Psychology - B.A.
Sheila R. Peters, Ph.D., Discipline Coordinator
The psychology discipline seeks to develop graduates who are well prepared for graduate study or employment. The faculty perceives its responsibility as going beyond instruction, to challenge and to stimulate students, and to develop students' commitment to academic excellence, social responsibility, and professionalism. The ultimate aim is to facilitate acquisition of knowledge and experience on which students may build in order to make significant contributions to psychology as a profession and to assume leadership roles within their communities.
Psychology is a basic science of human behavior and mental processes. The goals of the psychology discipline are to:
- Contribute to the understanding of humanity through scientific inquiry into the behavior of living organisms by means of a range of research methods;
- Provide fundamental training for mental health practitioners or professionals and researchers in the field of human behavior and development;
- Assist in preparing persons for professions requiring psychological background--such as teaching, the health sciences, social service, law, and ministry; and
- Encourage the application of this knowledge to a variety of problems, such as those associated with minority status and personal, occupational, and social adjustment.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the psychology major, the student will:
- Identify and differentiate between the major systems and theories of psychology
- Apply critical thinking skills in: quantitative/qualitative research and reasoning
- information literacy (selection, use and interpretation of relevant scholarly research sources)
- Draft career plans and assess these plans throughout their undergraduate experience
- Develop and demonstrate pre-professional skills through applied and experiential learning opportunities
Major Requirements
Requirements for the major, in addition to the University degree requirements outlined within this Bulletin, are:
Courses in psychology [32 credits], distributed as indicated below among the five groupings of courses within the department:
GROUP I (all the following courses are required) [12 credits]
| PSY 180 | GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY | 3 |
| PSY 310 | EXPERIMENTAL & QUASI-RESEARCH EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS IN PSYCHOLOGY | 3 |
| PSY 481 | SENIOR SEMINAR | 3 |
GROUP II (one course required) [3 credits]
| PSY 205 | CHILD AND ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT | 3 |
| PSY 221 | INTRODUCTION TO PERSONALITY | 3 |
GROUP III (one course required) [3 credits]
GROUP IV (one course required) [3 credits]
GROUP V (Psychology Electives) [6 credits]
- Students select any two psychology courses not taken above as well as additional psychology courses that are offered by the department.
Specific choices within Groups II-IV, as well as the choice of departmental and general electives, should be made with care to maximize preparation for post-baccalaureate activities.
Students should consult with their assigned faculty academic advisors to combine program options that provide basic training in psychology and are also of maximum usefulness for specific career objectives.
Required cognate [3 credits]
The cognate suffice for the Core Group B option.
Suggested Program Plan for Psychology Majors
First Year, Fall Semester [16 credits]
| CORE 100 | NEW STUDENT ORIENTATION SEMINAR | 1 |
| CORE 131 | ESSENTIAL MATHEMATICS FOR A CONTEMPORARY WORLD | 3 |
| CORE 150 | COMPOSITION I | 3 |
| PSY 180 | GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY | 3 |
| CSCI 100 | INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTING | 3 |
| | FOREIGN LANGUAGE 101 - FRENCH OR SPANISH | 3 |
First Year, Spring Semester [16 credits]
| CORE 160 | COMPOSITION II | 3 |
| CORE 120 | CRITICAL THINKING | 2 |
| PSY 262 | LEARNING & COGNITION | 3 |
| CORE 260 | HUMANITIES: THOUGHT AND EXPERIENCE | 3 |
