ma phd

Berkeley School of Education

Ma and phd programs, about our ma and phd.

Earning a Master’s of Arts degree (MA) or doctorate (PhD) from Berkeley’s School of Education often leads to a career as an educational scholar and researcher in schools, colleges, and universities; non-profits and think tanks; and corporations.

In your application, we encourage you to describe your research interests as well as your desire to study with particular faculty in their application materials. If you wish to study educational topics outside those framed in the list below, we still encourage you to apply to earn your MA or PhD because we want innovative thinkers among us.

During the first semester, all students build a plan of study in consultation with their advisor(s). This plan is revisited, updated, and revised yearly thereafter.

What Doctoral Students Can Expect

During the first two years of study, the Berkeley PhD in Education introduces you to research on current issues in education, theories of learning, human development, and inequality, educational policy, and research methods. Students proceed through the program during the first two years in a cohort, taking core courses together.

The degree program’s structure ensures that you have a broad understanding of important topics in education and that you begin developing the research expertise needed to carry out independent research projects. You will also begin to take elective courses within and outside the BSE in your expected areas of expertise.

By the third and fourth years of study, you are expected to develop greater expertise in your research specialties in close consultation with your faculty advisors. You also take advanced seminars; engage in independent studies and research apprenticeships; and complete an oral exam.

The concluding part of your doctoral studies is preparation of your dissertation proposal and the research and writing of your dissertation.

What Master's Students Can Expect

As a Master’s student, you join the Berkeley community for one academic year, affiliating with a cluster of specialization. MA students often complete courses and their Masters projects during the summer. You are required to complete 24 semester units, which equals seven to eight classes, depending on how many units are awarded for each class.

You will have access to your faculty advisors, an MA Coordinator, and Student Services staff within the School of Education.

Learn more about the core requirements for earning a Master's in Education .

Our faculty’s interests span a range of critical topics and issues that are crucial for the attainment of educational equity and greater impact in schools and communities. The broad clusters of our faculty’s expertise are listed below. Click on any of the titles to see faculty who are engaged in this research.

Critical Studies of Race, Class, and Gender

Critical Social and Cultural Theories
Globalization, Immigration, and Migration
Race & Social Inequality in Urban Education
Domination and Resistance across Educational Settings
Social Identities in Educational Contexts
Language, Literacy, and Digital Media

Language, Literacy, and Culture

Sociocultural aspects of language use and development across the lifespan
Linguistic and cultural diversity in language and literacy education
Intersections of disability and language and literacy learning
Race and inequality in language and literacy education
Bi/multilingualism and translanguaging in schools and communities
Indigenous language maintenance and education in local and global contexts
Literacy in a Digital Age
Literacy in and out of School

Learning Sciences and Human Development

Cognitive, Human, and Social Development
Mathematics and Science Education
Teacher Learning and Education
Technology and Digital Media

Policy, Politics, and Leadership

Leadership in Educational Organizations
Policy Analysis and Program Implementation
Politics of Education Advocacy
School Improvement

Social Research Methodologies

Data Science
Design-Based Research
Measurement
Qualitative Research Methods
Statistics and Econometrics

School Psychology

• Program Aims and Training Goals • Faculty • Sequence • How to Apply • Student Admissions, Outcomes, and Other Data • Student Handbook • Publications and Presentations • School Psychology-Resources

Ohio State nav bar

Ohio state navigation bar.

BuckeyeLink
Search Ohio State

MA/PhD Program

Ohio State's PhD Program in English trains students in advanced research, writing and teaching skills in a number of areas in English studies. With over 60 faculty members and 90 graduate students, our program hosts one of the largest, most vibrant intellectual communities in English studies in the country. While engaged in their advanced study, our graduate students make significant contributions to the department’s intellectual community: they teach courses, participate in department-sponsored scholarly activities and present their research in publications and at internationally-recognized conferences. Our program has trained noted scholars specializing in a range of areas in English, including rhetoric and composition, narrative theory, folklore, U.S. ethnic and postcolonial literature and all historical periods of English literature — from the Anglo-Saxon era to present day. We have also trained a number of students who have gone into a variety of non-academic careers, including in nonprofit administration, software development and corporate training and strategy.

The Ohio State University's MA/PhD program in English welcomes applications from students who have earned a bachelors or masters degree and who wish to specialize in any of the many fields in English studies that the Department of English covers.

Click here for application information .

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

All students pursuing their PhD in English must complete the following major components of our MA/PhD program. The accordions below provide information about how students may fulfill each of these components. For an overview of the program, please see the representative timelines below that show roughly when in a graduate student’s career they can expect to pass each milestone.

Each student must take a minimum total of 36 credit hours to earn an MA in English on the way to the PhD. Students who enter the program with a BA typically earn the MA at the end of their second year. Specific course requirements include the following:

English 6700.01: Introduction to Graduate Study in English (three credits)
A course in critical theory (three credits)
Two courses to fulfill the breadth requirement (six credits)
English 6781: Introduction to the Teaching of First-Year English (three credits)
English 8903: Teaching College English (three credits, repeatable)
English 6998: Research in English: Portfolio Preparation (variable credit hours)

A note about letter grade and S/U class numbers

When you register for courses on Buckeye Link , you will find that each course has been decimalized and has a ".01" and ".02" number. The ".01" number is to be used to register for the graded section of the course, and the ".02" number is to be used for the S/U section of the course. The decimalized versions are available so that students can choose whether to take the course for a grade or S/U designation. For example, there are two listings for English 6746: Introduction to Graduate Study in British Literature of the Romantic Period. English 6746.01 is the graded section and English 6746.02 is the S/U section, but the course meets on the same day(s) and at the same time(s).

Critical theory requirement

Students must take at least one course in critical theory (three credits); this course must be taken for a letter grade. The critical theory requirement can be fulfilled through English 6760, 6761, 6776.01, 6776.02, 6790, 6791, 7861, 7876, 7890, 7891, or 8888. Additional courses in English or other departments can be petitioned to count.

Breadth requirement

Each student must complete two courses to add breadth to the student’s program (six credits total). These courses must be taken for a letter grade and conform to the following guidelines:

Students concentrating on literature or theory after 1800: Two courses in pre-1800 literature, rhetoric, folklore, etc.
Students concentrating on literature or theory before 1800: Two courses in post-1800 literature, rhetoric, folklore, film, etc.
Students concentrating in non-literary fields: Two courses to add breadth as determined in consultation with the faculty advisor and the director of Graduate Studies

Graduate workshop requirement

In addition to their regular coursework, MA/PhD students must complete two graduate workshops by the end of their fourth year in the program (preferably before candidacy).

The graduate workshops provide opportunities to enrich the department's formal graduate curriculum by regularly bringing in scholars from other institutions to discuss their recently-published and current work with students and faculty. Typically, the department is able to offer three to five workshops per academic year, which rotate among fields. Each workshop is organized by a faculty coordinator, and students enroll by signing up with the Graduate Studies office.

The visiting speaker participates in two events: a public lecture or other kind of formal presentation, open to all members of the department and university community; and a closed session with graduate students who have enrolled in the workshop. For the smaller workshop, the visiting speaker assigns a text or group of texts for discussion (their own work or some other work relevant to the speaker's current interests). Students read the assigned texts on their own and submit short position papers to the faculty coordinator. The completion of these short essays, in combination with student participation, determine whether a student receives a grade of "S" (satisfactory) or "U" (unsatisfactory) for the workshop.

S/U grading guidelines

Individual faculty set the specific guidelines for S/U versions of graduate courses. The typical expectation for a grade of "S" (satisfactory), however, is that students complete readings, contribute meaningfully to class discussion and satisfactorily complete readings-related assignments that enrich discussion (e.g., writing brief reading responses, posting comments to Carmen discussions and/or leading in-class discussions on readings). Students taking a graduate course for S/U credit will typically not be expected to write longer papers or to complete and present on independent research projects.

Independent study

Graduate Independent Study courses require the approval of the director of Graduate Studies. Students interested in pursuing an independent study should consult with the appropriate faculty member at least a semester in advance. The faculty member should then prepare a one-page request that briefly outlines 1) the rationale for the independent study (e.g., why the student is unable to pursue similar work in regularly-scheduled courses) and 2) the syllabus for the independent study (e.g., list of readings, schedule of meetings, specific assignments or projects to be completed).

Students who enter with an MA from another program or another institution will typically transfer 30 hours, which means they will typically need to earn a minimum of an additional 56 credit hours for the PhD. Specific course requirements include the following:

English 6700: Introduction to Graduate Study in English (three credits)
Critical theory requirement (three credits)
Breadth requirement #1 (three credits)
Breadth requirement #2 (three credits)
English 8996: Research in English: Candidacy Exam (variable credit hours)
English 8999: Research in English: Dissertation (variable credit hours)

Students must take at least one course in Critical Theory (three credits); this course be taken for a letter grade. Students may fulfill this requirement through coursework completed at their MA institution. The critical theory requirement can be fulfilled through English 6760, 6761, 6776.01, 6776.02, 6790, 6791, 7861, 7876, 7890, 7891, or 8888. Additional courses in English or other departments can be petitioned to count.

Each student must complete two courses to add breadth to the student’s program (six credits total). These courses must be taken for a letter grade and conform to the following guidelines:

Students concentrating on literature or theory after 1800: Two courses in pre-1800 literature, rhetoric, folklore, etc.

Students may fulfill this requirement through coursework completed at their MA institution.

Graduate Independent Study courses require the approval of the director of Graduate Studies. Students interested in pursuing an independent study should consult with the appropriate faculty member at least a semester in advance. The faculty member should then prepare a one-page request that briefly outlines 1) the rationale for the independent study (e.g., why the student is unable to pursue similar work in regularly scheduled courses) and 2) the syllabus for the independent study (e.g., list of readings, schedule of meetings, specific assignments or projects to be completed).

English 8903 is a teaching internship with a faculty member, which students must complete before they can be assigned to teach any of the 2000-level literature, language or folklore courses. English 7881.02: Teaching Basic Writing, 7881.03: Teaching of College Composition in English as a Second Language and 7881.04: Teaching Business and Professional Communication may be substituted for English 8903 by students whose teaching interests include basic writing, English as a Second Language (ESL) and/or business and professional writing. However, English 8903 will be a prerequisite for teaching the relevant 2000-level courses (just as the English 7881 series is now a prerequisite for teaching the specialized writing courses).

English 8903 carries one to three credit hours. The course may be repeated. In order to coordinate their teaching interests with scheduled courses, students planning on taking English 8903 should also consult the undergraduate course offerings and faculty teaching them.

Faculty and students will have considerable flexibility in constructing the day-to-day details of the apprenticeship, but a typical pattern would look something like this:

Student and professor agree to do English 8903 in an upcoming semester.
When the book order requests are distributed, the professor and student meet to discuss which books they will use and why.
At some point before the course starts, the professor and student meet to discuss the course syllabus. They consider such matters as the objectives of the course and how best to design the schedule of readings, the students' writing assignments and the classroom atmosphere so that those objectives can be met.
Before each class, the professor and student meet to talk about the session's goals and the pedagogical means they will use to meet them. In addition, they consider how the goals of the upcoming session fit in with the overall goals of the course. (For all class sessions but the first, this meeting might occur an hour or so before walking into the session.)
Before each writing assignment (including exams), professor and student discuss what they want to achieve and how they might design the assignment to reach those goals.
The professor must take responsibility for all grades assigned in the course, but the student may assist in grading by reading, commenting and assigning possible grades to a subset of the papers or exams. Since the student is an apprentice and not a TA, however, the point of this work is not to lighten the faculty member's load but rather to provide the occasion for discussion of criteria for different grades, how to address students in commentary and so on. In all cases, the professor must read the papers marked by the apprentice and assign the final grades.
The student takes primary responsibility for some teaching, in the range of four to six hours of instruction over the course of the semester.
After the course is over, the professor and student read the student evaluations and discuss them as well as their own assessments of what worked and what didn't.
The course is graded S/U. The faculty member should also be prepared to write a letter of recommendation for the student's dossier.
The student writes a report on the apprentice experience, reflecting on how their thinking about pedagogy has been influenced by English 8903.

In general, the idea of the internship is to give the student the opportunity to work closely with a faculty member on everything from the design of a course to its day-to-day operations, from its goals and purposes to its grading and evaluation.

Students may work with a professor in any undergraduate course. No more than two students may sign up for English 8903 with the same professor and the same course in any one semester. Students must take English 8903 before they are assigned their own sections of 2000-level courses, but they need to take English 8903 only once as a general preparation for that teaching. In other words, students do not have to take a new English 8903 for every new 2000-level course they teach.

Of course, students will generally gravitate toward courses in their areas and in the areas where they would most like to teach. Below are the usual links between English 8903 experiences and the assignment of undergraduate courses, but graduate students should have considerable leeway in choosing their apprenticeships and those assigning graduate students to 2000-level courses should have some flexibility in making those assignments. For example, English 4520.01 will count for 2200 and 2201; English 4560 for 2260; English 4561 for 2261; English 4550 and English 4551 for 2290.

When students are assigned their own 2000-level class, they will consult with a faculty mentor (ideally the person whose class they observed, but possibly the course director or their advisor) on the preparation of the syllabus and other issues relating to the class. The faculty member will observe the class at least once and write a report for the course director.

Language Proficiency Requirements

Language Proficiency Coordinator: Galey Modan ( [email protected] )

The graduate program in the Department of English requires that students demonstrate current proficiency in a natural language other than English. (Natural languages are all languages, including American Sign Language [ASL], that have evolved naturally among humans through use and repetition; natural languages do not include constructed languages such as Klingon or computer programming languages.) There are multiple reasons that language proficiency is required. These include the following:  

Extensive and technical familiarity with a language other than English constitutes a powerful way for graduate students to gain an understanding of the distinctive characteristics of English language structure.
Proficiency in a language other than English allows students access to primary and secondary texts composed in that language. Graduate students in all areas of English studies with even a modest level of proficiency benefit from this access.
To fulfill our department’s commitment to diversity, it is vital for students to gain proficiency in languages other than English. To gain a basic understanding of multilingual and non-English-speaking communities requires a familiarity with the languages of those communities.
As English itself is an increasingly culturally- and geographically-differentiated language, deep familiarity with the languages that English comes into contact with is vital to an understanding of English’s global manifestations.

Doctoral research in some specialties (such as Medieval, Renaissance or U.S. ethnic literatures) may require proficiency in additional languages beyond the one that satisfies the departmental requirement. Students therefore must discuss the language requirement with faculty in their chosen area of specialization as soon as possible.

There is no set list of languages approved for PhD candidates in English. The expectation is that students will choose a language pertinent to their research interests.

Native speakers of languages other than English may use their native languages to fulfill the departmental requirement, unless their area of study requires knowledge of other particular language(s).

For doctoral students, the language requirement(s) should be met by the end of the first year of enrollment beyond the MA and must be met before any part of the candidacy examination may be scheduled.

 Students can fulfill the language proficiency requirement in any of the six ways listed below.

Method #1: Multimedia computer-adaptive placement test

Students wishing to fulfill the requirement with Spanish, German, French, Arabic, Hebrew, Italian or Swahili may take a multimedia computer-adaptive placement test administered by the Center for Languages, Literatures and Cultures (CLLC). These exams test both comprehension and production. To fulfill the language requirement through a placement test, students must do one of the following:

If the student and their advisor decide that both comprehension and production are necessary for their further research, the student must achieve a score sufficient for placement into a 2000-level language class on both sections. 
If the student and their advisor decide that comprehension alone is suitable, the student must achieve a score sufficient for placement into a 2000-level language class on the comprehension portion of the exam. Please note: Students will need to be in contact with the language proficiency coordinator prior to taking the exam if just a “comprehension” score is necessary, as the exams do not automatically produce a score solely for comprehension. The coordinator will need to confirm with the Center for Languages, Literature and Cultures that the exam is set up correctly for the student. This option involves more paperwork to set up, so the comprehension and production option above is preferred.

Method #2: Department-administered placement test

If the requirement is to be met with a language other than those listed under method #1, students may take a placement test administered by an Ohio State department that teaches the language in question. As with the CLLC option, students must place into a 2000-level class. This is the method of choice for ASL and other signed languages. If the language in question is not taught at Ohio State, the student will meet with the language proficiency coordinator to set up a testing process. (Note: if the language is one tested through the CLLC, that option must be chosen.)

Method #3: Year of university-level language classes

Students may take a year's worth of university-level language classes at Ohio State and get at least a grade of 'B' in both semesters. Students must consult the appropriate language department for course offerings. Since sequences often begin only in the autumn semester, students should be sure to check well ahead of time when the courses will be offered.

Method #4: Graduate reading course

Students may complete a graduate reading course offered by an Ohio State language program with a grade of 'A' (see below for more information on departments offering reading courses).

Method #5: Translation test

In consultation with the student’s advisor and the language proficiency coordinator, students may take a translation test (typically a translation with the aid of a dictionary) administered by an Ohio State language program, qualified faculty member of the English department or qualified faculty member at another university, as approved by the language proficiency coordinator. Students intending to take a translation exam administered by another department should note that each language department has its own set of deadlines that must be met in order to enroll for the exam. Students should contact the relevant language department during the semester before they intend to take the exam in order to ensure that they do not miss the exam registration date.  

Method #6: Oral proficiency test

Students may take an oral proficiency test. Students can show proficiency based on the following the criteria:

Comprehension: The examinee understands the content of an oral text such as a radio or broadcast news story. The content may be on current events or on a topic relevant to a student’s research. The examinee must show ability to 1) summarize a given text in a cohesive and coherent manner without prompting, 2) produce a statement summarizing their own view, and 3) answer follow-up questions in a cohesive and coherent manner.  
Production: The examinee shows ability to describe the text in a comprehensible way, producing extended, connected discourse in all major time frames (past, present and future). The reference point for ‘comprehension’ is a speaker who does not speak other languages that the examinee is proficient in. Vocabulary may be primarily generic in nature. However, if the examinee must use the language under examination for their scholarly work, they must also show command of relevant vocabulary when dealing with topics of interest. This will be decided in consultation with the student's advisor. Circumlocution and rephrasing are to be expected. Speech must be clear and not lead to confusion. Pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar and discourse structure should not be so faulty as to prevent comprehension by a speaker not proficient in the other languages in which the examinee is proficient. Discourse may reflect the information structure of the examinee’s own language/s, rather than that of the target language.

