When you enroll at Susquehanna, you’ll be paired with an advisor and application tool to guide you in your course planning and scheduling. The following is an excerpt from the complete course catalog. Enrolled students follow the requirements of the course catalog for the academic year in which they declare each major and/or minor, consult with their advisor(s) and the Academic Planning Tool.
Psychological Science Studies
Learning Goals:
- Students will demonstrate familiarity with the key concepts, theoretical perspectives, empirical findings, applications and overarching themes in psychology.
- Students will understand and apply scientific reasoning to interpret psychological phenomena, including research design, data analysis, and interpretation, as well as use critical and creative thinking, skeptical inquiry and innovative problem solving to investigate problems related to behavior and mental processes.
- Students will respect and apply ethical standards to evaluate psychological science and practice, while developing and enhancing interpersonal relationships, and adopting values that build community at all levels (locally, nationally and globally).
- Students will demonstrate effective communication in writing, presentations, and interactions with others for scientific and other purposes.
- Students will apply psychological principles and skills to personal, social, and organizational issues and goals, and develop meaningful direction for life after graduation.
Major in Psychology
Bachelor of Arts Degree
The department offers Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degree programs. Majors pursuing the Bachelor of Arts complete 41 semester hours in psychology with a grade of C- or better and with at least a 2.00 psychology GPA. Students complete the following required courses from each of five content areas:
12 Psychology Core (all are required)
PSYC-101 Principles of Psychology
PSYC-223 Research Methods in Psychology
PSYC-421 Directed Research
4 Developmental Psychology (choose one of the following):
PSYC-237 Lifespan Development
PSYC-238 Childhood & Adolescence
PSYC-240 Adulthood & Aging
4 Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Psychology (choose one of the following):
PSYC-230 Social Psychology
PSYC-245 Personality
PSYC-320 Psychological Disorders
8 Fundamental Paradigms in Psychology (choose two of the following):
PSYC-340 Cognitive Psychology
PSYC-342 Behavioral Neuroscience
PSYC-344 Learning Processes
PSYC-346 Sensation and Perception
1 Laboratory Proficiency (choose one of the following):
PSYC-360 Laboratory in Behavioral Neuroscience
PSYC-361 Laboratory in Cognitive Psychology
PSYC-362 Laboratory in Learning Processes
PSYC-363 Laboratory in Sensation and Perception
12 Psychology Electives
12 hours of electives selected with faculty adviser guidance
Majors must also complete a comprehensive psychology examination during the junior or senior year. Questions cover courses in the psychology core, developmental psychology, interpersonal and intrapersonal psychology, and fundamental paradigms in psychology content areas but not courses in the laboratory proficiency area. Students have up to four opportunities to take the comprehensive examination; only the highest score is recorded on the transcript. Performance on the comprehensive examination is reported on the transcript as high pass, pass or fail.
The department also recommends additional courses in other areas, depending on specific career goals. Frequent choices are biology, health care studies, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, business, prelaw and communications.
Additional Requirements for the Bachelor of Science Degree
Candidates for the Bachelor of Science degree will complete all requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in psychology. Bachelor of Science candidates also complete two additional courses (at least one of which must be selected from outside the psychology department) from among the following four options:
- A course (together with its corresponding lab) from the natural sciences (biology, chemistry, ecology, earth and environmental sciences, health care studies, or physics) that does not fulfill the student’s Scientific Explanations requirement1
- Any four-semester-hour math course numbered 111 or higher (except statistics) that does not fulfill the student’s Analytical Thought requirement1
- A third course from the fundamental paradigms content area of the psychology major2
- PSYC-323 Advanced Research Design and Analysis2
1. A student may take two of these courses to meet their B.S. course requirements.
2. This course may also be counted as a psychology B.A. elective.
Secondary Teaching Certification.
Secondary Teaching Certification Coursework required by the state of Pennsylvania for admission to the teacher certification program includes successful completion of FYSE-100 or equivalent course (having learning goals related to English composition), at least 3 semester hours in British or American literature, at least 6 semester hours of mathematics coursework (or other courses which satisfy the Central Curriculum Analytical Thought requirement) and at least one 40-hour externship.
Education course requirements for secondary education are EDUC-101 Introduction to Education and Society, EDUC-250 Educational Psychology, EDUC-260 Introduction to Special Education, EDUC-270 Instruction of Exceptional Students, EDUC-330 Technology in Education, EDUC-350 English Language Learners: Theory and Instruction, EDUC-380 Instructional Design, EDUC-479 Principles of Learning and Teaching in Secondary Education, EDUC-483 Differentiated Instruction and Classroom Management in Secondary Education, and the EDUC-500 Student Teaching package (EDUC-501, EDUC-502, EDUC-503 and EDUC-600).
In addition to completing the psychology major and the courses listed above, secondary education psychology students must complete certification in social studies. The requirements for certification in social studies are EDUC- 425 Methods of Curriculum Instruction and Assessment in Teaching Social Studies, SOCI-101 Principles of Sociology, ANTH-162 Introduction to Anthropology, ECON-105 Elements of Economics, POLI-111 American Government and Politics, POLI-121 Comparative Government and Politics, HIST-322 Pennsylvania History or HIST-324 Pennsylvania’s Pasts and Their Publics, one course in U.S. history (HIST-111, HIST-112 or HIST-115), one course in European history (HIST-131 or HIST-132) and one course in non-Western history (HIST-151, HIST-152, HIST-171, HIST-172, HIST-180 or HIST-181).
Honors in Psychology
Award of departmental honors recognizes outstanding performance and dedication in the psychology major. To graduate with honors in psychology, students must do the following:
- Complete all the requirements for either the B.A. or B.S. in psychology,
- Have an overall cumulative GPA of 3.25 and a psychology GPA of 3.50,
- Score at least 80 percent on the comprehensive examination,
- Complete PSYC-525 Independent Research for two semester hours, and
- Present their independent research in an approved public forum.
Psi Chi
Students who meet the requisite standards will be invited to join the international psychology honor society.