National University Reviews of Master's in Psychology

I have to admit, I had high expectations for this University when I saw the variety of programs offered. A quick, online inquiry awarded me with SIX different enrollment specialists who all returned my call within 10 minutes. I was then connected with an 'Enrollment Advisor', and that's the end. The communication is horrific and as a result, I missed out on my desired start date. I considered other programs (because that is initially what drew me to NU), but ultimately always had more questions than... Read More answers after any sort of communication with them. I do not recommend this institution for anyone! If you're looking to go back to school, whether it's online or in-person, go check out Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU)!

Firstly, the loans you will take out for your program is an incredible waste of time. When I first started, I had no money for books because my loan had gone to all of my courses. Considering the amount I took out I was surprised that there was nothing left over to help with books, cost of living etc (all things the financial advisors will tell you your loan goes to LIES). You eventually get a refund of some sort after taking so many courses and it fluctuates. Most of the classes I have taken so... Read More far have lacked detailed information on the topic being taught. Some teachers go into specifics. Some classes are as short as 40 minutes. That would be fine if the professor was actually detailed and not just reading from a slide.

Please do yourself a favor and avoid this "School" entirely. Let me recount my experiences with this school. Class structure: You are given and assignment and told to do it. That's it. If you're lucky you'll get some individual feedback but the otherwise its 100% on you to learn the material and produce work from it. No lecture time, no office hours, and in three courses I could not get a single email response from any of my professors. I met with one professor in my very first course at the very... Read More beginning. Otherwise I have never heard, seen, or met any of my other professors in any other course. Support: Like many others here, my advisors changed rapidly and often without any notice of their departure. This is handled by NCU so poorly that they actually messed up a Leave of Absence I had for a very serious medical injury and mistakenly withdrew me from the school entirely. Now they are asking me for $2,500 because they had to give back money from my federal loans. It took about 6 months of back and forth with no less than a dozen individuals to figure out what had happened only for them to tell me that the only way I can get rid of this balance is to re-enroll. Tldr; I can't possibly articulate my distain for this institution. They fail to educate & fail to provide adequate services its really as simple as that. For your own sake please go literally anywhere else.

I do NOT recommend this school. The 1:1 model is an absolute joke and professors will not answer your questions other than copy and pasting the assignment into the email. Anytime I’ve asked a question via email I get a 1 sentence response. You write paper after paper with no lectures or group discussion to have your professor give you an A and tell you good work. Feedback is never more than 2-3 sentences and any constructive feedback Is only around APA formatting. The professors do not put together... Read More the course work and many times the articles are inaccessible or extremely outdated. Don’t ask for help looking for an article, they will tell you that they are there to help you develop your research skills yet do absolutely nothing for you at all. The learning platform is extremely buggy and glitchy as well as their email with Outlook. I had 3 different academic advisors over the course of my 2 years in the program. I had 1 or 2 decent professors who were friendly and offered thoughtful feedback, but overall I was highly unimpressed with the professors and frankly unsure what they are paid for. If you do the assignments you’ll get an A but get used to reading 10 journal articles a week with lengthy essays each week. Overall you get what you put in but I found it challenging to learn or retain information through this program and do not see it or any use in my professional career

