College of Humanities and Social & Behavioral Sciences

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Department of Psychology

Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work

Undergraduate Programs of Study

Psychology (PSY) 

For information, please contact 
Gary Dunbar, Chairperson, 774-3001,101 Sloan Hall 
For inclement weather class cancellations, call 774-7500. 

College of Humanities and Social & Behavioral Sciences
Department Website

Why Study Psychology?
Psychology at CMU
Psychology Major - General
Psychology Major - Graduate Preparation
Neuroscience Major
Cognitive Science Major
General Minor
The Faculty
PSY Course Descriptions

Why Study Psychology? 
The study of psychology at the undergraduate level will develop your knowledge and understanding of behavior. There are three reasons why this knowledge will be beneficial to you. The first is that you will better understand yourself and your environment. In other words, the study of psychology will enhance your life. The second reason for studying psychology is to prepare for a career in psychology or to acquire skills that will improve your performance in other careers, such as business or teaching. The third reason for studying psychology at the undergraduate level is to prepare for graduate study in psychology or related fields such as social work or counseling.

The three reasons for studying psychology are reflected in the three basic goals adopted by the Psychology Department. These goals are (a) to help students gain an awareness of the psychological processes operating within themselves and their environment; (b) to develop the technical competence for careers that require knowledge and skills in human development, mental health, behavior analysis, and other psychological areas; and (c) to provide students with a strong foundation in the basic knowledge and skills necessary to pursue graduate study in psychology or related fields.
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Psychology at CMU 
In order to achieve the goals listed above, the Psychology Department offers an extensive array of undergraduate course offerings, a choice of two majors, and a minor. In addition, the department offers graduate programs leading to the master’s degree, the specialist degree, and the doctoral degree. 

Advising. If you are considering a major or minor in psychology, you should come to the Psychology Department office in Sloan Hall to be assigned a faculty advisor and obtain a copy of the department’s Advising Handbook. After reading the Advising Handbook, you should consult with the advisor regarding the courses that would be most appropriate for you. When meeting with your advisor, you should bring the following materials: your personal educational record, the Advising Handbook, and the CMU Bulletin that you are following. 

To supplement faculty advising, Psi Chi, the national psychology honorary, offers evening meetings during the academic year dealing with general issues for any student considering a psychology major or minor and describing volunteer opportunities in human service settings in the Mt. Pleasant area. Times and dates of Psi Chi meetings are posted in Sloan Hall. 

Post-Graduation Plans. Though no one can guarantee what opportunities will be available to you upon graduation, you are probably interested in knowing what paths are followed by students who obtain a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Many graduates elect to go on to graduate school in psychology or in a related discipline, such as social work or counseling. Other graduates enter the labor market, generally in either human service jobs or business-related jobs. Examples of human service jobs include probation officer, case worker in a social service agency, psychiatric aide in a psychiatric hospital, houseparent in a residential treatment facility for emotionally disturbed adolescents, and many others. Examples of business-related job areas include consumer research, personnel and management. 

Credit Restrictions. On a psychology major, only PSY 100 may be taken on a Credit/No Credit basis. On a psychology minor, any course may be taken on a Credit/No Credit basis. 

There are also restrictions on the number of credits of certain courses (namely, courses with unspecified content) which can count towards a major/minor. Specifically, for the following courses - PSY 200 Special Issues, PSY 400 Special Issues, PSY 496 Directed Research, PSY 497 Independent Study, PSY 498 Undergraduate Honors Thesis in Psychology, PSY 500 Special Issues, PSY 501 Workshop, and PSY 502 Teaching Assistant in Psychology,  - the total number of credit hours shall be limited to nine hours counting towards the major or six hours counting toward the minor. No more than three hours of any one of these courses can count towards a major or a minor. (See course descriptions in the current CMU Bulletin for the maximum number of allowable credits that can be counted toward graduation for individual courses.)

Prerequisites. PSY 100 (or an equivalent course transferred in from another school) is a prerequisite for all other psychology courses except PSY 334. Course descriptions later in this Bulletin list other prerequisites. Recommended courses are not required, but are listed in the course descriptions to provide information on important background materials.
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Majors 
The psychology department offers you a choice of two majors. The first is a 30-credit major that is extremely flexible and is appropriate for anyone interested in psychology, regardless of post-graduation plans. The second is a 39-credit major that is relatively structured. This major is recommended if you wish to go on for graduate study in psychology.

