MA FAQs

An MA in psychology from Hunter College can help you acquire a research position in a wide variety of corporations and institutions. It may also help you achieve a promotion in your present employment, or allow you to assume more independence and responsibility in your current position.

For many students, an MA is one path to a PhD program. The Hunter MA program gives students a solid background in psychology and provides research experience. This can be particularly helpful for candidates who are returning to school after some time away, or those who for some other reason cannot directly enter a PhD program. A Hunter MA in psychology will give you an academic foundation that will demonstrate to doctoral programs that you can succeed at the graduate level.

An MA in general psychology will NOT qualify you to practice therapy, nor will it meet the licensing requirements of NY State. You cannot call yourself a psychologist without a PhD or PsyD from a program accredited by the APA.

For information about different degrees, please see our module, "Choosing the right degree: MA, PhD, PsyD, others".

Yes, to explore your interests, you can take 4 courses on a non-matriculated basis. All you need is a BA or BS from an accredited college or university. The Office of Admissions has the details (Office of Admissions, Hunter College of CUNY, 695 Park Avenue, Room 100 Hunter North, New York, NY, 10065). If you subsequently apply for admission to the program, the MA courses you have taken in the Hunter Psychology Department will be credited toward your degree. (Other institutions, however, may not give you credit for courses taken at Hunter.) For more information, see the Graduate Admissions website: www.hunter.cuny.edu/graduateadmissions.

The Hunter Psychology Department does not supervise students in performing therapy or counseling. It does offer theoretical courses on topics like psychopathology, abnormal psychology, and theories and methods of psychotherapy. Such courses provide a useful background for students who intend to apply to a PhD program in clinical psychology or counseling, and for students who intend to apply to a masters program in social work, counseling, or education.

Hunter College offers a Masters of Arts program in General Psychology. Students may focus their courses, independent study, and thesis research in one of three content areas: (1) Applied and Evaluative Psychology; (2) Social, Cognitive, and Developmental Psychology; (3) Biopsychology and Comparative Psychology. The Department offers theoretical courses on clinical topics, but it does not offer supervision in counseling or therapy.

The Department of Psychology does not offer a counseling program. However, the School of Education does offer mental health, rehabilitation, and school counseling programs.

All CUNY PhD programs are centrally supervised through the City University Graduate School and University Center. Please contact The Graduate Center, The City University of New York at 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016-4309 (Room 6304.01, 212-817-8705) for more information on CUNY Doctoral Programs. For information about the subprogram in Biopsychology, which is housed at the Hunter College campus (although administered through the CUNY Graduate Center), please call 212-772-5621, e-mail ebreheny@hunter.cuny.edu, or see the Biopsychology website.

Each candidate is required to complete an approved program of study of at least 30 credits (plus necessary background courses).

• The program includes four specific course requirements: Proseminar in Psychology, Statistical Methods in Psychology, Experimental Psychology, and Thesis Research.
• The breadth requirement can be satisfied with various course combinations.
• An MA thesis involving empirical research is required as well as a comprehensive oral examination on the thesis.

Yes, students can attend either full-time, in which case the degree is generally completed in two years, or part-time, in which case it usually takes three to four years to complete the degree.

Both day and evening classes are offered for the MA program.

No, there are no graduate courses offered in the summer, only undergraduate courses are offered during summer terms. Some faculty are available, however, to supervise student's independent research, for which credit can be given in the following semester.

Yes, Hunter College faculty are actively engaged in research on a variety of topics. By volunteering to do research in a faculty member's laboratory, or by taking an independent research course with a faculty member, you can gain valuable research experience.

Faculty research at Hunter includes:

1. Applied and Evaluative Psychology - including topics in personality, psychopathology, theories of therapeutic methods, group dynamics, biofeedback, health and gender, stress and stress management, substance use, tests and measurements.
2. Social, Cognitive, and Developmental Psychology - including multicultural issues, cognitive and linguistic development, discursive social psychology, gender and cognition, attitudes, political psychology, psycholinguistics, decision-making, and memory function in different populations.
3. Biopsychology and Comparative Psychology - including hormonal influences on and neural control of avian and mammalian behavior, opiate effects, color vision, evolution of behavior, animal orientation and communication, cerebral specialization of function.

In addition to conducting research in their laboratories at the college, many faculty members have affiliations with other institutions, including the American Museum of Natural History, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Rehabilitation Research Institute of the International Center for the Disabled, the New York State Psychiatric Institute, the Rockefeller University, the New York University Medical Center, and the New York University Center for Neural Science.

For more information on Hunter College faculty members please see our module Psychology Faculty at Hunter College.

There are 6 requirements that a prospective student must fulfill for him/her to be considered for admission (the GRE is NOT required for admission):

1. BA / BS - A student must hold a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution, comparable in standard and content to a bachelor's degree from Hunter College. International students or those who have taken all or part of their undergraduate education in a country where English is not the native language are required to take the TOEFL examination, and achieve a score of 550 or better on the paper based test (PBT) or 213 on the computer based test (CBT).
2. GPA – There are no minimum requirements but an undergraduate average of B (3.0) is preferred.
3. Official transcripts from all institutions are required.
4. Recommendations - Two letters of recommendation, preferably from faculty, are required. Letters from friends, family, personal physicians, or personal therapists should not be submitted.
5. Statement of interests - A statement of your intellectual and research interests is necessary.
6. Psychology background - Twelve undergraduate credits in psychology are required, including one course in statistics, and one laboratory course in experimental psychology. Students who have a high undergraduate GPA and high general GRE scores but lack a full psychology background may apply for admission. Students admitted without the psychology background requirement may be required to take preparatory statistics and experimental courses.

No, we are currently accepting Fall applications only.

The priority deadline for the fall semester is February 1st. The final application deadline is April 1st. Students who would like to be considered for institutional scholarships are encouraged to file by the priority deadline.

Students who have taken undergraduate credits from a non-US institution and/or who require student/exchange visas must apply by the priority deadline.

Applications received after the priority deadline will be considered under the normal deadlines. Please contact the Admissions Office for more information, or see the Graduate Admission website: www.hunter.cuny.edu/graduateadmissions.

For more information on tuition, fees, and residence restrictions, please see the Hunter College Graduate Catalog, available from the Admissions office, or see the website: www.hunter.cuny.edu/bursar/tuition-fees.

Some financial aid is available to matriculated students in the form of grants, loans, and work study. Aid from most of the major Federal programs are awarded on the basis of financial need. This is determined by the Expected Family Contribution formula, which is based on the amount you and your family are expected to contribute toward your education. There are sometimes research positions in faculty laboratories for highly qualified students. For more information, contact the Financial Aid Office or visit the website: www.hunter.cuny.edu/finaid.

We typically accept only a few transfer credits. Transfer credits are arranged on an individual basis.

lease see our module "Applying to Graduate School in Psychology."