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Psychology College of Social Sciences & Interdisciplinary Studies

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MA in Psychology: General Psychology

Students in the General Psychology program can create individual programs in conjunction with the faculty to prepare for doctoral programs and careers in a variety of specialized fields such as:

  • Clinical (Clinically-oriented students in this program will train in clinical research, but will not receive formal clinical skills training or earn licensure).
  • Cognitive
  • Community
  • Cultural
  • Developmental
  • Educational
  • Evolutionary
  • Experimental
  • Neuroscience
  • Quantitative
  • Social Psychology

Students also take graduate courses in research methods, analysis of variance, multiple regression analysis, multivariate analysis, and psychological measurement.

General Psychology Program Catalog Information

General Psychology M.A.

General M.A. students regularly participate in supervisory and experiential coursework beginning in their first semester and continue each semester after that. These students involve themselves in research projects, either as members of research teams or individually under the supervision of a faculty member.

Upon completion, they present their work at a variety of research conferences including the Sacramento Valley Psychological Association's Student Research Conference, Western Psychological Association Research Conference, and other local, regional, and national meetings.

Students also have the opportunity to acquire experience as Teaching Associates (paid instructors of record) or as Instructional Student Assistants (paid) in our undergraduate lower division and lab courses.

Admission Requirements & Application Instructions

General Psychology Faculty

Applicants will be asked to select and rank three faculty from the list below in their application. Please review our application materials to determine which faculty will be taking applicants for Fall 2024.

Name Subdiscipline Contact Information
Itzel Aceves Azuara, Ph.D. (UC Santa Cruz) Cultural Psychology  itzel.aceves-azuara@csus.edu
Phillip Akutsu, Ph.D. (UCLA) Clinical Psychology  akutsup@csus.edu
Lisa Bohon, Ph.D. (UC Riverside) Social Psychology  bohonlm@csus.edu
Jeff Calton, Ph.D. (University of Missouri) Behavioral Neuroscience  calton@csus.edu
Melikşah Demir, Ph.D. (Wayne State University) Developmental Psychology and Happiness  demir@csus.edu
Erin Ellison, Ph.D. (UC Santa Cruz) Community Psychology  ellison@csus.edu
Sharon Flicker, Ph.D. (University of New Mexico) Clinical Psychology  flicker@csus.edu
Sharon Furtak-Nguyen, Ph.D. (Yale University) Behavioral Neuroscience  furtak@csus.edu
Paulette Garcia Peraza (UC Santa Cruz) Cultural Psychology  garciaperaza@csus.edu
David Giguere, Ph.D. (Florida Atlantic University) Developmental Psychology  giguere@csus.edu
Lisa Harrison, Ph.D. (University of Nebraska) Social Psychology  laharrison@csus.edu
Greg Kim-Ju, Ph.D. (Boston College) Cultural and Community Psychology  kimju@csus.edu
Casey Knifsend, Ph.D. (UCLA) Developmental and Community Psychology  casey.knifsend@csus.edu
Alexandra Morrison, Ph.D. (Temple University) Cognitive Psychology - Attention and Working Memory  alexandra.morrison@csus.edu
Jianjian (J.J.) Qin, Ph.D. (UC Davis) Cognitive Psychology - Eyewitness Memory and Memory Errors  qinj@csus.edu
Zach Schudson Ph.D. (University of Michigan) Social Psychology  schudson@csus.edu
Emily Wickelgren, Ph.D. (Indiana University) Cognitive Psychology - Sensation and Perception  wickelgr@csus.edu
Brittany Young, Ph.D. (UC Santa Cruz) Developmental and Multicultural Psychology  b.young@csus.edu