4+1 B.A./M.A. Program

Overview | Admissions | Application | Curriculum | Senior Year Evaluation | Advising | Financial Aid | Contact

Overview

The Department of Psychology offers Vanderbilt students the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree (B.A.) and a master’s degree (M.A.) in just five years of study.

The most important preparation for graduate school in psychology, neuroscience, and related areas is significant research experience. The Psychology 4+1 B.A./M.A. program provides an opportunity for students to obtain the research experience and training necessary for admission to top graduate programs. It also offers opportunities for additional research experience for undergraduates already enrolled in the Psychology Honors Program or who are working as research assistants in laboratories. In addition, it offers a way for students earning an undergraduate degree in a discipline other than psychology or neuroscience to be better prepared for doctoral work in these disciplines. Finally, a master’s degree can be a significant asset for employment in the public or private sector.

This is a highly selective program with an intensive research emphasis. It is primarily intended for students who are considering a Ph.D. or M.D./Ph.D. in a research-oriented graduate program in psychology, psychiatry, cognitive science, neuroscience, learning science, and related disciplines. The program could also be appropriate for students interested in research-oriented programs in marketing and managerial decision making offered by some business schools or research-oriented programs in law and human behavior offered by some law schools. This program offers no training in clinical practice, although it would be excellent preparation for students interested in doctoral programs in clinical science that follow what is called a scientist-practitioner model.

In the 4+1 program, students earn a B.A. degree at the end of their senior year, graduating along with the rest of their class. They then earn a M.A. after their fifth year, based on graduate work completed in the senior year and the fifth year.

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Admissions

Although some students will earn both their B.A. and M.A. in psychology, the program is open to students earning their undergraduate degree in any Vanderbilt program. In particular, an M.A. in psychology could be appropriate for students earning a degree in neuroscience, biological sciences, or computer science who wish to pursue advanced graduate study in psychology, neuroscience, cognitive science, or learning science. We advise students earning their undergraduate degree in a program other than psychology or neuroscience to earn an undergraduate minor in psychology.

This program emphasizes research carried out under the mentorship of one faculty member. Admission to the program requires that a faculty member agree to serve as a mentor. The designated faculty mentor must write one of the two required letters of recommendation. Students interested in the 4+1 program should begin discussions with potential faculty members in the first semester of their junior year. Note that faculty members have no obligation to mentor students in an M.A. research project. It is the responsibility of the student to identify a suitable faculty member who is willing to mentor him or her.

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Application

Students should have at least a cumulative 3.3 GPA to be competitive for admission to the program. The program is only open to current Vanderbilt University undergraduates.

Applicants should first identify a faculty member who agrees to serves as their mentor. Once they identify a faculty mentor, the student should submit their application directly to the Department of Psychology.

Application Components

• A statement of purpose. This statement should discuss anything that might be relevant to an admissions decision. This is your opportunity to talk to the admissions committee directly. Ideally, your statement should address why you wish to be admitted to the program, your preparation for the program, a summary of the research project you might work on, and your future plans after receiving an M.A. degree. This is also your opportunity to discuss anything else you might wish the admissions committee to know about you, but please keep your statement relevant to an admissions decision to a research program. This statement should be no more than two single-spaced pages.
• Two letters of recommendation. These letters must come from Vanderbilt faculty. One letter must be from the faculty member who has agreed to be your faculty mentor. These letters can be emailed directly by the letter writers to the program, or they can be included along with your application.
• A current Vanderbilt transcript. Only a Vanderbilt transcript is needed; there is no need to include transcripts from high school.
• The Petition to Apply to the Combined B.A./M.A. (4+1) Degree Program. This petition will be signed off by the DGS if the student is admitted into the 4+1 program.

See https://as.vanderbilt.edu/academics/fourplusone.php for more general information about 4+1 programs at Vanderbilt University.

Deadline

Applications should be submitted by the beginning of the second semester of the junior year.

Application Submission

Erin Duran, Program Coordinator Combined B.A./M.A. Program

Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University

erin.duran@vanderbilt.edu

Admission Decisions

Admission decisions are made by the Graduate Studies Committee in the Department of Psychology. The committee will carefully review the transcript to determine whether the applicant is likely to succeed in graduate-level coursework. The committee will pay special attention to the statement of purpose and letters of recommendation in making its admission decision.

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Curriculum

Students in this program must satisfy all requirements for both the B.A. degree and the M.A. degree. There is no double-counting of credits. The principal distinction between this program and a standard M.A. graduate program is two-fold: (1) students are allowed to take graduate-level courses while completing the bachelor’s degree; and (2) students are thereby enabled to complete both degrees within five years. It is the student’s responsibility to make sure that they fulfill their undergraduate requirement for graduation at the same time that they are meeting the requirements of the M.A. degree.

In order to complete the program in five years, students should be in a position to complete nearly all of the requirements for their undergraduate degree by the end of the first semester of the senior year. As noted in the suggested curriculum below, students will typically take 1 graduate and 4 undergraduate courses in each semester of their senior year.

