Degree Requirements

Psychology Studies

Requirements for the Major in Psychology. The department offers both B.A. and B.S. degree programs. Majors pursuing the B.A. complete 40 semester hours in psychology with a grade of C- or better in each course and at least a 2.00 psychology GPA. Students successfully complete the following required courses from each of five content areas:

semester hours

Majors must also take a comprehensive psychology examination during the junior or senior year. Questions cover the five content areas. Students have up to four opportunities to take the comprehensive examination; only the highest score is recorded on the transcript. Performance on the comprehensive examination is reported on the transcript as high pass, pass or fail.

The department also recommends additional courses in other areas, depending on specific career goals. Frequent choices are science (especially biology), sociology and anthropology, philosophy, business or communications.

Additional Requirements for the B.S. Degree. In addition to satisfying the university Central Curriculum requirements and the psychology requirements listed for the B.A., candidates for the B.S. complete two courses chosen from among the following options:

• Any course (with a lab) from the natural sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Ecology, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Health Care Studies, Physics)
• Any math course numbered 111 or higher
• A third course from the Fundamental Paradigms cluster*
• PSYC:323 Experimental Design and Analysis*

* These courses may be used to fulfill the psychology elective requirement.

B.S. candidates also must take at least 2 semester hours of research beyond PSYC:421 Directed Research; this can be accomplished by completing a second semester of Directed Research (PSYC:422) or by taking Independent Research (PSYC:525) for at least 2 semester hours.

Secondary Teaching Certification. Psychology majors preparing for certification may substitute student teaching for the two psychology electives. They also must meet additional Department of Education requirements.

Liberal Studies majors who pursue elementary education certification with a concentration in psychology take 24 semester hours in psychology with a grade of C- or better in each course. PSYC:101 Principles of Psychology and PSYC:250 Educational Psychology are required. The remaining 16 hours may be filled by any courses meeting the guidelines for concentrations. See the education requirements section.

Minor in Psychology. The minor is designed to acquaint students with major areas in the field while offering flexible options based on students' career goals. Students consult with a psychology department advisor to select minor courses. The minor requires 24 semester hours in psychology with a grade of C- or better in each course and a minimum 2.0 overall average. Required courses include PSYC:101 Principles of Psychology, three courses at the 200 level (only one of which may be from the Developmental Psychology sequence), and two courses numbered 300 or above. Students may take the following courses as electives but may not apply them to the minor: PSYC:123 Elementary Statistics; PSYC:151 Drugs, Society and Behavior; PSYC:421, 422 Directed Research; PSYC:525, 526 Independent Research; and PSYC:527, 528 Practicum.

Honors in Psychology. The departmental honors program encourages and recognizes outstanding performance in psychology. To graduate with honors in psychology, students must do the following:

• complete all the requirements for the major,
• have an overall cumulative GPA of 3.25 and a psychology GPA of 3.50,
• score at least 80 percent on the comprehensive examination,
• complete PSYC:525 Independent Research for two or more credits, and
• present their independent research in an approved public forum.

Psi Chi. Students who meet requisite national standards are eligible to join the national psychology honor society.

Interdisciplinary options. Psychology and sociology majors may choose the minor in Human Resource Management. This minor requires ACCT:200 Financial Accounting, ECON:105 Elements of Economics or ECON:202 Principles of Microeconomics, MGMT:360 Management and Organizational Behavior, MGMT:361 Human Resource Management, MGMT:461 Projects in Human Resource Management and MGMT:462 Human Resource Planning. An additional 4 semester hours of electives are chosen from MGMT:369 Ethics and Leadership and ECON:325 Labor Economics.