Psychology (B.A.)

Faculty

Dr. Stacey-Ann Baugh, Associate Professor of Psychology (program chair)
Dr. Christopher Bishop, Associate Professor of Psychology
Dr. Deborah Harris O’Brien, Associate Professor of Psychology
Dr. Carlota Ocampo, Associate Professor of Psychology; Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs
Dr. Debbie Van Camp, Associate Professor of Psychology

Description

The study of psychology emphasizes the behavior and experience of the individual. Psychology investigates the effects on the individual of other individuals, groups, the environment, and the world of sensation and perception. This investigation can be undertaken from a number of different perspectives: physiological, sociocultural, behavioral, cognitive, humanistic, and psychoanalytic. Psychology thus interfaces with fields such as sociology, economics, political science, education, biology, and philosophy. In summary, psychology contributes to an understanding of how people behave, think, interact, and make sense of the world around them.

The goals of the Psychology Program are to prepare students to continue on to graduate training in psychology or related fields (such as counseling or social work); to enable students to apply psychological theory and research to everyday experience; and to provide students with the skills to devise, execute, analyze, and write reports of psychological studies. In accordance with the overall goals of Trinity, the Psychology Program strives to heighten student awareness of the diversity of human behavior and experience, notably with respect to gender, ethnicity, and age, as well as to teach and instill an ethical approach to the study of human behavior and cognition.

The Psychology major and minor are offered to students in the College of Arts and Sciences, and the major is offered in the School of Professional Studies. Psychology also supports the human relations major in both the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Professional Studies. In addition, psychology majors also can apply to the B.A. in Psychology to M.A. in Counseling program, which allows select students to complete their undergraduate psychology degree while also beginning graduate coursework towards a Master’s degree in counseling.

Major Requirements

In addition to completing a set of required courses (30 credits), all psychology majors are required to complete one of four course clusters (15 credits): general, developmental, forensic, or social psychology. Each cluster is designed to give the student a degree of expertise within a given area of psychology.

All psychology majors must take the following courses:

Required Courses (30 credits)

ALL of the following courses:
PSYC 101 Introductory Psychology
PSYC 301 Experimental Psychology: Research Methods
PSYC 311 Experimental Social Psychology OR PSYC 331 Experimental Developmental Psychology
PSYC 490 Practicum
PSYC 499 Senior Seminar in Psychology

BOTH of the following statistics courses:
MATH 110 Introduction to Statistics
MATH 210 Statistical Inference

ONE ethics course, such as:
PHIL 241 Introduction to Theoretical Ethics
PHIL 245 Ethics I
PHIL 251 Bioethics
PHIL 341 Moral Psychology

ONE biology course chosen from among:
BIOL 101 Introduction to Biology
BIOL 111 General Biology I
BIOL 112 General Biology II

Additional courses in mathematics and natural sciences are highly recommended.

General Psychology Cluster (15 credits)

THREE of the following courses:
PSYC 211 Social Psychology
PSYC 221 Psychopathology
PSYC 231 Child Psychology
PSYC 241 Physiological Psychology

TWO additional psychology electives (6 credits minimum)

Developmental Psychology Cluster (15 credits)

ONE required course in child psychology:
PSYC 231 Child Psychology

THREE of the following courses:
PSYC 212 Self and Identity
PSYC 233 Psychology of Adolescence
PSYC 235 Psychology of Aging
PSYC 262 Psychology of Women
PSYC 325 Behavior Disorders in Children

ONE additional psychology elective (3 credits minimum)

Social Psychology Cluster (15 credits)

ONE required course in social psychology:
PSYC 211 Social Psychology

THREE of the following courses:
PSYC 212 Self and Identity
PSYC 221 Psychopathology
PSYC 262 Psychology of Women
PSYC 313 Attribution Theory and Decision Making
PSYC 315 Psychology of Group Behavior
PSYC 317 Psychology of Aggression and Violence
PSYC 385 Ethnic & Cross Cultural-Psychology

ONE additional psychology elective (3 credits minimum)

Forensic Psychology Cluster (15 credits)

ONE required course in Forensic Psychology:
PSYC 323 Forensic Psychology (or may substitute PSYC 402 Juvenile Forensic Psychology)

THREE of the following courses:
PSYC 211 Social Psychology
PSYC 221 Psychopathology
PSYC 317 Psychology of Aggression and Violence
PSYC 325 Behavior Disorders in Children
PSYC 343 Drugs and Human Behavior
CJUS 100 Introduction Criminal Justice 

ONE additional psychology elective (3 credits minimum)

Minor Requirements

For a general minor in psychology, students are required to take PSYC 101 Introductory Psychology and are then advised to pursue a pattern of courses similar to the major described above. A total of eighteen credits are required for the minor (PSYC 101 Introductory Psychology plus 15 psychology credits); additionally students must obtain permission of the Program Chair to minor in psychology.

