Research social problems to transform communities

Find solutions to a wide array of social issues, from educational failure and chronic illness to substance abuse and violence. DePaul’s Community Psychology MA/PhD program will equip you with the skills and research methodologies necessary for a career as a researcher, educator, interventional specialist, consultant and program evaluator. The program emphasizes human diversity, specializing in research and intervention work with underserved communities.

The Community Psychology MA/PhD is a combined degree program. The MA is non-terminal and the program admits only students intending to earn the PhD. Classes are offered during the day on DePaul’s Lincoln Park Campus and the program can be completed in five years.

Get a closer look at what it’s like to be in the program. See our Program Highlights, Frequently Asked Questions, Program Faculty and Grad Student Bios.

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Immerse yourself in a diverse, urban environment

DePaul’s connections throughout Chicago allow you to make a real-world difference in traditionally underserved populations. You’ll have opportunities to work with Oxford House, Department of Children and Family Services and more than 50 community- and school-based mentoring organizations. You’ll also be able to work on one of the leading journals in community psychology—the Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community—which is housed here at DePaul.

Application Deadlines

Applications for fall 2022 admission are due December 5, 2021.

Admission Requirements

Submit an online application, GRE scores, transcripts, course history, letters of recommendation and a personal statement.

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Required Courses

For the MA portion of the program, you’ll take 12 classes and complete a master’s thesis. For the PhD portion, you’ll take seven classes and complete fieldwork projects and a dissertation.

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98%

of Community Psychology graduates were employed, continuing their education or pursuing other goals within six months of graduation.

 

$61k

The reported median salary for Community Psychology alumni was $61,000.

Faculty with innovative impact

Professors LaVome Robinson and Leonard Jason designed a personalized intervention program called Success over Stress to help Chicago teens navigate unique social and emotional challenges. The professors and their graduate students will have worked with about 350 Chicago Public Schools ninth-graders over the course of their NIH-backed five-year study of the program. Watch our faculty talk about their research labs, their approaches to mentoring students and program expectations in these videos.

“I loved my program of study at DePaul. It reflected a value system rooted in community work, and working to serve and empower underserved and vulnerable populations. I would tell future doctoral students to come ready to learn to understand the world and society in a much more nuanced way, to question assumptions, and be ready to engage in a critical reflection of society and oneself.”

April (PhD ’14)

Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Training Director at Mercy Hospital

Alumni Network

You’ll find DePaul psychology graduates working in a variety of careers and settings. Alumni work as leaders of nonprofits, consultants to corporations, and faculty and administrators at colleges and universities across the nation. In addition, you’ll be connected to a network of more than 201,000 DePaul alumni, most of whom live in the Chicago area.

Scholarships

Students admitted to the Community Psychology MA/PhD program are fully funded with tuition waivers and stipends and serve as research/teaching assistants. Learn more about scholarship opportunities available to you.

Community Psychology Admission Requirements

???Admission into DePaul's Community Psychology MA/PhD program is very competitive. We typically admit about three students per year, and these students are fully funded with tuition waivers and stipends and serve as research and teaching assistantships in return. The Community Program has a mentorship model, so fit with faculty interests is important; however students often have the opportunity to work closely with more than one faculty member. The Community Psychology MA is a non-terminal degree earned only by students who have been admitted to the PhD program. Students cannot be admitted for the MA program alone.

Please read through the general instructions before filling out the online application. When filling out the online application select the Psychology Graduate Programs application, not the College of Science and Health application.?

International Admission

Students educated outside the United States must present proof of English proficiency. The program requires a minimum TOEFL score of 96 on the TOEFL iBT, or a minimum IELTS score of 7.0, or a minimum Duolingo score of 125?.

For additional information for international students please visit our International Student Admission Process page.

Application Evaluation

Community faculty evaluate all application materials carefully and emphasizes the following criteria:

1. Completeness of Credentials: Faculty will only review complete applications submitted before the December 5 deadline. The review process begins shortly after this date, and interviews with a group of selected applicants will take place on campus in February. Applicants will be notified if they qualify for an interview. In-person interviews are strongly preferred; however, phone/Skype interviews can be arranged if necessary.

2. Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Scores and Grade Point Average (GPA): For students applying for fall 2022 admission, the GRE is optional. Students who do not submit a GRE will not be penalized. If you choose to submit a GRE score??, please submit your scores directly through ETS. A GPA of 3.5 or higher is advised. If an applicant is particularly strong in one area but not another, these criteria are not followed rigidly.

3.  Undergraduate Preparation. Students are expected to have had courses in statistics, psychological research methods, and other areas of psychology to permit advanced study in this field. The minimum requirement for admission is 32 quarter hours (24 semester hours) in psychology. Although not required, history & systems, social and community psychology, and math courses are viewed positively. In addition, applied and research experience will be an important consideration in the selection process. ? Download and fill out the Course History List form.

?4. Three Letters of Recommendation. Students should have at least 3 letters of recommendation. Selected recommenders are encouraged to address the applicant’s academic abilities, potential for conducting research, and ability to work with others.???

5. Personal Statement: No specific prompt is provided in order to allow applicants the freedom to express themselves as they deem appropriate. Applicants are encouraged to highlight their research interests and name faculty with whom they would like to work. A guideline of two to three pages is advised.

6. Match to the Program: As the DePaul Community program is highly specialized, the match of a student's career goals and experiences to the program objectives is also a significant consideration in the admission evaluation process.

7. Diversity. Community faculty encourage applications from students from marginalized and/or minoritized backgrounds (broadly defined). We are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in recruiting, training, and retaining our graduate students.

