The Department of Psychology offers an accelerated terminal Master of Science (MS) degree in Psychological Science, with both non-thesis (course-based) and thesis tracks. The thesis track is only available as a 4+1 program for students who earned their baccalaureate degree at Tulane.

The MS requires a minimum of 30 credit hours and a cumulative grade point average of 3.000. Program requirements can be found below.

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Curriculum Requirements 

All students completing a master’s degree must earn 30 credit hours. The specific requirements depend on whether students are completing (1) the Thesis Track as part of the 4+1 MS Program (for Tulane Alumni only), (2) the Non-Thesis (Course-Based) Track as part of the 4+1 MS Program (Tulane and Xavier Alumni only), or (3) the Accelerated (1.5-Year) Non-Thesis (Course-Based) Track for External Applicants. 

Thesis Track for 4+1 Students (Tulane Alumni Only)

General Curriculum:

• 30 graduate credits consisting of 8 graduate courses (24 credits) + empirical master's thesis (3 credits of graded PSYC 6610 Adv Studies In Psych (1-3 c.h.) first semester of +1 year and 3 credits of graded PSYC 9980 Masters Research (1 to 3 c.h.) second semester of +1 year)
• PSYC 6090 Univariate I (3 c.h.)
• At least 3 credits in statistics or methods beyond PSYC 6090 (eligible courses include: PSYC 6110 Univariate Statistics II, PSYC 6100 Research Methods in Behavioral Health, Psychometrics, or Qualitative Research Methods in Behavioral Health)
• PSYC 6230 Professional Issues for MS Students (3 c.h.) 
• At least 3 credits in social, cultural, or developmental psychology (see Appendix for eligible courses)
• At least 3 credits in biological underpinnings of behavior (see Appendix for eligible courses)
• No more than 3 credits from graduate courses outside of Psychology (*must be approved by the Department of Psychology’s MS Education Committee)
• No more than 6 credits in a Psychology independent study or special topics graduate course
• Prospectus meeting (Held before October 1 for students entering in August and February 15 for students entering in January)
• Successful Master’s thesis defense (Held before April 15 for May degree, August 5 for August degree, and December 5 for December degree)

Notes:

• Students are strongly encouraged to take two 6000-level PSYC graduate courses during their senior year.

Other Requirements:

• Tulane students electing to pursue the thesis track must have initiated research as undergraduate students and identified a specific area of interest. (Note: Students are encouraged to develop a master’s thesis topic that is a continuation or extension of their undergraduate honors thesis or independent study research.)
• An assistant, associate, or full professor in Tulane’s Department of Psychology must commit to thesis supervision prior to admission.
• All courses counting towards the 30 credits must have a B- or higher grade. Grades below a B- do not count towards the degree.
• The minimum grade point average calculated over the 30 credits counted toward the degree must be greater than 3.0.
• No more than 6 credits can count towards both the Bachelor’s and the Master’s degree.
• No more than 6 credits taken as an overload during undergraduate studies can count toward the Master’s degree.
• Completion of the Department of Psychology MS Program Exit Survey is required.
• Application for degree to the School of Science and Engineering is required.
• Submission of thesis to the School of Science & Engineering is required.

Non-Thesis (Course-Based) Track for 4+1 Applicants (Tulane and Xavier Alumni)

General Curriculum:

• 30 graduate credits (10 graduate courses)
• PSYC 6090 Univariate I (3 c.h.))
• At least 3 credits in statistics or methods beyond 6090 (eligible courses include: PSYC 6110 Univariate Statistics II, PSYC 6100 Research Methods in Behavioral Health, Psychometrics, or Qualitative Research Methods in Behavioral Health) 
• PSYC 6230 Professional Issues for MS Students (3 c.h.) 
• At least 3 credits in social, cultural, or developmental psychology (PSYC 7000 Social Psychology (3 c.h.); PSYC 7010 Personality (3 c.h.); PSYC 7020 Developmental Psychology (3 c.h.); PSYC 7070 Culture and Cognition (3 c.h.); PSYC 7150 Advanced Adolescent Psyc (3 c.h.); PSYC 7160 Children of Color (3 c.h.); PSYC 7170 Intergroup Relations (3 c.h.))
• At least 3 credits in biological underpinnings of behavior (PSYC 6060 Behavioral Endocrinology (3 c.h.); PSYC 6330 Neurobiol Learn & Memory (3 c.h.);PSYC 6380 Cognitive Neuroscience (3 c.h.); PSYC 6530 Psychopharmacology (3 c.h.); PSYC 7030 Cog. Neurosc. Grad. Sem. (3 c.h.); PSYC 7040 Evol Models In Psych (3 c.h.); PSYC 7090 Physiological Psychology (3 c.h.))
• No more than 3 credits from courses outside of Psychology (*must be approved by the Department of Psychology’s MS Education Committee)
• No more than 6 credits in a Psychology independent study or special topics graduate course

Notes:

• Students are strongly encouraged to take two 6000+-level PSYC graduate courses during their senior year.

