About

Appalachian’s Master of Arts in Psychology program offers advanced study for students interested in the field of psychology, with concentrations in Experimental Psychology and Clinical Psychology.

Students interested in experimental psychology can apply directly to the MA program. The Clinical concentration is only available en route to a PsyD. Interested students should visit the PsyD Program page to learn more about that program.

• Experimental Psychology – Students gain experience across areas of experimental psychology and learn to become researchers in a subdiscipline of experimental psychology. The program trains students to design and execute original research in the field, especially in preparation for doctoral programs. The program consists of 34 semester hours including a thesis. Course work includes coverage of the major areas of experimental psychology: biological, cognitive, developmental, learning and social psychology, as well as a selected topics course, research methodology, quantitative methods, a four-semester sequence of research-based seminar courses, and thesis research hours. Upon completion of this program, students are prepared to pursue various scientific and applied activities. Learn more

• Clinical Psychology – The clinical psychology concentration for the MA in Psychology is only earned en route to the university’s new PsyD program beginning in Fall 2019.

Professional Licensure

This is a program that can lead to licensure or certification.  Appalachian State University cannot confirm whether this program will meet the requirements for professional licensure in other states or territories.

If this applies to you, check the U.S. Department of Education for information on licensure requirements and licensing agencies in other states. Or, you may address questions to State Authorization at Appalachian at stateauthorization@appstate.edu or 828-262-7559.

Application Essentials

Required Entrance Exam: GRE (score must be no more than 5 years old)

Required number of references to specify in the online form: 3

Supplemental Information: Resume (Required upload for application submission); completion of approved course (or demonstrated competence in the subject matter) in General Psychology; completion of approved course in Research Methods (including statistics); statement not exceeding two pages describing the applicant's academic and professional goals (Upload on Additional Information page of application). Applicants should describe their research and identify a potential mentor from the Psychology faculty.

Basic Conditions for Consideration of Admission:  Meeting or exceeding the conditions below does NOT guarantee admission. All applications for a given entry term will be weighed based upon the number of seats available and the quality of the complete application packages. With special permission from the Graduate School, a program may admit a limited number of students with exceptional circumstances who do not meet the graduate school minimums.

Graduate School: 3.0 GPA in the last earned degree and official scores from the appropriate admission test(s), OR 2.5 GPA in the last earned degree and official scores at the 25th percentile level from the appropriate admission test(s).

Admission to Psychology: Both qualitative and quantitative aspects of applications are reviewed in comparison to the current applicant pool.