M.A. Behavioral Economics

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Program Overview

The M.A. Behavioral Economics program is designed for working adults interested in psychological perspectives of human decision making, risk assessment, and consumer behavior. This program provides students an alternative to the traditional MBA by offering a curriculum with a foundation in advanced psychology that addresses broader business applications to decision making, negotiation, marketing, and consumer behavior. The program is a unique program that utilizes a competency-based model grounded in: consumer, social, cognitive, and consulting psychology and political science and infuses multicultural perspectives from a diversity of market audiences. The curriculum integrates elements of economics and financial literacy including: consumer psychology, public policy, and theories of decision-making to generate a richer understanding of human behavior. Graduates are prepared to deliver professional services, perform research, excel as leaders and policy advisors, and to sensitively and inclusively serve diverse populations in business, marketing, and politics.

The program is 40 credit hours and includes classwork in: consulting, social, cognitive, and consumer psychology, statistics, public policy, economics and finance, and game theory. Faculty will lead students in online discussions, group activities, quizzes, and reflective writing assignments.

Program Philosophy

Students will use scientific research and theory to inform their practices and contribute to the body of work extending the reach of their specialties in professional psychology. Students will apply theoretical and practical knowledge about ethnic, racial, gender, sexual, cultural and religious differences (among other individual and group demographic factors) into their professional work. Students will be able to conduct assessments, develop appropriate interventions, and implement interventions in their specialty areas of professional psychology and function in a professional and ethical manner in classroom, off-site training, and work-settings.

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this program students will be able to:

Professional Practice

• Generate solutions through the application of theory to the individual, group and organization including: the ability to interpret and synthesize research and theory using process consultation, assessment, and interventions.
• Relate information in Oral and Written communication that is grammatically correct, logical, succinct and of publishable quality.
• Manage relationships with others to enhance quality of work products rather than diminish work products including: managing conflict.

Diversity

• Assess differences in judgment and choice with regard to diverse populations and work cooperatively with members of different identity groups including individuals from different ethnicities, religion, sexual orientation, ability level, age, and different educational backgrounds in multidisciplinary teams.

Professional Behavior

• Develop self-awareness, self-management, and professional and psychological maturity as exhibited by the ability to accept feedback and the willingness to change behavior as needed.

Scholarship

• Construct and interpret research studies including: hypothetical choices, experiments with actual observations, and field research.
• Evaluate information using techniques such as: identifying, observing through inductive or deductive reasoning, and inferring.
• Compare and contrast elements of Behavioral Economics including: market fluctuations, public policy, and economic/hedonic decision-making. Interpret research/theories of judgment and choice including: rationality, uncertainty/risk, social trends and Neuro-economics. Explain and summarize the foundations of Behavioral Economics including: social and cognitive psychology, sociology and political science.

Admission Requirements

Application to The Chicago School of Professional Psychology’s M.A. Behavioral Economics program is open to any person who has earned a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution and who meets other entrance requirements. Applicants will be judged on their overall ability to do graduate work. Factors that are considered in admission include GPA from undergraduate schools.  Generally, an undergraduate GPA of a 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale is required for admission. Students must submit official transcripts from all schools where a degree was earned. It is recommended that transcripts are submitted from all schools where credit was received to enhance their applications. Additional factors that are considering in admission include the following:

• Application Fee: $50
• Resume or Curriculum Vitae
• Official College/University Transcripts
• Personal Statement/Essay answering the following two questions:

1. How will your personal and professional accomplishments, academic background, and experience contribute to your success in this program?

2. How will the successful completion of this program support your professional career goals?

Applicant Notification

The Chicago School of Professional Psychology reviews applications on a rolling basis. Once review begins, complete applications will be considered by the Admission Committee and applicants will be notified regarding the admission decision. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology does not share information or provide any feedback regarding admission decisions.

If a student is offered admission, in order to secure a place in the incoming class, a non-refundable tuition deposit of $250 will be required by the deposit deadline indicated in the offer of admission. The non-refundable deposit will be applied in full toward the student’s tuition upon enrollment.

Articulation Agreements

The Chicago School of Professional Psychology has established an agreement between the M.A. Behavioral Economics and the B.A. Psychology programs to allow qualified students to enter early into the master’s program.  This agreement allows qualified students to begin their master’s study while completing their bachelor’s degree.  Click on this link for details.

Degree Completion Requirements

• Successful completion of 40 credit hours of coursework
• Successful completion of Capstone Project

Policies

The following policies are located under Academic Policies and Procedures : Academic Calendar, Admissions Requirements, Attendance, Satisfactory Academic Progress, Service Learning, and Transfer Credit/Course Waiver. Click the link above for detailed information.

Ethical Guidelines

Students are expected to engage in all graduate work, including but not limited to course work, research, and scholarship, with a high degree of integrity and professionalism. It is essential that students approach professional working relationships, collegial relationships, and client/partner-contact with respect. Further, students are expected to adhere to the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct as well as the “evolving universal code of ethics” (Gauthier, 2005).  Students who choose to seek employment in the field of psychology shall not work beyond their level of competence and shall not use titles governed by credentialing statutes and/or regulations unless authorized by the relevant jurisdictional authority. Students who fail to comply with ethical and professional behavior guidelines are subject to department remediation and/or referral to the Student Affairs Committee for disciplinary action and possible dismissal.

Residencies

There are no residency requirements for this program.

Capstone

This program culminates in a Capstone Project that is a journal article submission based on data obtained during relevant field work. This Capstone Project forms the summative assessment of the program and is designed to satisfy the requirement of the competencies of the master’s in Behavioral Economics program for a culminating experience.

Students will identify a socioeconomic problem of interest and apply principles of Behavioral Economics to propose a psychologically based solution. The final deliverable will be a journal article submission based on the data gathered during the fieldwork component of two Capstone seminars. In the first of the two Capstone Project Seminars, students will outline a research proposal and write the literature review and methodology sections of the proposal.  In the second of the Capstone Project Seminars, students will complete fieldwork hours and write the results and discussion section of the Capstone Project. The Capstone Project will conclude with a client presentation and submission of a journal article for potential publication.