Apr 25, 2024

2018-2020 Graduate School Catalog

2018-2020 Graduate School Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

MS Psychometrics, Program Information

General Requirements

Candidates for the M.S. degree in Psychometrics must complete a minimum of thirty (30) credit hours and submit an acceptably written thesis.

Program Requirements

M. S. (30 credit hours):

6 credit hours from the Foundational or Core Course
6 credit hours from Measurement and Assessment (Test Construction/Development)
9 credit hours from Statistics
6 credit hours in Electives
3 credit hours Thesis (Empirical Research Project)

M.S. Applicants Wishing to Matriculate into the Doctoral Program in Psychometrics

Students who initially applied to the M.S. program and successfully complete the M.S., may, with the approval of the department chair and program coordinator, enroll in the doctoral program by completing the following:

Online application for the doctoral program (new GRE scores and letters of recommendation are not required).
Brief personal statement regarding continuation of graduate studies.
Request to the Registar to submit the student’s official M.S. transcript to the School of Graduate Studies.

Program Faculty

Department Chair
Jocelyn Turner-Musa, Ph.D.
Chairperson, Department of Psychology

Program Coordinator
R. Trent Haines, Ph.D.
Graduate Program Coordinator
Jenkins Behavioral and Social Sciences Center, Room 434
Tel: (443) 885-3291
Email: trent.haines@morgan.edu

Program Faculty
R. Trent Haines, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Carrol S. Perrino, Ph.D.
Professor

Program Description

The Masters of Science in Psychometrics is designed to provide training for individuals within the educational, psychological, and mathematics communities (e.g. teachers, administrators, staff members, and policy makers) to assist them in effectively addressing issues related to the implementation of testing, assessment, and evaluations. One of the cornerstones of the program is training and preparing students in statistics and data analyses. Psychological themes involving learning, cognitive development, human development, resilience and student achievement gaps, literacy, school violence and prevention, and psychological and mental health are also considered.

Program Objectives

The Master’s program in Psychometrics is designed to develop scholars who possess statistical and analytical capabilities and acquire the quantitative and methodological skills (e.g., measurement theory, statistical analysis, research design, and evaluation) needed to construct valid measurements and assessments of what and how individuals learn. A secondary objective of the program is to develop a new cadre of practitioners who have the analytical skills and cultural competence to effectively develop innovative interventions that address issues within the discipline itself as well as inform policies that influence minority or special populations (e.g. African Americans) and those within urban environments.

General Requirements

Candidates for the M.S. degree in Psychometrics must complete a minimum of thirty (30) credit hours and submit an acceptably written thesis.

All courses in which grades of “C” or “F” have been earned must be retaken.

Admission

To be eligible for admission to the Master’s Program in Psychometrics, an applicant must:

Have earned a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university, preferably in psychology, mathematics, test and measurements, or any related area.
Possess an undergraduate cumulative grade point average G.P.A. of 3.0 or better to be considered for unconditional admission. Students who possess a cumulative undergraduate G.P.A. of between a 2.5 and less than 3.0 may be considered for conditional admission. Post-bachelor’s undergraduate credits will not be used to enhance G.P.A. requirements for admission to graduate study.
Have satisfactorily completed certain minimum prerequisite coursework in general or educational psychology, statistics, research design and methodology.
Submit an application for admission together with copies of transcripts from all graduate and undergraduate institutions attended.
Provide test scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Test scores may not be more than 5 years old prior to the date of application.
Submit three academic letters of recommendation.
Submit a three-page typed essay regarding the candidate’s personal academic and professional plans and the reasons for selecting Morgan State University and the Graduate Program in Psychometrics.
Submit a writing sample or original research paper from your major.
Complete a successful interview with the members of the Psychometrics Admissions Committee.
Students for whom instruction has not been in English must submit results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).

Meeting the minimum eligibility requirements and submitting all the required documents does not guarantee that an offer of admission will be made to the applicant. The decision of the Program Admissions Committee involves a review and analysis of all the elements of the application as well as the availability of positions in the program. The committee then recommends to the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies that an offer admission should be made based on that review.