In cases where an examiner cannot be located, students can take the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI), as administered by Ohio State Testing Center and described here . The department may pay the fees associated with the OPI upon approval.

Below you will find information about German, French, Spanish and Italian reading proficiency classes and testing procedures. In the past, these have been the most common choices made by students, and these departments have the most structured systems for assessing proficiency. If another language is more appropriate for your research, see above for assessment procedures.

Graduate reading courses must be completed with a grade of 'A' in order to satisfy the requirement.

German: The course that satisfies graduate reading proficiency is German 6101. Contact Natascha Miller ( [email protected] ) with questions about coursework prerequisites. If you choose to take the reading exam to demonstrate proficiency, you must schedule it in cooperation with your advisor and the English department’s language proficiency coordinator. Your advisor should select a passage for you to translate and submit it, along with a completed exam scheduling form, as directed on the exam website . Information about testing dates is usually updated the third or fourth week of the semester; visit the exam website to view testing dates and download the exam scheduling form.
French: Courses that satisfy graduate reading proficiency include French 6571 and French 6572. Contact Joan Obert ( [email protected] ) with questions about coursework prerequisites. If you choose to take the reading exam to demonstrate proficiency, you must schedule it in cooperation with your advisor and the English department’s language proficiency coordinator. The Department of French and Italian provides a detailed overview of the test, as well as information on exam preparation, evaluation, dates and registration on their website .
Spanish: The Department of Spanish and Portuguese does not offer courses to demonstrate reading proficiency in Spanish. If you would like to take a translation test, you must schedule the reading exam in cooperation with your advisor and the English department’s language proficiency coordinator. The Department of Spanish and Portuguese provides a detailed overview of the test, as well as information on exam preparation, dates and registration on their website .
Italian : The Department of French and Italian does not offer courses to demonstrate reading proficiency in Italian. If you choose to take the reading exam to demonstrate proficiency, you must schedule the reading exam in cooperation with your advisor. The Department of French and Italian provides an overview of the test on their website . Contact Joan Obert ( [email protected] ) to schedule the exam and to request more detailed information on testing dates and procedures.

Preparing for the Advising Meeting

The advising meeting is a critical step in the process toward the PhD and, for students who enter the program with a BA, it is the formal mechanism for awarding the MA. Typically, the advising meeting will take place at the end of the spring semester of the second year for all students who enter with a BA and at the end of the autumn semester of the second year for all students who enter with an MA.

The advising meeting will include a faculty committee composed of the student's selected advisor, who serves as chair; a second faculty member chosen from a list of three submitted by the student; and a third member selected by the director of Graduate Studies or their designee. The advising meeting will last for at least one hour but for no longer than two hours. During the meeting, the student and faculty committee will consider the student's plans for completing the PhD as reflected in the Preliminary Program of Study. Students will also answer and ask questions about items included in the portfolio project.

After the advising meeting, the chair of the faculty committee will write a brief report of the meeting for the student's file. In addition to a short summary of the conversation, for students who enter with a BA, this report will include the committee's recommendation to award the MA degree based on satisfactory completion of all MA requirements. For all students, the report should also include recommendations about the composition of the student's committee for the candidacy exam and dissertation.

By week seven of semester of the advising meeting, the student will prepare a portfolio that includes:

A Preliminary Program of Study.
A short statement about the student’s pursuit of interests outside the regular curriculum and the major field (e.g., attendance at workshops, lectures, readings and other such activities).
A research project, which can be a traditional academic essay, a new media composition and so forth, as determined in consultation with the student's faculty advisor.

Typically, the research project will have begun in a course and been subsequently revised with a broader academic audience in mind and with a clear articulation of how its argument and methodologies fit within ongoing conversations in the relevant field or fields. The student should be working toward potential publication of the project, and/or toward its integration into her or his dissertation.

Students who enter the program with an MA may use a project begun in a course in their MA program.

The Preliminary Program of Study consists of three components:

A description and short rationale for the student’s intended major field and minor field or fields for the candidacy exam. (See description of Final Program of Study for explanation of field areas.)
A summer reading list of about 15 works related to one or both of these areas.
A brief discussion of teaching and other GA work, completed and planned.

The Preliminary Program of Study should be designed in consultation with the student's faculty advisor and must be signed by the advisor in preparation for the advising meeting.

Final Program of Study

A copy of the Final Program of Study (POS) and letter of endorsement from the advisor need to be be submitted electronically to the graduate program coordinator for the Graduate Program Committee's review process. Due dates for the coming year are listed below. AUTUMN 2023 September 11 October 9 November 6 SPRING 2024

January 22 February 12 March 18 April 8

The Final Program of Study has two main purposes: to establish parameters for the candidacy examination and to present a detailed map of the student's path toward earning the PhD. The Final Program of Study must be completed, approved by the student's candidacy examination committee and then approved by the Graduate Studies Program and Policy Committee before the student may schedule their exam. It is important to keep in mind that the POS has multiple audiences: the student's exam chair and exam committee, but also the Graduate Studies Program and Policy Committee, which is made up of faculty who represent the various areas of specialization in the department as a whole. The POS needs to be written so that it is accessible to non-specialists in the student's specific area.

Components of the POS are listed below.

The Chair must hold “P” status (this usually means a tenured Associate or Full Professor). This committee will not necessarily be identical to the Dissertation Committee, which typically comprises only three members.

A brief (500-700 word) description and rationale for the Major Field of study and reading list. This description is for non-experts and should be easily understood by English faculty outside your area. Your goal is not simply to identify a field but to demonstrate your ability to articulate your understanding of the field, its boundaries, and its internal dynamics to non-experts. In preparing your POS, you may find it useful to consult a number of sources to learn more about the main issues, scholarly trends, and important texts that define your major and minor fields. These sources can include the following:

Anthologies of primary and secondary works in your field.
Scholarly companions and handbooks, such as the Cambridge Companions to various areas of literature, the Oxford Handbook series, or the Oxford Bibliographies series.
Syllabi from graduate or undergraduate courses you have taken or from courses in your field at other institutions that may be accessible online.
Special issues of major journals in your field that are focused on important or emerging trends.
Conference calls for papers, which often identify major topics in your field.

Your most important guides for putting together your POS, of course, will be members of your committee; you should work with each committee member as you determine the texts on your lists and your explanation of your fields in your rationales.

The description of the Major Field should aim to accomplish most of the following goals:

Your Major Field should be broadly rather than narrowly conceived. Typically, the Major Field will be an academic job category.
You should describe what you see as the important scholarly and/or critical questions in the field. What have been the issues, debates, questions, topics around which scholarship (books, essays, conferences) have been organized? How are these questions different or similar than earlier scholarly concerns?
It can be very useful to provide a brief history or overview of the field of study. In doing so, you can mention the defining works that have shaped scholarship in the field. If you have not included such work on your own reading list, you should explain why you have not done so. You should also describe shifts in methods, theoretical approaches, and canon that are crucial to the history of the field--again by making explicit reference to important scholarly work.
You should define the parameters of your field--whether these parameters are chronological, generic or conceptual. For more established major fields (eg. Victorian Literature or Classical Rhetoric), you may have less to explain but you should still articulate the rationale that guides your understanding of the field and your own choices of reading. For fields that are less established and/or do not follow more conventional assignations, it will be more important for you to articulate your rationale for defining the field and its parameters, methods and canon. Recognizing that your reading lists cannot be comprehensive, explain the primary basis on which you made the selections you did.
You may briefly mention how your reading list prepares you to teach courses in the major field of study and potentially other adjacent fields.
Separately and secondarily to your field descriptions (items B, C and D), you should write a few sentences suggesting where you think your own focus within the broader field will lie and point to particular choices in your reading lists that are relevant to this possible scholarly focus.

The reading list should consist of between 75 and 85 works (primary and secondary) and should provide both coverage of the broad field as well as work that is crucial to your own specific interests within the larger field.

The Graduate Studies Committee recommends that you include the entirety of the works you choose. Whenever possible, avoid fragments or edited selections, particularly from primary texts.

The reading list cannot include works of criticism authored by any member of your examination committee.

A brief (500-700 word) description and rationale for the Minor Field or Fields of study and reading list. The Minor Field can be a supplement to the Major Field (eg. another academic job category); or it can partially overlap with the Major Field; or it can be a body of theory that is broader than the Major Field. If you choose, you can select two Minor Fields.

The description of the Minor Field(s) should accomplish the following goals:

You should provide a description of what you see as the important scholarly and/or critical questions in the Minor Field(s). What have been the issues, debates, questions, topics around which scholarship (books, essays, conferences) have been organized? How are these questions different or similar than earlier scholarly concerns?
You should define the parameters of your Minor Field(s), whether these parameters are chronological, generic or conceptual. You should still articulate the rationale that guided your own choices of reading. Recognizing that your reading list cannot be comprehensive, explain the basis on which you made the selections you did.
Explain the relationship between your Major and Minor Fields. Have you selected your Minor Field because it complements your Major Field, and if so how? Have you chosen your Minor Field because it will provide training in a specialty relevant to your dissertation work, and if so how? Have you chosen it because it gives you pedagogical breadth?

The reading list should consist of between 40 and 45 works (primary and secondary). For two Minor Fields, the lists should consist of between 22 and 25 works for each.

The reading list cannot include works of criticism authored by any member of your examination committee.

A draft of the Dissertation Prospectus must be submitted one week before the student begins the written portion of the Candidacy Exam.
A concise list of completed coursework for the MA/PhD organized by date of completion, including grades received. Please provide a one-sentence description of Independent Study projects.
A concise statement of teaching experience , including previous courses taught, plans for taking English 8903, and plans for future teaching in the department.
A concise timeline for your progress towards graduation. The timeline should be organized by year and semester, and it should indicate the projected dates for the completion of all PhD requirements, including coursework, language requirement, English 8903(s), Graduate Workshops, Candidacy Exam, Dissertation Prospectus, dissertation research and writing, submission of potential publications and/or fellowship applications, and the academic or nonacademic job-application process.

The Final Program of Study must be submitted to the Graduate Studies Committee with a letter of endorsement from the student’s Chair for the Candidacy Exam Committee. The letter of endorsement should confirm that the student has worked with the entire committee to establish their Major and Minor Fields and the associated reading lists, as well as to confirm that the entire Committee has approved the POS. The letter should supplement the student’s own justification for the selections for their Major and Minor Fields as well as the choices they have made for their reading lists.

Candidacy Exam Information

Candidacy exam.

The candidacy examination must be taken no later than two semesters after the completion of required coursework. Students must register for English 8996 with the chair of the exam committee while preparing for the candidacy exam.

The candidacy exam consists of a take-home written portion and a two-hour oral portion. The Application for Candidacy must be filed with the Graduate School at least two weeks before the oral examination. The application can be filled out on the Graduate School's forms webpage . The written portion is a three-day take-home exam, with an upper limit of no more than 5,000 words total. Failure to adhere to the word limit constitutes failure of the entire candidacy examination. No notes of any kind are permitted (i.e., no footnotes or endnotes), but in their answers to the exam questions, students should cite relevant primary and secondary works from their reading lists and use parenthetical citations.

Written exam: The written portion of the candidacy exam should address two questions, one of which is dedicated to the student's major field and one of which is dedicated to the student's minor field or fields. The questions are written by the student's exam chair in consultation with the other members of their committee. The questions are given to the student only at the time the written exam is administered. The written exam must be taken over a seventy-two hour period; it can be sent via email or picked up by 4 p.m. on the first day and turned in to the committee and the English Graduate Studies office via email by 4 p.m. on the last day of that period. Students may opt to start the exam on a Monday, Tuesday or Friday so that it is due in the English Graduate Studies office, respectively, the following Thursday, Friday or Monday. The student's answers should be prefaced by a copy of the questions set by the committee.
Oral exam: The oral portion of the exam must follow no sooner than one week but within two weeks (i.e., 7-14 days) after the written portion is completed and turned in. The written exam should be regarded as the beginning of a discussion that will be continued during the oral exam. Prior to the oral, the student should meet with the candidacy exam chair to clarify expectations for the oral exam; at this meeting, it is expected that the chair will ask a few sample questions to assist the student with their preparations. The oral exam lasts two hours, and it covers both the candidate's major field and minor field or fields. The chair of the committee should ensure that at least 60 minutes are devoted to the major field. The final 30 minutes of the exam can include a discussion of the draft dissertation prospectus.

Candidacy Exam Format

Candidacy exams can be held on-campus , remotely or in a hybrid form . Students and faculty can choose the format that works best for the examinee and their committee. There is no need to file a petition for remote or hybrid exams.

The Candidacy Examination Committee consists of four faculty members, chaired by a member of the graduate faculty who holds "P" status (typically, a tenured associate or full professor). The student selects the members of her or his committee in consultation with the chair. The committee must include faculty representation for both the major field and the minor field or fields. Typically, this will mean two faculty members representing the major field and two faculty members representing the minor field, or two faculty members representing the major field and one faculty member representing the first minor field and one faculty member representing the second minor field. Only in unusual circumstances should a faculty member represent both the major and a minor field for the purposes of the candidacy exam. The committee meets with the student prior to the exam to discuss the reading lists for the major and minor fields.

Students are responsible for distributing the following materials to all members of the Committee at least one week before the written exam:

The draft Dissertation Prospectus.

Students are responsible for distributing the following materials to all members of the Committee at least one week before the oral exam :

The Final Program of Study
The written exam; the student's answers should be prefaced by a copy of the questions set by the committee.
The student's Major Field and Minor Field or Fields reading lists (if updated from the POS)
The official description of the Candidacy Exam; please refer faculty to the information on this page (optional).

Failure of the candidacy examination occurs if the committee considers either of the following to be the case:

The written and/or oral portions of the exam indicated that the candidate is not ready to proceed to a dissertation, owing to insufficient knowledge of the field,
The candidate is insufficiently focused on a dissertation project, which makes it unlikely that they will be able to submit an approved prospectus within two months. In case of failure, the committee can specify the nature of a repeat examination, but it, too, must contain a written and an oral portion. A second failure means dismissal from the PhD program (see Graduate School Handbook).

A successful pass must be a unanimous decision of the committee. The chair of the committee is required to submit a written report on the candidacy examination to the director of Graduate Studies. Failure, in whole or in part, may occur if any one member of the committee is not satisfied with the results. In the case of failure, each individual faculty member of the committee may specify areas or material on which a re-examination must take place and so instruct the student. The chair of the committee will then submit a written account of what will be required of the student to repeat the exam. The Graduate School will assign an outside representative for all second examinations.

If a candidate fails to complete the dissertation and final oral examination within five years after the candidacy examination, admission to candidacy is canceled. To be re-admitted to candidacy, the student must take a supplemental candidacy examination. The examination committee is comprised of the advisor and at least three other authorized graduate faculty members, and the examination must include a written and an oral portion that last approximately two hours. A graduate faculty representative is appointed if a prior unsatisfactory examination result is on record. All other rules pertaining to candidacy examination must be followed. The supplemental examination will typically be tied to the student's dissertation and may consist of the presentation and oral defense of a chapter or a substantial part of a chapter. In short, the purpose of requiring the supplemental examination is not to punish the student but to help move them along to completion of the PhD and to ensure that they have kept up with the current scholarship in the field. On passing the supplemental examination, the student is readmitted to candidacy and must complete the dissertation and final oral examination within two years.

Dissertation

Dissertation prospectus process.

There are three steps in the dissertation prospectus process:

The student presents a draft of the dissertation prospectus to their candidacy exam committee at least one week prior to the written portion of the exam.
The student then presents a revised dissertation prospectus to their dissertation committee in a prospectus conference, typically no more than six weeks after the completion of the candidacy exam.
The final step is for the following to be sent to the director of Graduate Studies and graduate program coordinator, typically no more than two weeks after the prospectus conference: student : please send a copy of the final version of the dissertation prospectus, and dissertation chair : please send a confirmation that the prospectus has been approved by the dissertation committee.

Dissertation prospectus content

The Dissertation Prospectus should:

State the problem that the candidate proposes to solve;
Explain the significance of the project and its relation to current scholarship in the field;
Describe the candidate's current knowledge of the subject;
Indicate the direction the candidate's investigation will take;
Reflect the candidate's familiarity with relevant bibliographical materials and critical methods.

Students and faculty should keep in mind that the prospectus is a preliminary project, not a mini-dissertation. It is meant to help students move on to the dissertation writing stage of their programs. Typically, the prospectus should be no longer than eight to twelve double-spaced pages, plus a working bibliography.

Dissertation committee

The dissertation committee consists of three faculty members, chaired by a faculty member who holds "P" status (typically, a tenured associate or full professor). This committee is constituted separately from the candidacy exam committee and can include faculty members who did not serve on the examination committee.

Prospectus conference

The prospectus conference is a meeting of the student and all members of their dissertation committee to discuss the revised prospectus and the student's plans for researching and writing the dissertation. The prospectus conference also provides an opportunity for the student and the committee to set guidelines for their working relationship.

Because graduate students pursue a wide range of research and writing projects in the Department of English, there are no department-wide guidelines for the dissertation. Students should work with their advisors and committees to determine the relevant parameters for projects in their specific fields and areas of interest.

Finalizing the dissertation manuscript

All doctoral candidates must submit the final draft of the dissertation electronically; students are no longer required to submit a final paper copy to the Graduate School. However, hard copies of the dissertation are still required for distribution to the student's committee and to the outside representative. For more details about the electronic submission process, including how to delay internet dissemination of the dissertation (strongly recommended) and how to format the dissertation, visit the Graduate School website.

Final approval

Final approval of the dissertation cannot occur until the final oral examination has been passed. Each dissertation committee member must sign the Final Approval Form. This form must be submitted no later than one week before commencement.

