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online psychology master's degree

Master of Science in Psychology (Direct Assessment)

Start your online psychology master's degree

Reach your career goals with a direct-assessment master's in psychology that you can earn faster – and for less. Learn cognitive and affective processes that drive human experience and behavior in various settings and industries. Gain skills in critical thinking and problem solving. Get equipped to apply research methods behavior evaluation and theoretical principles towards a career that helps others.

What are Direct Assessment Programs?

Ignite Your Passion

Start when you're ready

Courses

Browse courses for your direct assessment psychology degree

Education should hold practical value. That’s why our courses meet rigorous academic standards and provide you with skills and knowledge immediately applicable to your career.

Skills-aligned program icon

Look for this icon to see which skills you’ll learn in a course.

Requirements: 36 credits

In a competency-based program, you earn competency units by demonstrating your knowledge of a core skill, or competency. Since there are 36 units in this program, one competency equals one unit.

12 Core Courses

Completion of these courses should provide the confidence and skills needed in this field.

2, 3 or 4 courses at a time

12 weeks per course

Program Purpose Statement

The Master of Science in Psychology is an educational degree program that provides a foundation of knowledge in the field of psychology. This program does not prepare students for any type of professional certification or licensure as a psychologist.

Schedule

Your academic counselor will help schedule your courses for a Master of Science in Psychology (Direct Assessment).

Skills-aligned program icon

Earn career-relevant skills in weeks – not years.

Learning shouldn’t take years to put into practice. That’s why we’re empowering you to build career-relevant skills with every course.

We’ve worked with labor market researchers like Lightcast to find in-demand skills for occupations and mapped those to our related associate, bachelor’s and master’s degree programs.

Skills-aligned program icon

Earn career-relevant skills in weeks – not years.

Learning shouldn’t take years to put into practice. That’s why we’re empowering you to build career-relevant skills with every course.

We’ve worked with labor market researchers like Lightcast to find in-demand skills for occupations and mapped those to our related associate, bachelor’s and master’s degree programs.

Tuition

Affordable, fixed tuition

Keep the same fixed, affordable tuition from start to finish of your degree program, even if it takes longer than you planned. That’s our promise: no matter what surprises life brings, you can count on us. That's your Tuition Guarantee.

Tuition Guarantee

Lock-in Tuition

$2,749

Per 12-week term

Master of Psychology Direct Assessment

Duration
Duration
Duration
Depends on how many courses you take each term — the more courses you take, the faster you could complete your degree
Pace
Pace
Pace
Choose either 2, 3 or 4 courses every 12-week term. During the term, you can focus on one at a time or work on courses concurrently
Learning style
Learning style
Learning style
Self-paced, flexible learning within the term with faculty guidance to foster learning and prepare for competency assessments
Requirements
Requirements
Requirements
  • An undergraduate degree or higher
  • 3 years of work experience within the past ten years
  • A cumulative GPA of 2.5
Cost
Cost
Cost
$2,749 per 12-week term

To earn your master’s degree in less than a year for under $11K, you need to take a minimum of 3 courses per term. Your time to complete and cost will vary depending on how fast or slow you move through the content.

COA Components Grad Direct Assessment (non-licensure)
Tuition and Fees¹
Tuition and Fees¹
Tuition and Fees¹
$10,996
Books, course materials, supplies and equipment
Books, course materials, supplies and equipment
Books, course materials, supplies and equipment
$60
Transportation
Transportation
Transportation
$1,632
Miscellaneous personal expenses
Miscellaneous personal expenses
Miscellaneous personal expenses
$660
Living Expenses²
Living Expenses²
Living Expenses²
     Food
     Food
     Food
$3,180
     Housing³
     Housing³
     Housing³
$6,144
Federal student loan fees
Federal student loan fees
Federal student loan fees
$108
Dependent care expenses
Dependent care expenses
Dependent care expenses
$0
Disability related expenses
Disability related expenses
Disability related expenses
$0
Total COA
Total COA
Total COA
$22,780

1The tuition component is based on a per credit weighted average for the credential level across the entire University.

2The University allows the same living expense amounts for students in all living arrangements and dependency statuses.

3The living expense component for students receiving Military Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) only includes an allowance for food.

Careers & Outcomes

What can you do with a Master's in Psychology degree?

Discover where your degree might take you and make informed choices about your future.

An MSP can prepare you to be a:

  • Psychology Instructor
  • Compliance Manager
  • Regulatory Affairs Manager

Top skills learned in this program:

  • Psychology

  • Ethical and social responsibility

  • Communication

  • Scientific mindedness

Ready to get started?

Start your application for free or request additional information.

What you’ll learn

When you earn your online master’s in psychology, you’ll be equipped with a concrete set of skills you can apply on the job. Topics covered in this degree include:

  • Integrate psychological principles and practice in the context of human interactions
  • Assess the implications of psychological research on the human experience         
  • Evaluate professional considerations related to ethics and diversity
  • Synthesize appropriate tactics for personal and professional communication in psychology

8% Growth

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, job growth for management occupations is projected to be faster than average between 2021 and 2031.

The BLS Projected Growth for 2021-2031 is published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This data reflects the BLS’ projections of national (not local) conditions. These data points are not specific to University of Phoenix students or graduates.

Admissions

Apply for free – no application fee, no obligation.

Starting your degree is a big decision — and we want you to feel great about it. That’s why we remove obstacles from your application.

  • No cost to request transcripts
  • No GMAT
  • No essay required

Receive highly rated 1-on-1 support

You’ll have a support team of real people you can lean on to encourage your success as a student. Start a conversation about your future with one of our enrollment representatives today.

Gabriel G., Enrollment Representative

Call or chat with us 7 days a week.

G. Galindo - Enrollment Representative

Gabriel G., Enrollment Rep

Receive highly rated 1-on-1 support

You’ll have a support team of real people you can lean on to encourage your success as a student. Start a conversation about your future with one of our enrollment representatives today.

Call us at 844-937-8679 or chat with us 7 days a week.

Student Experience

An education that fits your busy life

Balancing family, work and school

Work toward your degree without giving up what matters most. Start your degree year-round and take one class at a time.

Online learning

Enroll in online classes and attend class whenever it fits your life, day or night.

Around-the-clock support and resources

You have a support team available up to 20 hours a day, 5 days a week. 

Phoenix provides support and resources for busy students

Faculty Spotlight

Professionals dedicated to you

Your success is a top priority for our deans and faculty members. They bring an average of 26+ years of experience and hands-on perspective to the classroom, and help bridge the gap between academics and industry knowledge.

Doris Savron

As a faculty member, I'm on your team. I'm your coach and your cheerleader.

Doris Savron
Vice Provost of Colleges, University of Phoenix

Accreditation

Count on the quality of your education

University of Phoenix has been continually accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), hlcommission.org, since 1978.

This program is not eligible for federal financial aid.

While widely available, not all programs are available to residents of all states. Please check with a University Enrollment Representative.