| PSY 180 | GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY | 3 |
| | FOREIGN LANGUAGE 102 - FRENCH OR SPANISH | 3 |
Second Year, Fall Semester [15 credits]
| | CORE C: ARTS | 3 |
| HSS 280 | SOCIAL RESEARCH METHODS | 3 |
| CORE 201 | INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP | 3 |
| | CORE E: SOCIAL SCIENCE | 3 |
| | | |
| PSY 205 | CHILD AND ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT | 3 |
| | Or | |
| PSY 221 | INTRODUCTION TO PERSONALITY | 3 |
| | Or | |
| PSY 217 | BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY | 3 |
Second Year, Spring Semester [15 credits]
| CORE 240 | NATURAL SCIENCE | 3 |
| | CORE A: CULTURAL EXPOSURE | 3 |
| PSY | PSYCHOLOGY ELECTIVE | 3 |
| PSY | PSYCHOLOGY ELECTIVE | 3 |
CORE A: Cultural Exposure
| ART 291 | AFRICAN AMERICAN ART | 3 |
| | Or | |
| ART 292 | AFRICAN ART | 3 |
| | Or | |
| ENG 275 | AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE TO 1919 | 3 |
| | Or | |
| HIS 180 | AFRICAN HISTORY | 3 |
| | Or | |
| HIS 270 | AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY | 3 |
| | Or | |
| MUS 206 | CROSSCURRENTS IN AFRICAN AND AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSIC | 2 |
Required
| CORE 260 | HUMANITIES: THOUGHT AND EXPERIENCE | 3 |
| | GENERAL ELECTIVE | 3 |
Third Year, Fall Semester [16 credits]
| PSY 310 | EXPERIMENTAL & QUASI-RESEARCH EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS IN PSYCHOLOGY | 3 |
| PSY 341 | SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY | 3 |
| | | |
| PSY 205 | CHILD AND ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT | 3 |
| | Or | |
| PSY 217 | BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY | 3 |
| | Or | |
| PSY 221 | INTRODUCTION TO PERSONALITY | 3 |
| | | |
| | GENERAL ELECTIVE | 3 |
| PSY | PSYCHOLOGY OR GENERAL ELECTIVE | 3 |
CORE C: Arts
Required
| | FOREIGN LANGUAGE 101 - FRENCH OR SPANISH | 3 |
| | GENERAL ELECTIVE | 3 |
Third year, Spring Semester [15 credits]
| PSY 348 | ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY | 3 |
| CORE 360 | THE WORLD AND ITS PEOPLES | 3 |
| PSY | PSYCHOLOGY ELECTIVE | 3 |
| PSY | PSYCHOLOGY OR GENERAL ELECTIVE | 3 |
| PSY | PSYCHOLOGY OR GENERAL ELECTIVE | 3 |
CORE D: Natural Science
CORE E: Social Science
Required
| PSY 341 | SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY | 3 |
| | Or | |
| PSY 348 | ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY | 3 |
| | | |
| | FOREIGN LANGUAGE 102 - FRENCH OR SPANISH | 3 |
Fourth Year, Fall Semester [15 credits]
| PSY 481 | SENIOR SEMINAR | 3 |
| PSY | PSYCHOLOGY OR GENERAL ELECTIVE | 3 |
| PSY | PSYCHOLOGY OR GENERAL ELECTIVE | 3 |
| PSY | PSYCHOLOGY OR GENERAL ELECTIVE | 3 |
Fourth Year, Spring Semester [12 credits]
| PSY | PSYCHOLOGY OR GENERAL ELECTIVE | 3 |
| PSY | PSYCHOLOGY OR GENERAL ELECTIVE | 3 |
| PSY | PSYCHOLOGY OR GENERAL ELECTIVE | 3 |
| PSY | PSYCHOLOGY OR GENERAL ELECTIVE | 3 |
Other suggested program plans, specific to students who seek teacher certification at the elementary level or who wish to complete pre-medical requirements, are available from the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Education.
Consultation with a faculty academic advisor is important for all majors so that the suggested program plan may be tailored to the student's particular needs and interests.
Joint majors combining psychology and another discipline may be arranged according to the usual University regulations. The student who chooses to pursue a joint major in psychology and another discipline is required to complete 24 credits in psychology courses, meeting requirements as specified in Groups I-IV above. The cognate required for the major (HSS 280, Methods & Statistics for Social Research) must also be completed. A faculty member from the psychology discipline will be assigned to cooperate with the student's other major faculty academic advisor in the construction and execution of an appropriate study plan.