Master of Arts in Psychology

Laurie G. Dodge, Ph.D., Interim Dean, Arts and Sciences

Marnie Elam, Ph.D.

William Gibson, Ph.D.

Mary-Margaret Hylton, Ph.D.

Darra Lyn Martin, Ph.D.

Judy Matthews, Ph.D.

Michael J. McGuire, Ph.D.

David Monson, Ph.D.

Kathleen Ringenbach, Ph.D.

Richard Sinacola, Ph.D.

Jeffrey Stone, Ph.D.

Debra Warner, Psy.D.

The mission of the department of psychology is to help students acquire a broad-based knowledge in the field of psychology in its historical and cultural contexts, both as an empirical science of human behavior and as a foundation for a professional career in human services.

Chapman University College offers a Master of Arts in psychology with two emphases designed to provide the student with the academic and professional training necessary for a career in counseling and human services and/or provide the foundation for further graduate study in psychology or one of the related disciplines.

Marriage and Family Therapy Emphasis

This emphasis is the primary practice-oriented option within the psychology master's programs. It provides a solid foundation for practice as a marriage and family therapist. This program meets the education requirements for licensure in California and Washington or certification in other states, and membership in the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists. This program includes a substantial experiential component in which the student works under the supervision of faculty in an approved counseling site. Students in this emphasis complete a minimum of 54 semester units.

Chapman University is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. The Master of Arts in Psychology, Marriage and Family Therapy program at Chapman University meets and exceeds the curriculum requirements set forth in the California Business and Professional Code sections 4980.37 and 4980.40 and has notified the Board of Behavioral Science (the licensing board for marriage and family therapists in California) of our curriculum as required by law.

Counseling Emphasis

(Offered only at Chapman University College campuses in Washington)

The courses in the counseling emphasis provide a solid foundation for the student wishing to pursue a career in psychologically oriented counseling at the pre-doctoral level. The counseling emphasis requires a minimum of 48 semester units.

Admission to the Program

Admission to the program may be achieved by the completion of the following requirements:

1. Satisfactorily fulfill graduate admission requirements for University College as stated in the catalog. (See the Graduate Admissions section.)
2. If the student uses Option Two in the CUC graduate admissions requirements, submit passing scores from one of the following standard admission tests:

   Graduate Record Examination (GRE): achieve a minimum score of 900 on the combined scores of the verbal and quantitative subsections of the GRE or score at or above the 60th percentile on the Graduate Subject Test in psychology.

   Miller's Analogies Test (MAT): achieve a scaled score of 400.

3. Admission is also contingent on the quality of the autobiography and letters of reference. The student should submit an autobiography, which must be at least three to four typed pages in length and conform to the following guidelines:
   1. Include childhood, family and (if applicable) marital data and values derived from these experiences in relation to your choice of a career in marriage and family therapy/counseling.
   2. Incorporate two or three relevant experiences that have helped to shape your development and personality; and
   3. Discuss how you arrived at this point in your career development. Include any relevant professional experience.
4. Submit three recommendation forms from persons actively engaged in teaching and/or the practice of counseling, who are in a position to evaluate the applicant's academic and personal qualifications for the program.
5. Two applications are required; one for Graduate Admissions and one for the Department of Psychology. Students should send both application forms to their local University College campus. The application must be complete, including both the autobiography and letters of recommendation.
6. The student must meet with the faculty/program manager to review admissions documents and for admissions interview.
7. Note that licensing and certification agencies typically have regulations denying licensure or certification to anyone who has been convicted of a felony, most especially one which reflects an offense which would be a cause for disciplinary action if committed by one already holding the license. Please contact the licensing board in the state you plan to license for clarification of how a conviction may affect licensing. This clarification should be done before the application for admission to this program is submitted.
8. Students must have regular admission status prior to enrollment in graduate coursework. Students from the Washington Campuses are permitted to enroll in up to 12 credits of graduate coursework prior to receiving regular admission.

Graduate Prerequisites

The applicant must possess a bachelor's degree in psychology from an accredited college or university, or must present evidence of satisfactory academic background in:

1. Abnormal psychology (PSYU 328);
2. Child psychology (PSYU 323) or adolescent psychology (PSYU 324) or developmental psychology or lifespan;
3. Cognitive psychology (PSYU 317) or physiological psychology (PSYU 333);
4. Personality theory (PSYU 322);
5. Statistics (PSYU 203) or research methods (PSYU 304) or psychological measurement (PSYU 432).

All prerequisites must be met within one year of the student's regular admission status. Students cannot continue graduate work if the prerequisite requirements are not met within one year of their regular admission date. Prerequisite requirements can be met by either completing an undergraduate course in the content area from an accredited college or university, or earning a grade of "C" or better on a challenge exam. The challenge exams are offered in all six course areas at each local campus. Students must meet with the psychology faculty/advisor to outline a plan to meet the prerequisite requirements. Students are strongly urged to concentrate on prerequisites early in their program.

Advisement

Students are required to meet with the psychology faculty/advisor to discuss and clarify any questions about the proposed program and career prior to beginning the program. The student is also required to contact the faculty or program manager before registering for classes each session.

