Kansas has a respected public higher education system that includes colleges and universities in every corner of the state. Add in private institutions, and the Sunflower State offers many more options for completing your graduate education.
Throughout the state, online master’s programs in psychology give Kansas students like you the opportunity to get an advanced education without commuting to campus. In fact, some of the popular programs identified below also provide degrees in different fields of psychology, including school psychology, educational psychology, industrial and organizational psychology, and mental health psychology.
If you’re unsure of where you’d like to get your online master’s degree or the concentration you wish to pursue, consult the guide below to help you make the best decision for your career goals!
Online Master’s in Psychology in Kansas
Listed below are some of the popular schools offering online psychology master’s degrees in Kansas:
- Fort Hays State University
- Emporia State University
- Kansas State University
- Avila University
- University of Arizona Global Campus
- Northwestern University
- Purdue Global
- National University
- Southern New Hampshire University
Fort Hays State University
Online School Psychology Master’s
The online School Psychology program at Fort Hays State University includes both a Master of Science and an Educational Specialist component. The MS portion of the program is 30 credits with a comprehensive examination. The EdS portion is 36 credits of coursework, a portfolio defense, and comprehensive examinations.
Don’t let the dual-degree setup scare you, though. Many students complete both degrees online in just three years. But, if you need additional time to complete your studies, you can opt for a four-year track to finish both degrees.
In either case, you’ll take part in a curriculum that explores many different components of school psychology. For example, you’ll take courses in Curriculum-Based Measurement and Methods in School Psychology that prepare you for developing appropriate activities for students that address mental health, academic, and career issues. You’ll also take courses like Behavior Therapy, which introduces you to the essential concepts of behaviorism and how you can employ those concepts to assist school-aged children in overcoming mental health issues.
Assuming you opt for the three-year track, the spring semester of your first year will include studies in the following courses:
- Advanced Learning and Motivation
- Professional Ethics in Psychology
- Inferential Statistics
These classes are followed by an Appraisal of Children course, which you’ll complete during the summer session.
The program’s second year offers studies in yet more areas of psychology. For example, you’ll take Developmental Psychology, which examines the various mental, emotional, social, and physical changes that occur throughout the lifespan. You’ll supplement what you learn in that class with a better understanding of childhood mental health disorders, which you’ll learn about in the Advanced Child Psychopathology course.
The third class during the year two fall semester is Observations in School Psychology, which requires you to complete in-school field hours, where you’ll shadow an experienced school psychologist.
Once you complete the courses discussed above, you’ll graduate with an MS in School Psychology. After that, you’ll immediately continue your studies with your first semester of EdS classes, which include the following:
- Transition in Special Education–Early Childhood to Adulthood
- Program Evaluation
- Theories of Exceptionalities
The Transition in Special Education requires you to complete fieldwork. Your field placement will be at an approved site that’s convenient to your location, so you won’t have to travel far to finish this requirement. During the field placement, you’ll get hands-on experience assisting an experienced school psychologist as they help special education students move from one grade to the next or from high school to post-secondary opportunities.
The EdS portion of this psychology degree continues with a Cultural Diversity class in the summer session, followed by three courses in the fall: Counseling for SEB Outcomes, Legal Issues in School, and Psychological Consultation in Schools. During the same semester, you’ll participate in a three-credit practicum to gain more field experience in school psychology. You’ll spend two days each week for the duration of the class in an approved school psychology setting and will also participate in weekly Zoom meetings with your classmates and professor.
In fact, the practicum component continues into the next semester. The only difference is that the second portion of the practicum is worth six credits rather than three. You are also required to complete a six-credit portfolio course, which is divided into two classes–one during the fall semester of the program’s third year and another during the spring semester of the third year.
The final aspect of this program is a 1,200-hour supervised internship. The internship takes your participation in a school psychology setting a step further than the practicum. Unlike in the practicum, the internship requires you to complete hundreds of hours of direct client contact time. This might be in the context of providing psychological services to a student, conducting psychological assessments, or working one-on-one with students to improve their academic abilities.
You must meet the following criteria to be considered for admission:
- Have a bachelor’s degree in education or psychology. Your degree must include 12 or more credits of coursework in psychology and one or more courses in research methods or statistics.
- Have a 3.0 cumulative undergraduate GPA.
- Submit official transcripts from every college or university you’ve attended.
- Submit a GRE general score (cannot be more than five years old). This requirement is waived if you have already completed a graduate degree in a related field, like education or counseling.
Emporia State University
Online Master of Science in Psychology
Emporia State’s Master of Science in Psychology includes a concentration in Educational Psychology that you can complete in just one year. With just 30 credits, this program is ideal if you want to get a master’s degree without spending a lot of time and money doing so.
The focus of this program is on how people learn. As such, you’ll explore learning theories, discuss how motivation plays into the learning process, and dive into cognitive psychology, to name a few. But your learning goes beyond simply understanding what these and other educational concepts are. Instead, you’ll gain the skills necessary to use what you’ve learned to enhance students’ abilities to learn as well.
For example, your studies of motivation might lead you to develop a set of strategies to motivate students to participate more fully in learning activities. You might use a token economy with a student who is extrinsically motivated to reward them for staying on task, asking their teacher questions, and working well with other students in the class.