Minor in Forensic Psychology (18 credits)

Students wishing to pursue a minor in forensic psychology should follow the structure below:

ALL of the following courses:
PSYC 101 Introductory Psychology
PSYC 221 Psychopathology
PSYC 323 Forensic Psychology
CJUS 100 Introduction Criminal Justice

TWO additional courses from the following:
PSYC 211 Social Psychology
PSYC 317 Psychology of Aggression and Violence
PSYC 325 Behavior Disorders in Children
PSYC 343 Drugs and Human Behavior

Dual Degree (B.A. in Psychology to M.A. in Counseling)

During senior year, psychology majors have the unique opportunity to apply to the B.A. in Psychology to M.A. in Counseling program, which allows select students to complete their undergraduate psychology degree while also beginning graduate coursework towards a Master’s degree in counseling.

Selection Criteria

  • Students must have a minimum of a 3.5 grade point average.
  • Students must complete a Pre-Application Screening Form.
  • Students must complete the admissions application, including a personal statement that shows evidence of interest in and commitment to a career either as a School Counselor or as a Licensed Professional Counselor (or both).
  • Students must have recommendations from two (2) full-time CAS Psychology faculty who can attest to the student’s intellectual, interpersonal, and emotional maturity.

Program of Study

The description below provides an illustration of the student’s final year in CAS after having been admitted into the B.A. in Psychology to M.A. in Counseling Program as well as after the student’s graduation from CAS.

  • Fall Term, Senior Year in CAS
    • Psychology Courses: 16-17 credits
    • [catalog-courses]EDCC 510 Human Growth and Development
    • EDCC 601 Orientation: Tools for Graduate School
  • Spring Term, Senior Year in CAS
    • Psychology Courses: 16-17 credits
    • EDCC 540 Teaching and Learning or EDCC 511 Introduction to Professional Writing (if required)

After Graduation

Students have the option to continue their Counseling coursework either during the summer term that immediately follows their CAS graduation or in the following fall semester. At this point, the student continues her studies as indicated in the Catalog pages for the student’s program:

In general, students need another 3 years of study to complete the M.A. program of their choice.

Program Policies

Advanced Placement:
Credit for PSYC 101 is granted for a score of a 4 or 5 on the AP examination. These credits may count toward the major and the General Education curriculum.

CLEP Policy:
CLEP examination scores will not be accepted as qualifying for psychology credits or requirements.

Grades in Major Courses:
A minimum of a 2.0 (“C”) cumulative GPA average must be earned in the required courses for the major. A grade of C- may be counted toward fulfilling the requirements, at the discretion of the program faculty, if the overall average in the required courses is at least a 2.0. This policy applies to the required Psychology classes, including the co-requisites in Mathematics (MATH 110, MATH 210), but not in Biology and Philosophy.

Pass/No Pass:
No major courses may be taken on a pass/no pass basis. MATH 110 and MATH 210 may not be taken on a pass/no pass basis. However, required related courses (Biology and Philosophy) may be taken pass/no pass.

Senior Assessment:
All students are required to take PSYC 499, which prepares students for the Senior Assessment. Students receive eight comprehensive questions by the end of the fall semester in which PSYC 499 is taken. Two of these questions are chosen for the assessment, which occurs early in the spring semester. Two three-hour sessions are used to develop and present analyses of two selected questions, one question per session.

TELL Policy:
Psychology faculty review TELL portfolios and will accept up to nine credits toward the major.

Transfer Credits:

The following courses must be taken at Trinity:

  • One of the three Experimental Psychology courses
    • PSYC 301 Experimental Psychology: Research Methods
    • PSYC 311 Experimental Social Psychology
    • PSYC 331 Experimental Developmental Psychology
  • PSYC 499 Senior Seminar in Psychology
  • At least three psychology electives

All other psychology courses, as well as the Biology and Philosophy requirements, may be accepted as transfer courses toward the psychology major.

[department-courses dept=PSYC]