Advancement to Candidacy

During the session before the student plans to begin the first practicum, he/she must apply to the University College campus for advancement to candidacy. For the MFT emphasis, the following courses must be successfully completed (30 units): PSYU 501, 541, 556, 561, 565, 570, 575, 578, 586, and 581. For the Masters in Counseling, the following courses must be successfully completed (30 units): PSYU 501, 508, 511, 541, 570, 575, 578, 581, 586, and 652. A student must receive a "C" or better in a course for successful completion. At the advancement to candidacy interview, the student will meet with a faculty committee. The committee determines whether the student is prepared to be formally declared a candidate for a master of arts degree and be permitted to proceed into the practicum phase of the program.

At the time of the advancement interview, each student will be provided with a vignette for which the student will discuss a diagnosis and a tentative treatment plan, which will be the foundation of the advancement interview. The treatment plan will address identification of problems, proposed interventions, ethical issues, prognosis, further assessment and any "red flags" that may need further attention. An Advancement to Candidacy Study Guide is available to students.

Specifically, the functions of the advancement to candidacy committee are:

1. To review the student's academic status with respect to fulfilling required coursework in a satisfactory manner.
2. To provide information and counsel to the student in matters pertaining to his or her academic progress and plans.
3. To ascertain whether significant gaps exist in the student's knowledge and/or understanding of the subject field.
4. To apprise the student of any academic, professional or ethical aspects of the counseling program that may be a source of concern.
5. To assess the student's academic and psychological readiness, and personal suitability to engage in the profession of marriage and family therapy/counseling; and
6. To assess the student's readiness to begin the practicum. Successful advancement to candidacy is a prerequisite to enrolling in practicum.

Ethical and Professional Standards

Since the psychology graduate programs involve preparing people to work in the helping profession, the department assumes the responsibility for reasonably assuring that individuals who complete the program are not only academically competent but are aware of and capable of functioning within the established ethical and professional standards of the profession. A student in the psychology graduate programs must adhere to the ethical standards propounded by the relevant professional associations and should understand that he/she is being trained in a program which is not only academic, but also professional in nature.

The university has both the right and obligation to evaluate continually, and, if necessary, to terminate the student's participation in the master's program at any point for ethical violations and/or personal unsuitability for the profession. This philosophy is consistent with that of most psychology graduate programs which are engaged in explicitly or implicitly certifying that their graduates are competent to engage in the practice of professional counseling or psychotherapy.

It is understood, therefore, that students will be required to maintain appropriate professional, ethical and personal standards in order to continue in the program. Faculty will assess each student's status in meeting these standards on a continuing basis, and students experiencing difficulties will be advised as to appropriate means of remediating such difficulties by the faculty/advisor. If resolution cannot be achieved, the student will be terminated from the program. Compendia of the ethical standards are available from the American Psychological Association, the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy and the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists.

Personal Therapy

The psychology faculty believes that participating as a client in individual or group therapy is an important educational aspect of a program to prepare mental health professionals. Experience as a client in personal therapy is, therefore, one of the program requirements for the marriage and family therapy emphasis. The requirement is met through a minimum of 20 sessions of individual or group therapy conducted by a licensed marriage and family therapist, licensed clinical social worker, licensed clinical psychologist, board-eligible psychiatrist, or mental health worker of equivalent status. Verification will consist of a letter by the therapist (on the therapist's letterhead) or an official psychotherapy form from the state in which the student is registered stating the time spent in therapy, sent directly to the University College campus. This verification must be on file at the time the student applies for graduation.

Additional personal therapy may at any time be recommended by the department for the student to continue in the program. Commencement of therapy or recommendation of additional therapy may be a stipulation or condition at the time of a student's screening or advancement to candidacy interview. The student has the right to choose his/her own therapist for this requirement within the limitations of ethical standards prohibiting dual relationships and the criteria of the paragraph above.

Practicum

The practicum site agreement must be completed prior to starting any trainee hours at the approved site. The student should obtain the required forms from the faculty/advisor at the local campus well in advance of the deadline to enable him/her to fully comply with the requirements for the practicum and to deal with any special problems or circumstances that may affect the acceptability of the proposed practicum. Student must advance to candidacy prior to registration for practicum.

Comprehensive Exam

After the student has successfully advanced to candidacy, he/she is eligible to take the comprehensive exam. Application deadlines are published in the catalog and posted at each local campus. Comprehensive exams will be administered four times per year. Application forms are available at University College campuses.

The comprehensive examination will cover six primary program content areas presented in an essay format. The six content areas for MFT students are:

1. Assessment and Treatment of Substance Abuse;
2. Ethical and Legal Issues;
3. Assessment and Treatment of Sexual Disorders;
4. Advanced Psychopathology and Individual Counseling;
5. Child/Adolescent Psychopathology;
6. Family Therapy, including Human Diversity.

Counseling Psychology students (Washington) are responsible for the following content area:

1. Advanced Psychopathology and Individual Counseling;
2. Ethical and legal Issues;
3. Assessment and Treatment of Substance Abuse;
4. Assessment and Treatment of Sexual Disorders.

Students must receive a pass on all sections of the exam in order to pass the exam as a whole. If a student does not receive a pass on a specific section, the student can retake that section of the exam. A Comprehensive Examination Study Guide is available at each University College campus. The guide contains information about the examination, study preparation ideas, and sample vignettes and questions.

Specific Requirements for the Master of Arts in Psychology

Counseling emphasis