MA Programs

The department offers two programs leading to terminal MA Degree: Clinical Psychology and General Experimental Psychology. Both MA degrees are research-focused and require theses. The Clinical MA program is designed to prepare students to either work in applied settings as psychological associates, professional counselors, or to continue on to a Clinical PhD Program. The General Experimental MA program is designed to prepare students to continue on to a PhD program.

In both the Clinical and General Experimental M.A. programs,

1. Students must orally defend their thesis before a thesis committee.
2. All requirements must be completed within six (6) years of entering the program.
3. No more than six (6) credit hours of approved upper-division undergraduate courses can count for graduate credit.

Academic Policies

Departmental Academic Standards

In addition to the University requirement that all students admitted into graduate programs must maintain an overall cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better in all upper-division and graduate courses, the Department of Psychology requires in all graduate programs students who attempt a course or courses and receive two grades of C or lower in Psychology courses be dismissed from the program. Students who earn a grade of C or lower in a course must retake the course the next time it is offered and earn a grade of B or better.

Transfer Students with Graduate Credit

Students accepted into the PhD program with graduate credit from The University of Texas at El Paso (including the Psychology Department) or from another university must satisfy the same requirements as those beginning their PhD graduate training in Psychology at UTEP without previously earned graduate credits. The student can petition the Graduate Program Committee to accept a maximum of 24 hours of graduate credit (excluding thesis hours) completed at UTEP or at another institution. Approved credits will appear as Advanced Standing Credit on the Preliminary Plan of Study. Students who have taken PSYC 5301 from UTEP prior to admission to the PhD program can request that a maximum of three (3) credit hours for this course be included in the 24 hours that can be counted toward their PhD degree, as long as those hours were not used to meet requirements for a previous or separate degree.  A doctoral student who wishes to apply more than six (6) transfer credits toward a master's degree at UTEP must obtain prior approval from the department's Graduate Program Director.
The student must make a written request to the Graduate Program Director for Advanced Standing Credit. It is the student’s responsibility to provide all evidence and material necessary for the Graduate Program Director to review the request. Advanced Standing Credits are subject to final approval from the Graduate School. Transfer students can be considered for Department of Psychology Evaluation of Advancement to Dissertation only after they complete two academic semesters and all relevant requirements.

Degree Plan

Required Credits: 30