PSYCH-MA - Psychology (MA)

• Completion of 45 units of graduate level Psychology courses

• A maximum of 18 units may be from lab courses, independent study, outside units, and practica (e.g., 222, 258, 269, 281, 297, 282, 290)

• Successful completion of the First Year Project (FYP) or equivalent master's thesis

Of the 45 units of Psychology courses, Master's students must complete 4 Core Courses and 2 Statistical Methods Courses as outlined below. These are the same Core Course and Quantitative Methods Course requirements that the Department sets for the Ph.D. students. 

Core Course Requirement

Students are required to take four core courses, each course from a different area of the Psychology department: Affective Science, Cognitive Science, Developmental Psychology, Neuroscience, and Social Psychology, as listed below. All core courses must be taken for a letter grade, for 3 units, and passed with a grade of 'B-' or better. 

Consistent with the program’s goal of fostering breadth and engagement across all areas of the department, students are encouraged to take all five core courses spanning the five areas of the department. If a student takes five core courses, the units and grade of the fifth course are counted towards the student’s advanced units.

Students may be required by their advisors to take up to two additional graduate courses in their area of specialization. In these cases, the additional courses are counted towards the advanced units requirement as described below. Students should consult with their advisor about any additional requirements in their area of specialization. 

Quantitative Methods Course Requirement

Students are required to take two of the following Quantitative Methods courses:

Quantitative methods courses must be taken for a letter grade and passed with a grade of 'B-' or better.

Policy and Process for Current Psychology Ph.D. students

Graduate students who are already enrolled in the Psychology Ph.D. program and who have completed (a) the first-year and second-year course requirements; and (b) at least 45 units of Psychology courses may apply for conferral of the M.A. degree. This application should be discussed with the Student Services Manager.

Students who are currently enrolled in a Stanford Ph.D. or professional program in another Department may be granted a Master of Arts in Psychology. In such cases, admission to the M.A. is considered by the faculty on a case-by-case basis. An admitted student must complete at least 45 units of Psychology courses and possibly other research or course requirements as determined by the faculty.  Interested applicants should consult with the Student Services Manager, Emily Fay (ecfay@stanford.edu).

All applicants must satisfy University residency requirements for the degree and are responsible for consulting with their primary departments or the Financial Aid Office about the effects of the proposed program on their current funding.

Please note: The Department of Psychology does not offer terminal M.A. degrees for students who are not already pursuing another advanced degree at Stanford.

How to apply for the Psychology MA: Current Psychology PhD Students

1. Fill out the application form and obtain your advisor's signature.

2. Submit the completed application form to the Psychology Student Services Manager, who will obtain the Department Chair's signature.

3. Submit a request for the Master's Degree via Axess using the Graduate Program Authorization Form. To find this form, navigate to the Student Tab, then Petitions and Forms under the Academics tab. Make sure to indicate that you are adding a Master's degree. There will be a checkbox to leave your current graduate program - do NOT check this box!

4. Enter your payment and select "Apply to Graduate" in Axess (make sure to select the Master's, not PhD).

5. Psychology's Student Services Office will approve your request in Axess.

Policy and Procedures for External Students Requesting to Pursue a Master of Arts in Psychology

Graduate students from other Stanford departments/graduate programs may choose to request the opportunity to pursue a Master’s of Arts in Psychology. They are eligible if:

• They are Ph.D., JD, or MD students in another Stanford department/graduate program AND

• They have secured a Psychology faculty sponsor who agrees to serve as their Master’s research advisor.

Requirements

The requirements for the M.A. are the same for internal (Psychology Ph.D. program) and external (non-Psychology Ph.D. program) students. However, for external students, the M.A. coursework and thesis must be in addition to the coursework and milestone documents they are using towards their primary Ph.D. In other words, a student may not use the same course to count towards the unit or content requirements of both degrees; the student must choose which courses count for which degree. Note that students are still bound to the Ph.D. course load cap of 10 units per quarter. Students may count the Psych M.A. course units towards the requirement to complete 135 units in residence for a Ph.D. (a University requirement), but not towards specific Department/program-level Ph.D. requirements.

