Loyola University Chicago

Department of Psychology

Applied Social Psychology Program

Program Overview

Welcome to the Applied Social Psychology Graduate Program homepage. Here you can find information about our MA and PhD programs and the exciting research currently being conducted by our faculty and students. In addition the program also offers a 5-year BS/MA program. Applications are due at 5:00 pm CST on January 1st. If you have additional questions about the program please contact Dr. Tracy DeHart (Graduate Program Director).
 
The Applied Social Psychology Program at Loyola University Chicago has been offering MA and PhD degrees since 1965. Starting in 1974, the faculty decided to expand the program with an emphasis in applied social psychology in response to student and faculty interests, as well as the increased demand for applied researchers. Typically, over half of our students are interested in pursuing applied research in non-academic settings. However, the program still offers rigorous training for students wishing to pursue traditional academic careers. Most of our graduates who choose to do so have obtained faculty positions in academic institutions.
 
Part of our program’s foundation includes our commitment to an education that values human diversity. This commitment is reflected in the diversity of our faculty and students and their research, as well as the activities of the department’s Multicultural Affairs Committee.

Academic Knowledge

Our program seeks to train professionals who can identify significant problems, design and implement changes intended to alleviate those problems, and empirically evaluate these changes. This approach emphasizes the role of the researcher as both a knowledge builder and a knowledge user in the service of promoting human welfare.
 
Some of the areas that our program focuses on include:
 
  • Affect and Cognition
  • Political Psychology
  • Psychology and Law
  • Attitude and attitude change
  • Social judgment and perception
  • Social influence
  • Group decision-making and problem-solving
  • Inter-group relations
  • The self and close relationships
In addition to these special areas of focus, the program also offers unique classes that allow students to study the applications of social psychology to various social issues, such as health care, community affairs, education, profit and non-profit organizations, and criminal justice.

Practical Skills

The program also seeks to equip students with important technical skills required for research in both laboratory and field settings. Through coursework, research, and the field internship component, students acquire familiarity with an unusually wide range of research designs, evaluation skills, methodological techniques and materials, and statistical analyses that are highly valued by academic and non-academic employers.
 
Further, the program offers training and experience designed to develop a student’s oral and written communication skills to help prepare students for their role as applied social psychologists. Through the course of the program students will have ample opportunities to hone these skills through their research, internship, coursework, colloquia, and teaching opportunities through the Graduate School’s Teaching Fellow program and part-time instructorships.