As another example, your coursework in cognitive psychology will enlighten you as to how people process information. This might help you develop strategies for classroom teachers that assist students with different types of information processing. So, with your input, a teacher could devise activities for students who are visual learners, auditory learners, or tactile learners.
This program gives you the power to customize your degree, too. The elective component gives you the freedom to take classes that align with your career goals. So, let’s say you’re a high school math teacher working toward this degree. To make the degree more applicable to your profession, you can take graduate-level math courses and combine what you learn about math education with educational psychology to improve your classroom teaching.
As another example, let’s say you’re a high school English teacher who is also a football coach. By taking graduate-level coaching courses alongside your educational psychology classes, you’ll gain actionable skills that enable you to be a more effective coach, which can lead to improved performance on the field.
This degree isn’t just for teachers, though. The coursework you complete is widely applicable, including in sports and business. Whether you’re a college coach, a corporate trainer, a human resources specialist, or something in between, if your job requires you to teach and train others, this degree can help you level up your knowledge and skills.
Of course, since this is a fully online program with no campus visits required, you can learn from home with minimal impact on your current work schedule. Even though the coursework is remote, you’ll be supported every step of the way by experienced faculty who practice what they teach. You’ll also have opportunities to interact with your classmates in online activities.
You must meet the following requirements to apply:
- Have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university. At least 15 credits of coursework for your degree must be in psychology.
- Have a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher or a 3.25 GPA or higher in the last 60 credits of undergraduate coursework.
- Submit official transcripts from every college or university you’ve attended.
- Provide three letters of recommendation from references who can speak to your potential as a graduate student.
- Submit a statement of purpose in which you discuss your objectives while in this program.
Kansas State University
Online Master of Industrial and Organizational Psychology
The Master of Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Kansas State University is a 38-credit program that takes two to three years to complete. Your coursework and related experiences allow you to apply psychological principles in workplace settings to solve problems ranging from employee morale to productivity issues to talent procurement and retention.
Over the course of 38 credits, you’ll learn the intricacies of working as an industrial-organizational psychologist. Your studies begin with a required two-week on-campus experience in the summer term, during which you learn the fundamentals of industrial-organizational psychology. Additionally, this on-campus component enables you to work face-to-face with your professors and classmates, which is an invaluable experience for building collegiality and becoming fully invested in the cohort model.
From there, you’ll take either Organizational Psychology or Personnel Selection, while also completing an online practicum in Research in Industrial-Organizational Psychology. The following spring, you’ll have a similar choice to make between taking Performance Appraisal or Industrial Psychology Personnel Training. The spring semester also has a research practicum component, which helps you gain an understanding of IO psychology and how to use data to make informed decisions.
The program’s second year begins with another two-week seminar on campus in Manhattan, Kansas. This seminar focuses on professional problems you might encounter as an industrial-organizational psychologist. During the same summer semester, you’ll also complete an Applied Research Methods class that furthers your competence for undertaking psychological research.
The second year’s curriculum continues in the fall semester with your choice of Organizational Psychology or Industrial Psychology Personnel Selection (whichever one you didn’t earlier in the program). Again, a research practicum is required to help you learn how to apply what you learn in class in real-world psychological research settings.
The final component of the program’s second year is your choice of Industrial Psychology Performance Appraisal or Personnel Training. Another two-credit research practicum is also required. These courses prepare you for the final push to graduation, which includes a practicum experience in which you compile a file report on your IO psychology research.
An interesting feature of this program is that you’ll take classes with your cohort as well as another cohort. So, for example, during your first year, you’ll learn alongside first-year and second-year students. Then, in your second year, your courses will feature new first-year students.
Apart from the on-campus training that occurs in the first and second summer sessions, your classes are asynchronous. As such, you have the freedom to complete your assignments and other coursework at times that work best for you. You do, however, have the option to attend synchronous class meetings for some classes over the course of the program.
Another benefit of this program is the commitment to small class sizes. Each class has between 5-15 students, so you’re assured of getting as much individual attention from your professors as possible. Even classes that have two cohorts in attendance still only have 10-30 students. Moreover, all your classes are taught by doctoral-level IO psychologists, many of whom have applied experience in this field.
You can apply here if this program from Kansas State sounds like a good fit for your needs. Before applying, ensure you meet the following requirements:
- Have a bachelor’s degree in psychology or a closely related field. Alternatively, you might be considered for admission if you have completed the required psychology and statistics courses within a non-psychology undergraduate degree.
- Have a 3.0 GPA for the final 60 credits of your undergraduate degree. If your GPA doesn’t meet this threshold, you can take the GRE and be admitted to the program with a satisfactory score.
- Submit unofficial transcripts from every college or university you’ve attended.
- Have at least two years of experience as a human resource manager or supervisor.
- Submit a resume or curriculum vitae.
- Provide three academic or professional references.
- Provide a letter of support from your employer if you are currently employed.
- Submit a statement of objectives in which you outline why you’ve chosen this field of study, areas of research in which you’re interested, and your professional plans.