Students should be aware that the deadlines imposed by the Graduate School do not always allow enough time for their committees to evaluate their work. Most committees will need to have a complete draft of the dissertation at least two or more months before all formal requirements are met, so that sufficient time for revision will be assured. A student who does not present a draft of the dissertation until the semester of anticipated graduation may encounter obstacles and delays. No faculty member is obliged to sign the Draft Approval Form until they are satisfied that the work is ready for scrutiny at the final oral examination.

General Information

This two-hour examination is held after the dissertation committee has approved the dissertation by signing the Draft Approval Form, available from the Graduate School. The Draft Approval Form must be submitted to the Graduate School no later than two weeks before the date of the final oral examination. At the time the student submits the Draft Approval Form, they must also present a hard copy of the approved dissertation draft to both the Graduate School (for the purposes of format check) and the dissertation committee members.

The oral examination deals intensively with the candidate's field of specialization and need not be confined exclusively to the dissertation defense. A successful examination is one that is awarded a "pass" by the entire examining committee, including the outside representative, who is appointed by the Graduate School. This representative must receive a hard copy of the approved dissertation draft at least one week in advance of the examination.

Final Oral Exam Format

Final oral exams can be held on-campus , remotely or in a hybrid form . Students and faculty can choose the format that works best for the examinee and their committee. There is no need to file a petition for remote or hybrid exams.

Time limits for candidacy

APPLICATION INFORMATION

The Department of English makes every attempt possible to provide funding to students who are admitted to the MA/PhD program. The number of years of funding is based on whether the student is admitted with a bachelor’s or master’s degree. Funding is renewed on a yearly basis as long as the student maintains satisfactory academic progress.

Graduate Teaching Associateships : Departmental funding is most often in the form of a Graduate Teaching Associateship, for which the student receives a stipend of at least $21,000 for the nine-month academic year. The Department of English also subsidizes 85% of the student health insurance premiums and provides a tuition waiver for all GTAs. Students are responsible for the COTA bus, student activity, Student Union and Recreation Center fees. Students on GTA appointments teach one course per term during the regular academic year.
Graduate School Fellowships : In addition to the funding provided by the Department of English, the Graduate School awards University and Enrichment Fellowships on a competitive basis to students who are new to graduate education at Ohio State. The Department of English's admissions committee submits nominations to the Graduate School’s competition, and a selection committee reviewing nominations from across all graduate programs in the university awards the fellowships. Students may not apply directly for fellowship support. Each graduate program has a limited number of students who may be nominated for fellowship consideration. All Graduate School fellowships provide a monthly stipend, academic tuition and fees and a subsidy of 85% of the student health insurance premiums. These fellowships are nonrenewable and may not be deferred.

Application materials

The application form for Autumn 2023 will open on September 1, 2022. Submit all of the following items electronically through the Graduate Admissions Office :

Application form and fee.
Three letters of recommendation (preferably from faculty members): Please have your recommenders submit letters electronically using the link that will be provided when you select this option in the online application. Please note that your recommenders will receive an email from the university 1-3 days after you submit your application and they should follow the instructions in that email for uploading their letters. Letters that arrive within a week of the application deadline will be accepted.
Transcripts or record of marks for each university-level school attended (transfer credit from another institution appearing on the same transcript is not sufficient): please visit the transcript information available on the Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions website for more information. Send transcripts to the Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions; do not send transcripts to the Department of English. Include English translation of each of any foreign documents. Please do not send transcripts of course work taken at Ohio State as the Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions will obtain them directly from the Office of the University Registrar (at no cost to you).
Personal statement (one to two single-spaced pages) that describes your background in English studies and your purpose in pursuing graduate work; this statement should address both your scholarly interests and your interest and/or experience in teaching.
Writing sample: A short essay or portion of a longer work is appropriate. This essay should demonstrate your abilities as a critical reader of a literary or related text, as well as your ability to use current scholarly sources; it is the most important part of the application. Applicants should submit a clean copy of the sample (i.e., not a copy that includes an instructor's comments).
Curriculum vitae /resume of no more than two pages with a clearly stated sentence at the beginning of the CV that declares your scholarly area of interest(s), for example: American literature and queer theory, 18th-century poetry or postcolonial theory and women writers.

Please note : As of autumn 2018, the Department of English at Ohio State no longer requires GRE scores for applications to its PhD or MFA programs. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

All admissions to the integrated MA/PhD and PhD programs are made for autumn semester only; the application deadline for students who wish to start the program in Autumn 2024 is December 4, 2023. The Graduate and Professional Admissions office has a slightly earlier deadline for international applications: November 27, 2023. The application for 2024 will open on September 1, 2023.

Students must apply online and submit all materials (Graduate Admissions and Department requirements) electronically through the Office of Graduate Admissions . Please note that your recommenders will receive an email from the university 1-3 days after you submit your application and they should follow the instructions in that email for uploading their letters. Letters that arrive within a week of the application deadline will be accepted.

The Graduate Admissions Committee for the Department of English will accept applications to the integrated MA/PhD program from students with a bachelor's degree in English or a minimum of 40 quarter hours (27 semester hours) of English coursework from an accredited college or university. They will also accept applications from students with an MA degree in English from an accredited college or university. Course work in a second language is preferred (20 quarter hours or 15 semester hours) but not required. Students with an MA degree in another field will ordinarily be considered in the same group of students who apply to the program with a bachelor's degree in English.

International applicants who have completed an English MA in a language other than English will also ordinarily be considered in the same group of students who apply to the program with a bachelor's degree in English. For more information, please visit International Applicants: Additional Information .

The Graduate School requires that those admitted have an undergraduate grade point average of at least 3.0 on a scale of 4 (where 4.0=A) and at least a 3.0 on all previous graduate work. Our departmental criteria are higher. Normally, applicants should have a GPA of at least 3.4 overall and 3.6 in English courses (undergraduate or graduate).

PhD program applicants should also understand that the Graduate Admissions Committee decides to admit or reject by looking carefully at each student's record as a whole — at the profile that emerges from the transcripts, the letters of recommendation, the writing sample and the personal statement — rather than by applying a pre-established formula of admissible grades.

By Amanpal Garcha, associate professor and director of Graduate Studies

English admissions process

After receiving applicants’ admission materials, we almost immediately categorize each applicant according their primary areas of research interest. We then send all the applications to the appropriate teaching area groups to allow faculty in those area groups to determine which applicants are best qualified and best suited to study here.

Here’s how that process works. I look at each application; if an applicant declares that they are interested in feminist criticism as well as Renaissance literature, that applicant’s materials goes to our gender studies faculty and our Renaissance faculty. Similarly, if an applicant expresses their intention to study rhetoric, that applicant’s materials go to our rhetoric faculty; and if an applicant wishes to study postcolonial literature, that application goes to our US ethnic and postcolonial group.

By some time in February, the area groups make their final decisions as to their top applicants, and in March, we notify applicants of their admission status and any offers of financial aid.

There are two points I’d like to emphasize that follow from our process:

It’s very much to an applicant’s benefit if they can articulate a clear intention to focus in a particular era of literature or on a particular area of English studies. As the above suggests, we are not really set up to evaluate students who are interested in English generally – our process works to find students who wish to focus their energies on a particular set of literary texts or on a particular approach to literary or cultural study.
Each area group will be able to admit only a few students – possibly as few as one or two.

Writing the personal statement

The name 'personal statement' is unfortunately a misleading one for the kind of document that applicants should prepare, but as it is term that English departments commonly use, we’ve chosen to keep it. Really, the document is less a 'personal statement' and more a statement of an applicant’s academic and intellectual background and of their academic goals for graduate study. Given what I outlined above about our particular admissions process, it is a document that is often most effective when it lays out an applicant’s intention to study a particular area – and the reasons why the applicant wishes to study that area.

Still, this statement might not be solely focused on the applicant’s research intentions. Our faculty will want to know some of the courses applicants took as undergraduate or graduate students and how those courses helped the applicant develop a good background for study in English. They may also wish to know what non-academic experiences helped develop applicants’ intentions to do research. Finally, they will be interested in any major research work applicants have already completed, whether that work took the form of a thesis, a presentation or a substantial essay for a course.

Often, personal statements end with applicants’ articulation of what they would like to study in graduate school, some of the research methods they might use and the reasons why Ohio State is an appropriate place for them to do their work.

Selecting a writing sample

As our guidelines state, we require a 10-20 page paper as a writing sample. There are several reasons why we require a writing sample. The most important reason has to do with the degree requirements for our graduate program: because almost all of our graduate classes ask students to complete long research papers and because the ultimate requirement for the PhD — the dissertation — is a long-term writing project, we need to be sure that our students already possess the ability to write an academic paper that is clear, rigorous, well researched and original. There are other reasons, too: almost all of our students will be teaching academic writing, so we wish to ensure they have a good writing skills, for instance.

Again, because applications are assessed by the area groups, it’s to an applicant’s advantage that they submit a writing sample that is fairly closely associated with the area of study on which they wish to focus. The topic of the writing sample does not have to be an exact match: an applicant in rhetoric, for instance, might gain admittance if they submit an essay about a film — but almost certainly, the essay would have to use rhetorical analysis in interpreting the film. A Renaissance applicant who submits an essay on medieval literature might be successful — but a Renaissance applicant who submits an essay on twentieth-century American literature might have a harder time.

Because each area group can only select a few applicants for admission, they are usually very rigorous in their assessments of writing samples. Generally, a successful writing sample shows that the applicant can use recent (or fairly recent) critical essays in the field to support and refine their argument and shows that the applicant can persuasively advance an original thesis.

For questions that can't be answered by the information above, the English Graduate Studies Office can be reached by email ([email protected]) or phone (614-292-7919).

Compared to other M.A./Ph.D. and Ph.D. programs in communication, the University of Washington’s Department of Communication takes a distinctive approach by presenting students with an integrated curriculum founded upon principles of intellectual and cultural pluralism, interdisciplinarity, innovation through collaboration, and public scholarship. Graduate students in the M.A./Ph.D. and Ph.D. programs develop expertise in a particular area of study, but they also learn to appreciate alternative theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches to studying communication. Coursework brings together humanistic and social scientific intellectual traditions through a unified core curriculum and a wide array of graduate seminars, offered both in the Department of Communication and in other departments at the University of Washington. In addition to work in the classroom, research teams bring diverse groups of students and faculty together to investigate and apply current communication theories. Students are encouraged to use their knowledge to address social and political problems facing communities outside academia. This portion of the website provides a comprehensive overview of the design and policies of the M.A./Ph.D. and Ph.D. programs in the Department of Communication. If you wish to learn more, go to any of the following pages:

Core Principles

Areas of Study

Certificates and Concentrations

M.A. Requirements and Policies

Ph.D. Requirements and Policies

Funding Opportunities

Recognition and Awards

M.A./Ph.D. Placements

Frequently Asked Questions

M.A./Ph.D. Recent Publications

M.A. Theses

Ph.D. Dissertations

Current Department of Communication M.A./Ph.D. students can access additional information on the Department Intranet .

For questions about the M.A./Ph.D. program, please contact our Graduate Program Advisor at [email protected] .

102 Communications Box 353740 Seattle, WA 98195 Phone: (206) 543-2660 Fax: (206) 616-3762

Graduate Program (206) 543-6745 Undergraduate Program (206) 543-8860

Make a Gift Privacy Terms of Use -->

University of Washington

Academic Resources

Academic Calendar
Academic Catalog
Academic Success
BlueM@il (Email)
Campus Connect
DePaul Central
Desire2Learn (D2L)

Campus Resources

Campus Security
Campus Maps

University Resources

Technology Help Desk

Information For

Alumni & Friends
Current Students
Faculty & Staff
Undergraduate
Combined Degree Program
Clinical Psychology (MA/PhD)
Community Psychology (MA/PhD)
Community Psychology (MS)
Industrial-Organizational Psychology (MA/PhD)
Degree Requirements

Admission Requirements

Psychological Science FAQ
Psychological Science Program Highlights
Research Psychology (MS)
Community Development Certificate
Class Search
Student Resources
Certificate Programs
Admission & Aid
Request Info
Apply Online
Visit Campus

College of Science and Health > Academics > Psychology > Graduate Programs > Psychological Science (MA/PhD)

Psychological Science (MA/PhD)

Using science to understand the human experience.

DePaul’s Psychological Science MA/PhD program is a highly competitive program that trains students in the theories and methodologies that define the core scientific pillars of psychology: social, developmental, cognitive and neuroscience.

With an emphasis on critical and integrative thinking, our students will understand the psychological foundations of human thought, emotions, motivation and behavior while conducting innovative research on diverse topics within psychology. You will have the opportunity to develop research and statistical skills both inside the laboratory and out in the world developing scientific solutions to real-world problems. Our program will equip you with the skills and knowledge necessary for a career as a researcher, educator, and/or consultant in a variety of fields.

Get a closer look at what it’s like to be in the program. See our Program Highlights , Frequently Asked Questions , Program Faculty and Grad Student Bios.

For international students: this is a STEM-designated program , which can qualify you to extend your post-graduation stay in the United States.

Gain extensive research experience

Research is an integral part of your training and begins during your first year of the program. Prepare for work in a wide variety of scientific, academic and applied settings by gaining practical experience in centers and labs directed by Psychological Science faculty and by teaching your own course.

Application Deadlines

The deadline for fall admission is December 15.

Submit an online applications, GRE scores, transcripts, course history form, letters of recommendation and personal statement.

Required Courses

For the MA portion, you’ll take 12 courses and complete a thesis. For the PhD portion, you’ll take seven courses and complete a dissertation.

of Psychological Science graduates were employed, continuing their education or pursuing other goals within six months of graduation.

The reported median salary for Psychological Science alumni was $59,040.

Make contributions to the field with faculty mentors

Associate Professor Yan Li directs DePaul’s Social Development Lab, which addresses research questions about social development from middle childhood to adolescence. The goal of her team’s research is to understand the developmental processes and contribute to the promotion of well adjustment in children and adolescents.

“The Psychological Science program at DePaul gave me the independence and guidance I needed to successfully start my research career.”

Mark (MA ’10, PhD ’12)

Associate professor, department of social psychology, tilburg university, netherlands, alumni network.

You’ll join a network of psychology alumni working in corporate and nonprofit organizations as well as faculty and administrators at colleges across the country. You’ll also be part of a community of more than 201,000 DePaul alumni, the majority of whom live in the Chicago area.

Scholarships

Admitted Psychological Science MA/PhD students are funded with tuition waivers and research/teaching positions. Learn more about the financial aid and scholarship opportunities available to you.

Contact Information

For more information about applying, contact The Office of Graduate Admission for DePaul’s College of Science and Health at (773) 325-7315 or [email protected] .

Take the next step

We’ll send you information about the degree, admission requirements and upcoming info sessions. Let’s get started.

Quick links

Make a Gift
Directories

MA/PhD Frequently Asked Questions

How many students are admitted to the ma/phd program each year.

We typically receive 250-350 applications each year for an incoming class of 10-14 students.

What is the difference between the Literature & Culture track and Language & Rhetoric track? Can I apply to both tracks?

Within the MA/PhD program we offer two tracks: one in Literature and Culture, the other in Language and Rhetoric. Intellectually, there is substantial connection between work in these areas of the department: faculty teaching in the Language and Rhetoric track are certainly thinking about matters of culture, just as faculty teaching in Literature and Culture clearly attend to the nature and politics of language. Students in either track can and do take courses in the other.

However, these two tracks offer distinct forms of professional training and accreditation : students in the Literature and Culture track are trained to conduct research and to teach in literary and cultural studies (e.g., in fields such as Victorian literature, ecocritism, or contemporary speculative fiction). Students in the Language and Rhetoric track are trained to conduct research and to teach in areas broadly related to language-in-use (e.g., in fields such as composition studies, rhetoric, history of English, applied linguistics, literacy, and writing pedagogy). Their research might study practices in the composition classroom or might address topics in discourse analysis, language policy, and translingualism. On completion of the PhD, Literature and Culture students are qualified to apply for jobs teaching in their area of literary or cultural study; students in Language and Rhetoric are qualified to apply for jobs in rhetoric and composition studies, applied linguistics, or writing program administration.

When applying to the program, applicants must choose between these two tracks and may not apply to both simultaneously.

I already have an MA in English. Can I apply directly to the PhD?

Our program is an integrated program, where some students enter the program with an MA in English (or related) degree, and others can earn one along the way. However, all students are required to earn 65 credits of coursework before moving on to exam reading. Students who already have a Master's degree may be able to transfer in up-to 10 credits of coursework (about one quarter's worth of coursework), and may or may not need to earn another MA in English. That is on a case-by-case basis, and that conversation happens with the Director of Graduate Studies once students are admitted to the program. Students who are able to transfer in those 10 credits would effectively have one less quarter of coursework to complete. You can learn more about our degree requirements here: https://english.washington. edu/phd-degree-requirements .

What is the most important piece of the application?

Applications are reviewed holistically and we take all materials under consideration.

Do I need to find a supervisor/committee director before applying to the program?

In our program, students do not need to create a committee until after their coursework requirements are complete (about two years into the program). Because of this, it is not necessary for applicants to find a committee director/supervisor before applying to our program.

Should I email faculty I am interested in working with?

Because of the volume of applications we receive each year, it is not feasible for faculty to engage in correspondence with individual applicants. Most of what prospective students need to know can be found on our website. For example, a good way to establish whether our program is a good fit with your interests is to browse our faculty profiles here: https://english.washington.edu/people/faculty/graduate . If after perusing the profiles you still have a question about whether our program can support your work, please reach out to the department’s Director of Graduate Studies.

Under no circumstances do we provide advance feedback on research proposals or application materials.

I am a non-native English speaker. Do I need to submit official test (TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo) scores?

If submitting test scores, official TOEFL, IELTS and/or Duolingo test scores are required. Information on how to send test scores can be found on the UW Graduate School’s website here: https://grad.uw.edu/admission/understanding-the-application-process/admissions-faqs/#Tests .

I am a non-native English speaker and meet the minimum admissions requirements. Why do I need to also submit TOEFL or IELTS scores?

The UW Graduate School has two policies in connection to this: Policy 3.2 and Policy 5.2.

Policy 3.2: Graduate School English Language Proficiency Requirements lists the minimum English language proficiency requirements for graduate study at UW.
Policy 5.2: Conditions of Appointment for TAs who are not Native Speakers of English lists the additional English language proficiency requirements for students who wish to be employed as a TA.

