Bachelor's / Masters Degree Program in Experimental Psychology

Scope and Objectives

The Bachelor’s/Master’s Degree program in Experimental psychology provides students with a broad education in psychology as well as a focus in the areas of Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, or Social Psychology. In five years, students will complete all requirements for an undergraduate Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology or Neuroscience as well as a Master’s degree in Psychology.

This highly selective BA/MA (BS/MA) program is designed for students with a variety of future goals. Some students may be interested in a career path for which a Master’s degree is a necessity. These students can benefit from completing this degree in an accelerated fashion.  Other students may intend to continue their graduate studies at the doctoral level. For these students, this program provides a strong foundation in the science of psychology, as well as the opportunity to become familiar with a variety of areas within experimental psychology, enabling students to focus their interests.  Completion of this Master’s program may enhance students’ opportunities for entrance into a doctoral program by allowing them to demonstrate mastery of graduate level coursework, conduct their own mentored research, and participate in research presentations and publications.

The current areas of specialization include Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, and Social Psychology.  The Neuroscience focus is designed to advance understanding of the dynamic relationship between the nervous system, mind, and behavior. The Cognitive Science and Social Psychology focus is designed to advance understanding in psycholinguistics, visuospatial perception, judgment and inference, and evolutionary and social psychology.  Students are strongly encouraged to identify a mentor/advisor in their area of interest during their first three years of undergraduate study.  The advisor serves to guide the student's course selection and thesis research.

General Program Information

In the Bachelor’s / Master’s degree program in Experimental Psychology, years 1, 2, and 3, are devoted to meeting undergraduate degree requirements and identifying a faculty advisor/mentor.  BA/MA (BS/MA) candidates begin to take graduate seminars and identify a master’s thesis topic in their 4th year of study.  The 5th year of the program is devoted to completing graduate coursework and a master’s thesis.

Application and Applicant Qualifications

Applicants are provisionally admitted to the program in the spring of their 3rd year at BGSU. Applicants should submit a competed application packet by January 15th.  To receive full consideration, students must have at least a 3.0 GPA, a minimum of 96 credit hours before the fall semester of their 4th year, identified a faculty sponsor/advisor who has agreed to mentor their research, and completed an application form.

During the 4th year of the program, students are required to apply to the Graduate College for admission. Graduate College requirements include a $30 non-refundable application fee per graduate application submitted ($45 for domestic students; $75 for international students), two official transcripts from all institutions attended (other than BGSU), GRE scores, and TOEFL scores from applicants whose native language is not English, and three letters of recommendation (sent to the department).

See Graduate Program and Prospective Students for more information about prerequistes and requirements, campus and facilities, and instructions on submitting an application.

Curriculum

All BA/MA (BS/ \MA) students would complete the requirements for an Undergraduate degree in Psychology or Neuroscience. In addition, at the graduate level, students would take two statistics courses, three Experimental psychology courses, one course that falls outside of the experimental area, two semesters of the Neuroscience or Cognitive Science brown bag lecture series,  research methods in the form of independent study or a formal course, and master’s thesis hours. Click here for a sample curriculum.

Faculty of the Neural and Cognitive Sciences