Master of Arts in Psychological Science

FAQs for the Psychology Master’s program

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Master of Arts in Psychological Science

CSU San Marcos

Frequently Asked Questions

Please read all of these questions and answers carefully before you make a decision about applying to our program. A careful reading of these FAQs will help you determine if our program is right for you!

I want to be a clinical psychologist. Is yours the right program for me?

If you want to use a Master’s degree as a steppingstone to a clinical doctoral (Ph.D. or Psy.D.) program, our program is indeed a good one for you. Doctoral programs (especially Ph.D.) are looking for students who have done research in psychology. Perhaps it is because our program emphasizes research skills that over 90% of our graduates who have applied to doctoral programs have been admitted.

On the other hand, if you are looking for a program that trains you in counseling skills so that you can work as a therapist once you have your Master’s degree, ours is NOT the right program for you.Nearby CSU campuses (SDSU, CSU Bakersfield, and CSU Fullerton) offer Master’s degrees in counseling/clinical, and there are a number of private universities that do so also. We advise you to be very careful about choosing a graduate program without careful evaluation of its reputation, rigor, and costs.

I want to be a school psychologist. Is yours the right program for me?

No. Contact the School of Education at CSUSM if this is your interest.

I don’t have a Bachelor’s degree in psychology. Can I still be accepted into your program?

We expect our students to be prepared to start graduate level work immediately. Therefore, students who were not psychology majors are unlikely to be accepted. However, there are exceptions to this rule. Excellent students who have majored in related fields such as biology, human development, or cognitive science, and who have taken courses in psychology, might be accepted if their applications are otherwise very strong. Those who have not majored in psychology should have taken, at MINIMUM, the necessary lower division courses in psychology (Introduction to Psychology, Psychological Statistics) and four upper division psychology courses, including at least one upper division laboratory course in a psychology department. Obviously, the more courses you take in psychology, the better.

Can I be accepted conditionally while I take some of the undergraduate courses I lack?

No. We do not offer conditional acceptances. Students are only accepted when they are deemed fully qualified to begin our graduate curriculum. If you lack course work in psychology, we suggest you take a year to enroll in undergraduate courses at a local university and then apply.

I would like to reduce the number of credits I need to take as a graduate student.If I take graduate courses as an undergraduate or post-baccalaureate student, will those count toward my degree if I apply and am accepted?

No. You will not be able to reduce the number of credits by taking graduate courses as an undergraduate. You must earn 33 units of credit as a graduate student enrolled in our program, no matter what you take as an undergraduate.

I would like to attend the program part time. Is that possible?

Our program is designed for full-time study. However, on veryrare occasions we make exceptions. If you are limited to part-time study, you should speak with the Graduate Coordinator () before you apply. She can give you a better sense of the likelihood that you would be considered for admission on a part-time basis. Note that all of our courses are offered in the daytime. Ours is not a program that can be completed with evening classes, or by taking one class at a time.

I can attend full-time, but I plan to work at least 20 hours a week to support myself. Will that be a problem?

Yes, most likely it will. Our program demands your full attention and must be given high priority in your time budget. You will not be able to “fit school in” around a work schedule that is demanding. Most of our students do work a few hours a week as teaching or research assistants, however (see below).

How long does it take to complete your program?

Our program can be completed in two years, but most students finish in three years. All of the required course work is completed in four semesters, but students tend to need extra time to finish the thesis. Nonetheless, most students can indeed earn their degrees in two years if they are motivated to do so.

My GRE scores are low. What is your minimum?

We do not have minimum scores because we know that some students who do poorly on the GRE are in fact excellent students who excel in graduate school. However, the lower your scores, the less likely it is that you will be accepted. If you have low scores you should have excellent grades, relevant research experience, and very strong letters of recommendation to make the case that you are capable of graduate work despite your poor scores on the GRE.

My grades are not very good. What is your minimum?

We look for students who have primarily earned As and Bs in college. GPAs lower than about 3.3 give us concern. If you have been unable to achieve high grades in undergraduate courses, we have no basis to conclude that you can succeed in demanding graduate courses. However, occasionally an applicant has a good explanation for a low GPA. If you do decide to apply but have a low GPA, you should address it in your statement of purpose.

On the departmental application you ask us to name one or more faculty with whom we would like to study if accepted. Why is this important?

Our program specializes in training students how to do research in psychology. We require that you do an empirical thesis that takes at least two years to plan, carry out, and write. Therefore, you need the supervision of a research advisor right from the start. Also, we need to be sure that you are aware of the kind of research our faculty is able and willing to supervise. By asking you to carefully review the research programs of our faculty and then choose one or more whose interests match your own, you are more likely to be satisfied with us, and we are more likely to be satisfied with you!

What are you looking for in the applicants?

We look for evidence that an applicant has the motivation, skills, and talent to become a scientist in the field of psychology. Very good grades and strong letters of recommendation are particularly important; research experience under the supervision of a faculty member is also important. We are looking for students who present themselves well by writing articulate personal statements in which they are able to identify their interests in psychology and convince us that they are serious about graduate study. We also look for a good “match” with our faculty, as explained above.

What should the Personal Statement (statement of purpose) include?

The personal statement should focus on the ways in which you are prepared to handle our research-oriented graduate curriculum. You should identify your academic and personal strengths, pointing whenever possible to quantitative or otherwise objective information (e.g., GPA, GRE scores, awards won, conference presentations, etc.). You should also give a very clear indication of what research area(s) interest you, and what experience you have in those research areas (e.g., working in the laboratory of a faculty member or graduate student, summer research internships, etc.). Make sure you include an indication of which faculty member(s) you most want to work with, and why. It should also speak to your longer-range goals (e.g., doctoral study, community college teaching, etc.) Yourstatement should be extremely well written, free of grammatical errors, typos, etc., and should give us reason to believe that you have the maturity, skills, and motivation to succeed here. It should be clear from the statement that you have carefully read the on-line materials about our program such that you can speak directly to the ways that the CSUSM program fits your interests and goals.

Can I start the program in the spring semester? When are applications due?

No, you cannot begin in the spring. Each new group of graduate students starts in the fall. Applications are always due on February 1.

About what percent of applicants do you accept?

This past year, we accepted about 25% of the fiftystudents who applied.

Do you give financial aid?

Our department is usually able to offer Graduate Assistant (teaching assistantship) and Instructional Support (graders and some other jobs) positions to our graduate students. Most students work in this capacity for about 10 hr/week (ranging from 5-20 hr/week). It’s not enough to live on, but it does help. Most of our students apply for and receive federal student loans to help finance their graduate education at CSUSM.

How successful are your graduate students after they have completed the program?

We’re so glad you asked! We are very proud of the success that our graduates have enjoyed. We find that about 1/3 of our students decide they do indeed want to continue on at the doctoral level, and over 90% of those who have applied to Ph.D. programs have been admitted. Some of our students decide they want to teach at the community college level when they finish our program, and local community colleges have been anxious to hire our students in part because we have a required course (PSYC 680, Teaching of Psychology) that gives students teaching experience. Many other graduates of our program are now working in research positions, and some are in social services.

Still have questions? Please review our web page ( or contact Dr. Nancy Caine, Professor of Psychology and Coordinator of the Graduate Program in Psychological Science().

Revised 8-1-2017