Because we admit students to the MA/PhD program with funding in the form of an Academic Student Employee (ASE) teaching position, non-native English speakers must also meet the requirements listed in the UW Graduate School’s Policy 5.2 in order to be eligible to teach.

There are a variety of ways to show English language proficiency in Policy 5.2. Typically, the best way to demonstrate proof of English proficiency is to submit TOEFL or IELTS scores.

Can I submit Duolingo scores to meet UW Graduate School Policy 5.2?

No, Duolingo scores do not meet the requirements listed in Policy 5.2. If submitting Duolingo scores, you must also meet the requirements listed in the UW Graduate School’s Policy 5.2: Conditions of Appointment for TAs who are not Native Speakers of English to be considered for an ASE position.

How do I know if my official test scores have been added to my application?

You can confirm transmission of electronic test scores by logging into your application , and checking your Application Status Page > Tests section (successfully sent scores will show a date under “Date Received” column).

Can I submit four letters of recommendation?

While the requirement is only three letters of recommendation, you do have the ability to submit four names of recommenders in the application portal.

Can my recommendation letters arrive after the December 1st application deadline?

While letters should arrive by December 1st , we will still consider letters which arrive within 48 hours of this deadline. Please note that it is the applicant’s responsibility to communicate with their recommenders well in advance of the deadline, so as to ensure that letters can be uploaded on time.

My writer is having an issue with the recommendation link. What should I do?

If a writer is having issues uploading their letter, they are welcome to email it directly to [email protected] . Note: we are unable to upload recommendation letters until your application has been submitted.

Are there specific guidelines for formatting the resume?

We don't have any specific requirements for formatting the resume. In formatting a resume, the main concern is that your most important qualifications and experience should stand out on a quick perusal.

Even though they are no longer required, should I still submit my GRE scores?

If you have already taken the GRE and wish to submit scores, you may do so. However, it will not disadvantage you in any way if you do not submit GRE scores.

Can I apply after the December 1st deadline? Do you offer extensions?

The application is due at 11:59pm on December 1st. If December 1 falls on a Saturday or Sunday, then the deadline is the following Monday. We typically do not offer extensions.

Can the application fee be waived?

The UW Graduate School offers fee waivers to applicants who qualify for financial need; for more information, see the Graduate School's website: https://grad.uw.edu/admission/application-fee-waivers/ .

What kinds of funding are available?

All students admitted to our MA/PhD program are offered five years of funding in the form of an Academic Student Employee (ASE) position. There is no separate funding application to complete. Typically, students teach one undergraduate composition course (e.g. ENGL 131) per quarter in autumn, winter and spring quarters. The funding package includes a tuition waiver, health insurance, and monthly stipend during the academic year. (Sixth year funding is available, contingent on progress to degree.)

In addition, we have a number of supplemental recruitment awards we can offer each year, as well as multiple sources of fellowship support for students at the dissertation stage.

How large are the graduate seminars?

Seminar courses range from 4-10 students, with average class size at 6-8 students.

Do you offer a standalone MA in English Language & Literature?

Our MA is not designed to be a terminal degree. It is intended to be a pathway to our PhD program. Applicants interested in a terminal MA degree should not apply to the MA/PhD program.

Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Newsletter

Department of Cognitive Science

PhD Requirements
Computational Cognitive Science Track
PhD Sample Program
PhD Funding
PhD Admissions
Alumni Testimonials
PhD Alumni Placement
MA Requirements
MA Sample Program
MA Admissions
Graduate Courses
Professional Development

The Department of Cognitive Science’s one-year, full-time, in-person Master of Arts program is designed to flexibly provide graduate-level training to a wide range of students with diverse backgrounds and interests.

This program is intended to appeal to students who have undergraduate degrees in linguistics, psychology, computer science, neuroscience, and other subdisciplines of cognitive science. It may be of particular interest to students who wish to strengthen their qualifications for a PhD program or a career in which an MA in cognitive science would make them more competitive.

A student in the MA program chooses to pursue either the research track or the course track. For both tracks, the student works closely with a faculty mentor throughout the program.

The MA in cognitive science allows students to develop research-oriented expertise needed to pursue a PhD at another institution or research-centered employment, and provides interdisciplinary education beyond the undergraduate level that will be useful for careers related to cognitive science.

There are many career opportunities open to those with advanced degrees in cognitive science and related fields. Outside of academia, these include positions in lab management, grant and technical writing, market research and consulting, computational linguistics, and human-computer interaction (e.g., work on automatic language production and recognition systems).

Please note that the MA program is not a pathway into the department’s PhD program . They are separate and distinct programs. Students in most cognitive science PhD programs generally earn an MA/MS degree on the way to a PhD, but most of the cognitive science departments in the U.S. do not offer stand-alone MA degrees. Few programs can provide pre-PhD training beyond the undergraduate level. The cognitive science MA program is a preparation for those wishing to pursue doctoral studies in a related field or to gain a competitive edge in the job market.

Educational Objectives

The MA program aims to develop and extend the knowledge and research skills of individuals interested in pursuing a PhD in a field of cognitive science or gaining research-centered employment.

Students in the MA program:

Acquire a strong background in the empirical findings and theoretical frameworks of one or more areas of cognitive science
Acquire and apply analytic and technical skills needed to critically evaluate research findings, and to communicate research findings orally and in writing
Develop the ability to conduct original problem-centered and theory-driven research in the chosen areas of study
Gain experience with and fully participate in a collaborative lab-based community of researchers from a wide range of backgrounds and fields.

Graduate Student Resources

Cognitive Science Graduate Handbook
Graduate & Postdoctoral Affairs Website topics include academic policies, credit hours, student services, professional development, Hopkins life, graduation guide

Degree Checklists

MA Course Track Checklist
MA Research Track Checklist

Rashi Pant, MA 2016

My experience with the [MA] course track was one of courses that offered breadth and depth within the field of cognitive science, which is ideal not only for somebody continuing […]

Master of Arts / PhD

Innovative Music Scholars

UCLA’s Department of Musicology is one of the most successful graduate programs in American musicology. Recent alumni of the department teach at the University of Michigan, UT Austin, UC Irvine, Michigan State, Dalhousie University, Bates College, and other schools across the nation and the world. Our intellectual community is strikingly diverse, with U.S. graduate students from all regions of the country, international students from Canada, Mexico, Holland, Bermuda, Guatemala and Korea, and visiting scholars from as far away as China and the Ukraine.

As a training-ground for the next generation of adventurous, inventive music scholars, our Ph.D. program develops students’ creative and critical voices in a wide variety of chosen subfields; provides them with rich opportunities for establishing intellectual and professional networks; and gives them pedagogical training and experience second to none. Our graduate seminars explore topics and theories from musical Nationalism to the history of improvisation, musical camp to Dufay, opéra-comique to hands-on explorations of “public musicology.” Current graduate research interests include (but are by no means limited to!) David Bowie, Soviet music theory pedagogy, early modern anglophone devotional poetry and song, proto-punk musical experimentalism, music as cultural diplomacy during the Pan American era, 17th- and 18th-century operatic adaptations of Shakespeare’s works, music in marginal cinemas (horror, slasher, etc.).

The UCLA Musicology department normally enrolls 4-5 students per year. We accept applications for the Ph.D. only (an M.A. is normally awarded to eligible students after two years). The department is committed to competitive multi-year packages of support, and at the present time can usually guarantee a minimum of one year of fellowship and three plus years of teaching assistantship to incoming students. Students normally graduate 5-6 years after matriculation.

“I’ve always been interested in how people use music of the past – the historical past and their own personal past. At UCLA I got to study nostalgia and uses of the past in rock music of the early 70s, allowing me to think about music that I’ve heard my entire life (for example, “American Pie” or “Led Zeppelin IV”) in a completely new way.” – Caitlin Vaughn Carlos Ph.D. ’21 | Musicology

Meet Our Musicology Graduate Students

Meet our musicology faculty, musicology resources, related news, graduate opportunities, upcoming events, explore other degrees.

Graduate Schools in Massachusetts

1-25 of 74 results

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA •

Graduate School

• Rating 4.74 out of 5 23 reviews

Master's Student: It has only just begun so I am still getting my bearings, but overall the quality of instruction has been fast paced, rigorous, yet rewarding. I think I have definitely learned more in a semester than some years of instruction from my undergraduate degree. ... Read 23 reviews

Graduate School ,

CAMBRIDGE, MA ,

23 Niche users give it an average review of 4.7 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says It has only just begun so I am still getting my bearings, but overall the quality of instruction has been fast paced, rigorous, yet rewarding. I think I have definitely learned more in a semester... .

Read 23 reviews.

Harvard University

• Rating 4.68 out of 5 96 reviews

Master's Student: Prospective graduate students should be aware that the journey of being a grad student entails both tremendous growth and occasional challenges. While the academic environment fosters intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, and innovation, it also demands resilience, perseverance, and adaptability. As grad students, we are not only scholars but also researchers, mentors, and community members. Embracing the multidimensional nature of graduate studies involves navigating the intense workload, maintaining a healthy work-life balance, and seeking support from peers, mentors, and resources available on campus. It is a transformative journey that shapes our understanding of the world, hones our skills, and prepares us to make meaningful contributions to our respective fields. Ultimately, the rewards of graduate studies extend beyond academic achievement to encompass lifelong learning, collaboration, and the pursuit of excellence in our chosen paths. ... Read 96 reviews

96 Niche users give it an average review of 4.7 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says Prospective graduate students should be aware that the journey of being a grad student entails both tremendous growth and occasional challenges. While the academic environment fosters intellectual... .

Read 96 reviews.

Tufts University

Medford, MA •

• Rating 4.73 out of 5 26 reviews

Master's Student: Come to the HFE Master's program if you're looking for intellectual and academic growth, but not if you're looking to secure any future pathways like a job or a PhD at this school. Unless you're sent in from the military or an employer who has a path clearly carved out for you, this program won't guarantee you more than an education in residual undergraduate classes in engineering psychology and more questions about the field than when you started. Even if you're looking for more to do-- such as research,--due to the extremely manageable workload, you're in for lots of rejections from professors inside and outside of the department. On the other hand: if you want to use this program as a stepping stone into HFE or technology/engineering/STEM from a different field, it is useful as a pivot to ease you in, and the acceptance into the program is pretty much secured if you have a bachelor's degree. ... Read 26 reviews

MEDFORD, MA ,

26 Niche users give it an average review of 4.7 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says Come to the HFE Master's program if you're looking for intellectual and academic growth, but not if you're looking to secure any future pathways like a job or a PhD at this school. Unless you're sent... .

Read 26 reviews.

College of Business - Framingham State University

Framingham State University •

Graduate School •

FRAMINGHAM, MA

Merrimack College

NORTH ANDOVER, MA

• Rating 4.38 out of 5 39

School of Health Sciences - Lasell University

Lasell University •

Williams College

Williamstown, MA •

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA ,

Northeastern University

Boston, MA •

• Rating 4.35 out of 5 173 reviews

Master's Student: I'm currently enrolled in the acute care nurse practitioner program, and I'm navigating my second semester while balancing it part-time alongside my full-time work commitments. So far, the experience has been quite positive. I find the online format of the classes to be incredibly convenient, especially given my busy schedule. Being able to access course materials and lectures remotely allows me to manage my time more effectively and ensures that I can fulfill both my professional responsibilities and academic pursuits without conflict. While the workload can be challenging at times, particularly when juggling work and studies simultaneously, I've found it to be manageable within the confines of a part-time schedule. It requires careful planning and dedication, but the flexibility of the program allows me to progress at a pace that suits my needs. ... Read 173 reviews

BOSTON, MA ,

173 Niche users give it an average review of 4.3 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says I'm currently enrolled in the acute care nurse practitioner program, and I'm navigating my second semester while balancing it part-time alongside my full-time work commitments. So far, the experience... While the workload can be challenging at times, particularly when juggling work and studies simultaneously, I've found it to be manageable within the confines of a part-time schedule. It requires... .

Read 173 reviews.

Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA •

• Rating 4.38 out of 5 32 reviews

Master's Student: I am completing this form as a Masters student in the Philosophy Department at Boston College, but feel it is pertinent to disclose that I also am an alum, having completed my undergraduate with the university as well. While I have many thoughts to share, many being areas of major improvement, my opinion of the school has augmented exponentially since becoming folded into the Graduate Philosophy Department. If I hadn't already spent 5 years on the Chestnut Hill campus, I would adore pursuing a PhD alongside such wonderful minds. IDespite being only an MA student (many Phil graduate programs will give preference to PhDs) I feel so encouraged, valued and engaged by my peers and professors alike. I had no intent to continue schooling beyond a Masters until–despite having taken graduate level classes since my freshman year–I was actually a part of the department. The community and resources at the BC Phil Department are truly unparalleled and worth every late night spent reading. ... Read 32 reviews

CHESTNUT HILL, MA ,

32 Niche users give it an average review of 4.4 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says I am completing this form as a Masters student in the Philosophy Department at Boston College, but feel it is pertinent to disclose that I also am an alum, having completed my undergraduate with the... .

Read 32 reviews.

Find college scholarships

Boston University

• Rating 4.51 out of 5 154 reviews

Master's Student: The graduate student experience at Boston University is dynamic and engaging, particularly with its hybrid class format. This structure combines the benefits of in-person and online learning, offering flexibility and accessibility. Compared to the undergraduate experience, the workload is notably more independent, requiring students to take greater ownership of their learning journey. However, the university provides excellent support systems, including accessible professors and staff who offer guidance, advice, and help whenever needed. This creates a supportive environment where students can thrive and succeed in their academic pursuits. ... Read 154 reviews

154 Niche users give it an average review of 4.5 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says The graduate student experience at Boston University is dynamic and engaging, particularly with its hybrid class format. This structure combines the benefits of in-person and online learning,... .

Read 154 reviews.

Smith College

Northampton, MA •

• Rating 4.27 out of 5 11 reviews

Master's Student: Smith College not only offers a full time student stipend ($21,000/year) and tuition waiver (valued ~ $35,000) for the Biological Sciences department, but you are able to pull from resources within a neighboring R1 institution: University of Massachusetts Amherst. Research experiences vary based on the selected advisor, but Smith maintains a cutting-edge genomics facility and nearly limitless resources as a well-endowed college. Faculty maintain impressive accolades and are easily reachable, as a leader in my lab, I've learned about lab management, lab training, grant writing, and the nuances behind lab operations. I've worked collaboratively with researchers at UMass and felt that my experience at Smith has been one of growth. I feel confidently in my abilities and that I am a very desirable candidate in the biotech industry after receiving my MS degree. ... Read 11 reviews

NORTHAMPTON, MA ,

11 Niche users give it an average review of 4.3 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says Smith College not only offers a full time student stipend ($21,000/year) and tuition waiver (valued ~ $35,000) for the Biological Sciences department, but you are able to pull from resources within a... .

Read 11 reviews.

Babson College

Babson Park, MA •

• Rating 4.54 out of 5 13 reviews

Master's Student: So far my academic experience has been good at Babson college. The instructors are available and willing to go out of their way to answer any questions you have and make sure that you are comfortable with the classroom content. They will also share resources with you and introduce you to the people that you need to meet your goals. ... Read 13 reviews

BABSON PARK, MA ,

13 Niche users give it an average review of 4.5 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says So far my academic experience has been good at Babson college. The instructors are available and willing to go out of their way to answer any questions you have and make sure that you are comfortable... .

Read 13 reviews.

Mount Holyoke College

South Hadley, MA •

• Rating 5 out of 5 1 review

Niche User: Phenomenal program, professor’s are helpful, insightful, inspiring, and committed. The program is everything I hoped it would be and surpassed my dreams. I feel successful in my work and learn something new, intriguing and challenging which inspires me to take that risk I may not have considered. I feel supported and fulfilled. ... Read 1 review

Blue checkmark.

SOUTH HADLEY, MA ,

1 Niche users give it an average review of 5 stars.

Featured Review: Niche User says Phenomenal program, professor’s are helpful, insightful, inspiring, and committed. The program is everything I hoped it would be and surpassed my dreams. I feel successful in my work and learn... .

Read 1 reviews.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Worcester, MA •

• Rating 4.67 out of 5 21 reviews

Master's Student: Small cohort of students and teachers made my experience much more rewarding. I enjoyed learning but I equally enjoyed being around the amazing people. ... Read 21 reviews

WORCESTER, MA ,

21 Niche users give it an average review of 4.7 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says Small cohort of students and teachers made my experience much more rewarding. I enjoyed learning but I equally enjoyed being around the amazing people. .

Read 21 reviews.

Brandeis University

Waltham, MA •

• Rating 4.48 out of 5 23 reviews

Master's Student: I actually, i am just admitted now to read conflict resolution and coexistence and search for scholarship in other to finance my program by fall 2024. ... Read 23 reviews

WALTHAM, MA ,

23 Niche users give it an average review of 4.5 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says I actually, i am just admitted now to read conflict resolution and coexistence and search for scholarship in other to finance my program by fall 2024. .

Sponsored Find Student Loan Options
Medical Schools
Pharmacy Graduate Programs

Bentley University McCallum Graduate School of Business

• Rating 4.71 out of 5 21 reviews

Master's Student: I have had a fantastic experience at Bentley. The hybrid and fully online courses make it possible for me to have a full time job, take care of my young family, and complete my degrees in a reasonable amount of time. The professors are incredibly knowledgable in their fields and bring so much real world experience to the table. I've learned so much about leadership in my MBA courses that I've actively used in my job. ... Read 21 reviews

Featured Review: Master's Student says I have had a fantastic experience at Bentley. The hybrid and fully online courses make it possible for me to have a full time job, take care of my young family, and complete my degrees in a... .

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Amherst, MA •

• Rating 4.39 out of 5 62 reviews

Master's Student: Almost entirely positive. Professors are knowledgeable, willing and eager to help, and the content has been well organized and drives toward teaching useful real world skills. The online program makes it somewhat difficult to feel completely involved but there is opportunity to attend online events and to go on campus if you're able. Highly recommended. ... Read 62 reviews

AMHERST, MA ,

62 Niche users give it an average review of 4.4 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says Almost entirely positive. Professors are knowledgeable, willing and eager to help, and the content has been well organized and drives toward teaching useful real world skills. The online program... .