Other requirements:

• All courses counting towards the 30 credits must have a B- or higher grade. Grades below a B- do not count towards the degree.
• The minimum grade point average calculated over the 30 credits counted toward the degree must be greater than 3.0.
• No more than 6 credits can count towards both the Bachelor’s and the Master’s degree.
• No more than 6 credits taken as an overload during undergraduate studies can count toward the Master’s degree.
• Completion of the Department of Psychology MS Program Exit Survey is required.
• Application for degree to the School of Science and Engineering is required.

Accelerated (1.5-Year) Non-Thesis (Course-Based) Track for External Applicants

External Applicants Must Meet the Following Requirements to be Eligible to Apply:

• Baccalaureate degree in psychology from an accredited university (Note: The U.S. Department of Education maintains a database of accrediting agencies it recognizes)
• Undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 3.4 or higher
• A letter grade of B or higher earned in an undergraduate psychology statistics course

General Curriculum:

• 30 graduate credits in Psychology (10 graduate courses)
• PSYC 6230 Professional Issues for MS Students (3 c.h.)
• PSYC 6090 Univariate I (3 c.h.)
• At least 3 credits in statistics or methods beyond 6090 (eligible courses include: PSYC 6110 Univariate Statistics II, PSYC 6100 Research Methods in Behavioral Health, Psychometrics, or Qualitative Research Methods in Behavioral Health)
• At least 3 credits in biological underpinnings of behavior (PSYC 6060 Behavioral Endocrinology (3 c.h.); PSYC 6330 Neurobiol Learn & Memory (3 c.h.); PSYC 6380 Cognitive Neuroscience (3 c.h.); PSYC 6530 Psychopharmacology (3 c.h.); PSYC 7030 Cog. Neurosc. Grad. Sem. (3 c.h.); PSYC 7040 Evol Models In Psych (3 c.h.); PSYC 7090 Physiological Psychology (3 c.h.))
• At least 3 credits in social, cultural, and developmental psychology (PSYC 7000 Social Psychology (3 c.h.); PSYC 7010 Personality (3 c.h.); PSYC 7020 Developmental Psychology (3 c.h.); PSYC 7070 Culture and Cognition (3 c.h.); PSYC 7150 Advanced Adolescent Psyc (3 c.h.); PSYC 7160 Children of Color (3 c.h.); PSYC 7170 Intergroup Relations (3 c.h.))
• No more than 3 credits from graduate courses outside of Psychology (*must be approved by the Department of Psychology’s MS Education Committee)
• No more than 6 credits in a Psychology independent study or special topics graduate course

Other Requirements:

• All courses counting towards the 30 credits must have a B- or higher grade. Grades below a B- do not count towards the degree.
• The minimum grade point average calculated over the 30 credits counted toward the degree must be greater than 3.0.
• Application for degree to the School of Science & Engineering.

Appendix

Eligible classes for social/cultural/developmental psychology and biological underpinnings of behavior general curriculum requirement:

Social, Cultural, and Developmental Psychology

• PSYC 7000 Social Psychology (3 c.h.) 
• PSYC 7010 Personality (3 c.h.) 
• PSYC 7020 Developmental Psychology (3 c.h.) 
• PSYC 7070 Culture and Cognition (3 c.h.)
• PSYC 7150 Advanced Adolescent Psyc (3 c.h.)
• PSYC 7160 Children of Color (3 c.h.)
• PSYC 7170 Intergroup Relations (3 c.h.)
• Special topics by approval

Biological Underpinnings of Behavior

• PSYC 6060 Behavioral Endocrinology (3 c.h.) 
• PSYC 6330 Neurobiol Learn & Memory (3 c.h.)
• PSYC 6380 Cognitive Neuroscience (3 c.h.)
• PSYC 6530 Psychopharmacology (3 c.h.) 
• PSYC 7030 Cog. Neurosc. Grad. Sem. (3 c.h.)
• PSYC 7040 Evol Models In Psych (3 c.h.)
• PSYC 7090 Physiological Psychology (3 c.h.)
• Special topics by approval

^{Program String & Field of Study: SEMS_GR, PSYS}

For more information, contact the School of Science and Engineering.