Last updated September 4, 2023
As a part of our series on How to Fully Fund Your Master’s Degree, here is a list of universities that offer full funding for a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Psychology. Master’s degrees in Psychology can lead to a variety of career options, including counseling, social work, human resources positions, and further academic work and research. With the average cost of a master’s degree nearing $100,000, finding a program that offers full funding is ideal.
Fully-funded M.A. programs can be difficult to find. Most universities focus their funding on Ph.D. students, which means that M.A. candidates can have a harder time securing scholarships and funding. However, there are many universities that do offer fully-funded M.A. programs. “Full funding” is a financial aid package for full-time students that includes full tuition remission and an annual stipend or salary for the duration of the student’s master’s studies. Funding is typically offered in exchange for graduate teaching and research work that is complementary to your studies. Not all universities provide full funding to their master’s students, which is why I recommend researching the financial aid offerings of all the potential M.A. programs in your academic field, including small and lesser-known schools both in the U.S. and abroad.
You can also find several external fellowships in the ProFellow database for graduate and doctoral study, as well as dissertation research, fieldwork, language study, and summer work experience.
Would you like to receive the full list of more than 1000+ fully funded programs in 60 disciplines? Download the FREE Directory of Fully Funded Graduate Programs and Full Funding Awards!
1. The University of British Columbia
(Vancouver, BC, Canada): The University of British Columbia Department of Psychology provides guaranteed minimum financial support for the duration of the two-year M.A. in Psychology program. Financial support is offered to all graduate students, both domestic and international, and is provided through fellowships, awards, and teaching and research assistantships.
2. Brock University
(Ontario, Canada): The Brock University Department of Psychology offers full funding for an M.A. in Psychology. All admitted students in good standing are guaranteed full funding for the duration of the two-year program. In addition, students can apply for external scholarships and awards which can significantly boost their funding. Brock University’s M.A. program provides engages students in intensive research training in three focus areas: Behavioural & Cognitive Neuroscience, Lifespan Development, and Social & Personality Psychology.
3. College of William and Mary
(Williamsburg, Virginia): The William and Mary Psychological Sciences Department offers a fully-funded Master of Science (M.S.) in Psychology. All admitted students receive full funding through either a teaching or research assistantship, which provides full-tuition remission and a nine-month stipend. The graduate program is designed to prepare students for admission to Ph.D. programs in all research areas of psychology, including behavioral neuroscience, social, cognitive, clinical, and developmental psychology.
4. University of Massachusetts
(Dartmouth, MA): We award a limited number of graduate assistantships and tuition credits to qualified graduate students each year. This award is subject to the work needs of the position and department, your satisfactory performance of duties, your academic record, and availability of funds, and may be subject to change.
5. Montclair State University
(Montclair, N): The Psychology Department offers a number of graduate assistantship (GA) positions to qualified students. These are highly competitive positions that provide full tuition remission and a stipend in exchange for work conducted with department faculty. Also offers several merit-based awards and scholarships to Psychology graduate students.
6. Northwestern University
(Chicago, Illinois): All students admitted to the MA program receive a Graduate Scholarship that provides a 45 percent tuition remission for each of the five quarters of the program.
7. San Diego State University
(La Jolla, CA): All students in the program are matched with a JDP faculty mentor who is responsible for ensuring that the student’s tuition and fees, annual stipend, and health insurance are covered. Students also have access to various opportunities for additional funding, fellowships, and assistantships at SDSU and UC San Diego. The JDP’s current minimum stipend level is $23,000/year.
8. Western University
(Ontario, Canada): The Department of Psychology offers generous funding packages which currently exceed the cost of tuition. Graduate students in Psychology at Western are offered guaranteed funding for 2 years of Master. $25,874 CDN/year for domestic students and $36,874 CDN/year for international students.
Choosing the right graduate program is important and involves multiple factors. As a next step, we recommend that you read How To Choose The Right Graduate Program.
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