Undergraduate Studies
Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts Degrees in Psychology
The Department offers a liberal arts baccalaureate degree in psychology with a major, minor, or collateral. The curriculum is designed to prepare the student for tasks needed in the workplace and/or entry into graduate programs. Psychology majors take courses in introductory psychology as well as courses in career planning, research design and statistics, brain and behavior, social psychology and selected courses from experimental, developmental and individual difference core areas.
The Department of Psychology offers an undergraduate psychology major, as well as a minor and collateral. The purpose of the undergraduate major is to:
1. provide students with an understanding of psychology as the science of behavior and the mind including the major theories and issues within psychology;
2. emphasize the role of the liberal arts in higher education and personal development;
3. promote an appreciation for the individual and cultural diversity; to develop critical thinking skills;
4. develop competence with methods of scientific research and data analysis;
5. assure that students have the necessary research experiences and coursework to undertake graduate education;
6. assist students in developing their skills in library research, scientific writing, public presentations, and computer applications.
B.S. or B.A. in Psychology (38 hours)
1. Completion of Psychology 206, 216, 220, 302, 303, 304, 336, 499
2. At least one course from the Psychology of Individuals and Groups Core courses of Psychology 319, 325, 326
3. At least one course from the Developmental Core courses of Psychology 315, 316, 334
4. One course from the Integrative Experiences courses of Psychology 470 and 498
5. Nine hours of psychology electives, with a minimum of eight hours at the 300-level or higher
6. Biology 105/115 or 104
7. Minor/collateral requirements (two options)
a. Two 12-hour collaterals approved by the faculty adviser
b. An 18-hour minor approved by the faculty adviser
A psychology major may only count Psychology 206 and 216 towards the General Education Requirements (Sciences). When fulfilling the General Education Requirements for Mathematics, it is recommended that psychology majors take Mathematics 134. Also, psychology majors should attempt to gain a strong background in the science areas, as that coursework will benefit them in their major studies.
The minimum number of semester hours required in psychology courses for a major in psychology is 38 (plus an additional four hours in Biology). The minimum number of semester hours in all courses (major and nonmajor) required for the major in psychology is 120.
Minor in Psychology
A minor in psychology requires 18 semester hours, including Psychology 206.
Collateral in Psychology
A collateral in psychology requires 12 semester hours, including Psychology 206.
Course Descriptions
Prerequisite: None
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
Credits: 3 hours
Survey of the biological, experimental (including sensory processes, learning, memory, and motivation), social, personality, and developmental processes. In addition to these content areas, an understanding of scientific methodology will be studied.
Prerequisite/Corequisite: PSYC 206
Offered: Fall, Spring
Credits: 1 hour
The main focus will include hands-on experiences with scientific methodology used in psychology including observation of phenomenon, data collection, data analysis, critical analysis of findings, and report writing.
Prerequisite: PSYC 206 and PSYC 216; for declared psychology majors only; does not count toward General Education Requirements or the psychology minor or collateral
Offered: Fall, Spring
Credits: 1 hour
Provides general knowledge concerning careers that may be pursued in Psychology. Topics include strategies in making career decisions, how to apply to graduate schools, and how to seek entry-level jobs with a bachelor’s degree. Entry-level evaluation of the major will occur.
Prerequisite: Permission of the department
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
Credits: 1 hour
This introduction to the laboratory practice of research methods in psychology provides students with familiarity in the basic techniques of data entry and conducting research protocols in the context of ongoing department research. Regular weekly lab meetings will include discussions of special topics. Students may earn a maximum of three-credit hours in 270/370 combined.
Prerequisite: PSYC 206, PSYC 216, and completion of the General Education Mathematics Requirement
Prerequisite/Corequisite: PSYC 220 or permission of the department
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
Credits: 3 hours
The student will become familiar with fundamental descriptive and inferential statistics as used in psychology. Topics will also include reliability, validity, confidence intervals, and measures of effect size. In addition, students learn APA-style reporting of statistics and become familiar with SPSS.
Prerequisite: Grade of C or higher in PSYC 302
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
Credits: 3 hours
Introduction to the experimental method in the study of behavior, with laboratory exercises to provide practical knowledge and skill in experimental design and technical writing. Advanced inferential statistics.
Prerequisite: (PSYC 206 and BIOL 104) or (PSYC 206 and BIOL 105 and BIOL 115)
Offered: Fall, Spring
Credits: 3 hours
Study of the role of the nervous system in the generation of behavior, feelings, and thoughts. Attention will be given to methodologies used by neuroscientists-particularly physiological psychologists-to study the nervous system and behavior. Primary emphasis will be on the role of neuronal activity in “normal” behavior; however, problems (e.g. addiction, amnesia, mental illness) will be studied as examples of some products of a malfunctioning nervous system.