I enrolled to complete an MS in Industrial-Organizational Psychology in 2016 and ended up completing an MA in Psychology with an emphasis in Industrial-Organizational Psychology in 2018. The program structure accommodated my full-time work schedule, which was great. I could do one class at a time and finished in 2 years. My professors were easy to contact via email and phone, even when they were busy, which was good. When I started the program, I was excited to learn more about I/O Psych and really... Read More get into the applied research and testing components that grad school provides. I was ready to participate in groups and discuss employee motivations, hiring data analysis, training and leadership techniques, and all other I/O elements. I was excited to start because the program website promised work in research methods and data analysis applicable in the framework of I/O psychology and investigation of empirically supported interventions for research, administration, or practice of I/O psychology. After starting program, I realized that most of the classes were carbon copies of my undergraduate program (Child Development, Social Psychology, History and Systems, etc.) The course on Research Design offered no actual applied research. I had 2-3 actual courses that featured I/O elements but ended up writing papers just like in undergrad. In the program duration, I took one test and wrote about 95 papers and presentations. I referenced research others had done for each assignment but never performed my own research or analyzed my own data. I was instructed to do all the assignment work on my own with no partner or group interaction, which seemed counterintuitive for the purposes of the degree field. The NCU virtual commons was available, but I didn't have time with a full-time work schedule. In the end, I've received a degree that cost about $30K in loans, put my education level above potential bosses that could hire me but don't since my education is higher than theirs, and gave me no experience to use towards a better-paying or more fulfilling job, except how to really use MS Office. I wish I would've enrolled in a certification program that gave me an actual skill for a fraction of the cost instead of being led to believe that a specified MS degree with a promise of an internship post-graduation would become an MA degree with an emphasis and no internship whatsoever. Don't go for this degree unless you already have the I/O field experience. You won't get that experience here.

I work a lot, and I have to juggle my time between work, school and family. National University is suppose to be designed toward a working student. Now, they have made there online curriculm so that you can't access all of your assignments the Sunday before. One time, I turned in work early, which was a huge issue to my teacher, but she didn't say not to do it. She just removed my work without telling me. If I hadn't caught what she did, and reposted it, I would have received partial credit or no... Read More credit, depending on when I caught it. I start doing my work the Sunday before because I have so much to do. It usually takes all week to finish my discussion post and now, I can't access it the Sunday before. This is because my previous teacher had a tizzy because I worked fast on one week. However, I told her I start my work early because I'm so busy. She's awful. Now, I have a new teacher, who is on board with my previous teacher. She is really catty. I was talking to my classmate via the online classroom, and I didn't know what I was talking about. Of course, I don't know what I'm talking about. I'm a student, I'm still learning, get it? However, the teacher was sitting there rolling her eyes. Furthermore, she doesn't like it when people work ahead either. When I told her I start my work on Sunday, she just sat there and stared at me for a long time. I guess starting your work early is inappropriate behavior if your in the ABA program. Here's how I see it. These teachers lived with a spouse or there parents while going to school, and they don't know what it's like to have to pay for everything on your own. I pay 75% of my pay to rent, and I have to work a lot to make ends meet. In addition, I have to juggle my time, so that everything gets done. At one time, I had three kids at home and had three jobs and was attending school. I bet they don't know what it's like to live in survival mode. GEE WIZ it's inappropriate to start your work early. Too bad, I can still read ahead and do other things ahead. My first teacher was so easy going, nice and helpful. I could email him today about my program, and he would respond within a day. I never felt judge and he never did underhanded things, such as not responding to email and then lowering my grade because he didn't want to help a student. Furthermore, if he didn't want to help or felt he couldn't help, he would email me back and tell me. These last two teachers I had are passive aggressive and catty. If you don't want a student to do something, then say it. They should look at their own behavior. You know, a little biased and a little bit, "lets gand up on the student." I'm over it, I'm not emailing these teachers for nothing or saying a word. I might say or do the wrong thing. Btw, the survey you fill out at the end of the semester, doesn't help.