Read 62 reviews.

Clark University

• Rating 3.67 out of 5 6 reviews

Master's Student: I am currently enrolled in a masters program concentrating in Data Analytics. The program is all about data mining and visualizing at the end of the day. The best part of the program is that is it a profession in high demand nowadays and the courses are pretty much instantly applicable in the real world. It is all good but the programming aspect of it is not my strongest pursuit. Other than that, it is definitely a place to be in interested about data and predictions. ... Read 6 reviews

6 Niche users give it an average review of 3.7 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says I am currently enrolled in a masters program concentrating in Data Analytics. The program is all about data mining and visualizing at the end of the day. The best part of the program is that is it a... .

Read 6 reviews.

Emerson College

• Rating 4.73 out of 5 62 reviews

Master's Student: Emerson's onboarding process was seamless. I was always able to get a person on the phone quickly when I had a question and resources were easy to find. The program was well managed, expectations were clear, and community was encouraged and fostered. The professors truly care about their students and their success. ... Read 62 reviews

62 Niche users give it an average review of 4.7 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says Emerson's onboarding process was seamless. I was always able to get a person on the phone quickly when I had a question and resources were easy to find. The program was well managed, expectations... .

University of Massachusetts Lowell

Lowell, MA •

• Rating 4.08 out of 5 37 reviews

Doctoral Student: I feel that UMass Lowell is one of the most overlooked yet fantastically run DPT programs in the country. Their approach to fostering well-rounded entry level clinicians is exceptional. As a student, I feel fully supported by the faculty, who also emphasize and encourage a cohort team approach to success in PT school. ... Read 37 reviews

LOWELL, MA ,

37 Niche users give it an average review of 4.1 stars.

Featured Review: Doctoral Student says I feel that UMass Lowell is one of the most overlooked yet fantastically run DPT programs in the country. Their approach to fostering well-rounded entry level clinicians is exceptional. As a student,... .

Read 37 reviews.

Simmons University

• Rating 4.44 out of 5 124 reviews

Master's Student: During my time at Simmons, I have been supported beyond my education! My name is Jasmine Fultz (pronouns She/Her). I am in my 7th term with one more to go! Alhamdulillah (Praise be to God). During my time in the program (2021), I was in a tragic car accident (a head-on collision with a telephone pole). I lost my ability to walk due to having a cracked hip socket in which I had to receive extensive surgery and had two plates and ten screws placed in my hip. Other injuries included a fractured rib and liver bleed. Now as tragic as this experience was my professors supported me fully. They worked with me during my recovery by adjusting my assignments and work as needed. They checked in on me after returning home from the hospital and checked in for anything I needed at the time. I finished the semester with two A’s and learned how to walk again in about a year and a half! I am forever grateful. ... Read 124 reviews

124 Niche users give it an average review of 4.4 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says During my time at Simmons, I have been supported beyond my education! My name is Jasmine Fultz (pronouns She/Her). I am in my 7th term with one more to go! Alhamdulillah (Praise be to God). During my... .

Read 124 reviews.

Berklee College of Music

• Rating 4.7 out of 5 40 reviews

Master's Student: I have only taken one semester and it was Summer 2023. During the summer, the program is accelerated to support the annual schedule of a teacher. Coming from my Bachelor's Degree completed at Berklee just weeks before, the Master's program was a breath of fresh air. I was challenged daily just by being around intellectual individuals every day. There were so many perspectives of education my mind have never conceived but by the end of the semester, they were apart of my everyday conversation. I can't wait to hopefully continue my time in this degree. ... Read 40 reviews

40 Niche users give it an average review of 4.7 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says I have only taken one semester and it was Summer 2023. During the summer, the program is accelerated to support the annual schedule of a teacher. Coming from my Bachelor's Degree completed at Berklee... .

Read 40 reviews.

University of Massachusetts Boston

• Rating 4.36 out of 5 50 reviews

Other: During my university journey, I encountered both enriching and challenging aspects. On the positive side, the university offered an array of research opportunities that truly elevated my academic experience. Engaging in hands-on projects and collaborating with knowledgeable faculty not only expanded my understanding of the subjects but also instilled a passion for inquiry and discovery. The presence of seminars, workshops, and guest lectures allowed me to interact with experts in various fields, broadening my perspectives and encouraging interdisciplinary exploration. On the flip side, one of the notable drawbacks was the limited flexibility in the course structure. The rigid curriculum, while ensuring a solid foundation in my major, hindered my ability to explore diverse subjects outside my field of study. This constraint restricted my academic curiosity and prevented me from gaining a more comprehensive understanding of other disciplines ... Read 50 reviews

50 Niche users give it an average review of 4.4 stars.

Featured Review: Other says During my university journey, I encountered both enriching and challenging aspects. On the positive side, the university offered an array of research opportunities that truly elevated my academic... The presence of seminars, workshops, and guest lectures allowed me to interact with experts in various fields, broadening my perspectives and encouraging interdisciplinary exploration. On the flip side, one of the notable drawbacks was the limited flexibility in the course structure. The rigid curriculum, while ensuring a solid foundation in my major, hindered my ability to explore... .

Read 50 reviews.

Massachusetts Maritime Academy

Buzzards Bay, MA •

• Rating 4.8 out of 5 5 reviews

Niche User: My son goes there and he’s also in the Army and graduating this year and I’ll pin him as. Lieutenant in May as well! He’s got a bright future! Thank you MMA LOVE YOU B ... Read 5 reviews

BUZZARDS BAY, MA ,

5 Niche users give it an average review of 4.8 stars.

Featured Review: Niche User says My son goes there and he’s also in the Army and graduating this year and I’ll pin him as. Lieutenant in May as well! He’s got a bright future! Thank you MMA LOVE YOU B .

Read 5 reviews.

Gordon College

Wenham, MA •

• Rating 4.38 out of 5 8 reviews

Master's Student: The Master of Science in Financial Analysis program at Gordon College has been an enriching experience. The comprehensive curriculum covers financial statement analysis, investment management, risk assessment, and corporate finance, providing a well-rounded understanding of the field.The program's emphasis on practical application through real-world case studies, projects, and internships has enhanced my critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The supportive faculty, comprised of experienced professionals, has provided invaluable guidance and mentorship.While the rigorous coursework can be challenging, it has prepared me for the fast-paced finance industry. The program also offers opportunities for professional development, including guest lectures and networking events.The focus on ethics and integrity has instilled in me a strong sense of responsibility. Despite the challenges, the program has equipped me with the skills and knowledge necessary to be successful. ... Read 8 reviews

WENHAM, MA ,

8 Niche users give it an average review of 4.4 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says The Master of Science in Financial Analysis program at Gordon College has been an enriching experience. The comprehensive curriculum covers financial statement analysis, investment management, risk... .

Read 8 reviews.

Massachusetts College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences

• Rating 4.24 out of 5 74 reviews

Master's Student: It has been great so far. I am in my second semester, about to go onto my third. The professors are amazing and really make an impact on my education. The cohort is small which is nice because your professors really get to know you. The professors are extremely helpful, but also give you the just right challenge. I enjoy the group work, and projects we complete for classes as they are very useful and engaging. ... Read 74 reviews

74 Niche users give it an average review of 4.2 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says It has been great so far. I am in my second semester, about to go onto my third. The professors are amazing and really make an impact on my education. The cohort is small which is nice because your... .

Read 74 reviews.

Bay Path University

Longmeadow, MA •

• Rating 4.59 out of 5 29 reviews

Doctoral Student: The Bay Path DHSc Public Health program teaches on DEI, what is public health history, current and future descriptions for the U.S and world wide. Courses include Healthcare leadership, different types of public health, statistics, epidemiology, research courses and more. You will have a research project and defense before graduating to prove your ability and growth as an expert. Professors and advisory team understands life happens and is have great patience. Communication is a two-way path. You'll fell apart of the University, even online. ... Read 29 reviews

LONGMEADOW, MA ,

29 Niche users give it an average review of 4.6 stars.

Featured Review: Doctoral Student says The Bay Path DHSc Public Health program teaches on DEI, what is public health history, current and future descriptions for the U.S and world wide. Courses include Healthcare leadership, different... .

Read 29 reviews.

Emmanuel College - Massachusetts

Graduate School of Education

Lesley University •

CAMBRIDGE, MA

• Rating 4.75 out of 5 4
• Rating 4.73 out of 5 62

College of Arts and Humanities - Framingham State University

Showing results 1 through 25 of 74

Faculty & Staff Resources
Master’s and Professional Education
PhD Education
International Student Experience
PhD Program Profiles

Find Your Program

Graduate admission.

Financial Aid
PhD Funding
Living in Boston
Health & Wellness
Student Groups & Associations
Kids & Family
Master’s and Professional Students
PhD Students
Events and Programs
Offices and Initiatives

Explore, Expand, Connect

Graduate student resources, graduate education.

Graduate school is an adventure of intellectual discovery, discipline, and creative thought. Your journey, though it may seem epic, is not a solo mission.

Whether you are looking for a graduate program, or you are already enrolled, this is your central place to connect with information and resources at Boston University. For prospective graduate students, learn about our programs with our Program Search tool , and discover why BU is a great place to dig in.

For current graduate students, we encourage you to reach across the campuses and take advantage of the richness that our 17 schools and colleges have to offer. Tap into available resources , discover funding and professional and career development opportunities , and connect with the graduate community at BU.

Take a look at our graduate program offerings to see what's right for you.

Find a place to live, or a place to lunch.

Explore our graduate and professional student resources.

Learn more about how to apply to a BU graduate or professional program.

Clinical Psychology MA

The Clinical Psychology Master of Arts (MA) Program within the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine is intended for students interested in pursuing a career in academic clinical psychology. The MA program is designed to provide a foundation in academic clinical psychology at the graduate level, while also allowing students to gain educational and research exposure to major areas of study within clinical psychology, including clinical adult psychology, clinical child psychology, clinical neuropsychology, forensic psychology, health psychology/behavioral medicine and policy.

The MA program is embedded in the Clinical Psychology PhD Program , with coursework and lab work completed alongside PhD students. Although students in the MA program are welcome to apply to the PhD program, the MA program is not intended to be a "gateway" into the PhD program.

This MA program does not include clinical training and is not intended to prepare students for clinical practice at this time. Given the academic and research focus of the MA program, the degree will not lead to licensure for independent practice. For those interested in master-level programs that prepare students for licensure and practice, please visit the MA in Counseling Psychology and the MS in Marital and Family Therapy through The Family Institute at Northwestern University.

We are proud of the outcomes of our graduating students. Most seek to ultimately pursue a doctoral program in clinical psychology. While some students are accepted into doctoral programs immediately upon graduation, a majority go onto research coordinator or research assistant positions, as they continue to build their CVs for doctoral applications. Nearly 70% of our graduates are accepted into doctoral programs within two to three years of graduation.

About the Program

goals.

The goals of the Clinical Psychology Master of Arts Program are to:

Develop foundational competencies in research design, analytics and ethics within academic clinical psychology.
Explore major areas of study within academic clinical psychology.
Understand educational and career opportunities within academic clinical psychology.

Prerequisites

The MA program was designed for a variety of students, including students who:

Are not yet ready to apply to a PhD program, but are considering doing so in the future.
Wish to improve their competitiveness for a PhD program.
Are interested in exploring a career in academic clinical psychology.
Have interests in related fields for which a background in academic clinical psychology may be of value.

The following criteria are most desired in MA applicants:

Undergraduate GPA of 3.2 or above on a 4.0 scale
An essay describing interests in and preparation for the MA program
Three letters of recommendation
For international students, Test of English as a Foreign Language scores
Interest in exploring a career in academic clinical psychology

Please note that the above criteria are desired, but not required. The MA program will consider mitigating circumstances when conducting holistic reviews of applicants who may not meet all of these criteria.

English Language Proficiency

For students to be successful in our MA program, it is necessary for them to have proficiency in understanding, reading, writing, and speaking in English. An English proficiency score is required for applicants whose first/primary language is not English. English proficiency scores may not be self-reported; these must be submitted officially via the appropriate testing organization as part of the application.

For admission into the MA program, you must certify your proficiency in the English language in one of the following three ways:

Providing official scores for either the TOEFL or IELTS exam. The test must be taken no more than two years before the intended quarter of entry (e.g., if you are applying for fall 2023 entry, test scores must be no older than September 2020.) For the TOEFL, you must score 577 or higher on the paper-based test, 233 or higher on the computer-based test, 90 or higher on the internet based test. For the IELTS, you must receive a score of 7.0 or higher.
Providing official transcripts verifying an undergraduate degree from an accredited four-year institution or equivalent, where the language of instruction is English. For your application, only unofficial transcripts are required. If you receive an offer of admission to our program, official transcripts will be required.
Providing official transcripts verifying a graduate degree from an accredited institution where the language of instruction is English. For your application, only unofficial transcripts are required. If you receive an offer of admission to our program, official transcripts will be required.

For more information on English proficiency requirements, please see: https://www.tgs.northwestern.edu/services-support/international-student-services/language-testing-support.html

Curriculum

View the Sample Course Schedule .

The Clinical Psychology Master of Arts Program is designed to be completed within five quarters (Summer I, Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer II). This 15-month program is timed to facilitate students' applications to doctoral programs in clinical psychology or related fields.

The MA program requires at least 17 units for graduation. Students are required to take the Research Core, including Research Methods/Statistics (three units), Advanced Research Methodology (one unit) and Scientific and Professional Ethics in Psychology (one unit).

In addition to these required courses, students are expected to select between five to eight elective courses across the Fall, Winter, Spring and/or Summer II quarters. Elective courses can include courses at the foundational, bases of behavior or clinical level, as well as courses in one or more of the emphases or major areas of study. MA students have the freedom to take any courses in the PhD program as long as they meet the prerequisites for the courses.

Finally, in addition to the graded courses, students are expected to register for at least one research unit for every quarter as part of their Research Lab Experience. The research core and elective courses can be reviewed in detail on the PhD Program Curriculum page . Please note that not all courses are offered every year, and therefore specific courses may not be available during a student's residency in the MA program.

All MA students participate in the weekly Career Development Proseminar for the first four quarters of the MA program. The Proseminar orients students to the program, introduces students to various mentors and labs across Northwestern, explores career options in academic clinical psychology, refines interests in academic clinical psychology and prepares students for the next steps in their careers (e.g., developing applications for PhD programs or preparing for interviews).

Research Lab Experience

Students engage in a Research Lab Experience for at least 10 hours a week. Through the Research Lab Experience, the student will work with their research mentor to complete a Capstone Project. The Capstone Project is the culmination of the Research Lab Experience provided by the research mentor, providing the final evaluation of the student's research competencies. Examples of capstone projects include:

Substantial participation (i.e., authorship level) on one or more empirical studies submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal
First author submission of one or more peer-reviewed poster/oral presentations at regional, national or international conferences
A comprehensive review paper that is submitted to and graded by the research mentor
A grant proposal (e.g., F31 style) that is submitted to and graded by the research mentor

For more information the curriculum and degree requirements for the PhD program, please review the MA Program Student Handbook .

Tuition & Financial Aid

Information on tuition can be found at the tuition and fees page on The Graduate School’s website.

All students admitted to the MA program receive a Graduate Scholarship that provides a 45 percent tuition remission for each of the five quarters of the program. The Graduate Scholarship is provided in acknowledgement for MA students' time devoted to the Research Lab Experience.

Additional information on financial aid is provided through our Chicago Office of Financial Aid and through the financial aid pages of The Graduate School’s website.

How to Apply

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the final deadline of May 1. Offers will also be made on a rolling basis until the incoming cohort class is completely filled. Applicants may be asked to do a phone or video interview before an offer is made for admission. Onsite interviews will not be conducted, nor will individual tours of the program be provided to applicants; however, interested applicants are always welcome to visit the campus.

To apply, complete the three steps listed below.

Our program eliminated the GRE General Test as an admissions requirement for the 2021-2022 class. In an effort to maximize holistic review and move toward greater equity and fairness in our admissions process, we will continue to NOT accept or consider GRE scores for applications. Applicants should NOT submit their GRE scores through ETS nor report their scores in the application portal or on their CVs or personal statements. We will revisit our GRE policy annually.

1. Complete the online application form.

Online applications will open in September. Deadline for receipt of completed applications and supporting materials for the MA program is May 1, although applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and offers of admissions will also be made on a rolling basis until the cohort is filled.

To begin the application process, read the instructions and complete the application on The Graduate School website . In the Personal Information section on page one, choose “Clinical Psychology: MA (C30MA)” as your Academic Program from the pull-down menu (Select "Feinberg School of Medicine" to find it faster).

The nonrefundable application fee must be paid via credit card at the time of application submission; it will not be processed without payment. The application fee cannot be waived by the PhD program; however, eligible students can apply for a fee waiver . See additional information regarding the application fee.

The online application program will ask you to identify a faculty member that you may be interested in working with during your Research Lab Experience. Identifying a faculty member may help us determine your alignment with the MA program; however, this is optional and you will not be held to working with this faculty member if admitted to the program. Further, specific faculty may not be available to provide a Research Lab Experience during your residency in the Program. Assignment to a lab for the Research Lab Experience will be determined in the first month of the program. Please make certain to review the faculty list on the page to see who may be available for your Research Lab Experience. We cannot guarantee an assignment to a specific lab for MA students.

2. Please DO NOT request that ETS submit official GRE scores!

3. toefl or ielts scores.

Providing official scores for either the TOEFL or IELTS exam. The test must be taken no more than two years before the intended quarter of entry (e.g., if you are applying for summer 2024 entry, test scores must be no older than June 2021.) For the TOEFL, you must score 577 or higher on the paper-based test, 233 or higher on the computer-based test, 90 or higher on the internet based test. For the IELTS, you must receive a score of 7.0 or higher.
Providing transcripts verifying an undergraduate degree from an accredited four-year institution or equivalent, where the language of instruction is English. For your application, only unofficial transcripts are required. If you receive an offer of admission to our program, official transcripts will be required.

