personal healing. Students will also consider the effects of mental health on the generation of artistic products.

Request More Information

We’d love to hear from you. Fill out the form, and we’ll be in touch shortly to learn more about your goals and how we can help.