I'm enrolled in the ABA program. One teacher I had was really down to earth and helpful. I emailed him when I had questions regarding my internship and he helped me. He told the class we could email him, even when we were no longer his students and I am going to take him up on that. However, another teacher I had never responded to my emails, which negatively impacted my grade. She responded to one email but I sent her that email five times before I got a response. She never responded to the email... Read More that impacted my grade. She deleted one of my posts on the discussion board. I know it was deleted because I found it on the grade book. Other assignments were deleted, and I know they were deleted because I logged out and logged back in and they were still posted. Then before the due date I checked my posts to make sure my assignments were there but they weren't. I reposted them before the due date, thank god. One of the assignments I turned in early. I complained to my advisor that my assignments were deleted and the teacher brought up all of my complaints for the entire class to here and she said of course you can turn in assignments early. However, when I listed my complaints, I didn't say it was an assignment that was turned in early. However, she meantioned everything I said and mentioned you can turn in assignments early. I think she didn't like that I worked ahead and deleted it. She mentioned that I worked really fast one day and it wasn't meantioned in a positive way. I have to keep up on my work because I'm overwhelmed with work. Ms. Mandy probably has a husband, so if someone is messing with her work she has someone to rely on but I don't. Also, when I said good bye to her, she was silent. Another time, I said thank you and she was silent. However, after I complained about her, she was polite and said good bye. So, it's interesting that I worked for the school system and had a real difficult time there and she happens to work for the school system too. When I showed up for class she mentioned my by first and last name. She's like look whose here. So, if you have a commonanlity with this women and she can find a reason to discrimminate against you, then maybe that is whats wrong because so many things happened in this class that did not happen to me in my other two classes. Such as, I answered all of the questions on the test and then double check them and two answers were missing. I wouldn't have a reason to jump to conclusions, if she had responded to my email that marked down my grade and if she was polite. Mysteriously, my assignments are missing. I'm sorry, but even professionals can have problems with their personality and I think that's what happened to me.

I graduated with a bachelor's degree in Psychology with the intention of completing my master's at Northcentral. I had excellent professors, but that was about all. The financial department and my academic counselors had extremely poor communication. I needed to know options to continue my graduate work, but the financial adviser ended up asking ME if I knew of any scholarship programs or student load options. I spoke with one gentleman from the department in my field, and he quoted me a much higher... Read More tuition rate than my financial adviser had. In the end, I decided to attend a different to attend a different university; for the money I'm spending on my education, I want a school that has it together.

The school has great professors, but the financial aid department is horrible. My classes began in July and it is the middle of September and I still have not received my financial aid. I filled out my paperwork back in March so I did everything I was supposed to do. I have talked to multiple financial aid people in the office and I get a different excuse every time as to why I haven't gotten it yet. The excuses range from " you will get it when your grades post" from " we are switching over our... Read More system and it's causing delays" to " you should get it in a few weeks" and it all sounds like BS. One Financial Aid officer even told me an exact date that my friends will be dispersed and it's been a month past that date. Once again the professors are great and they're very knowledgeable about the subjects that they teach, but if you depend on using your financial aid for books or for any other expenses then I would suggest you rethink this because they absolutely do not care if you are struggling at all. That being said, simply being enrolled in this program has helped advance my career in many ways.

I've had such a great experience in my classes at National. The professors are top-notch and very knowledgeable. My problem with National is with their administrative staff, in multiple departments. It's always a struggle to receive your financial aid and for the last year the disbursements have been delayed by months for everyone in my cohort (unsure if this is true for other students). The advisors are not knowledgeable in the least with regards to programs and have screwed up my schedule as well... Read More as those of other people in my cohort. This issue is so bad that there are several students who will not be graduating with me because they weren't able to take the classes they needed due to faulty scheduling. Another girl in my cohort just spent the last 6 months taking 2 on campus classes at a time, literally having to run back and forth between classes, to ensure that she will graduate on time. The financial aid department is currently withholding $6000 from at least 3 of the students in my cohort for no apparent reason and when questioned about this the representatives talk in circles. I am still waiting for my financial aid to be approved by National as they insist that my marital status doesn't match my tax forms. I sent the representative I was working with copies of my tax forms and he informed me that everything was fine and that the financial aid would be processed in 2-3 days. Two weeks later I had to contact him as nothing was done, only for him to tell me the same thing as before- my marital status does not match (though it definitely does match). Worst of all, I've been waiting for over 2 months for the credentials department to approve my internship (as I'm not allowed to begin accumulating hours until this is done). They informed me that they are missing test scores which I had sent to them over a year ago (one of the representatives slipped and informed me that the department actually lost all the test scores for my cohort). I spoke to someone over the phone over a month ago who assured me that my internship would be approved within the next few days, yet now when I try to contact the department I can't reach anyone. The most stressful part of completing a Masters program shouldn't be worrying about if your school's administrative staff will handle your case with competence, and yet here I am more worried about this aspect of my schooling than I am about writing my thesis. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy and it is for this reason that when anyone asks me how I like National University I feel obligated to warn them to STAY AWAY.