4. Submit all supporting documents.

You will also need to submit the following supporting materials to complete your application. All of the supporting documents must be submitted online; paper or "hard" copies will not be accepted for the application. Please include the following supporting documents in your online application:

Letters of Recommendation

Transcripts.

Transcripts from each postsecondary institution you attended are required for your application to be complete. You must upload scanned versions of your official transcripts online . We no longer will accept paper copies in the mail.

If you are accepted into the program, TGS will require that you submit official paper copies of your transcripts (including degree awarding transcripts) directly to its admission office. TGS will compare the official transcripts received via mail to the versions uploaded during the application process to ensure that no tampering/fraud occurred. Any student found to have submitted false documentation during the application process will be immediately dismissed. Registration holds will be placed on any student’s account if their official transcripts are not received by the end of the first quarter of enrollment.

Academic Statement

Please include the following information in the Academic Statement you complete as part of your online application :

Discuss how your background, life experiences, educational preparation, research experience and clinical exposure have contributed to your decision to pursue this degree at this point in your life.
Indicate what you hope to obtain from your MA degree, and what you ultimately want to do after graduating from our program.
Discuss your specific areas of interests in clinical psychology. You are welcome to discuss your alignment with specific research or clinical emphasis offered in our program and, if applicable, specific faculty members.

You are encouraged to submit abstracts or reprints as supplementary uploads. Please write succinctly (one to two pages, single-spaced, in a 12-point font).

Personal Statement

You are welcome to complete the optional Personal Statement according to the instructions provided on the online application.

For more information on the differences between the Academic and Personal Statements, see https://www.tgs.northwestern.edu/admission/application-procedures/application-requirements/essays.html

Recruiting Faculty

The MA program includes 98 faculty members who provide instruction, research mentorship and professional development in both the Clinical Psychology MA and PhD programs. We plan to recruit a class of approximately 10 students for the academic year 2024-2025 (beginning in summer 2024).

The labs recruiting for the upcoming academic year (to begin Summer 2024) will be posted to this page in late summer to early fall.

Please refrain from contacting faculty to ask them if they will be recruiting.

Dr. Rinad Beidas

Dr. Beidas is looking for applicants with an interest in implementation science, suicide prevention, youth mental health, and mixed methods.

Dr. Tina Boisseau

dr. michael brook & dr. robert hanlon, dr. diana chirinos.

The Cardiovascular Health Disparities (CHI) Lab is looking to recruit a master’s student for the 24-25 academic year. Applicants interested in broadly in cardiovascular behavioral medicine, sleep disturbance and bereavement are welcome to apply. Previous experience with psychological research and quantitative data analysis is preferred but not required.

Dr. Sarah Helseth

dr. lisa johnson, dr. neil jordan, dr. cassie kisiel, & dr. richard epstein, dr. allison letkiewicz and dr. stew shankman.

Dr. Allison Letkiewicz and Dr. Stew Shankman in the NEAR Lab are looking for a student who is interested in depression and other internalizing disorders, as well as clinical affective neuroscience. Ideally, this student will have an interest in learning about fMRI/neuroimaging and in opportunities for hands-on (introductory) training in fMRI data processing. Previous experience/familiarity with coding and R are preferred, but not required. Previous experience with psychological research and quantitative data analysis are required.

Dr. Jonah Meyerhoff

dr. heather risser, dr. kelli scott.

Dr. Scott is looking to recruit students who are interested in gaining broad experience in implementation science methods and community engaged research, and specifically in the implementation of evidence-based practices (such as measurement-based care) in community substance use treatment settings. Dr. Scott's lab provides opportunities for students to build skills in collecting and analyzing mixed methods data, conducting research with community partners in the Chicagoland area, and disseminating research findings via presentations and publications. Students will also have the opportunity to engage with the broader research team at the Center for Dissemination and Implementation Science . Prior experience working/volunteering in community healthcare settings and with mixed methods data collection and analysis preferred, but not required. More details about Dr. Scott's research and the Center for Dissemination and Implementation Science can be found here: https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/sites/cdis/research/index.html .

Dr. Darius Tandon

dr. cindy veldhuis, is the ma program in clinical psychology a stem program.

The MA Program in Clinical Psychology is not identified as a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) program.

Can I apply to the MA program separate from the PhD Program

Yes! The MA program is a separate program from the PhD program. Although the current MA program is embedded within the PhD program in that MA students take courses alongside PhD students, it is a separate program with separate admissions process, requirements, and degree types (Master of Arts).

Is the MA program funded?

Yes, all students in the MA program receive a 45% tuition scholarship. See 'Tuition and Financial Aid" above. Students are responsible for the remaining 55% tuition expense. The MA program does not provide a stipend. MA students, however, are allowed to have employment outside of the MA program (either within or outside of Northwestern).

Are there specific prerequisites for the MA program?

can i transfer credits from another university, does the program accept 3-year international undergraduate degrees must the degree be wes evaluated, does the program provide a waiver for the application fee.

Application fee waivers are not provided by the University or the MA Program. You can learn more about the application fee here: https://www.tgs.northwestern.edu/admission/application-procedures/application-requirements/fee.html

Please do not contact the MA program to request a waiver of the application fee.

Follow Psychiatry on Twitter

English Language Programs
Postdoctoral Affairs
Training Grant Support
Request Information

THE GRADUATE SCHOOL

Academic Programs
Explore Programs

Clinical Psychology

MA Requirements
PhD Requirements

Learn more about the program by visiting the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences

See related Interdisciplinary Clusters and Certificates

Degree Types: MA, PhD

The PhD Program in Clinical Psychology within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine is one of only a handful of programs in the United States based in an academic medical center and housed in a psychiatry department. This unique setting provides opportunities for translational research and practice that span molecular to social models of disease, and epidemiologic to clinical and neuroimaging methodologies.

This scientist-practitioner program effectively balances clinical and research training to produce graduates who are competent in the science and practice of clinical psychology. The PhD program also provides opportunities for major areas of study within clinical psychology, including Adult Clinical Psychology, Behavioral Medicine or Clinical Health Psychology, Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Clinical Neuropsychology, and Forensic Psychology. Training is provided through core and emphasis-specific curricula, intensive research mentoring, and exceptional clinical practica. Major milestones include a research qualifying paper and master's thesis, a clinical qualifying exam, an empirical dissertation with original research, and an APA-accredited clinical internship.

Our mentor-based program prepares students to be competitive for careers as clinical psychologists in academic health centers, children's hospitals, VA medical centers, and related medical facilities.

The Clinical Psychology Master of Arts (MA) Program within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine is intended for students interested in pursuing a career in academic clinical psychology. The MA program is designed to provide a foundation in academic clinical psychology at the graduate level, while also allowing students to gain educational and research exposure to major areas of study within clinical psychology, including Adult Clinical Psychology, Behavioral Medicine or Clinical Health Psychology, Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Clinical Neuropsychology, and Forensic Psychology.

The goals of the MA Program in Clinical Psychology are to:

Develop foundational competencies in research design, analytics, and ethics within academic clinical psychology.
Explore major areas of study within academic clinical psychology.
Understand educational and career opportunities within academic clinical psychology.

Note: the MA Program in Clinical Psychology does not include clinical training and is not intended to prepare students for clinical practice. Given the academic and research focus of the MA Program, the degree will not lead to licensure for independent practice. For those interested in master's level programs that prepare students for licensure and practice, please visit the MA in Counseling website , the MS in Marriage and Family Therapy website and The Family Institute website .

The MA Program in Clinical Psychology was designed for a variety of students, including students who:

Are not yet ready to apply to a PhD program, but are considering doing so in the future.
Wish to improve their competitiveness for a PhD program.
Are interested in exploring a career in academic clinical psychology.
With interests in related fields for which a background in academic clinical psychology may be of value.

The MA Program is embedded in the Clinical Psychology PhD Program, with coursework and lab work completed alongside PhD students. Although students in the MA Program are welcome to apply to Northwestern's PhD Program in Clinical Psychology, the MA Program is not intended to be a "gateway" into the PhD Program in Clinical Psychology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Additional resources:

Department Website
Pro gram Handbook

Program Statistics

Visit Master's Program Statistics and PhD Program Statistics for statistics such as program admissions, enrollment, student demographics and more.

Program Contact

Contact Sarah Bratta Program Coordinator

Degree Requirements

The following requirements are in addition to, or further elaborate upon, those requirements outlined in The Graduate School Policy Guide .

MA Degree Requirements

Total Units Required: 17

The MA program requires at least 17 units for graduation across five (5) quarters (15 months) of full-time enrollment; part-time and early graduation is not permitted. Students are required to take the Research Core, including Research Methods/Statistics (3 units), Advanced Research Methodology (1 unit), and Scientific and Professional Ethics in Psychology (1 unit). In addition to these required courses, students are expected to select between five to eight elective courses across the Summer I, Fall, Winter, Spring, and/or Summer II quarters. Elective courses can include Discipline Specific Knowledge and Profession Wide Competency courses, as well as courses in one or more Major Areas of Study.

In addition to the Research Core and Elective courses, all MA students participate in the weekly Professional Development Seminar for the first four quarters of the MA Program. This Seminar orients students to the MA program, introduces students to various mentors and labs across Northwestern, explores career options in academic clinical psychology, refines interests in academic clinical psychology, and prepares students for the next steps in their careers (e.g., developing applications for PhD programs; preparing for interviews).

Other MA Degree Requirements

Research/Projects: In addition to completion of the coursework requirements, students engage in a Research Lab Experience for at least 10 hours a week.
Master's Thesis : Optional (see below)
Master’s Culminating Academic Experience: Through the Research Lab Experience, the student will work with her or his research mentor to complete a Capstone Project. The Capstone Project is the culmination of the Research Lab Experience provided by the research mentor, providing the final evaluation of the student’s research competencies. Examples of capstone projects include: Substantial participation (i.e., authorship level) on one or more empirical studies submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. First author submission of one or more peer-reviewed poster/oral presentations at regional, national, or international conferences. A comprehensive review paper that is submitted to and graded by the research mentor. A grant proposal (e.g., F31 style) that is submitted to and graded by the research mentor.

Last Updated: September 12, 2023

PhD Degree Requirements

Total Units Required: 30

Other PhD Degree Requirements

Examinations: defense of a research paper and a clinical qualifying project serving as examination for admission to candidacy
Research/Projects: independent, empirical research study completed in fulfillment of the research qualifying paper
PhD Dissertation: original research following third year of coursework
Final Evaluations: oral defense of dissertation

Request Info

Admissions Overview
Visit UMass Boston
Financial Aid
First-Year Students
Transfer Students
Graduate Students
International Students
Academics Overview
Majors & Programs
Online Learning
Colleges & Schools
Academic Calendar
Healey Library
Student Equity, Access & Success
Global Programs
Study Abroad
Fellowships
Campus Life Overview
Student Groups & Activities
Housing & Dining
Health & Wellness
Diversity & Inclusion
Safety & Security
Orientation & New Students
Research Overview
Community-Driven Research
Recognizing Excellence
Student Research
Centers & Institutes
Core Facilities
Research & Sponsored Programs
About Overview
Leadership & Administration
Mission & Vision
Facts & Figures
Accreditation & Rankings
History of UMass Boston
Student Consumer Information
Athletics Overview
Recreation at UMass Boston
Current Students
Parents & Families
Faculty & Staff

UMass Boston

Sociology PhD

Embark on a journey of critical inquiry, rigorous research, and social transformation.

The Doctoral Program is an innovative approach to sociology and its application to resolving national and international issues. Taught by faculty actively engaged in research and advocacy, students will be prepared for academic careers as well as for leadership roles as applied sociologists in public / private agencies and research organizations.

The program is heavily grounded in research methodology and students engage in detailed study of theory, methodology and statistics as well as their own individual areas of focus. Doctoral students will find a community of scholars and numerous opportunities to work collaboratively with each other and with faculty through conference presentations, journal articles and fieldwork.

In this program, you will:

Apply theoretical concepts to empirical issues
Analyze data to address a research question
Demonstrate scholarly expertise in a substantive area(s)
Design and execute a research project of their own
Demonstrate scholarly independence.

Career Possibilities

Teach sociology courses and conduct research in academic institutions as a professor. Work as a policy analyst and analyze social issues to provide evidence-based recommendations. Or, engage in activism and advocacy work, promoting social justice, equity, and the rights of marginalized communities. These are just a few of the possibilities.

Become a(n):

Professor/ Researcher
Policy Analyst
Data Analyst
Nonprofit Manager
Diversity and Inclusion Consultant

Start Your Application

Plan Your Education

How to apply.

In addition to the criteria below, applicants must complete general graduate admission requirements .

Applicants for the 36-credit post-MA PhD program must have an MA degree in sociology or a related field from a nationally accredited college or university or its international equivalent. The review committee will admit applicants with degrees in other disciplines at their discretion. Note: Students who apply for admission to the PhD program without an MA from a nationally accredited college or university or its international equivalent must first complete requirements for UMass Boston’s 30-36 credit MA degree in applied sociology.
Preference will be given to all applicants whose transcripts show completion of these courses with a minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.25 and graduate GPA of 3.50, taken within the past seven years.
Three letters of recommendation from persons with whom the applicant has had extensive academic and/or professional contact
Academic writing sample
Specific interest in a PhD in sociology and rationale for pursuing the PhD
Current major research and interests in the field of sociology
Description of professional post-PhD goals

Deadlines & Cost

Deadlines: January 9 for fall

Application Fee: The nonrefundable application fee is $75. UMass Boston alumni and current students that plan to complete degree requirements prior to graduate enrollment can submit the application without paying the application fee.

Program Cost Information: Bursar's website

Required Courses (12 Credits)

SOCIOL 607 - Contemporary Sociological Theory 3 Credit(s)
SOCIOL 609L - Qualitative Methods and Field Research 3 Credit(s)
SOCIOL 652 - Advanced Quantitative Methods 3 Credit(s)
SOCIOL 700 - Proseminar I: Introduction to Graduate Sociology 1 Credit(s)
SOCIOL 701 - Proseminar II: Planning a career in Sociology 1 Credit(s)
SOCIOL 702 - Proseminar III: Developing professional skills and preparing for job market 1 Credit(s)

Electives (18 Credits)

Complete 18 credits of additional graduate SOCIOL courses.

With approval of the graduate program director, up to six credits from another graduate program may be applied toward this requirement.

Dissertation (6 Credits)

Complete a minimum of six credits from the course below.

SOCIOL 899 - Dissertation Credits 1-9 Credit(s)

Graduation Criteria

Complete a minimum of 36 credits from ten or more courses including six required courses, 18 credits of electives, and at least six dissertation credits.

Students admitted without an MA in sociology must also complete the requirements for the Applied Sociology (MA) program.

Dissertation: Compose and defend a dissertation based on original research. Doctoral candidacy: Passage of two comprehensive examinations taken in two parts; theory/methods and substantive area concentration.

Statute of limitations: Ten years.

Learning Outcomes

Apply theoretical concepts to empirical issues;
Analyze data to address a research question;
Demonstrate scholarly expertise in a substantive area(s);
Design and execute a research project of their own;
Demonstrate scholarly independence.

Graduate Program Director Cinzia Solari cinzia.solari [at] umb.edu Bio

Applied Sociology Department sociology.gradprog [at] umb.edu

Sociology Department

Learn more about UMass Boston's Sociology Department, our research, and our faculty.

Students rehearse orchestra playing flutes.

College of Liberal Arts

Learn more about the faculty, research, and programs that make up our College of Liberal Arts.

2024 Arnhold Undergraduate Fellows Research Poster Showcase

Postering Session

Future of the Lumpenproletariat A conference in memory of the late Prof Glyn Salton-Cox

Academic Conference

Section 3. The MA/PhD Program

3.1. Course Requirements

3.2. distribution requirement, 3.3. normal progress for the ma/phd program, 3.4. incomplete courses, 3.5 time to degree, 3.6 phd classification.

The MA/PhD program requires 48 units of graduate coursework (12 courses at 4 units per course), all of which must be taken for a letter grade. 36 units, including 20 chosen to fulfill the distribution requirement, must be completed in the student’s first two years before taking the first qualifying exam, which also serves as the Master’s examination for students in this program. The remaining 12 units must be completed before submission of the dissertation prospectus. It is university policy that graduate students enroll for at least 8 units per quarter, although the department encourages graduate students to take 12. Since students in the MA/PhD program normally take only two courses per quarter to fulfill program requirements, additional units of Engl. 597, or 599, which require no formal work, may be added. Students may enroll in Engl. 597 until they have passed the second qualifying exam. Once advanced to candidacy, students may enroll in Engl. 599.

Students in the MA/PhD program are required to take one course in each of Areas I through V in their first two years (courses must be taken for a letter grade and may be chosen from either of the fields in each Area).

The MA/PhD normally takes five years. Students in this program must take the first qualifying examination no later than their sixth quarter of residence and the second qualifying examination no later than their tenth quarter. University policy mandates that all graduate students advance to candidacy by the close of their fourth year (see Section 3.5 for more information). However, normal progress in the English program requires advancement at the beginning of the fourth year. In addition, students must satisfy the foreign language requirement as set forth in Section 7. It is the responsibility of students to ensure that they continue making normal progress in the program – i.e., to complete courses, satisfy language requirements, and pass the first and second qualifying exams in timely fashion. Students should realize that satisfactory progress toward the degree is usually a precondition of assignment to teaching assistantships. The following scheme shows how the requirements of the MA/PhD Program might be arranged in the five-year schedule:

Filing for an incomplete requires the signature of the course instructor on an Incomplete Petition, the return of the petition to the Registrar, and the deposit of a copy of the form with the Staff Graduate Advisor. Students can carry no more than eight units of “Incomplete” courses at a time. In keeping with the policy of Graduate Division to block further TA assignments when this number is exceeded, students carrying more than eight units of incompletes will lose their TAship until the quarter after they catch up. For reasons of fairness, students with more than eight units of incompletes who are on fellowship rather than TAship should expect to lose a commensurate amount of TAship in the future. In addition, Incompletes taken prior to the first qualifying exam must be completed by the end of the quarter following passing the first qualifying examination. Failure to meet this condition will incur the same loss of TA assignment noted above. Beyond these absolute rules governing incompletes, it should be pointed out that students who technically stay within the bounds of the eight-unit-incomplete rule but let their incompletes lag on more than a year or who regularly carry the maximum number of incompletes will in times of funding exigency – as an unavoidable circumstance of practice rather than of policy – have a lower priority for uninterrupted TAship support than students making normal progress (see statement on “normal progress in the program” in Section 3.3 above). Students in such straits may thus want to avail themselves of the strategy of asking their instructor to change the grade-status of an incomplete course from letter-grade to “S/U” (assuming that work performed in the course prior to the final paper was “satisfactory”). The advantage of such a strategy is that courses could be “completed” based on work already done; the disadvantage is that such courses would not count for credit toward the degree (see Section 3.1). In addition, of course, students with legitimate academic, personal, or medical reasons may petition the Graduate Committee for an exception to the rules.

