The Masters Degree (MA) was established as a way to formalize courses taken and research experience acquired for students enrolled in our Ph.D. program in Clinical-Community Psychology. In addition, the conferring of this degree to students in their second or third year in the doctoral program increases opportunities for them for on-campus teaching, and for externships in community settings. The MA does not increase the course requirements which students will have to take to achieve their Ph.D. but rather specifies core courses and experiences students typically complete by the end of their second year, or by the end of first semester in their third year in the doctoral program, with the thesis requirement included in this degree. Students will be required to defend the Masters thesis and jointly take an oral comprehensive examination on their knowledge based on coursework and experiences to date at the time of the defense. All students who enter the program without a Masters Degree must complete the requirements for a Masters. In rare cases, students not showing adequate progress toward the Ph.D. may be declined the ability to continue in the doctoral program, and may be guided toward completion of the MA as their terminal degree at the UofSC.
Degree Requirements (47 Hours)
Required courses for the Masters Degree include the following:
Research Methods and Statistics (9 Hours)
Course List | Course | Title | Credits |
| PSYC 709 | Basic Quantitative Methods in the Analysis of Behavioral Data I | 3 |
| PSYC 710 | Basic Quantitative Methods in the Analysis of Behavioral Data II | 3 |
| PSYC 772 | Research Approaches to Human Behavior | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours | 9 |
Core General Psychology Courses (15 Hours)
Course List | Course | Title | Credits |
| PSYC 726 | Psychological Problems and Resilience | 3 |
| PSYC 727 | Foundations of Community Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 749 | Principles of Human Diversity | 3 |
| PSYC 770 | Survey of Social Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 820 | Seminar in Developmental Psychology | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours | 15 |
Foundations of Clinical Psychology (6 Hours)
Course List | Course | Title | Credits |
| PSYC 725 | Systems and Theories of Psychological Intervention | 3 |
| PSYC 761 | Psychological Assessment I | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours | 6 |
Research Leading to Thesis (8 Hours)
Course List | Course | Title | Credits |
| PSYC 773 | Research in Clinical-Community Psychology | 1-3 |
| PSYC 799 | Thesis Preparation | 1-9 |
| Total Credit Hours | 2-12 |
Practicum (6 Hours)
- 6 hours of Intervention Practicum
Electives (3 Hours)
- 3 hours (other Psyc courses 700 and higher or non-Psyc courses 500 and higher)