M.A. Requirements

• 30 hours of graduate credit. Students must take 6 hours of graduate courses in their senior year, meaning that 24 hours must be completed in the fifth year of the program (12 hours per semester). Because 4+1 students are not admitted to the Graduate School until the end of their senior year, they should fill out the Request to Enroll in Graduate Courses form to register for graduate level courses during their senior year.
• Statistics (6 hours). Students should take the 2-course statistics sequence in their senior year. In the fall, PSY-GS 8661-P (Statistical Inference) is required. In the spring, either PSY-GS 6104-A&S (Quantitative Methods and Experimental Design) or PSY-GS-8864-P (Analysis and Design of Experiments) is normally required. Note that PSY 2100 Quantitative Methods, or an equivalent course, is a prerequisite for the first semester graduate statistics course.
• Other coursework (18 hours). In addition to the two-semester (6 hours) statistics sequence, students must take six additional courses (18 hours) offered by the graduate program in Psychological Sciences (i.e., any graduate-level course offered by the Department of Psychology or the Department of Psychology and Human Development, or any courses listed in Appendix A of the Graduate Student Handbook for Psychological Science). The particular courses the student takes must be approved by the student’s faculty mentor. These 18 hours must be regular didactic courses (not research hours).
• Research Colloquium (0 hours per semester for four semesters). Every semester, students are required to regularly attend one of the research colloquia that meet each week (registering for 0 hours per semester). These colloquium series are an important forum for faculty, advanced graduate students, and invited guests to present their recent research. The colloquia are PSY 8557 Seminar in Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience, PSY 8758 Seminar in Neuroscience, and PSY 8360 Seminar in Clinical Science. The student’s faculty mentor will determine which colloquium series is most appropriate for the student to attend.
• Research (6 hours). This is a research-intensive master’s program. Students will begin a research project in their senior year and register for 3 hours of undergraduate research (PSY 3840 or PSY 4998/4999) per semester at that time. Students will register for 3 hours of graduate research (PSY 7999) per semester in their fifth year.
• Summer residency. Students are strongly encouraged to stay at Vanderbilt over the summer between the senior year and fifth year to continue their research project. Summer is a time when faculty and graduate students can devote a significant amount of time to their research.
• Master’s thesis. The culmination of the master’s research project is a written Master’s Thesis. The expectations for the thesis will be established by the student’s faculty mentor with oversight by the Director of Graduate Studies. A thesis proposal should be submitted to the faculty mentor and one other member of the faculty in the Department of Psychology for approval.
• Master’s defense. The thesis will be orally defended in front of a two-person committee consisting of the student’s faculty mentor and one other faculty member in the Department of Psychology.

Typical Curriculum

Note: Students from outside of psychology or neuroscience must enroll in at least one advanced-level undergraduate course offered by the Department of Psychology each semester during their senior year. In particular, non-psychology majors must enroll in PSY 2150 (Research Methods) unless they have taken an equivalent course in another major. These courses count toward the undergraduate degree.

Summer Residency (between 4th and 5th years)

Student continues his or her research project. By the end of the summer, the student should submit the thesis proposal to the mentor and one additional faculty.

Master’s Thesis and Oral Defense

The student must submit their thesis to the faculty mentor and one additional faculty member. The student then defends that thesis orally in front of this committee of two faculty members for evaluation. The thesis and oral defense must be completed before April 1 in order to graduate in May.

Senior Year Evaluation and Graduate School Application

Students enrolled in the program will be evaluated by their faculty mentor and the Director of Graduate Studies in the second semester of the senior year. This evaluation will be based on progress and engagement in their research project. In addition, students must maintain at least a 3.00 GPA in program courses.

Students who are permitted to continue will then complete an application to the Graduate School by the end of the senior year in order to be promoted to graduate student status for the beginning of the fifth year of study. Applications can be completed at https://apply.vanderbilt.edu/apply/. This application procedure is largely a formality provided the student is in good standing. Note that the student only needs two letters of recommendation (which they should already have) for completing the Graduate School application, not three (a dummy name can be entered for the third recommender), and there is no need for GRE scores. The student must inform the Program Coordinator and the Director of Graduate Studies when the application is completed.

Students who will not be permitted to continue to the fifth year will graduate at the end of their senior year, just as they would have if they had not applied to the program.

Once admitted to the Graduate School, the student should check the Vanderbilt Graduate Handbook about the requirements and dates for graduation. Notably, the student must submit the Notification of Intent to Graduate form (which must be signed by the DGS) ahead of the graduation date.

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Advising

Prospective students earning an undergraduate degree in psychology can discuss the program with their major advisor. Students from outside of psychology with general question about the program should contact the Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Psychology.

Primary advising for students enrolled in this program or applying to the program will be the responsibility of the student’s faculty mentor. A faculty member in the Department of Psychology must serve as the advisor. Under special circumstances, a faculty member in the Department of Psychology and Human Development in Peabody College may also serve as the advisor.

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Financial Aid

There are no stipends or tuition waivers that come with acceptance in the 4+1 program. Students who are receiving scholarships or other forms of financial aid as a Vanderbilt undergraduate are advised that such aid applies in most cases only toward the completion of the bachelor’s degree or the first four years of their studies (which may include taking some graduate courses during their senior year). Thus, students wishing to pursue the 4+1 degree may want to seek support for their fifth year of study through student loans and other financial aid.

A limited amount of scholarship funds may be available from the university in support of a small number of 4+1 students in their fifth year of study. Any student accepted into this program who wishes to be considered should consult John McLean, Dean of Graduate Education and Research in the College of Arts and Science.

On rare occasions, the Department of Psychology may have a limited amount of scholarship funds that can support particularly exceptional students with significant financial need. Any student accepted into this program who wishes to be considered should consult the Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Psychology for details.

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Contact

Erin Duran
Program Coordinator, Department of Psychology
301 Wilson Hall
erin.duran@vanderbilt.edu

René Marois, Ph.D.
Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Psychology
530 Wilson Hall
rene.marois@vanderbilt.edu

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