Avila University
Online Master of Science in Psychology
Though Avila University is on the Missouri side of Kansas City, its online Master of Science in Psychology is open to you as a student in Kansas. This program has an available concentration in mental health that offers deep insights into the nature of human behavior. You’ll explore many different concepts of mental health, from cognition to biological bases of behavior to social psychology, in preparation for a variety of non-clinical careers.
In fact, you can use this program to prepare for jobs as varied as a mental health case worker, a college professor, or a children’s division worker, to name a few. You’ll be ready for your next career in as little as one year as well. With just 36 credits needed to graduate, you can work quickly through the curriculum in three semesters.
This program particularly emphasizes the human experience as part of understanding behavior. In particular, you’ll examine how stress, addiction, and trauma factor into maladaptive behaviors and present challenges to people of different ages and backgrounds.
The curriculum is divided into three components: A leveling course, core courses, and concentration courses. The leveling course is Advanced General Psychology and examines the major tenets of this field. You’ll explore topics like the history of psychology and popular psychological schools of thought, and you’ll also learn about psychological research techniques. This class is only required if you don’t have an undergraduate degree in psychology or if you are provisionally admitted to the program.
The core coursework dives deeper into some of the primary areas of psychology. For example, you’ll take an Advanced Cognitive Processes class that analyzes areas of behavior like decision-making, attention, memory, and language development. You’ll enhance your understanding of these processes by taking Biological Bases of Behavior. This class examines the interrelationship between biological processes and human behavior. You’ll learn how the nervous system is organized and study concepts like perception, sensation, and emotions in the context of biological processes.
Other required core courses include the following:
- Research and Design Analysis I & II
- Advanced Developmental Psychology
- Advanced Social Psychology
You’re also required to complete a community project in which you address specific needs in your community by using psychological science. The course includes a service component and introduces you to various models of serving others. It also includes studies in consultation, project design, and strategic planning, all of which are valuable for a number of future careers.
The program’s final component is a sequence of four concentration courses that analyze specific psychological topics. The first such course is Psychology of Personality, which introduces you to the major theories of personality development (e.g., biological, psychoanalytic, humanistic, etc.). It is through these lenses that you’ll analyze how human personality develops across the lifespan.
Other concentration courses examine challenging behavioral topics like drugs, trauma, and stress. You’ll take a course on the treatment of psychological disorders, too. In particular, you’ll explore modern approaches used to understand and treat mental disorders. Your studies will go well beyond that, though. You’ll learn about the causes of mental illness, the social impacts of mental illness, and multicultural considerations for treating mental illness as well.
Be sure you meet the following requirements before applying:
- Have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution of higher learning.
- Have a 2.75 cumulative undergraduate GPA (for unconditional admission) or a 2.5 cumulative undergraduate GPA (for conditional admission).
- Submit official transcripts from every college or university you’ve attended.
University of Arizona Global Campus
Online Master of Arts in Psychology
If your career goals do not require you to obtain a license, the Master of Arts in Psychology from the University of Arizona Global Campus may be a suitable option for you. This program is offered entirely online, allowing you to study from anywhere, including out of state, with a flexible schedule from a well-recognized public university.
As this is a non-licensure program, you’ll need fewer credits—just 36 in total. Many students complete the program within two years, making it shorter than some other degrees, and the classes are designed to be accelerated.
Instead of following a traditional 15- to 17-week semester, you’ll take six-week courses, one at a time. This format allows you to focus fully on one subject before moving on to the next, helping you complete your studies more quickly.
During your first year, you’ll complete eight foundational courses in psychology. For instance, you’ll take Introduction to Graduate Study in Psychology, which will prepare you for the challenges of graduate work and help you succeed as an online student.
Additional courses include Developmental Psychology, Personality Theories, and Learning and Cognition, which will help you understand the various processes and mechanisms that influence human behavior. Other first-year courses are Biological Bases of Behavior, Psychopharmacology, and Research Design and Methods.
In your second year, the courses become more advanced, focusing on specialized topics in psychology. One required course is Psychological Testing and Assessment, where you’ll study various testing tools, such as personality and IQ tests, and gain insights into psychometric methods. You’ll also learn how to use these tools ethically to understand behavior.
The remaining second-year courses cover:
- Psychopathology
- Psychology and Health
- Capstone Course
The capstone course is your final requirement before graduation. It challenges you to review and integrate what you have learned and apply it to a specific issue or question in psychology. Through this experience, you’ll further develop critical thinking skills and become a more reflective practitioner.
Upon completing this program, you’ll graduate with a well-rounded skill set, enabling you to make a meaningful impact on others. Specifically, you’ll be able to:
- Practice in a professional and ethical manner.
- Clearly explain psychological concepts.
- Analyze important theories, methods, and techniques in psychology and related areas, such as counseling and rehabilitation.
- Apply psychological theories and methods to real-world situations.
- Conduct psychological research based on relevant theories.
You can begin the application process for the University of Arizona Global Campus at any time online. The admissions requirements include the following:
- Hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.
- Submit official transcripts from all previously attended colleges or universities.
- Have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher for your undergraduate coursework.
- Demonstrate proficiency in English if it is not your first language.