University of Northern Iowa M.A. in Psychology

Clinical Science Emphasis

The Clinical Science Emphasis is a research-based course of study primarily designed for students who are interested in clinical psychology and who would like to obtain a master’s degree prior to either seeking admission to doctoral programs in clinical, counseling, or school psychology. Some students also decide to work as masters’ level providers of psychological services in clinical or educational settings under appropriate supervision.

A minimum of 44 semester hours and a thesis are required for the M.A. degree. The program is designed to be completed in two full years of study, including two academic years and two summers.

Course requirements:

Fall First Year / Spring First Year
Advanced Statistics (3cr) / Psychopathology(3cr)
Cognitive and Intellectual Assessment (3cr) / Personality Assessment (3cr)
Theory, Research, & Practice of Psychological Treatment (3cr) / Empirically-Supported Psychological Treatment (3cr)
Ethical Issues in Psychological Assessment (1cr) / Ethical Issues in Psychological Intervention (1cr)
Readings in Psychology (1cr) / Readings in Psychology (1cr)
Fall Second Year / Spring Second Year
Clinical Practicum (2cr) / Clinical Practicum (2cr)
Thesis (3cr) / Thesis (3cr)
Elective (3cr) / Elective (3cr)
Elective (3cr) / Elective (3cr)

Classes:

·  PSYCH 6406 (3cr). Advanced Psychopathology: Examination of alternative models of psychopathology with emphasis on genetic, physiological, and developmental determinants of behavior disorders. Review of the empirical literature on the etiology, maintenance, and treatment of disordered behavior.

·  PSYCH 6001(3cr) Advanced Statistics: Review of elementary descriptive and inferential statistics, analysis of variance and covariance models, multiple linear regression and the generalized linear model, and specialized topics in multivariate analysis.

·  PSYCH 6401 (3cr). Cognitive and Intellectual Assessment: Introduction to the nature, use, and interpretation of tests for assessing intelligence and cognition in varied populations in this and other cultures.

·  PSYCH 6405 (3cr). Personality Assessment: Overview of theoretical and empirical issues in the measurement of personality. Considers reliability and validity of projective and actuarial methods of personality assessment, and criticism of personality assessment, and provides an introduction to the theory and techniques of behavior assessment as an alternative to traditional trait and psychodynamic approaches.

·  PSYCH 6402 (3cr). Theory, Research, & Practice of Psychological Treatment: Designed to cover the major theoretical approaches to counseling, empirical issues relative to psychotherapy, and facilitate proficiency in counseling microskills.

·  PSYCH 6407 (3cr). Empirically-Supported Psychological Treatment: Overview of current strategies and techniques for modifying child and adult behavior disorders based on a cognitive-behavioral approach.

·  PSYCH 6285 (2cr) Readings in Psychology: A survey of the psychological literature within a particular area supervised by a faculty member. Designed to lead to a thesis topic.

·  PSYCH 6408 (2cr) Clinical Practicum: Supervised field placement in a mental health or other agency offering psychological services.

·  PSYCH 6299 (6cr) Thesis: An independent research project supervised by a faculty advisor and a committee of faculty members, resulting in a manuscript consisting of a substantial literature review, methodology description, statistical report and analysis, and discussion. The thesis is orally defended in a public forum.