MA Program

The Department of Psychology offers graduate work leading to a research-oriented general MA degree. The MA program at Wake Forest is appropriate for students with a variety of goals. First, well-prepared students who plan to continue to the PhD may wish to receive a broad training before the specialization required at the doctoral level. The Master’s program often gives them a better basis for selecting a PhD program as well as a stronger academic foundation for their doctoral work.

Second, students who wish to better prepare themselves for application to a PhD program will benefit from the Master’s program. The general MA program allows them to strengthen their backgrounds with a high degree of individual attention from graduate faculty (student/faculty ratio is 2:1) before applying to PhD programs. The department has a good record of placing graduates in doctoral programs in all major areas of psychology, including clinical and counseling.

The department adopts a mentorship model of graduate education in which students work closely with a faculty advisor during their two years in our program. Typically there is a 2:1 graduate student-faculty ratio that provides the student with individualized attention and, therefore, superior training. Because our program is designed to prepare students for entry into doctoral programs, there is a strong emphasis on research. Students conduct both a first-year research project and a thesis. These projects typically result in conference presentations and/or publications.

The Master’s program includes course work in small seminar classes and firsthand research experience. A student will become familiar with the content and the methods of psychology at an advanced level. Two years are required to complete the program.

More information on the M.A. program in Psychology can be found here.