2012-2013 University Catalog 
  
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2012-2013 University Catalog

Psychology, BA

Banner Code:  LA-BA-PSYC

Web: psychology.gmu.edu

This program of study is offered by the Department of Psychology .

For policies governing all undergraduate degrees, see the Academic Policies  chapter of the catalog.

Degree Requirements

Students must fulfill all requirements for bachelor’s degrees , including university general education requirements . Students pursuing a BA in psychology must complete additional college requirements for BA degrees  in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Students pursuing this degree must complete 36 credits in psychology with 24 credits at the 300 and 400 level.  Students must have a minimum GPA of 2.00 in these 36 credits and a minimum grade of 1.67 (C-) in each of the courses.

See Notes at the end of this section for recommendations and restrictions.

Students may meet the applied psychology requirement by completing a concentration in work and organizational psychology. This concentration may be of interest to students who are planning to attend graduate school in industrial and organizational (I/O) psychology or a related field such as organizational behavior or human resources management. Students who are considering a career in business may find this concentration advantageous for careers in training and development, human resources, and management.  

Basic courses in psychology (22-28 credits)

One introductory courses (3 credits)

Three or four foundational courses (9 or 12 credits)

One or two courses (3 or 6 credits) chosen from:
One course (3 credits) in cognitive psychology
One course (3 credits) in social psychology

One or two courses in biopsychology (3 or 6 credits)

Two research methods courses (7 credits)

Total: (22-28 credits)

Applied psychology courses (6-13 credits)

Students pursuing a BA in psychology complete 2 applied psychology courses (6-7 credits) chosen from the list below.  Alternatively, students may earn a concentration in work and organizational psychology by completing additional credits of applied psychology as outlined.

Two courses in applied psychology (6-7 credits) chosen from:

▲Concentration in Work and Organizational Psychology (WKOP) [12-13 credits]

Students must earn a minimum GPA of 2.00 in all coursework applied to the concentration.

Students who successfully complete the Psychology Department Honors Program (PSYC 490, 491, and 492) with an honors thesis/project focused on I/O psychology may, with approval of their thesis committees and the associate chair for undergraduate studies, substitute their honors work for one course in the concentration. Specific requirements for the concentration are listed below.

One required applied psychology course (3 credits)
Three courses (9-10 credits) chosen from:
Total: 12-13 credits

Elective courses in psychology (1-8)

Students complete the 36 required credits with electives in psychology (PSYC). PSYC 465 is strongly recommended for all students who plan to attend graduate school in psychology.

Total: 36 credits

Notes

It is strongly recommended that students fulfill the general education natural science requirement by completing BIOL 103 and 104 because these courses are prerequisites to the requirement of PSYC 372 or PSYC 375, 376. Students who have limited technology skills are encouraged to take IT 103.

PSYC 372 may be used in place of PSYC 375 only by students who receive PSYC 372 transfer credit from another institution.

Students who receive transfer credit for a research methods course must take PSYC 304, PSYC 309, or PSYC 323 unless the transfer courses has been approved as writing intensive.

Students are strongly encouraged to complete PSYC 300 and 301 by their junior year.  PSYC 300 is a prerequisite to several courses, and a background in research methods facilitates understanding empirical research discussed in all psychology courses. 

Any psychology course may be used to satisfy the 36-credit psychology requirement for the BA degree with the following restrictions:

  • A maximum of 6 credits of 327, 328, 421, and 422 may be applied to required psychology credits
  • A maximum of 6 credits of 260, 350, and 460 may be applied to required psychology credits
  • No more than 9 credits can be taken from the courses listed in the two bullets above without written permission of the department chair
  • PSYC 330 may not be taken for credit by psychology majors

Writing-Intensive Requirement

The university requires all students to complete at least one course designated “writing intensive” in their majors at the 300 level or above. Students majoring in psychology may fulfill this requirement by successfully completing PSYC 301, 304, 309, or 323.