Master
of Arts Degree in Psychology
with an Emphasis on Clinical Skills
Complete our on-line application
and apply now!
The following outline contains links to the main sections of the following
page and a brief description of the information found in each section.
The last link takes you to APA's site for graduate students. Simply select the subject you wish to view.
- Learning Outcomes
- Admission to the Graduate Program
- Financial Aid
- Degree Requirements
- Program Resources
- Professional Ethics
- Recommended Schedule
- Washburn and the Community
- Application Forms
- FAQ's about the MA Program
- www.apagsgradpsych.apa.org
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the Master of Arts Degree in Psychology with an emphasis in Clinical Skills, graduates should:
- be eligible to sit for and prepared to pass the licensing exam as a Licensed Master's Level Psychologist (LMLP) in the state of Kansas;
- have appropriate skills and training needed to obtain employment in the Kansas mental health care delivery system; and
- have a foundation for pursuing alternate career paths including doctoral training in clinical (or another area of) psychology in the future.
Admission
to the Graduate Program
The candidate must have a bachelor's degree from an
accredited college or university, and a minimum of 15 hours
of undergraduate psychology including a statistics course,
an experimental laboratory course, and a course in Abnormal
psychology, each with a minimum grade of "C".
Outstanding candidates meeting the majority of these requirements are
sometimes granted provisional admission to the program. Full admission
is then contingent upon fulfilling remaining requirements during the first
semester of study at Washburn.
All application materials including GRE scores should be received by the Psychology Department
no later than March 15 to insure full consideration for
Fall admission.
Special Student Admission
Students not currently meeting criteria for full admission are encouraged
to seek special student status. The department accepts students as part-time,
non-degree candidates, or students presently enrolled in other graduate
programs who need graduate courses in Psychology. Several graduate courses
are available to social workers, nurses, teachers and members of other
professional groups eligible for continuing education credit. Students
who wish to enroll with special student status need to acquire the short
application form from the Psychology Department. Students may enroll for
a total of only six credit hours as special students.
Financial Aid
The Psychology Department is able to provide financial support for some
students. Teaching assistantships with associated annual stipends of $3,500
are awarded to five outstanding incoming students. The teaching assignment
involves approximately 10 hours per week assisting in a testing center
for introductory psychology students. Outstanding returning students are
eligible for similar stipends. Students may also apply for Federal financial
aid in the form of Federal work-study or Federal Stafford student loans.
To apply you need to fill out and submit the Free Application for Federal
Student Aid (FAFSA) before the March 1 priority deadline since Federal
work-study funds are limited. However, since Federal Stafford loans are
entitlements, a student may apply as late as 2-3 weeks before classes
start. The easiest way to apply for Federal financial aid is through the
internet at www.fafsa.ed.gov.
For additional information, please check the Washburn Financial Aid web
page at www.washburn.edu/financial-aid.
If you have further questions, you may call (800) 524-8447 or contact
the Washburn Financial Aid office on their web page. Current tuition rates
(for 2007-2008) are $255 per credit hour for Kansas residents and $520
per credit hour for out-of state students.
Degree
Requirements
- Completion of a minimum of 60 hours, including:
-
Core courses (12 hours)
The core courses survey the basic
content areas of psychology and provide the foundation for critical
evaluation of current psychological literature.
- PY501 - Experimental Foundations I
- PY502 - Experimental Foundations II
- PY510 - Intermediate Statistics
- PY560 - Ethics, Diversity and Professional Practice
- Clinical courses (21 hours)
Clinical courses provide a foundation in the theory and application
of testing and therapeutic techniques. Assessment courses cover
the administration, scoring, and interpretation of intellectual
tests, personality inventories, projective techniques , and screening
measures. The technique classes include interviewing, case conceptualization,
treatment planning, and psychotherapy.
- PY520 - Intellectual and Diagnostic Assessment of Adults
- PY521 - Intellectual and Diagnostic Assessment of Children
- PY540 - Advanced Psychopathology
- PY550 - Intro to Psychotherapy Techniques
- PY551 - Individual Adult Psychotherapy
- PY650 - Child, Family and Marital Therapy
- PY660 - Theories of Psychotherapy
Students enrolled in either PY520 or PY521 are required to enroll
in PY580 and PY581 Practicums respectively to demonstrate and master
a variety of clinical techniques involving assessment skills. Students
enrolled in either PY550 or PY551 are required to enroll in PY590
and PY591 Practicums respectively to serve clients in the department's
Psychological Services Clinic.
- Seminar (3 hours) Seminar topics will vary from semester
to semester.
- PY620 - Seminar in Psychology
- Satisfactory performance on a comprehensive exam
after successful completion of all required courses.
- Completion of 6 credit hours of practicum, and 12 credit hours
of internship. Each internship is a 9-10 month placement that
includes 20 hours of supervised training experience per week.
- Completion of an acceptable thesis. (6 hours)
The topic of the thesis and the design for the research will
be coordinated with the student's faculty thesis adviser and thesis
committee.
Program Resources
-
Physical Facilities
The Henderson Learning Resources Center building houses most of the
offices, classrooms, labs and other physical facilities used by the
Psychology Department.
