Psychology, BA
Psychology is the science of behavior and mental processes. Behavior is anything an organism does that we can observe and record; examples include smiling, talking, yelling, and marking a questionnaire. Mental processes are internal subjective experiences we infer from behaviors, such as thoughts, feelings, and beliefs.
The mission of the undergraduate program in psychology is to provide quality educational experiences in the science of psychology, by providing all students with a comprehensive and challenging course of study in the diverse areas of psychology. The program will also work to provide students with the skills, knowledge, and experiences necessary to recognize psychological principles in the world in which we live, and apply psychological concepts to solve problems, make recommendations, and demonstrate a critical analysis of social scientific findings. Finally, students will demonstrate competency in the areas necessary for the generation of psychological knowledge, including conceptualization, literature review methods, research methods, data analysis, and the ability clearly communicate in writing.
Psychology is an extremely broad discipline and provides students the opportunity to prepare for a wide variety of careers or graduate school. For example, a major in Psychology can provide a liberal arts education with a broadened understanding of psychological functioning as it applies to the study of the simplest organisms to the most complex of human behavior. The major in Psychology is also useful for students preparing for advanced study in business administration, education, law, medicine, neuroscience, and social work. In addition, the major in Psychology is recommended for students planning careers in organizational settings (in both the public or private domain) focusing on personnel, information systems, or pure and applied research; or careers in community settings focusing on the juvenile justice system, adult probation and parole, recreation, and educational or clinical services to children, adolescents, the aged or people with physical or mental disabilities.
Students who complete the psychology major often desire to enter professional careers in psychology which require advanced study beyond the bachelor's level, such as clinical psychology, counseling psychology, industrial psychology, school psychology, research, and college teaching.
Psychology majors are encouraged to join the Psychology Club and Psi Chi, the UTPB Chapter of the National Honor Society in Psychology. Membership information is available from the faculty advisors.
Degree Requirements
The minimum total credits required for a BA in psychology is 120.
- Read the UTPB catalog and understand all requirements for the BA degree. It is the student's responsibility to be familiar with and fulfill all the requirements for the BA degree.
- Complete at least 120 semester credit hours for the BA degree.
- At least 48 credits must be at the junior or senior level. At least 30 of these must be completed at .
- Obtain at least a C average in all General Education and minor courses, and at least a C grade for all courses in Psychology counting towards the degree. Maintain at least a C average in all courses counting toward the BA degree.
- In accordance with Texas Administrative Code §51.907, students may not drop more than six courses during their undergraduate academic career. This limit includes courses dropped at other institutions of higher education by transfer students under the circumstances specified in state law.
General Education Requirements
Communication
History (U.S. History)
| HIST 1301 | History Of The Us To 1877 | 3 |
| HIST 1302 | History Of The Us Since 1877 | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 6 |
Language, Philosophy, and Culture
Mathematics
Life and Physical Science
Political Science (U.S., State of Texas and Local Government)
Creative Arts
Social and Behavioral Science
Component Area
| COMM 1315 | Introduction to Public Speaking | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 3 |
Component Area Option
Total Credit Hours: 42
Computer Use
All Psychology majors must demonstrate a basic use of computing through the completion of statistics (PSYC 3301) and research methods (PSYC 3304)
Major Requirements
(A minimum of 37 credits in Psychology, (of which 24 sch must be upper level))
Required Core (5 courses)
Required Courses Within Pairs of Courses (5 courses)
Each student is required to take at least one course from five of the following six pairs of courses. (PSYC 1301 is a prerequisite for all upper level PSYC courses):
Elective Psychology Courses (3 courses)
If the student completes extra courses under B above, then the extra courses may be counted as an elective under C.
To plan your long-term schedule it will be beneficial to know that PSYC 1301, PSYC 3301, PSYC 3304 and PSYC 4393 are taught each Fall and Spring and some Summers. The members of most of the six required pairs under B are offered in such a fashion that one member of each pair is offered each Fall and Spring semester. If one is taught in the Fall, the other tends to be taught in the Spring. Students who plan to pursue graduate work in clinical or counseling psychology programs should select PSYC 3321, PSYC 4351, PSYC 3322, and PSYC 4304. Those interested in graduate work in experimental psychology at UTPB should select PSYC 3311, PSYC 3344, PSYC 4304, and PSYC 4307. Students who plan to pursue graduate work in any program are encouraged to conduct original research by enrolling in PSYC 4394.
Other Electives
As many hours as needed to earn 48 upper level hours and 120 total hours.
Minor
A minimum of 18 credits is required for the minor. At least 12 hours must be at the junior/senior level. Psychology majors cannot minor in Child and Family Studies.
Accelerated Master's Pathway (AMP)
This program has an Accelerated Master's Pathway (AMP) option. AMP allows for highly qualified students in the UTPB undergraduate program noted above to be eligible for admissions to a master's level program. Students who successfully complete the AMP will be granded automatic admissions into the corresponding UTPB graduate program. For more information about the AMP program please contact the office of Graduate Studies or the AMP Coordinator for this major.