Psychology

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology

Degree Requirements (45 cr.)

The Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology provides broad coverage of modern scientific psychology, including the methods by which knowledge is acquired in this field. As a science, psychology seeks to understand the basic principles by which living organisms adapt their behavior to the changing physical and social environments in which they live. The breadth of the discipline, with its links to the humanities, mathematics, computer sciences, and other social and natural sciences, encourages the development of broad problem-solving skills through exposure to research methodology and statistical analysis and contributes to personal growth and the development of communication skills. The psychology major requirements reflect the belief of the faculty that all psychology majors should be exposed to a core of courses and be allowed to select other courses in the field that are of particular interest. The major is designed so that, in consultation with his or her advisor, each student will be prepared to enter the workforce prepared for positions in human services, social services, or business areas such as personnel or management. The major requirements are also suitable for the psychology major who is considering furthering his or her education at the graduate level in social work, marriage and family counseling, or vocational counseling, the more traditional applied and experimental psychology programs, or those who would like to pursue careers that emphasize scientific training and quantitative skills.

Psychology Major: Students must complete a minimum of 36 credit hours in psychology with a grade of C- or higher in each course.

The following courses are required of all psychology majors:

• PSY-P 103 General Psychology (3 cr.)
• PSY-P 199 Becoming a Psychology Major (1 cr.)
• PSY-P 211 Methods of Experimental Psychology (3 cr.)
• PSY-P 216 Life Span Developmental Psychology (3 cr.) or PSY-P 316 Psychology of Childhood & Adolescence (3 cr.), or PSY-B 364 Psychology of Adulthood and Aging (3 cr.)
• PSY-K 300 Statistical Techniques (3 cr.)
• PSY-P 325 Psychology of Learning (3 cr.)
• PSY-P 319 Psychology of Personality (3 cr.) or PSY-P 320 Social Psychology or PSY-P 303 Health Psychology (3 cr.)
• PSY-P 335 Cognitive Psychology (3 cr.) or PSY-P 326 Behavioral Neuroscience (3 cr.)
• PSY-P 493 & PSY-P 494 Supervised Research (6 cr.) or PSY-P 495 I & PSY-P 495 II Supervised Research (6 cr.)
• PSY-P 457 Senior Seminar *

Psychology Electives: 9 additional credit hours of 200-, 300- or 400-level psychology courses are required.

*Psychology majors are not required to take ENG-W 350. The intensive writing requirement is fulfilled in PSY-P 457.