If a student requests permission to waive a particular core or methods course requirement (e.g., PSYCH 252) due to overlapping course content with their Ph.D. coursework, the student must petition the Psychology Graduate Program Committee. If this petition is granted, the student must still complete 45 units of Psychology coursework, of which a maximum of 18 can be labs/practica/research units. Waiving a course requirement simply means the student replaces the waived course with a different psychology course.

An external student’s Master’s Thesis cannot overlap with any similar milestone documents that count towards their primary Ph.D. For an external student, a successful Master’s Thesis is a report on a research project in Psychology that is done during the first two years of their Master’s studies. Typically, the thesis is written in the format of a scientific paper including the following sections (i) an introduction describing the background and theoretical context, (ii) a methods section describing the experimental paradigm,  (ii) results detailing experiment outcomes with the appropriate data analyses, statistical analyses, figures, and/or tables, (iv) discussion, and (v) references. Both the primary advisor in the Psychology department and a second reader (must be a Stanford Academic Council member) will read and give the student feedback on their Master’s Thesis, and the student must pass a 1-hour thesis defense at which the work is presented to the advisor and reader.

Process

A successful external M.A. recipient goes through the following steps:

1. The potential student secures a Psychology faculty research mentor who supports the addition of the M.A.; have an initial meeting with the Student Services Manager to review the program and set expectations.

2. The potential student submits an application to the Student Services Manager. This application is composed of the following materials: Statement of Purpose, CV, Letter of support from primary advisor(s) in home department

3. The Student Service Manager collates the application and submits to the area faculty for review.

4. If the area faculty approve, the Student Services Manager confirms Department approval with the student and records the student’s commitment to pursue a M.A. Note: the student does not formally add the Psych M.A. program plan in Axess at this time.

5. The student pursues the M.A. coursework and research under the consultation of the M.A. advisor. The Student Services Manager is available for logistical advising.

6. The student completes the coursework and submits a M.A. Thesis. The Thesis is submitted via email to the Psychology M.A. advisor and secondary reader, cc’ing the Psychology Student Services Manager.

7. The M.A. Thesis is defended in a presentation to the primary advisor and second reader, and the Thesis is reviewed and approved by both the primary advisor in the Psychology and the second reader.

8. The student submits the M.A. form, formally matriculates, and the M.A. degree is available in the system for the student to confer.

How to apply for the Psychology MA: Current Stanford JD, MD, or PhD Students

1. Carefully review the Psychology MA Policy and Process document.

2. Set up a meeting with the Student Services Manager (Emily Fay, ecfay@stanford.edu) to review the process.

3. Secure Psychology faculty MA advisor.

4. Submit an application to the Student Services Manager. The application consists of the following: Statement of Purpose, CV, and letter of support from primary home department advisor(s). This application will be reviewed by Psychology Faculty.

5. If approved by Psychology faculty, the Psychology MA advisor will mentor you as you complete the MA requirements. The requirements include the 45 units of coursework outlined above as well as a Master's Thesis and Master's Thesis defense. For complete details, refer to the Psychology MA Policy and Process document. 

6. Upon completion of required MA coursework, Thesis, and Thesis defense, fill out the application form and obtain your advisor's signature.

7. Submit the completed application form to the Psychology Student Services Manager, who will obtain the Department Chair's signature.

8. Submit a request for the Master's Degree via Axess using the Graduate Program Authorization Form. To find this form, navigate to the Student Tab, then Petitions and Forms under the Academics tab. Make sure to indicate that you are adding a Master's degree. There will be a checkbox to leave your current graduate program - do NOT check this box! 

9. Enter your payment and select "Apply to Graduate" in Axess (make sure to select the Master's, not PhD).

10. Psychology's Student Services Office will approve your request in Axess.

As with internal M.A. students, external M.A. students matriculate into the M.A. at the end of the program. This ensures that if a student opts not to complete the M.A., we do not need to process a formal withdrawal or dismissal from the M.A. program.

Funding

The Department does not provide funding for external M.A. students. If a faculty mentor wishes to engage an external M.A. student as an RA, the faculty must provide the funds.