One has to be mature, motivated, and flexible relative to attending National University. It is fast-paced but also comprehensive. I subsequently obtained a Doctorate and have been an adjunct professor for 30 years, supplemental to my 26 year military career followed by a post military career with the federal government (GS-12). National University set the standard with real-world experienced faculty vice professors at traditional universities whose only experience was too often purely academic. For... Read More me, it provided "academic credibility" grounded in real-life experience. I will forever be grateful for NU. Having said the above, I can't emphasize enough that NU is not for everyone, particularly those who are not focused, highly disciplined, and not able to multi-task their personal, professional, and academic life.

To anyone who is thinking of taking a course through NCU, I would very strongly suggest that you reconsider. I have completed a degree and two post graduate masters programs in other more traditional universities. Having had such positive experiences in these programs, I was completely unprepared for the NCU experience. As far as my experience went with NCU, I felt that none of the staff were invested or cared in the slightest whether I advanced my knowledge, or if In fact the whole learning experience... Read More was positive. I had terrible experiences with some of the 'teaching' staff and administration constantly changed, making it difficult to know who to go to. I strongly advise to give this place a very clear miss - avoid, at all cost.

I applied and was accepted to two traditional brick and mortar universities right out of undergrad and I chose to attend NCU instead because I could do the work around my full time job and the cost was much lower than either of the other schools I considered. I am a very independent learner and have no problem completing the assignments on time and find the assignments clear and the course materials very helpful for every assignment. I have 3 classes left before I finish my master's degree in health... Read More psychology. I have been very please with my academic advisers as well. I have had three of them in the last year that I have been taking classes but each of them were very helpful and responsive. A lot of the bad reviews I have read seem to focus on the cost, unfair grades, or bad mentors. The cost is very reasonable compared to most universities, both online and traditional. It is not only normal for tuition to increase each year, but expected. This happens everywhere. I have only had one bad mentor experience, but I just kept in contact with my adviser and gave the mentor exactly what she requested in the feedback and comments. I would say that NCU requires more work than a traditional university each week because you are required to produce something every week to show your understanding of the material instead of simply showing up and having a discussion or completing three assignments over the course of a semester. I will say that the mentor is not a professor. They are there for questions regarding the assignment and to assess your knowledge of a given topic. They are not there to present the material to you each week. I would not recommend NCU to anyone who has trouble learning on their own or who is not familiar with word processing and presentations. For me, this was exactly what I was looking for.

Someone has gone through a lot of trouble to make a thoughtful and relevant psychology curriculum with really great assignments and text. Too bad it is marred by their assignment to me of an adviser who takes an adversary role towards the student to look out for the quote un quote university. I have asked for a new adviser several times. The first time was when I received an email communication from this individual littered with red ink. This email destroyed my day. It is improper protocol to use... Read More red in a business communication and this person has an MBA from that school. Well I asked the entrance personnel for a new adviser they said oh she's just there for your first course,you'll get one in your department after you finish up with the introductory class. OK, I've finished. I initially contacted the adviser and was told oh yeah I'm leaving just finish your finals. OK, finished it made an A. I contacted her again than she said when you begin your new class you'll get a new adviser, no have not got one yet. What really upset me today was I received a message today on my portal in bold red letters a benign message of "NCU Library will no longer process book requests beginning December 1, 2013", but why was it written this way after four emails last night asking for a new adviser. My only comments about this University is it's really creepy and sort of makes my skin crawl. They have a great online social networking outreach going it's really fun, and I love the curriculum but those others make my skin crawl. JUST FOR THE DOLLARS