Psychology (B.A.)

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, offered in the School of Professional Studies and The College of Arts and Sciences, supports the human relations major in both Schools.

Program Learning Goals

  1. Knowledge Base in Psychology
  2. Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking
  3. Ethical and Social Responsibility in a Diverse World
  4. Communication
  5. Professional Development

Program Learning Outcomes

  1. Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology
  2. Describe applications of psychology
  3. Use scientific reasoning to interpret psychological phenomena
  4. Demonstrate psychology information literacy
  5. Interpret, design and conduct basic psychological research
  6. Apply ethical standards to evaluate psychological science and practice
  7. Demonstrate effective writing for different purposes
  8. Exhibit effective presentation skills for different purposes
  9. Develop meaningful professional direction in life after graduation

Major Requirements

In addition to completing the required core and elective courses, all psychology majors must take the following foundation courses (32 credits) and the select courses in either the general OR open clusters (12 credits)

Foundation Courses (32 credits)
All major courses require a grade of C- or above:

ALL of the following courses:
PSYC 101 Introductory Psychology
PSYC 241 Physiological Psychology
PSYC 301 Experimental Psychology: Research Methods I
PSYC 311 OR PSYC 331
PSYC 490 Practicum OR SOCY 491 Internship
PSYC 499 Senior Seminar in Psychology

ONE additional psychology course (PSYC 200 level) or higher elective.

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

ONE social science:
SSC 207 Writing for the Social Sciences

Co-requisite Courses (6 credits)
The below courses are counted towards the general education core:
PHIL 245 Ethics I
BIOL 101 Introduction to Biology OR BIOL 111 General Biology I

All psychology majors choose ONE of the following clusters to complete.
General Cluster Courses (12 credits)
ALL of the following courses:
PSYC 211 Social Psychology
PSYC 221 Psychopathology
PSYC 231 Child Psychology
PSYC 200 level or higher elective

Open Cluster Courses (12 credits)
Select four (4) 200 level or higher Psychology courses.

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 core 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. This course prepares students in the School of Professional Studies for graduate level work and entry level employment.

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 I
    • PSYC 311
    • PSYC 331
  • 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.

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