Specialize in any area of psychological research — clinical, cognitive, developmental, neuroscience or social — as you prepare for doctoral studies or a research job in the public or private sector.
In this program, you have access to exceptional resources including direct access to research faculty, dedicated laboratory space and a large research participant pool. Upon admission, you are assigned a doctoral-trained research adviser. You will receive extensive training in research design and analysis and have access to our entire faculty, who bring demonstrated strengths in biological, cognitive and social psychology. Affiliated faculty members from other disciplines are available to mentor in related topics as well. View admission and degree requirements in the Graduate Catalog.
Students and faculty 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.
Many job opportunities in laboratory research, experimental design and statistical analysis are available given Towson’s close proximity to nationally recognized health care 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 Princeton University.
Receive considerable personal attention as most classes have less than 16 students. The program's small size makes it ideal for faculty to use a mentorship model to teach research skills
Students can work toward their master's degrees either full or part time. Courses are offered in the late afternoons and evenings.
The department’s facilities include state-of-the-art laboratories, teaching, statistical and clinical areas. Facilities also include a computer lab for instruction on statistical software packages, and separate research labs for cognitive, biological, developmental, general, and social psychology.