Mission

The mission of the graduate program in psychology at CSU San Marcos is to provide graduate education of the highest caliber to qualified students from the local community and beyond, leading to the Master of Arts (M.A.) degree.  Our objective is to prepare students for the following: continued study at the doctoral level; a variety of positions in business, industry, and the public sector; and/or academic careers at the two-year college level.  It is our belief that excellent graduate education is best accomplished in an atmosphere in which graduate students are treated collegially, and are closely mentored by the faculty.  We are committed to the study of psychology as a scientific enterprise, and our program will encourage the development of skills that are consonant with the scientific spirit of inquiry and the critical thinking, articulate verbal expression, quantitative reasoning, and healthy skepticism of graduate-level study. 

In keeping with the mission of CSU San Marcos, we offer our students a curriculum that includes opportunities to enhance professional development and to contribute to the community at large.  In addition, our program seeks to recognize the value of multicultural perspectives and to be sensitive to diversity concerns.

Our Master of Arts degree is designed to accommodate students with a wide range of goals.  The active research programs of our faculty, and our recognition of psychology as a scientific enterprise, provide graduate students with the intensive research training and course work in primary content areas that are central to preparation for more advanced graduate work.  Likewise, students who have aspirations for careers in community college teaching, community service, or business and industry, benefit from our program's emphasis on critical thinking, research methods, and advanced course work.  Individual career goals are served by allowing choice in the content of the thesis research and by providing a curriculum that provides options in course content areas.

Many students undertake graduate work in psychology in order to pursue careers in clinical psychology or psychological counseling.  Training specifically geared to those seeking licensure in Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) is not currently available within the CSU San Marcos program.  However, the program will prepare students to better compete for admission to doctoral programs in clinical or counseling psychology.  Students with interests in clinical or counseling psychology will find opportunities to pursue course work and thesis topics at CSU San Marcos that are related to their interests.