Prerequisite: (PSYC 206 and BIOL 105 and BIOL 115) or (permission of the department)
Offered: Summer
Credits: 3 hours
This course is an introduction to the interdisciplinary field combining behavioral sciences and genetics to study roles of the genes and other factors involved in a variety of complex behaviors of humans. Emphasis is placed on the use of genetic designs and methods to address psychologically relevant questions concerning the nature and etiology of individual differences in behavior. Methods to be covered include traditional methodologies like twin and adoption studies as well as linkage and association studies. In addition, special emphasis on the interaction between genotype and environment during development is discussed. Other current issues in behavioral genetics will be discussed including Mendelian Genetics, Intelligence, Personality Disorders, Psychopathology, Antisocial Behavior, and Substance Abuse. Students successfully completing the course should be able to evaluate critically the primary behavioral genetic research.
Prerequisite: (PSYC 206 and BIOL 105 and BIOL 115) or (permission of the department)
Offered: Summer
Credits: 3 hours
This course is a general introduction to pediatric psychology. Information about etiology and developmental course of a variety of medical conditions will be reviewed with focus on the impact of medical conditions on children’s school, family, and socialemotional functioning. Students successfully completing the course should be able to evaluate critically pediatric research.
Prerequisite: PSYC 206
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
Credits: 3 hours
In-depth study of an area of interest within psychology, including literature review and consideration of the relevant applications to contemporary society. May be taken twice with departmental approval.
Prerequisite: PSYC 206 or permission of the department
Offered: Spring
Credits: 3 hours
Survey of important issues in sexuality including sexual development, reproductive sexuality, social issues in sexuality, and dimensions of sexual expression.
Prerequisite: PSYC 206 or permission of the department
(IPHC 314 is the same as PSYC 314)
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
Credits: 3 hours
Introduction to the affective, behavioral, and cognitive aspects of health and illness. Topics include such issues as lifestyle change, stress management, and chronic pain, as well as a survey of specific physical diseases which are known to involve a dominant psychological component. Credit cannot be received for both IPHC 314 and PSYC 314.
Prerequisite: PSYC 206 or major in Education or permission of the department
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
Credits: 3 hours
Study of theory and research focusing on the psychological development of infants and children. Topics covered include maturation, intelligence, academic achievement, classical and operant conditioning, observational and social learning, language acquisition, and methodological advances in the study of child psychology. Neuropsychological development and models of gene-environment interaction, including the biopsychosocial perspective and neuropsychological bases of behavior, also will be discussed.
Prerequisite: PSYC 206 or major in Education or permission of the department
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
Credits: 3 hours
Study of the adolescent today, including cognition and reasoning; neuropsychological development; attitudes and values toward sex, family, school, and peers; delinquency and substance use; activism and work; and personality development. Models of gene-environment interaction, including the biopsychosocial perspective and neuropsychological bases of behavior, will be covered. Transitions from childhood to adolescence (middle school years) and adolescence to adulthood (high school and college years) will also be explored.
Prerequisite: PSYC 206
Offered: Fall
Credits: 3 hours
Overview of current research in experimental and applied behavior analysis directed toward the understanding of simple and complex animal and human behavior. Review of applications of behavior analysis in such applied areas as parenting, education, and psychological treatment of disabilities and disorders.
Prerequisite: PSYC 206 or permission of the department
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
Credits: 3 hours
Theory and research in cognition, learning, motivation, personality, developmental and social psychology applied to the instructional setting.
Prerequisite: PSYC 206
Offered: Fall, Spring
Credits: 3 hours
An overview of classic and contemporary research in social psychology. A wide range of topics will be covered that relate to everyday social life drawn from the areas of attitudes and persuasion, social cognition and self-processes and interpersonal relationships.
Prerequisite: PSYC 206 or permission of the department
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
Credits: 3 hours
Historical survey of various forms of mental illness and maladjustment, including mental deficiency and anti-social behavior. Specialized methods of therapy, research, and theoretical concerns are emphasized.
Prerequisite: PSYC 206
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
Credits: 3 hours
Survey of biological, intrapersonal, and social theories of personality. Research methodology and assessment techniques as they relate to theories are reviewed.
Prerequisite: PSYC 206
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
Credits: 3 hours
Overview of the major areas and findings regarding gender in the field of psychology. Topics addressed include gender theory, gender identity development, history of gender, gendered communication, and competition between and within the sexes.