Note: in general, the program has two reasons for linking incompletes to funding – neither of which is punitive. First, the program’s primary responsibility is to students as students rather than as teaching assistants; where it is evident that a student is unable to complete a significant number of courses, the program is compelled to relieve the student of extra teaching work until coursework is back on track. Second, while the program tries to make its funding go as far as possible to as many students as possible, in a scarce-resources universe there must be some criteria for prioritizing funding; and the most ethical and rational criterion – as well as the one that gives students the most self-determination – is “normal progress.” The timely completion of coursework is a crucial factor in making normal progress in the program.

Time to degree is the number of quarters considered to be reasonable by the faculty of an individual department for completion of a doctorate by a full-time student in that program. Time to degree (set by Graduate Division) should not be confused with Normal Progress (set by the English Department). The Graduate Division has set our time to degree as 21 quarters to degree completion. Furthermore, students are required to advance to candidacy within 12 quarters of entering the program. Only Fall, Winter & Spring count toward your quarter total; Summer does not. Students beyond normative time lose priority for central and departmental funding, and can be denied funding and/or student employment (TAships) at the university.

When students must deal with emergencies that prevent them from pursuing their graduate studies for an extended period of time, they may usually extend their time to degree by petitioning for a leave of absence. When students take an approved leave of absence for medical, family emergency, military service, or pregnancy/parenting reasons, Graduate Division will extend the student’s time to degree by one quarter at a time up to a maximum of three quarters of leave. More leaves or periods of withdrawal from classes will not stop the time to degree clock; the deadline stands. Quarters of In Absentia Registration and the Filing Fee Quarter of Leave count toward expiration of a student’s time to degree clock.

Graduate students are classified by the registrar’s office in three categories based on their level of advancement and/or time in the program. This classification is independent of departmental or university time to degree. Most students are either P1-graduate student (not ABD) or P2-graduate student advanced to candidacy. Once you advance to candidacy, you have three years (9 quarters) to complete your degree. If you do not file your dissertation at the end of the 9th quarter, you are converted to P3 status.

Classification:

Eligible to apply for central funding
Eligible to apply for extramural funding
Eligible to apply for employment (e.g. TAship)
Begins the quarter after advancement to candidacy
Eligible to apply for employment (e.g., TAship)
Begins 10 registered quarters after advancement to candidacy
Not eligible to apply for central funding
Graduate Overview
Fellowships and Awards
PhD Emphases and Certificates
Requirements
Qualifying Exams
Section 1. English Faculty
Section 2. Graduate Study in English at UCSB
Section 4. The Ph.D. Program
Section 5. Independent Studies, Colloquia, Special Courses
Section 6. Coursework in Other Departments
Section 7. Foreign Language Requirement
Section 8. The First Qualifying Exam
Section 9. The Second Qualifying Exam
Section 10. Advancement to Candidacy
Section 11. The Dissertation
Section 12. Registration
Section 13. Leaves of Absence
Section 14. Deadlines
Section 15. The Job Search and Job Placement Committee
Section 16. Financial Support
Section 17. Administration of the Graduate Program
Section 18. Departmental Staff
Section 19. Reading Lists for the First Qualifying Exam
Funding & Support
Job Placement

BA, BSc, MA, MSc, PhD - what do they all mean?

BA, BSc, MA, MSc, PhD (and more) are abbreviations of British degrees.

They reflect the specific level and discipline of a qualification achieved at university.

While most courses are conducted on a full-time basis, there are options for part-time, distance learning and other flexible learning arrangements.

Here is a breakdown of some of the most common qualifications and ones that Aberystwyth University offers.

BA = Bachelor of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences;
BSc = Bachelor of Sciences;
BENG = Bachelor of Engineering (Software, Robotics and Physics);
LLB = Bachelor of Law.

Achieved after 3 to 4 years of study. The extra year (for a 4 year course) can be from a year studying abroad or a year working in industry.

Integrated-Masters:

MARTS = Masters of Arts;
MBIOL = Masters of Biology;
MCOMP = Masters of Computer Science;
MENG = Masters of Engineering;
MMATH = Masters of Mathematics;
MPHYS = Masters of Physics;
MSCI = Masters of Sciences and Humanities.

4 years course (3-year Bachelors, 1 year Masters) that enables you to secure a loan for the full duration rather than having to fund a Masters degree separately.

MA = Masters of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences;
MSc = Masters of Sciences;
MBA = Masters of Business Administration;
MPhil = Masters of Philosophy: Advanced research Masters degree;
MRes = Masters of Research: Contains some taught and research elements;
LLM = Masters of Law.

Achieved after graduation from Bachelors level, usually 1-2 years duration.

PhD = Doctor of Philosophy: for a range of disciplines.

Achieved after graduating from Masters level, usually 3-8 years duration.

A wide range of Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Further-Research courses – across the Arts and Sciences – are available at Aberystwyth.

Get to Know Harris! MACRM and PhD Information Session

Join this session to learn about Harris Public Policy's MA in Public Policy with Certificate in Research Methods (MACRM) and PhD programs.

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Machine learning
Social justice
Black holes
Classes and programs

Departments

Aeronautics and Astronautics
Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Architecture
Political Science
Mechanical Engineering

Centers, Labs, & Programs

Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL)
Picower Institute for Learning and Memory
Lincoln Laboratory
School of Architecture + Planning
School of Engineering
School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
Sloan School of Management
School of Science
MIT Schwarzman College of Computing

Elaine Liu: Charging ahead

Press contact :.

Elaine Liu leans against an electric vehicle charger inside a parking garage.

Previous image Next image

MIT senior Elaine Siyu Liu doesn’t own an electric car, or any car. But she sees the impact of electric vehicles (EVs) and renewables on the grid as two pieces of an energy puzzle she wants to solve.

The U.S. Department of Energy reports that the number of public and private EV charging ports nearly doubled in the past three years, and many more are in the works. Users expect to plug in at their convenience, charge up, and drive away. But what if the grid can’t handle it?

Electricity demand, long stagnant in the United States, has spiked due to EVs, data centers that drive artificial intelligence, and industry. Grid planners forecast an increase of 2.6 percent to 4.7 percent in electricity demand over the next five years, according to data reported to federal regulators. Everyone from EV charging-station operators to utility-system operators needs help navigating a system in flux.

That’s where Liu’s work comes in.

Liu, who is studying mathematics and electrical engineering and computer science (EECS), is interested in distribution — how to get electricity from a centralized location to consumers. “I see power systems as a good venue for theoretical research as an application tool,” she says. “I'm interested in it because I'm familiar with the optimization and probability techniques used to map this level of problem.”

Liu grew up in Beijing, then after middle school moved with her parents to Canada and enrolled in a prep school in Oakville, Ontario, 30 miles outside Toronto.

Liu stumbled upon an opportunity to take part in a regional math competition and eventually started a math club, but at the time, the school’s culture surrounding math surprised her. Being exposed to what seemed to be some students’ aversion to math, she says, “I don’t think my feelings about math changed. I think my feelings about how people feel about math changed.”

Liu brought her passion for math to MIT. The summer after her sophomore year, she took on the first of the two Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program projects she completed with electric power system expert Marija Ilić, a joint adjunct professor in EECS and a senior research scientist at the MIT Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems.

Predicting the grid

Since 2022, with the help of funding from the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI), Liu has been working with Ilić on identifying ways in which the grid is challenged.

One factor is the addition of renewables to the energy pipeline. A gap in wind or sun might cause a lag in power generation. If this lag occurs during peak demand, it could mean trouble for a grid already taxed by extreme weather and other unforeseen events.

If you think of the grid as a network of dozens of interconnected parts, once an element in the network fails — say, a tree downs a transmission line — the electricity that used to go through that line needs to be rerouted. This may overload other lines, creating what’s known as a cascade failure.

“This all happens really quickly and has very large downstream effects,” Liu says. “Millions of people will have instant blackouts.”

Even if the system can handle a single downed line, Liu notes that “the nuance is that there are now a lot of renewables, and renewables are less predictable. You can't predict a gap in wind or sun. When such things happen, there’s suddenly not enough generation and too much demand. So the same kind of failure would happen, but on a larger and more uncontrollable scale.”

Renewables’ varying output has the added complication of causing voltage fluctuations. “We plug in our devices expecting a voltage of 110, but because of oscillations, you will never get exactly 110,” Liu says. “So even when you can deliver enough electricity, if you can't deliver it at the specific voltage level that is required, that’s a problem.”

Liu and Ilić are building a model to predict how and when the grid might fail. Lacking access to privatized data, Liu runs her models with European industry data and test cases made available to universities. “I have a fake power grid that I run my experiments on,” she says. “You can take the same tool and run it on the real power grid.”

Liu’s model predicts cascade failures as they evolve. Supply from a wind generator, for example, might drop precipitously over the course of an hour. The model analyzes which substations and which households will be affected. “After we know we need to do something, this prediction tool can enable system operators to strategically intervene ahead of time,” Liu says.

Dictating price and power

Last year, Liu turned her attention to EVs, which provide a different kind of challenge than renewables.

In 2022, S&P Global reported that lawmakers argued that the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) wholesale power rate structure was unfair for EV charging station operators.

In addition to operators paying by the kilowatt-hour, some also pay more for electricity during peak demand hours. Only a few EVs charging up during those hours could result in higher costs for the operator even if their overall energy use is low.

Anticipating how much power EVs will need is more complex than predicting energy needed for, say, heating and cooling. Unlike buildings, EVs move around, making it difficult to predict energy consumption at any given time. “If users don't like the price at one charging station or how long the line is, they'll go somewhere else,” Liu says. “Where to allocate EV chargers is a problem that a lot of people are dealing with right now.”

One approach would be for FERC to dictate to EV users when and where to charge and what price they'll pay. To Liu, this isn’t an attractive option. “No one likes to be told what to do,” she says.

Liu is looking at optimizing a market-based solution that would be acceptable to top-level energy producers — wind and solar farms and nuclear plants — all the way down to the municipal aggregators that secure electricity at competitive rates and oversee distribution to the consumer.

Analyzing the location, movement, and behavior patterns of all the EVs driven daily in Boston and other major energy hubs, she notes, could help demand aggregators determine where to place EV chargers and how much to charge consumers, akin to Walmart deciding how much to mark up wholesale eggs in different markets.

Last year, Liu presented the work at MITEI’s annual research conference. This spring, Liu and Ilić are submitting a paper on the market optimization analysis to a journal of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Liu has come to terms with her early introduction to attitudes toward STEM that struck her as markedly different from those in China. She says, “I think the (prep) school had a very strong ‘math is for nerds’ vibe, especially for girls. There was a ‘why are you giving yourself more work?’ kind of mentality. But over time, I just learned to disregard that.”

After graduation, Liu, the only undergraduate researcher in Ilić’s MIT Electric Energy Systems Group, plans to apply to fellowships and graduate programs in EECS, applied math, and operations research.

Based on her analysis, Liu says that the market could effectively determine the price and availability of charging stations. Offering incentives for EV owners to charge during the day instead of at night when demand is high could help avoid grid overload and prevent extra costs to operators. “People would still retain the ability to go to a different charging station if they chose to,” she says. “I'm arguing that this works.”

Share this news article on:

Cutting carbon emissions on the US power grid

Adi Mehrotra smiles while resting his arms on a handmade motorcycle. Mehrotra is inside a shop and windows in background.

Designing cleaner vehicles

A person wearing an MIT shirt charges their electric vehicle in an indoor parking lot.

Minimizing electric vehicles’ impact on the grid

Previous item Next item

More MIT News

Janabel Xia dancing in front of a blackboard. Her back is arched, head thrown back, hair flying, and arms in the air as she looks at the camera and smiles.

Janabel Xia: Algorithms, dance rhythms, and the drive to succeed

Read full story →

Jonathan Byrnes, MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics senior lecturer and visionary in supply chain management, dies at 75

Colorful rendering shows a lattice of black and grey balls making a honeycomb-shaped molecule, the MOF. Snaking around it is the polymer, represented as a translucent string of teal balls. Brown molecules, representing toxic gas, also float around.

Researchers develop a detector for continuously monitoring toxic gases

The beauty of biology

Navigating longevity with industry leaders at MIT AgeLab PLAN Forum

Jeong Min Park poses leaning on an outdoor sculpture in Killian Court.

Jeong Min Park earns 2024 Schmidt Science Fellowship

More news on MIT News homepage →

Massachusetts Institute of Technology 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, USA

Map (opens in new window)
Events (opens in new window)
People (opens in new window)
Careers (opens in new window)
Accessibility
Social Media Hub
MIT on Facebook
MIT on YouTube
MIT on Instagram

Utility Menu

GA4 Tracking Code - DO NOT REMOVE

Site name and logo, harvard divinity school.

Prospective Students
Give to HDS
2024 Graduate Student Profiles

Meet the Harvard Divinity School graduating class and read about their time at HDS, what inspires them, where they are heading, and much more!

Jude Terna Ayua, MTS '24

Olivia Catherine Hastie, MTS '24

Samirah Jaigirdar, MTS ‘24

Kenton Thomas Goldsby, MDiv '24

Raisa Tolchinsky, MRPL '24

Sultan Ahmed Khan, MDiv '24

Cecily Powell Tolleson, MTS '24

Tenzin Gyurmey, MTS ‘24

Rob Friedman, MTS '24

Sea Yun Joung, MTS '24

Daniella Marie Malfi, MRPL '24

Betül Maden-Yilmaz, MTS '24

Ciara Moezidis, MTS '24

Christopher Siuzdak, ThM '24

Frances Lee, MDiv '24

Kenneth H. Moales III, MDiv '24

Crow Stacy, MDiv '24

Hassan Ahmad, MTS '24

Nathalie Folkerts, MDiv '24

Miriam Silverman Israel, MTS '24

David Holden, MDiv '24

Mauricio Bruce, MDiv '24

Maria Dueñas Lopez, MTS '24

Hongmin Ahn, MTS '24

Andrea Bischoff, MTS ’24

Alex Kinsella, MDiv '24

Destiny Magnett, MTS '24

Edwin Torres, MTS '24

Crow O’Bannon, MTS '24

Shabbos Israel X Kestenbaum, MTS '24

Gianluca Avanzato, MDiv ‘24

Ariella gayotto hohl, mdiv '24, joe archer, mdiv '24, ryan conston, mdiv '24.

Francesca Rubinson, MDiv '24

Kristen maples, mdiv '24.

Nathan Knutson, MDiv '24

Tracie Palmer, MDiv '24

Joe Rosales, MTS '24

Shir lovett-graff, mts '24.

Daniel Kramer, MDiv '24

Claire Mackenzie Rensunberg, MDiv '24

Emma Jacquelin Thomas, MDiv '24

Ailih Weeldreyer, MTS '24

Christian Maloney, MTS '24

Sama Shah, MTS '24

Stephanie Hollenberg, MDiv '24

Charlotte McAdams, MDiv '24

Madeline Grace Bangeau-Heartt, MDiv '24

Anna Dorothy Guterman, MTS '24

Hannah Eliason, MTS '24

Suzanne E. Greco, MTS '24

Brittany T. Paschall, MRPL '24

Cara Snajczuk, MDiv '24

Oorja Joshi, MDiv ’24

Ebony joy johnson, mdiv ‘24, frank j. barrett, mdiv ’24 .

Public Events Calendar
Harvard Divinity Bulletin
Commencement Events Schedule
Commencement Accessibility Information
Religion in Times of Earth Crisis

Soon-to-be Suffolk Law graduate shares story of struggling through homelessness

Timothy Scalona posed for a portrait outside Suffolk Law School.

Timothy Scalona was 13 years old and playing video games when a sheriff’s deputy knocked on the door and told his family they had to leave their Wilmington home.

“In the beginning of my childhood, I lived what I thought was a peaceful life, sort of not rich but not poor either,” he said in an interview. “And then deteriorating circumstances led to the foreclosure that thrust us into homelessness.”

Scalona and his family bounced between low-end hotels as he began high school in Wilmington, typically sharing a room that had just two beds with his mother, stepfather, and six siblings. He felt his best chance of escaping poverty was through education, so Scalona focused on his schoolwork, even when at times his family was placed in a shelter more than two hours from his school.

He went on to the University of Massachusetts Amherst and on Sunday he will graduate with a law degree from Suffolk University, with his family there to celebrate with him. Scalona, 25, wants to dedicate his legal career to helping families caught in the web of homelessness.

“I’m just really proud to have made it and survived this far,” said Scalona, who has penned op-eds for the Globe and other news outlets on housing law reform. “There was a point in my life where I didn’t know if I had a future, and I think that through some of the support systems and my education I have found a way to make how terrible the homeless experience was mean something.” ”

He said his family at first did not qualify for the state’s right-to-shelter program because their income was too high as his stepfather was still working as an emergency dispatcher. They stayed in hotels around Wilmington and nearby towns Tewksbury and Billerica.

As they moved to different hotels, the rooms they stayed in seemed to get smaller and smaller. Their “kitchen” was limited to a mini-fridge and a microwave, Scalona said.

“I knew I was homeless and I knew how isolating it felt to be ripped from my community and to be so ashamed, but the physical consequences of living in that space, so tightly packed with so many people and not a lot of food, over time I became, like, emaciated,” he said.