Psychology Major - General 
B.A., B.S. degrees

This is the flexible major which you can consider regardless of your post-graduation plans including graduate school. This major requires that you complete a minimum of 30 semester hours of PSY courses. 

Four courses are specifically required on this major: 
PSY 100 (3) Introduction to Psychology 
PSY 211 (3) Introduction to Psychological Statistics
  OR STA 282 (3) Introduction to Statistics
  OR STA 382 (3) Elementary Statistical Analysis 
(If STA 282 or STA 382 is used, an additional three (3) hours of psychology must be taken.) 
PSY 285 (3) Research Methods 
PSY 385 (3) Applications of Research Methods 

The balance of the courses on this major should be decided by you and your psychology advisor, working together. Though not required, most students take more than 30 semester hours of PSY courses, but the department encourages you to take courses from a variety of disciplines. You must complete a minimum of 15 hours of psychology course work at CMU.
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Psychology Major - Graduate Preparation 
B.A., B.S. degrees

This is the relatively structured major which is designed and recommended for you if you wish to go on for graduate work in psychology. On this major, you must complete 39 semester hours of PSY courses, including the following: 
PSY 100 (3) Introduction to Psychology 
PSY 211 (3) Introduction to Psychological Statistics
  OR STA 282 (3) Introduction to Statistics
  OR STA 382 (3) Elementary Statistical Analysis 
[If STA 282 or STA 382 is used, an additional three (3) hours of psychology must be taken] 
PSY 220 (3) Developmental Psychology 
PSY 285 (3) Research Methods 
PSY 330 (3) Social Psychology 
PSY 383 (3) Learning and Memory 
PSY 385 (3) Applications of Research Methods 
PSY 387 (3) Behavioral Neuroscience 
PSY 409 (3) History and Systems 
In addition, you MUST select one course from the following list: 
PSY 250 (3) Abnormal Psychology 
PSY 310 (3) Psychological Testing 
PSY 336 (3) Industrial/Organizational Psychology 
PSY 340 (3) Studies in Personality
And you MUST select one course from the following list: 
PSY 382 (3) Perception 
PSY 384 (3) Behavior Analysis 
PSY 583 (3) Motivation and Emotion 
PSY 589 (3) Cognitive Psychology

This leaves you with six hours of psychology electives; these hours should be selected in consultation with your advisor. You must complete a minimum of 15 hours of psychology course work at CMU.
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Neuroscience Major
B.S. degree

This is an interdisciplinary major.  Refer to the Bulletin section on Interdisciplinary majors.
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Cognitive Science Major
B.A., B.S. degrees

This is an interdisciplinary major.  Refer to the Bulletin section on Interdisciplinary majors.
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Minors 

General Minor 
B.A., B.A.A., B.F.A., B.S., B.S. in B.A.

A minor in psychology requires a minimum of 21 semester hours of PSY courses and must include PSY 100 (Introduction to Psychology). You must complete a minimum of 9 hours of psychology course work at CMU. If you are minoring in psychology and plan to attend graduate school in psychology, PSY 211 is strongly recommended. The balance of your credits should be selected by you and your advisor working together to select the set of courses which is most appropriate for you. A minimum 2.7 GPA (B-) must be earned in all teaching minors.
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The faculty: Renee Babcock, Richard Backs, Terry A. Beehr, Sharon Bradley-Johnson, Neil Christiansen, Stephen Colarelli, Gary L. Dunbar, Rachel A. Foster-Lifson, Bryan Gibson, Kyunghee Han, Timothy S. Hartshorne, Michael Hixson, Susan Jacob, Melvyn M. Jaffa, Carl M. Johnson, Michael A. Kent, Terry M. Libkuman, Elizabeth Meadows, John S. Monahan, Sandra Morgan,  Larissa Niec, Justin Oh-Lee, Hajime Otani, Debra Poole, Stuart Quirk, Mark Reilly, Katrina Rhymer, Catherine Riordan, George Ronan, Michael Sandstrom, Tamara Penix Sbraga, Sonya Sheffert, Reid Skeel, K. Roger Van Horn, Stephen Wagner, Nathan Weed, Todd Zakrajsek.
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