Degree Requirements: Bachelor's degree
Completion Time: 2-3 years
Earned Credits: 33-36
Our online Master’s in Psychology is guided by faculty, students will learn to understand, critically analyze, and conduct psychological research and apply their findings to a variety of fields. Although not required to complete their degree, students may choose to declare from the following specializations to best serve their professional interests:
- Consciousness, Spirituality, and Integrative Health
- Creativity, Innovation, and Leadership
- Existential, Humanistic, and Transpersonal Psychology
- Psychophysiology
- Generalist (An integration of all prior four specializations)
Students may customize their electives in the M.A. program, selecting from a wide range of options to expand their horizons and meet a broad range of future professional opportunities. If students declare one of the three specializations, their academic requirements will be specific to that focus area. Please see the requirements under each specialization for details.
Through its pedagogy grounded in humanistic thought, the Saybrook M.A. in Psychology program has the following program goals and program learning outcomes and competencies:
- Goal 1: Engage self and others in collaborative efforts to promote life-enhancing change, conscious awareness, and authentic and responsible living, individually and collectively.
- Goal 2: Develop scholars-practitioners who (a) use the depth and the breadth of scientific psychology, its history of thought and development, and its methodology in scholarship, practice, and education; (b) are engaged in reflective self-assessment and in reflective practice; and (c) use ethical reasoning, analytical skills, and quality assurance to contribute to the profession through scholarship, research, practice, and responsible action.
- Goal 3: Develop the attitudes and abilities essential for critical and creative thinking, for innovation, and for using scholarship to inform practice and practice to inform scholarship.
- Goal 4: Develop the ability to recognize, respect, and accommodate various individual and cultural differences in all aspects of professional work.
- Goal 5: Display self-awareness in relationships and a commitment to an empathic, compassionate dialogue that is constructivist, collaborative, authentic, and caring.
The online M.A. in Psychology program helps students develop professional skills from our experiential learning curriculum, empowering them to promote life-enhancing transformative change in individuals and community development programs. Graduates of this online Masters in Psychology program will be positioned to advance their existing careers, begin a new career path, or to continue their education in a Ph.D. in Psychology program. With a strong foundation in psychology, graduates may find work as researchers, teachers, consultants, mediators, and many other career paths.
Our M.A. in Psychology program online is intended for professionals who wish to pursue nonclinical careers or expand on their existing licenses. This program is not designed to prepare graduates to qualify for clinical licensure or certification.
More program information can be found in our academic catalog.
Residential Orientation (RO)
All new students in the online M.A. Psychology degree program begin their studies with our one-time, two-day Residential Orientation (RO). Residential Orientations are held two days ahead of the Residential Conference at the start of the fall and spring semesters in California. Attendance at the entire RO is an academic requirement.
At the RO, students become familiar with the Saybrook culture and academic and support services, including online resources, and the library research services and databases. The challenges of distance and peer learning are also discussed during this time. At the RO, students:
- Consult with the Psychology Department chair, specialization coordinators, and an academic adviser to organize their degree plan process.
- Develop a rationale for the scope and sequence of their proposed plan of study.
- Plan what consultation they will need from other faculty.
Residential Conference (RC)
Starting with the fall 2021-2022 academic year, all psychology students will be required to attend only the five-day fall RC each academic year. Although you may complete most of your courses through distance learning, all our psychology degree programs have residential requirements. Residential Conferences (RCs) are academic requirements, and their completion is important for your successful academic progress: they allow you to meet with faculty and co-learners in a stimulating and supportive face-to-face environment. Our RCs are an important part of your learning experience as they nurture intellectual and relational creativity, enrich the educational environment, and foster faculty and peer interactions. There are online M.A. Psychology courses being launched, workshops, independent learning activities, peer learning opportunities, community events, and other hands-on experiences intended to nurture professional development, skill building, and transformative change. All online masters in psychology students must be on-site on the registration day and remain in residence until the end of the last day of each required conference.
No academic credit is given for attendance at the RC. Students who attend a seminar at an RC and wish to study the topic further may, with the permission of the seminar instructor and department chair, register for an independent study course (ALL 8100) following the RC and receive 1 academic credit upon completion. Each course is individually designed and negotiated with the seminar instructor. Not all RC workshops, courses, and seminars are eligible for the follow-up independent study credit. Students will need to review their program plan to confirm the 1 credit independent study will satisfy degree requirements.
Online M.A. Psychology students are required to attend until formal enrollment in either master thesis or project.
Transfer Credit
Transfer credits based on equivalent graduate courses taken at another regionally accredited institution in the same or similar discipline where the student received a grade of B or better may be transferred and will reduce the number of course credits required to be completed at Saybrook. Allowable transfer credits must be suitable for transfer to the intended degree as determined by the registrar and the department chair. Transfer course credits do not affect the minimum number of credits required for the M.A. in Psychology online degree.
Transfer credit to be applied toward required electives may include up to 6 transfer credits completed during a graduate degree program from an accredited university, non-degree Saybrook certificate credits, Saybrook CE credits, or other non-degree credits taken at Saybrook University, within the last seven years.
Is the Master’s in Psychology 100% online?
Yes, the Master’s in Psychology degree is a completely virtual format aside from the Residential Conferences that take place at the beginning of the semester. This allows students worldwide to access our skilled professors, resources, and networking potential.
How long does the online Master’s in Psychology degree take to complete?
The expected length of the program is two to three years, depending on the option to attend full-time or part-time. The flexibility of this online M.A. in Psychology program allows for wider accessibility for students who are working and pursuing a degree at the same time.
Is the program flexible for students who are working?
Yes, Saybrook’s online Master’s in Psychology program offers a flexible timeline for completion. Choose from part-time or full-time course loads depending on your schedule. This program is ideal for students who are working while completing the degree since it is offered online in an asynchronous format.
Can I choose a specialization as part of my M.A. in Psychology online program?
Yes, the online Master’s in Psychology program offers options to specialize in Consciousness, Spirituality, and Integrative Health, Creativity, Innovation, and Leadership, Existential, Humanistic, and Transpersonal Psychology, Psychophysiology, or you can choose Generalist which is an integration of all prior specializations. Adding a minor will extend the total credits and duration of your program by approximately one to two semesters.