Undergraduate Program
Descriptions of Course Categories
Methods of inquiry and Analysis
Psychology majors should achieve skills in critical thinking and reasoning. These skills come, in part, from working with
quantitative information in statistics and from understanding the rationale and methods of research design and their
strengths and limitations. Psychology majors should be able to use library resources to gather information to
support an argument, to design a study, to investigate a hypothesis relevant to the argument, and to present the argument
and data in the language of the discipline using the elements and style of the APA
Publication Manual. A
student will meet this standard by earning grades of C or better in the two courses (PSY 200 and PSY 301) in this
category. However, an average of C or better is required for the two courses, if your catalogue year is prior to Fall
2001.
Topics Areas
Psychology majors should achieve a more in-depth knowledge of
several of the content areas within
psychology. They should be familiar with
the facts, theories, and questions of
historical and current interest within
these content areas. They should be able
to understand the discourse of the
discipline used in textbooks and
scientific journals. Students should read
current texts and original sources in
each of these courses. They should be
able to present written arguments in
support of their chosen positions on
controversial topics within the content
areas.
A student will meet this
standard by earning an average grade of C
or better in the best three courses
passed in this category.
Applied Knowledge
Psychology majors should achieve some knowledge of the
application of psychological theory,
facts, and methods to the practical needs
of individuals, organizations, and
society. Students should be able to
monitor their own behavior; to be
sensitive to differences in treatment of
people of differing backgrounds, race,
ethnicity, culture, age, class,
lifestyle, and disability status.
A
student will meet this standard by
earning a grade of C or better in one
course in this category.
Experiential Practica and Internships
Psychology majors should achieve some
experience in applying psychology.
Depending on their areas of interest,
students should participate in one or
more of the basic and applied research
opportunities or service-delivery
opportunities available through the
department's course offerings. Students
should gain experience in the application
of principles learned in the classroom to
the point where they will be recognized
by potential employers/graduate programs
as having prior experience in their areas
of interest.
A student will meet this
standard by earning a grade of C or
better or S in one course in this
category.
Enrichment
Psychology majors will have the
opportunity to take additional, elective
psychology courses within their major to
add to or to expand their knowledge and
experience in the areas of Intermediate
Perspective, Topic Areas, Applied
Knowledge, and Practica/Internships.
These courses will allow them to become
better educated in the areas that they
see as important to their individual
objectives and interests.
A student
will meet this standard by taking enough
psychology courses to have a minimum
total of 31 earned credits in psychology
(only 30 credits, if the psychology major
was declared prior to Fall 2001). Pass/fail
and satisfactory/unsatisfactory courses
do not count toward the 30 or 31 credit
minimum.