Candidacy

Students achieve Master’s candidacy by successfully completing all required courses. Once a student achieves candidacy, enrollment in any course other than PSYM 797 is generally prohibited. Students seeking additional skills, knowledge, or a certificate must seek pre-approval through the program as well as the School of Graduate Studies. The request must be accompanied with a revised Plan of Study.

Thesis Completion

Psychometrics master’s students are guided by a Major Professor and an additional Psychometrics faculty member who constitute the master’s Advisory Committee throughout the student’s graduate studies. The master’s Advisory Committee approves the program of study, the internship, the thesis proposal, the written thesis, and the final oral examination. Both members of the advisory committee must approve these matters in a formal meeting.

The student must present a written proposal to the Advisory Committee for approval before beginning the study. A proposal meeting will be held at least one term prior to the thesis defense. The thesis must be defended by the student at a final oral examination with the Advisory Committee.

Additional Requirements

Additional requirements and guidance can be found in the Graduate Program in Psychometrics Student Handbook.

Program Course Requirements

MS Psychometrics (30 credit hours):

6 credit hours from the Foundational or Core Courses (PSYM 550 + one other course from listing)

PSYM 550: Principles and Methods of Research 3

And one of the following:

PSYM 500: The Biological Basis of Behavior 3

PSYM 501: Advanced Theories of Personality 3

PSYM 502: Learning and Cognition 3

PSYM 503: Human Development 3

PSYM 504: Social Psychology 3

6 credit hours from Measurement and Assessment

PSYM 530: Principles and Foundations of Measurement 3

PSYM 540: Psychometric Theory 3

9 credit hours from Statistics

PSYM 560: Principles and Foundations of Statistical Methods 3

PSYM 570: Applied Statistical Inference 3

PSYM 760: Multivariate Analysis 3

6 credit hours from Electives

PSYM 610: Test Construction 3

PSYM 740: Principles and Foundations of Item Response Theory 3

PSYM 899: Internship 3

3 credit hours from Thesis Defense

PSYM 797/799 Thesis Guidance / Thesis Defense 3/9*

Note

Upon achieving Master’s Candidacy, the student will continuously register in Fall and Spring terms for PSYM 797 (Thesis Guidance) until the Master’s Thesis is completed and submitted to the School of Graduate Studies for review. The course is used only when the curriculum is near completion, and the student is completing the research and writing of the thesis. The course registration maintains the student status as a matriculated, full-time student (student is registered for 3 credit hours and the system reports a full-time 9 credit hour load).

After the Intent to Defend the Master’s Thesis form has been accepted by the School of Graduate Studies, this course registration will be changed to PSYM 799 (Thesis Defense) for the given semester and count for 3 credit hours of curricular coursework (PSYM 799 will also count for 9 credit hours of load). Other courses cannot be substituted for PSYM 797 (Thesis Guidance). The only eligible grade for PSYM 797 (Thesis Guidance) is the grade of “S” and the only acceptable grade for PSYM 799 (Thesis Defense) is “P/F” (Pass/Fail).

Suggested Curriculum Sequence

Sample Plan of Study

The typical plan of study requires enrollment in a minimum of nine (9) credit hours per term to remain full-time. Not every course is offered every term, and the following plan of study is an illustration. At the initial conference with an advisor, a preliminary plan of study will be established, and this will be reported to the School of Graduate Studies (using the SGS Plan of Study Form) for placement in the student’s official file. At this time, any anticipated exceptions or anticipated transfer credits will be noted. An estimated time for completion of the thesis/dissertation must be included. Changes to the plan of study will be reported to the School of Graduate Studies. The student and the advisor will sign the form submitted to the School of Graduate Studies.

Year 1, First Semester (Fall, Year 1): 9 Credits

Year 1, Second Semester (Spring, Year 1) : 9 Credits

Year 2, Third Semester (Fall, Year 2): 9 Credits

Year 2, Fourth Semester (Spring, Year 2): 3 Credits

Note

Upon achieving Master’s Candidacy, the student will continuously register in Fall and Spring terms for PSYM797 (Thesis Guidance) until the Master’s Thesis is completed and submitted to the School of Graduate Studies for review. The course is used only when the curriculum is near completion, and the student is completing the research and writing of the thesis. The course registration maintains the student status as a matriculated, full-time student (student is registered for 3 credit hours and the system reports a full-time 9 credit hour load).