-
Clinical Laboratories
A suite of one-way observation rooms is available for demonstrations
and supervision in the assessment and techniques courses. Video
and audio recording and playback are available as training aids.
| The department also administers a Psychological
Services Clinic which offers various treatment programs
to the general public. First-year graduate students serve
as client counselors who staff the clinic under the supervision
of the two clinical psychologists who teach psychotherapy
techniques and practicum courses each semester. |
 |
- Research Laboratories
| Facilities and equipment are available for human
research, including a suite of 20 experimental laboratory
rooms, and a variety of stimulus presentation and data recording
equipment. |
 |
- Statistical Laboratory
 The
department statistical laboratory is located in a suite of
rooms which include graduate student office space. The statistics
lab contains ASCII terminals connected to the IBM RS/6000
computer maintained by the Washburn University Academic Computer
Center (ACC). The ACC supports current versions of MINITAB,
SPSSx, and SAS, run under a UNIX operating system (IBM AIX)
on the RS/6000. Also available on the RS/6000 are word processing
(WordPerfect), database (INFORMIX), and spreadsheet (LOTUS
1-2-3) software. |
- Library Facilities
The Mabee Library at Washburn University serves as the primary source
of periodicals and books for psychology students. Secondary sources
for materials are provided by the libraries of the Veterans' Administration
Hospital in Topeka.
-
Internship Facilities
The Psychology Department maintains internship arrangements at a number
of area institutions including several Community Mental Health Centers
(located in Topeka and surrounding counties); Family Service and Guidance
Center of Topeka, Inc.; Kansas Rehabilitation Hospital, Services for
Alcohol Related Problems; Kansas State Reception and Diagnostic Center;
the Capper Foundation, and the VA Hospital.
Professional
Ethics
Because the graduate psychology program involves preparing people to
work with the public, the Psychology Department assumes the responsibility
for reasonably ensuring that individuals who complete the program are
not only academically competent but are aware of and capable of functioning
within the established ethical standards of the profession. To graduate
with an M.A. in Psychology, the student must adhere to the ethical principles
of the psychology profession. Their ethical standards are presented in
the following documents:
Recommended
Schedule
A full-time student will finish the program in two or three years by
following the schedule below:
Two-Year Track
|
Three-Year Track
|
| Fall, first year: |
Fall, first year: |
| PY501 - Experimental Foundations I |
PY501 - Experimental Foundations I |
| PY510 - Intermediate Statistics |
PY510 - Intermediate Statistics |
| PY520 - Adult Assessment |
PY660 - Theories of Psychotherapy |
| PY580 - Assessment Practicum I |
|
| PY550 - Psychotherapy techniques |
|
| PY590 - Psychotherapy Practicum I |
|
| |
|
| Spring, first year: |
Spring, first year: |
|
PY502 - Experimental Foundations II |
PY502 - Experimental Foundations II |
|
PY560 - Ethics, Diversity and Professional Practice |
PY540 - Advanced Psychopathology |
|
PY521 - Child Assessment |
PY560 - Ethics, Diversity and Professional Practice |
|
PY581 - Assessment Practicum II |
|
|
PY540 - Advanced Psychopathology |
|
| PY551 - Adult Psychotherapy |
|
|
PY591 - Psychotherapy Practicum II |
|
| |
|
| Fall, second year: |
Fall, second year: |
| PY601 - Internship |
PY520 - Adult Assessment |
| PY650 - Child, Family and Marital Therapy |
PY580 - Assessment Practicum I |
| PY660 - Theories of Psychotherapy |
PY550 - Psychotherapy techniques |
| PY699 - Thesis |
PY590 - Psychotherapy Practicum I |
| |
|
| Spring, second year: |
Spring, second year: |
| PY601 - Internship |
PY521 - Child Assessment |
| PY620 - Seminar |
PY581 - Assessment Practicum II |
| PY699 - Thesis |
PY551 - Adult Psychotherapy |
| |
PY591 - Psychotherapy Practicum II |
| |
|
| |
Fall, third year: |
| |
PY601 - Internship |
| |
PY650 - Child, Family and Marital Therapy |
| |
PY699 - Thesis |
| |
|
| |
Spring, third year: |
| |
PY601 - Internship |
| |
PY620 - Seminar |
| |
PY699 - Thesis |
Washburn
University and the Community
Washburn University of Topeka, by charter a municipal university, but
also subsidized by the State of Kansas, is presently composed of five
major units: the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Business,
the Law School, the School of Nursing, and the School of Applied Studies.
Of the approximately 6,700 students enrolled in the University, about
625 are normally enrolled in the Law School, 800 in the School of Business,
375 in the School of Nursing, and the balance in the College. The College
of Arts and Sciences includes graduate programs in Elementary Education
and Psychology, as well as 16 undergraduate academic departments. The
University calendar is set up on the semester basis with classes beginning
in mid-August and terminating in mid-May.
Washburn University is located in a residential area of Topeka, the
capital city of the State of Kansas. Topeka has a population of about
150,000. Located on the Kansas River, it is about 80 miles from Kansas
City, 60 miles from Kansas State University, and 30 miles from the University
of Kansas, making easy access to extended cultural and academic resources.
Topeka offers a rich cultural environment with libraries, museums, concert
series, symphony series, theater series, and art galleries. Topeka is
also a medical and mental health center with a cluster of over six hospitals.
Topeka's 45 parks, zoo, golf courses, lakes, and other outdoor facilities
afford varied recreational activities.
Application
Forms
To apply to the Master of Arts program in Psychology, you may either
submit an on-line application, request
the forms by email (psychology@washburn.edu),
or write the department directly at:
- Chairperson
Psychology Department
Washburn University
Topeka, Kansas 66621
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