Prerequisite: PSYC 206 or permission of the department
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
Credits: 3 hours
This course is designed to an exploration of psychological theories and research methods used in the study of couple and family relationships. Perspectives covered may include clinical, developmental, health, learning, motivational, cognitive-behavioral, and evolutionary psychology. The psychological study of couple and family relationships will be covered, processes within these relationships will be examined, and empirically-based strategies used for couple and family intervention and relationship enhancement will be explored.
Prerequisite: PSYC 206 or permission of the department
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
Credits: 3 hours
Survey of major theories of development across the life span. Includes physical, cognitive, emotional, social, and moral aspects of development and issues presented in a developmental context. Research methods and empirical results of significant studies are covered.
Prerequisite: PSYC 206 or permission of the department
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
Credits: 3 hours
Theory and research in the areas of learning and cognition with a particular focus on the application of learning theory to behavioral interventions and cognitive processes such as visual and auditory perception, memory, attention, reasoning, and intelligence.
Prerequisite: PSYC 206 or permission of the department
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
Credits: 3 hours
Study of human sensory and perceptual processes, including mechanisms by which the various sensory systems (vision, hearing, taste, touch, and smell) receive information from the environment. The student will gain an understanding of how humans interpret sensory information, and how that information subsequently impacts human behavior. Theoretical foundations and current research strategies will be explored.
Prerequisite: PSYC 206 or permission of the department
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
Credits: 3 hours
Survey of current perspectives on theory and research in the areas of emotion and motivation. The basic nature of emotion and its functions are covered, and both primary and secondary motivational systems are discussed. Neurobiological, physiological, developmental, cultural, and social influences are explored, and current theoretical and empirical approaches are introduced.
Prerequisite: PSYC 206 or permission of the department
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
Credits: 3 hours
Overview of psychological, physiological, and computational methodologies used to understand the neural basis of cognitive processes such as vision and attention, learning and memory, reading and language, meaning and semantics, and the organization and control of action. The emphasis will be on how the application of converging methodologies (brain imaging – EEG and fMRI, recordings from individual neurons, studies of brain-injured patients) leads to important insights into the nature of cognition that would be difficult to obtain through any one methodology alone.
Prerequisite: PSYC 317
Offered: Spring
Credits: 3 hours
Continuation of Psychology 317 covering advanced methods and applications of operant, respondent, and observational learning principles and procedures used to develop and implement therapeutic behavior modification strategies in a variety of clinical, educational, family, and community settings with various populations (child and adult) to reduce maladaptive behaviors and increase adaptive behaviors. Topics include advanced methods and applications, ethical considerations, behavioral systems support, selection of appropriate intervention strategies, and the measurement, display, and interpretation of behavioral data in the evaluation of behavioral research and intervention outcomes.
Prerequisite: PSYC 206 or permission of the department
Offered: Fall
Credits: 3 hours
This course provides an introduction to forensic psychology. Students will understand how the fields of psychology and law intersect in individual and public policy domains. Topics covered include roles of forensic psychologists, criminal responsibility and competence to stand trial, malingering, and trial consulting.
Prerequisite: PSYC 302 and permission of the department
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
Credits: 2 hours or 1 hour
Directed research in psychology guides students in detailed laboratory work such as behavioral coding of department research projects. Regular weekly lab meetings will include discussions of special topics and allow students to develop their own research questions. Students may earn a maximum of three credit hours in 270/370 combined.
Prerequisite: PSYC 206
Offered: Fall
Credits: 3 hours
A review of psychometric principles and a survey of tests dealing with intelligence, special aptitudes, personality, and attitudes.
Prerequisite: Senior standing and one Experimental Core course
Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
Credits: 3 hours
Directed psychological research under the supervision of faculty member. Research content will vary depending upon faculty and student’s research interests. All individual research is reviewed by a faculty committee.
Prerequisite: Permission of the department
Offered: Fall, Spring
Credits: 3 hours, 2 hours, or 1 hour
Open only to juniors and seniors with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher in their major courses. A maximum of three semester hours may be earned. All individual research projects are reviewed by three faculty members from two different disciplines. May be taken for credit (three hours) towards the Honors degree by special arrangement.
Prerequisite: Senior Standing and one Developmental Core course
Offered: Fall, Spring
Credits: 3 hours
Directed psychology internship in various settings. Course content will depend on internship site. Students will be expected to relate internship experiences to the psychological literature.
Prerequisite: Semester of graduation or permission of the department
Offered: Fall, Spring
Credits: 3 hours
Course integrates various content areas around major psychological themes. Emphasis is placed on critical thinking, writing and oral expression. Evaluation of core knowledge and skills of the major will occur.
