The intent of our major program is to give you:

(1) a basic background in Psychology and

(2) a focus for later job placement and career development.

Our program has every Psychology major to complete a set of required courses, the Psychology CORE. You will have options about some of the courses you can choose within the core. Our reasons for a core of courses are several:

1. First, the core gives you an opportunity to see what various areas of Psychology are about.  We find that many students are interested in Psychology but do not know "what can be done" with Psychology.  Indeed, graduate training usually is not necessary for jobs in Psychology-related areas. 
   
   
2. Second, all Psychology faculty have an occasion to know you through their classes.  This can become important when it is time to write recommendations for you. 
   
   
3. Finally, the core ensures the integrity of a Psychology major: ALL students graduating from our department have common sets of experiences and backgrounds in Psychology even though they have different personal interests and career plans.

The Psychology Core  (24 semester hours):  
Psych 2221  Data Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences........ 3 sh
Psych 2222  Experimental Psychology.................................. 4 sh
Psych 2340  Child, OR Psych 2350 Adolescent Psychology... 3 sh
Psych 3380  Psychology of Personality................................. 3 sh
Psych 3480  Abnormal Psychology........................................ 3 sh
Psych 3520  Learning, OR Psych 3530 Cognitive Processes. 4 sh
Psych 3560  Social Psychology.............................................. 4 sh

As you can see, our CORE presents you with several basic areas to Psychology.  You should note that some courses of the core do require prior courses: Experimental must precede Social Psychology as well as either Learning or Cognitive Processes. 

PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR  (30 semester hours):   
Psychology Core (7 courses)..............  24 sh

Psychology Electives (2 courses)........    6 sh

The minimum requirements for a Psychology Major is the CORE plus electives in Psychology to reach a total of 30 sh in Psychology. You can supplement the Psychology Core based on your anticipated career direction.

For example, if you find that GRADUATE EDUCATION is needed to give you the professional skills for your job, you can elect courses to help you with graduate school ("admission and "survival"). If you do not now know what career you wish to pursue (many of our majors do not know "what they want to do"), you can elect courses to give you the broadest background, and placement flexibility, in Psychology.

If you plan to enter the JOB MARKET immediately upon graduation, your electives can be used to increase the attractiveness of your application, such as with Practicum (i.e., an on-the-job experience). You may find our major combined with an academic, job-oriented minor (such as Business Administration) is attractive. You also may wish to combine two programs of major study, i.e., a double-major. We find that Psychology-Sociology, Psychology-English, and Psychology-Recreation are common combinations. Our Psychology major is flexible enough to satisfy your interests in Psychology and accommodate your career goals as they may now exist, or as they are likely to develop.