8. Disabled Students: Community faculty encourage applications from students with disabilities.

Degree Requirements

MA/PhD Degree Requirements

The Community Psychology MA/PhD is a combined degree. The MA is non-terminal and, therefore, only students intending to confer the PhD are admitted.

MA Course Requirements

The MA portion of the combined degree program requires a minimum of 48 quarter hours beyond the completion of a bachelor’s degree, including four quarter hours of thesis research.

Core Courses

Course	Title	Quarter Hours
PSY 492	PRINCIPLES OF CONSULTATION	4
PSY 493	ADVANCED COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY	4
PSY 520	PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN DIVERSITY	4
PSY 569	SEMINAR IN PROGRAM EVALUATION	4
PSY 590	THESIS RESEARCH SEMINAR (3 quarters)	0
PSY 568	SEMINAR IN PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION	4
or PSY 495	GRANT WRITING IN PSYCHOLOGY

Statistics and Methodology Courses

Course	Title	Quarter Hours
PSY 410	ADVANCED STATISTICS I	4
PSY 411	ADVANCED STATISTICS II	4
PSY 420	QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN	4
Select one of the following:		4
PSY 418	MULTIVARIATE STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
PSY 419	FACTOR ANALYSIS AND STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING
PSY 558	SEMINAR IN ADVANCED STATISTICS

Elective Courses

Two elective courses required. Electives can be any graduate-level psychology course, or any graduate-level non-psychology course, with permission from the faculty advisor or program director.

Research Course

Course	Title	Quarter Hours
PSY 597	MASTER'S THESIS RESEARCH	1-4

Master’s Thesis Research

Complete a thesis on a topic approved by the department. It is expected that the student's proposal for the master's thesis will be approved by November 15 of the second year in the program. The student's final thesis is due by February 1 of third year in program.

Master’s Thesis Examination

The examination may be, but is not necessarily limited to, a defense of the student’s thesis.

Doctoral Candidacy Examination (Comprehensive Examination or Project)

Although an applicant is accepted into the Community Psychology MA/PhD Program, formal acceptance and admission to doctoral candidacy depends upon the student's satisfactory progress in meeting the various demands of graduate education and professional training.

The student is expected to take doctoral comprehensive examinations in the area of community psychology in the spring of the third year in the program. These examinations cannot be taken until the student has successfully completed and defended the master's thesis. Another option is to conduct a comprehensive project rather than take an exam. The project involves the submission of an empirical paper, review paper, or grant application. The project proposal is due by May 1 of the third year (or within three months of completing the master’s thesis). The final comprehensive project is due by May 1 of the fourth year (or within one year of proposal acceptance).

Admission to Doctoral Candidacy

Formally given to the student with satisfactory coursework performance who has successfully completed the master’s thesis and passed the Doctoral Candidacy Examination; the candidate has no more than five years from this date to complete the PhD requirements or dismissal from the program will ensue.

Students denied candidacy will be required to withdraw from the program or withdraw after completion of the MA.

PhD Course Requirements

The PhD portion of the combined degree requires a minimum of 28 quarter hours beyond the completion of the master’s degree, including four quarter hours of dissertation research. The following requirements must be completed to confer the PhD. If a student meets the requirements for years 1-3 (72 course credits and 4 dissertation credits) and is able to graduate as early as at the end of the 3rd year, the remaining 0 credit courses are no longer required.

Core Courses

Course	Title	Quarter Hours
PSY 568	SEMINAR IN PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION	4
or PSY 495	GRANT WRITING IN PSYCHOLOGY
PSY 567	SPECIAL TOPICS IN COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY (Students may enroll in this course during their second or third year, prior to conferral of their MA)	4
PSY 585	FIELDWORK IN COMMUNITY SETTINGS (6 quarters)	0

Statistics and Methodology

Course	Title	Quarter Hours
Select one of the following courses, which must be different from the Stats and Methodology course completed for the MA requirements:		4
PSY 416	METHODS IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
PSY 418	MULTIVARIATE STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
PSY 419	FACTOR ANALYSIS AND STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING
PSY 450	PSYCHOLOGICAL MEASUREMENT
PSY 558	SEMINAR IN ADVANCED STATISTICS
GEO 441	GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS (GIS) FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Elective Courses

Two elective courses required to complete the minimum number of credit hours. Electives can be any graduate-level psychology course, or any graduate-level non-psychology course, with permission from the faculty advisor or program director.?

Additional Courses

Course	Title	Quarter Hours
PSY 565	PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SEMINAR (9 quarters)	0
PSY 550	SEMINAR IN TEACHING PSYCHOLOGY (9 quarters)	0
Select any four credit graduate psychology course.		4

Research Course

Course	Title	Quarter Hours
PSY 599	DOCTORAL DISSERTATION RESEARCH	1-4

Field Work and Practicum

All students develop two applied community-based fieldwork projects. They develop relationships with community organizations, design a project based on mutual interests, and receive individual and group supervision to implement the project they design. Metropolitan Chicago has a large population of community sites to draw upon as resources for assisting in placing students in practica and job-related sites.?

Dissertation

The student should form a dissertation committee and begin work on the dissertation proposal during the third or fourth year. The dissertation proposal should be accepted by November 15 of the fifth year. The final dissertation defense should be completed by May 1 of the sixth year in program.

Oral Examination

Student is to defend his or her dissertation and to show competence in the general field of psychology and in the area of specialization.

Time Limitation

• No more than four years between admission to the MA/PhD program and admission to doctoral candidacy.
• No less than eight months and no more than five years between admission to doctoral candidacy and the final doctoral oral examination; or dismissal from the program will ensue.

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