Can I pursue a master's degree and research career after taking 16 years to finish undergraduate? I've just finished my bachelor degree in Psychology as a second under-graduate degree. My first degree was in mathematics.

I am 37 years old and I would like to know if it's possible to pursue a master's degree program in Psychology. My under-graduate degree in psychology was unique for the following reasons:


I started it in 2003 and since then I did it very slowly (sometimes stopping for a few years) because I was doing my under-graduate degree and then a masters degree as well as working as a TA in another area (pure mathematics) for several years. Another reason for the extended time is because even if I hadn't stopped this undergraduate degree in Psychology several times and had done it full-time, it would have taken 6 years to finish (very long under-graduate degree).
My course was more focus oriented in humanities/arts.
Despite studying psychology as a second degree, I've always taken it seriously. My average grade for the entire course was 9 (10 is the maximum) and I always had a higher performance than the other students, maybe because of my mathematics background. I'm used to studying a lot with a high level of concentration.


So my question is: do you think it's possible for me to be accepted into a master's degree program in psychology? I'm afraid I wouldn't be considered a good student because of taking such a long time to finish the undergraduate course (maybe they would even laugh at me). 

An additional problem is that I want to study in a more science-focused research in psychology. What are my options?
Extended periods on your CV are fine as long as you can explain why they are there. 

From my understanding, you took as long as you did because you did a full-time undergraduate degree in Mathematics followed by your Masters degree, while still doing TA duties on the side, and then also attempted to do the Psychology degree at the same time. This is a huge amount of work. You also stated that you had to pause the Psychology degree for a few years. Given that your full-time Mathematics path would have taken around 6 years (correct me if I am wrong) and the full-time Psychology undergrad would have taken 6 years, your situation makes sense. 

All you need to do is be able to explain the timeline - and you can! I would not worry too much about applying. You have demonstrated that you are completely capable of higher-level study by getting your Masters in Mathematics (which isn't at all easy)! 

Good luck! I really hope this works out for you!