Scalona said the stress of homelessness eventually cost his stepfather his job, and it was at that point his family qualified for the state’s shelter system. It was a relief, as the family was no longer harnessed with the weekly costs of paying for a hotel room, he said, but it also came at a cost, as the state moved to place them in a shelter in Holyoke, about 100 miles from Wilmington, where Scalona and his siblings attended school and his family kept medical appointments.

“That was probably my lowest point ever, mentally and physically,” he said.

Scalona and his siblings commuted back and forth daily, about two hours each way, with their stepfather, who would drop them off at school and go to work at a job he found as an assistant manager at a convenience store in Wilmington.

Scalona said an attorney helped his family and was able to negotiate with the state Department of Transitional Assistance to place them somewhere closer to Wilmington. He said the attorney’s intervention and the difference they were able to make for his family helped inspire him to consider a career in law.

They moved into a Best Western hotel in Chelmsford, where Scalona recalled doing his homework in the hotel lobby where the Wi-Fi signal was the strongest, but sometimes he’d be shooed away by hotel staff. When he had to get on a Skype call to discuss group projects with his classmates, he’d find a bathroom away from his family’s cramped hotel room.

He also found ways to spend less time in the hotel. He joined Wilmington High School’s track and field team, and when he was 16, he got a job at Staples.

Scalona graduated from Wilmington High in 2016 and enrolled at UMass after securing several federal student loans, as well as need-based and merit-based financial aid, he said.

UMass also felt like a real home, he said, the first one he’d had since the sheriff’s deputy knocked on his door years earlier. But there were adjustments he experienced that he didn’t expect. For one, he found himself with access to more food than he’d had when he was with his family.

“It probably saved me in terms of providing me with an actual sustainable diet, but it was also difficult because I’d go back home during breaks,” where food was still limited, Scalona said.

After graduating from UMass, Scalona said he had his sights set on Boston and Suffolk Law School.

“I wanted to be in the center of it,” he said. “I wanted to be a housing attorney and my intention was to sort of be a legal aid person in the Boston area.”

At Suffolk, Scalona said he got involved with the Harvard Legal Aide Bureau, where he worked on student housing and assisted people facing eviction. He also worked in the public defense office and was an organizer with the National Lawyers Guild.

He said he’s finishing with about $200,000 in student debt and is interviewing to be a law clerk or housing legal aid attorney. He said he’s looking forward to celebrating his graduation with his family.

“I want them to feel the way that I feel, sort of know that we’re not too far gone and that there is a way out,” he said.

Nick Stoico can be reached at [email protected] .

Facility for Rare Isotope Beams

At michigan state university, international research team uses wavefunction matching to solve quantum many-body problems, new approach makes calculations with realistic interactions possible.

FRIB researchers are part of an international research team solving challenging computational problems in quantum physics using a new method called wavefunction matching. The new approach has applications to fields such as nuclear physics, where it is enabling theoretical calculations of atomic nuclei that were previously not possible. The details are published in Nature (“Wavefunction matching for solving quantum many-body problems”) .

Ab initio methods and their computational challenges

An ab initio method describes a complex system by starting from a description of its elementary components and their interactions. For the case of nuclear physics, the elementary components are protons and neutrons. Some key questions that ab initio calculations can help address are the binding energies and properties of atomic nuclei not yet observed and linking nuclear structure to the underlying interactions among protons and neutrons.

Yet, some ab initio methods struggle to produce reliable calculations for systems with complex interactions. One such method is quantum Monte Carlo simulations. In quantum Monte Carlo simulations, quantities are computed using random or stochastic processes. While quantum Monte Carlo simulations can be efficient and powerful, they have a significant weakness: the sign problem. The sign problem develops when positive and negative weight contributions cancel each other out. This cancellation results in inaccurate final predictions. It is often the case that quantum Monte Carlo simulations can be performed for an approximate or simplified interaction, but the corresponding simulations for realistic interactions produce severe sign problems and are therefore not possible.

Using ‘plastic surgery’ to make calculations possible

The new wavefunction-matching approach is designed to solve such computational problems. The research team—from Gaziantep Islam Science and Technology University in Turkey; University of Bonn, Ruhr University Bochum, and Forschungszentrum Jülich in Germany; Institute for Basic Science in South Korea; South China Normal University, Sun Yat-Sen University, and Graduate School of China Academy of Engineering Physics in China; Tbilisi State University in Georgia; CEA Paris-Saclay and Université Paris-Saclay in France; and Mississippi State University and the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) at Michigan State University (MSU)—includes Dean Lee , professor of physics at FRIB and in MSU’s Department of Physics and Astronomy and head of the Theoretical Nuclear Science department at FRIB, and Yuan-Zhuo Ma , postdoctoral research associate at FRIB.

“We are often faced with the situation that we can perform calculations using a simple approximate interaction, but realistic high-fidelity interactions cause severe computational problems,” said Lee. “Wavefunction matching solves this problem by doing plastic surgery. It removes the short-distance part of the high-fidelity interaction, and replaces it with the short-distance part of an easily computable interaction.”

This transformation is done in a way that preserves all of the important properties of the original realistic interaction. Since the new wavefunctions look similar to that of the easily computable interaction, researchers can now perform calculations using the easily computable interaction and apply a standard procedure for handling small corrections called perturbation theory. A team effort

The research team applied this new method to lattice quantum Monte Carlo simulations for light nuclei, medium-mass nuclei, neutron matter, and nuclear matter. Using precise ab initio calculations, the results closely matched real-world data on nuclear properties such as size, structure, and binding energies. Calculations that were once impossible due to the sign problem can now be performed using wavefunction matching.

“It is a fantastic project and an excellent opportunity to work with the brightest nuclear scientist s in FRIB and around the globe,” said Ma. “As a theorist , I'm also very excited about programming and conducting research on the world's most powerful exascale supercomputers, such as Frontier , which allows us to implement wavefunction matching to explore the mysteries of nuclear physics.”

While the research team focused solely on quantum Monte Carlo simulations, wavefunction matching should be useful for many different ab initio approaches, including both classical and quantum computing calculations. The researchers at FRIB worked with collaborators at institutions in China, France, Germany, South Korea, Turkey, and United States.

“The work is the culmination of effort over many years to handle the computational problems associated with realistic high-fidelity nuclear interactions,” said Lee. “It is very satisfying to see that the computational problems are cleanly resolved with this new approach. We are grateful to all of the collaboration members who contributed to this project, in particular, the lead author, Serdar Elhatisari.”

This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. National Science Foundation, the German Research Foundation, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences President’s International Fellowship Initiative, Volkswagen Stiftung, the European Research Council, the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the National Security Academic Fund, the Rare Isotope Science Project of the Institute for Basic Science, the National Research Foundation of Korea, the Institute for Basic Science, and the Espace de Structure et de réactions Nucléaires Théorique.

Michigan State University operates the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) as a user facility for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE-SC), supporting the mission of the DOE-SC Office of Nuclear Physics. Hosting what is designed to be the most powerful heavy-ion accelerator, FRIB enables scientists to make discoveries about the properties of rare isotopes in order to better understand the physics of nuclei, nuclear astrophysics, fundamental interactions, and applications for society, including in medicine, homeland security, and industry.

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of today’s most pressing challenges. For more information, visit energy.gov/science.

Dean McDermott Claps Back at Trolls After Tori Spelling Supports Relationship

Celebs Vacationing In Japan ... Kon'nichiwa!

Ryan Reynolds Good Genes or Good Docs?!

Joe Budden Addresses Cutting Diddy Assault Video Segment From Podcast

Ryan Reynolds' Movie 'IF' Bombs at Box Office, Critics Hating Too

Billionaire juices speech with $1,000 to each umass dartmouth graduate, umass dartmouth billionaire gifts $1k to each grad with a catch, though.

Oprah Winfrey 's got nothing on Robert Hale Jr. , a telecom billionaire, who didn't hand out car keys to UMass Dartmouth grads ... but, instead, handed them cold hard cash -- for themselves and others.

You could say Hale spiced up his commencement speech to the graduates when he announced that each of them would be getting $1,000 when they came onstage to get their diplomas ... but there was one important caveat.

Hale, who founded Granite Telecommunications, told them Thursday they'd be getting 2 envelopes ... one with $500 to keep for themselves, and a second one with a $500 check they had to donate to someone in need, or a charity.

During the rainy ceremony, he told the class of about 1,200 that he and his wife found “the greatest joys we’ve had in our life have been the gift of giving.”

Although, Forbes estimates his net worth around $5.4 billion ... Hale also told the audience he'd had his share of ups and downs through his career, including, at one point, losing $1 billion in an instant.

Considering he's making the grads pay it forward, it's a pretty cool piece of philanthropy ... and the school awarded him its Chancellor's Medal for his efforts.

Share on Facebook

Barron Trump Graduates High School, Donald & Melania Look on With Pride

Chiefs' Harrison Butker Evokes Taylor Swift In Controversial Commencement Speech

Old news is old news be first.

IMAGES

The Globally First MA & PhD in Conscious Business
MA vs. PhD
Masters Vs PhD: The Difference Between Masters & PhD/Doctorates 2023+
What is the Difference Between an MA, an MS, and a PhD?
Dr. Samuel Kane, MA, PhD, LMHC, Issaquah, WA, 98027
Yue Ma, PhD

VIDEO

MA PHD AKKULUMESEY....#youtubeshorts #youtube #comedy
First Meeting with My Ph.D. Guide ll Expectations vs. Reality
Thinking about an MA/PhD in philosophy? Ask us anything!
BA MA Phd Rafi enhanced version 2024 From Vinyl OST
MSc,MA and PhD applications in Memoria University in Canada
PhD in Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy

COMMENTS

What is the Difference Between an MA, an MS, and a PhD?
PhD. Abbreviation for Philosophiae Doctor, translated to Doctor of Philosophy. The PhD is the highest academic degree you can earn in the U.S. educational system. Getting a PhD degree can take anywhere from 3 years, a decade, or more and is primarily a research degree. This means that you must do original research in order to earn it.
MA/PhD Program
Earning a Master's of Arts degree (MA) or doctorate (PhD) from Berkeley's School of Education often leads to a career as an educational scholar and researcher in schools, colleges, and universities; non-profits and think tanks; and corporations. In your application, we encourage you to describe your research interests as well as your desire ...
What Do MA, MBA, MS, MSW and PhD Stand For?
There are two parts; one can classify the educational level of the degree: "B" stands for bachelor's degree; "M" stands for master's degree; and "D" stands for doctoral degree. The second part denotes the discipline of the degree, like "S" for science, "A" for arts, or "Ph" for Philosophy. What are the distinctions ...
MA/PhD Program
All admissions to the integrated MA/PhD and PhD programs are made for autumn semester only; the application deadline for students who wish to start the program in Autumn 2024 is December 4, 2023. The Graduate and Professional Admissions office has a slightly earlier deadline for international applications: November 27, 2023. The application for ...
M.A./Ph.D. Overview
Graduate students in the M.A./Ph.D. and Ph.D. programs develop expertise in a particular area of study, but they also learn to appreciate alternative theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches to studying communication. Coursework brings together humanistic and social scientific intellectual traditions through a unified core ...
MA/PhD in English Language and Literature
Program Overview. Our MA/PhD in English Language and Literature is an integrated program that allows students to earn an MA on the way to the PhD. We do not admit students for a terminal MA degree. The program receives over 250 applications of admission each year and typically enrolls an entering class of 10-14 students, all of whom receive ...
What Is an MA Degree?
The Master of Arts (MA) degree is a graduate degree focused on the humanities, social sciences, and fine arts. Because it covers a number of subjects, the MA degree tends to be an incredibly popular master's degree, along with the Master of Science (MS). By earning your MA degree, you may be able to gain specialized knowledge, further develop ...
MA and PhD in Psychology
DePaul's Psychological Science MA/PhD program is a highly competitive program that trains students in the theories and methodologies that define the core scientific pillars of psychology: social, developmental, cognitive and neuroscience. With an emphasis on critical and integrative thinking, our students will understand the psychological ...
MA/PhD Frequently Asked Questions
Because we admit students to the MA/PhD program with funding in the form of an Academic Student Employee (ASE) teaching position, non-native English speakers must also meet the requirements listed in the UW Graduate School's Policy 5.2 in order to be eligible to teach. There are a variety of ways to show English language proficiency in Policy ...
PhD in Psychology » Academics
Two categories of requirements are necessary for the MA degree en route to all the PhD programs. They should be completed within three years of admission. Specific graduate programs may have their own additional requirements: Courses: A minimum of eight graduate-level courses, including PS 711 Statistics in Psychology I. Students must obtain ...
Master's vs PhD
The two most common types of graduate degrees are master's and doctoral degrees: A master's is a 1-2 year degree that can prepare you for a multitude of careers. A PhD, or doctoral degree, takes 3-7 years to complete (depending on the country) and prepares you for a career in academic research. A master's is also the necessary first ...
MA Program
MA Program. The Department of Cognitive Science's one-year, full-time, in-person Master of Arts program is designed to flexibly provide graduate-level training to a wide range of students with diverse backgrounds and interests. This program is intended to appeal to students who have undergraduate degrees in linguistics, psychology, computer ...
MA / PhD
A Conference and Program at UCLA May 19-21, 2024 Royce 314 and 306 Going to and from - or even just past - the synagogue has long been a central feature of the Jewish experience. As a moral and aesthetic benchmark, the synagogue with its sounds, texts, and rituals has infiltrated the cultural creations of. Royce 314.
2023-2024 Top Graduate Programs in Massachusetts
Graduate School. •. 11 reviews. Master's Student: Smith College not only offers a full time student stipend ($21,000/year) and tuition waiver (valued ~ $35,000) for the Biological Sciences department, but you are able to pull from resources within a neighboring R1 institution: University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Graduate Education
Explore, Expand, Connect. Graduate school is an adventure of intellectual discovery, discipline, and creative thought. Your journey, though it may seem epic, is not a solo mission. Whether you are looking for a graduate program, or you are already enrolled, this is your central place to connect with information and resources at Boston University.
Clinical Psychology MA
The MA program includes 98 faculty members who provide instruction, research mentorship and professional development in both the Clinical Psychology MA and PhD programs. We plan to recruit a class of approximately 10 students for the academic year 2024-2025 (beginning in summer 2024).
MA/PhD Program
The MA/PhD program is a combined program designed for students entering with a BA with the intention of earning a PhD. If you are applying for an MA/PhD, select the PhD option in the application system. The program consists of core course work, requirements for specific Areas of Concentration (ARCOs), preliminary exams, comprehensive exams, and dissertation work.
Clinical Psychology: The Graduate School
Degree Types: MA, PhD. The PhD Program in Clinical Psychology within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine is one of only a handful of programs in the United States based in an academic medical center and housed in a psychiatry department. This unique setting provides opportunities for translational research and practice ...
Sociology PhD
Applicants for the 36-credit post-MA PhD program must have an MA degree in sociology or a related field from a nationally accredited college or university or its international equivalent. The review committee will admit applicants with degrees in other disciplines at their discretion.
Section 3. The MA/PhD Program
The MA/PhD program requires 48 units of graduate coursework (12 courses at 4 units per course), all of which must be taken for a letter grade. 36 units, including 20 chosen to fulfill the distribution requirement, must be completed in the student's first two years before taking the first qualifying exam, which also serves as the Master's examination for students in this program.
BA, BSc, MA, MSc, PhD
BA, BSc, MA, MSc, PhD (and more) are abbreviations of British degrees. They reflect the specific level and discipline of a qualification achieved at university. While most courses are conducted on a full-time basis, there are options for part-time, distance learning and other flexible learning arrangements. Here is a breakdown of some of the ...
MA Program
Bard Graduate Center. Bard Graduate Center's two-year MA program offers an innovative, interdisciplinary, and object-centered approach to understanding the human past. A combination of core courses, electives, an internship, and a qualifying paper form the basis of the curriculum. All MA students take the year-long course "Objects in ...
What Does BA, MA & PhD Mean in Degrees?
An M.A. is a Master of Arts degree. Master of Arts degrees are graduate degree programs within a concentrated specialization pursued after the completion of a bachelor's degree. Students often pursue master's degrees to gain promotion in their current careers or to advance to a new career within their field. A Master of Arts degrees gives you ...
Get to Know Harris! MACRM and PhD Information Session
Evening Master's Program (Part-time MA) MA in Public Policy; PhD; Joint Degree Programs; Non-Degree Programs Non-Degree Programs Overview Non-Degree Programs. Academics. Non-Degree Programs Overview. ... Cynthia Ma, MPP Class of 2025. Tue., May 14, 2024. Prospective Students. How to Apply; Why Public Policy; Financial Aid; Events; Current ...
Elaine Liu: Charging ahead
MIT senior Elaine Siyu Liu doesn't own an electric car, or any car. But she sees the impact of electric vehicles (EVs) and renewables on the grid as two pieces of an energy puzzle she wants to solve. The U.S. Department of Energy reports that the number of public and private EV charging ports nearly doubled in the past three years, and many ...
2024 Graduate Student Profiles
2024 Graduate Student Profiles . Meet the Harvard Divinity School graduating class and read about their time at HDS, what inspires them, where they are heading, and much more! ... Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 Harvard Divinity School is a nonsectarian school of religious and theological studies that educates students both in the pursuit of the ...
Soon-to-be Suffolk Law graduate shares story of struggling through
Timothy Scalona was 13 years old and playing video games when a sheriff's deputy knocked on the door and told his family they had to leave their Wilmington home. "In the beginning of my ...
International research team uses wavefunction matching to solve quantum
New approach makes calculations with realistic interactions possibleFRIB researchers are part of an international research team solving challenging computational problems in quantum physics using a new method called wavefunction matching. The new approach has applications to fields such as nuclear physics, where it is enabling theoretical calculations of atomic nuclei that were previously not ...
Billionaire Juices Speech with $1,000 to Each UMass Dartmouth Graduate
Umass Dartmouth Billionaire Gifts $1K to Each Grad!!! With a Catch, Though. 5/18/2024 9:28 AM PT. Getty/UMass Dartmouth Composite. Oprah Winfrey 's got nothing on Robert Hale Jr., a telecom ...