Psychology BS

The Psychology BS is designed to address the standards established by the American Psychological Association for an undergraduate psychology major. Five goals and learning outcomes represent departmental expectations for the undergraduate psychology major.

• Knowledge Base in Psychology: Students should demonstrate fundamental knowledge and comprehension of the major concepts, theoretical perspectives, historical trends, and empirical findings to discuss how psychological principles apply to behavioral problems.
• Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking: The skills in this domain involve the development of scientific reasoning and problem solving, including effective research methods.
• Ethical and Social Responsibility in a Diverse World: The skills in this domain involve the development of ethically and socially responsible behaviors for professional and personal settings in a landscape that involves increasing diversity.
• Communication: Students should demonstrate competence in writing and in oral and interpersonal communication skills.
• Professional Development: The emphasis in this goal is on application of psychology-specific content and skills, effective self-reflection, project-management skills, teamwork skills and career preparation.

• Fully equipped psychological research labs (most located in Park Hall and Hochstetter Hall) allow faculty and students to conduct a wide variety of experiments utilizing cognitive, affective, behavioral, neurological, and psychophysiological measurements
• Shared research space is available for research using specialized measures such as electroencephalography (EEG), electromyography (EMG), and functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIR).
• Research facilities downtown include the Clinical and Research for Institute on Addictions, and the Center for Translational Research, which has facilities for functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
• Conference rooms in Park Hall are used for small group meetings and seminars
• A computer lab on the 4th floor of Park Hall offers specialized statistical software
• The James R. Sawusch PhD Psychology Undergraduate Resource Center, in Park Hall 282, is a meeting place and general study area for all students in psychology

• The department has 25 tenure-track/tenured and 5 full-time teaching faculty members, all of whom teach undergraduate psychology courses
• Faculty specializations include the study of:
• Clinical disorders (e.g., depression, addiction, ADHD)
• Developmental challenges (e.g., social behavior, bullying, social withdrawal)
• The self-concept and self-esteem
• The formation and maintenance of close relationships
• Responses to stressful situations and resilience
• Memory
• Language acquisition, comprehension, and production
• Auditory perception in humans and non-human animals
• Neural systems for learning and motivation
• Taste and feeding
• Neurophysiological mechanisms underlying drug use and drug abuse 
• Faculty conduct research funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH)
• Faculty members serve as editors for leading journals and as officers in professional organizations
• Core faculty teach the majority of undergraduate courses. Approximately one-third of undergraduate courses are taught by highly qualified adjunct faculty or graduate instructors

• Psychology majors develop a highly desirable skill set that includes an understanding of the scientific method and psychological principles, critical analysis, problem solving, evaluation of evidence, statistical analysis, and scientific writing
• Career possibilities include:
• Directly related clinical practice in psychology (with PhD in psychology) or psychiatry (with MD and residency)
• Directly related work in mental health as a counselor (e.g., vocational, rehabilitation, probation, alcohol and drug), school psychologist, or social worker (with further education at the master’s level)
• Directly related work in psychology research and teaching (with further education at the master’s or PhD level)
• Allied fields involving the analysis of human behavior (e.g., market research, government programs and agencies, personnel manager, human resources, management analyst, human factors specialist, public relations specialist, research/research technician, administrative services, community service, sales)
• Allied fields involving public health (e.g., behavior modification management, caseworker, occupational therapist, administration of hospitals and mental health facilities, medical technician)
• Allied fields involving education (e.g., teacher, vocational rehabilitation counselor and youth worker, guidance counselor, youth worker)
• Work in criminal justice, probation officer
• Work involving behavioral statistics and computer applications used in psychological research, including computer programming
  
• Salary Information
• According to the 2020 NACE national salary survey for bachelor's degree graduates in psychology, the average salary was $54,786, with salaries ranging from $50,000 to $62,500.