Introduction
The Graduate Field of Psychological Sciences and Human Development (PSYHD) includes faculty members from departments across the university including Psychology, Neurobiology and Behavior, Communication, and Philosophy. The dominant strengths of the PSYHD Field lie in four broadly defined areas: Cognition, Development, Neuroscience, and Social and Personality. The goal of the Field is to educate students to become researchers, scholars, and teachers who will contribute to the future of psychology as a scientific discipline in academic or other research-oriented settings.
Our program prepares students for research and teaching careers in academic life, work in government agencies, and careers in industry or other public and private sectors. We encourage you to explore the history of our M.A. and Ph.D. theses through the Cornell University Theses/Dissertations guide.
Please note that we do not offer training in clinical psychology, marriage counseling or family, therapy.
To enter the PSYHD Masters (M.A.) program, you must apply directly to the Cornell University Graduate School. You may also want to investigate the Cornell Graduate School site for additional information about applying.
Application portal opens on September 1st
Application portal closes on February 1st (11:59 pm EST)
Admission for the M.A. Program is only available in the Fall semester.
M.A. Program
We offer two M.A. Degrees:
•M.A. in Developmental Psychology
•M.A. in Human Development and Family Studies
Masters Graduate Student Handbook can be found here: downloadable PDF file
Both the M.A. in Human Development and Family Studies and the M.A. in Developmental Psychology are 12-month programs. The goal of the one-year master’s program is to provide an opportunity for qualified students to gain additional research experience and increase credentials for application to a Ph.D. or other advanced degree program where knowledge of Human Development may be helpful.
Student progress is supervised by a Special Committee comprised of two Psychological Sciences and Human Development graduate field faculty members. Because this is a two-semester program, students are accepted only when there are two faculty members available to mentor them. To see if there are faculty members whose research interests are compatible, students should review our faculty research interests. Prospective students for the M.A. program should then contact those faculty directly before applying.
Application requirements
- REQUIRED: Academic Statement of Purpose (ASOP)
- REQUIRED: Two letters of recommendation
- REQUIRED: Personal Statement
- REQUIRED: All minimum graduate school requirements
Currently, we neither require nor accept GRE scores in the application.
Contact our Graduate Field Administrator who oversees the M.A. Program (Marianne Arcangeli) with your questions or if you miss a deadline.
- Apply via the current Cornell University Graduate School application form.
- Neither the department nor individual faculty will be able to fund students (by providing tuition, insurance, or a teaching or research assistantship) during the one-year (12-month) M.A. degree program.
Successful completion of the M.A. Program requirements
- A total of 30 credit hours (15 in each semester) to include at least two formal, didactic courses in each semester. These courses must be instructional seminars, classic lecture courses, or other similar formal training courses (i.e., ‘didactic’). Graduate Research credit does not satisfy this requirement. The remaining credit hours should be devoted to either supplemental course work or research participation and students most often choose a combination of both. The specific courses, the type of research undertaken, and the content of the final thesis is decided jointly by the student and the chair of the Special Committee.
- A written empirical thesis which can include, but is not limited to, extending an empirical honor’s thesis written while being involved in a faculty member’s lab, conducting an empirical research project, or conducting an empirical evaluation of a program.
Potential Committee Members
These Psychological Sciences and Human Development Field members will be reviewing applications for the 2025-2026 academic year.
Contacts
Robert Sternberg, Director of Masters Studies
Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, Room G101
E-mail: rjs487@cornell.edu
Marianne Arcangeli, Graduate Field Assistant, Psychology
Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, Room G201B
E-mail: ma84@cornell.edu
Phone: 607-255-4661