Psychology (M.A) - Experimental Psychology

Why Earn a Master's Degree in Experimental Psychology?

Towson offers the only master's program in experimental psychology in Maryland. Students have access to exceptional resources including direct access to research faculty, dedicated laboratory space and a large research participant pool. The experimental psychology track of the Master of Arts in psychology prepares students to conduct research in industrial, government, private consulting and hospital settings or for enrollment in doctoral programs. The program is geared to students who have completed undergraduate degrees in psychology or other majors and who are interested in pursuing psychological research.

Flexible Formats

Students can work toward their master's degrees either full or part time. Courses are offered in both the late afternoons and evenings.

Strong Research Support

Students receive considerable personal attention; most classes have fewer than 16 students. The program's small size makes it ideal for utilizing a mentorship model to teach research skills. Upon admission, each student is assigned a doctoral-trained research adviser. Students receive extensive training in research design and analysis and have access to the program's diverse faculty. Core faculty members bring demonstrated strength in biological, cognitive and social psychology, and affiliated faculty is available to mentor students interested in other topics.

Students and faculty then collaborate on research, culminating in the master's thesis. Recent thesis topics have included the relation of anonymity to aggressive driving behavior, social comparisons of attractiveness, television violence, working memory, and the role of parenting style and parental religious beliefs on successful religious transmission. Students frequently have opportunities to publish in journals and present research at conferences.

Dedicated Psychology Facilities

The five-story psychology building on the Towson campus houses extensive laboratory, teaching, statistical and clinical areas. Facilities also include a computer lab for instruction on statistical software packages, a smaller specialized computer lab designated for graduate student use, labs for animal research and labs for testing human participants.

Diverse Career Options

Many job opportunities in laboratory research, experimental design and psychometrics are available given the close proximity of nationally recognized healthcare institutions such as the National Institutes of Health and Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Graduates frequently pursue doctorates in areas as diverse as biopsychology, social psychology, clinical psychology, educational psychology and statistics at prestigious universities including University of Chicago, University of Maryland and Cornell University.