Why Pursue a Master's Degree In Psychology
The vast majority of program graduates have either obtained admission to a PhD program or a Psychology-related job, typically in research. Those who go on to doctoral work often attend top name schools in their areas, while those who pursue MS-level jobs frequently gain employment conducting research for Health Science centers, test and measures companies, or the military.
The Master of Science in Psychology is not a treatment-oriented program, and is not oriented towards preparing future therapists for licensure. If you are looking for a program to become a therapist, consider UTSA’s MS in Mental Health Counseling or MS in Behavior Analysis.
See What Our Students Say
When you choose UTSA, you join a community of talented scholars and professionals being taught by award-winning faculty. Learn more about the Department of Psychology at UTSA from current master’s student Joseph Torres as he discusses his path through graduate school.
Admission & Application Requirements
Applications are submitted through the UTSA Graduate Application. Please upload all required documents (listed below) on your UTSA Graduate Application. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure completion and submission of the application, a nonrefundable application fee, and all required supporting documents are on file with UTSA by the appropriate application deadline.
| Psychology (MS) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Admission is only available for the Fall semester | ||
| Required Degree | Bachelor's Degree from an accredited college or university in the United States or have proof of equivalent training at a foreign institution. | |
| Minimum GPA | 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale) Departments may consider GPA of last 60 semester credit hours. A grade point average of at least 3.5 in all psychology courses taken. A grade of B or higher in a statistics for psychology course (equivalent to PSY 2073 Statistics for Psychology) and a psychological research methods course (equivalent to PSY 3403 Experimental Psychology). | |
| Coursework | 18 credit hours in an area related to this graduate degree and at least 12 hours must be at the upper-division level. These hours must include at least one course in statistics and one course in experimental psychology or psychological research methods. A single course that combines instruction in statistics and experimental methodology may be accepted, pending the approval of the Graduate Committee in Psychology. | |
| Transcripts* | Required from all institutions attended; international transcripts must be recorded/translated to English | |
| Credential Evaluation | Required if you have earned university-level credit from foreign institutions. Submit an evaluation of your transcripts from Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE) directly from the graduate admission application platform | |
| English Language Proficiency | 550 TOEFL Paper / 79 TOEFL Internet / 6.5 IELTS / Duolingo 100 | |
| Purpose Statement | Required (two required: professional goals and research experience) | |
| Resume | Required | |
| Letters of Recommendation | 2 academic or professional reference(s) demonstrating your attributes for successful completion of this program (you will request these through the Graduate Admissions Application; let your recommenders know of your deadline to ensure submissions are on time). Academic references for this program are preferred. | |
| Writing Sample | Required A paper the student submitted as an assignment for credit in an organized course (e.g., a solo-written proposal for an experimental psychology or research design course) or independent study. Other forms of assignment submitted for credit may be considered acceptable if of similar length to the examples given above. | |
| *Unofficial transcripts will be taken into consideration for admissions; however, if admitted into the program, you must submit official transcripts to the University. | ||
Application Deadlines
Applicants are encouraged to have their admission file completed as early as possible. All applications, required documents and letters of recommendation, if applicable, must be submitted by 5:00 PM U.S. Central Time on the day of the deadline. Deadlines are subject to change.
| Psychology (MS) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Timing on Admission Decision: Students can expect to hear back on an admission decision by June 1. | |||
| Application Deadlines for: | Priority | International | Domestic |
| Fall 2025 | March 1 | March 1 | |
| Spring | Not Available | Not Available | |
| Summer | Not Available | Not Available | |
Funding Opportunities
Career Options
UTSA prepares you for future careers that are in demand. The possible careers below is data pulled by a third-party tool called Emsi, which pulls information from sources like the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau, online job postings, other government databases and more to give you regional and national career outlook related to this academic program.
This program is housed primarily on UTSA’s Main Campus. Graduate courses are offered almost entirely during the day, and students are expected to attend classes and mentor-based research training in person. To the extent possible, courses are clustered onto a small number of days to allow as much time as possible for students to conduct research/collect and analyze their data.
The graduate faculty in Psychology includes many highly active researchers with a record of high publication and citation rates, grant funding, and inclusion of students in research efforts. Many faculty are also highly involved in the editorial process, including several serving as Associate Editors at major scholarly journals.
