Psychology, BA

Advising

Upper-division psychology students are assigned faculty academic advisors by the students’ last names. They may also see Psychology’s professional staff advisor. See the Psychology Department website for the alphabetical assignment of advisors. Lower-division psychology students are assigned to a professional staff advisor. Each psychology student’s assigned advisor(s) are listed in their online Student Center information.

Students can access advising by appointment or on a space available basis during their assigned advisor’s office hours. Advising is especially important before graduation and registration deadlines.

To make the most of their education, students are encouraged to consult the psychology department website, which has extensive career information and links to graduate schools and programs.  Students are encouraged to do their own research on graduate opportunities and prerequisites.

GE Advising:

The Psychology professional advisor provides information on GE lower-division course selection for. Check the department website for office hours information.

Freshman Advising:

During the first two years at SSU, psychology students take the lower-division major requirements (PSY 250, PSY 270, PSY 280, and MATH 165) and lower-division GE courses. Students should meet with their assigned psychology advisor regularly, including no later than the second semester of their sophomore year to begin planning their upper-division coursework.

Transfer Advising:

Transfer students must attend transfer orientation and then meet with their assigned psychology advisor during their first semester. Please note that PSY 270 (Psychology of Self-Discovery) is the only required class that must be taken at SSU. We strongly advise students to complete PSY 270 their first semester and no later than their junior year.

Internships

All internships (PSY 499) are Credit/No Credit. A minimum of 8 Credit/No Credit units may count toward the 40 psychology-major units.

The Psychology Department strongly recommends community internship experience, particularly for the student going on to counseling clinical/psychology master’s and doctoral degrees.

Each semester students may participate in field placements and internship work experiences in organizations and agencies. These internships involve on-the-job training by the agency as well as academic work under the supervision of the psychology Internship coordinator. This experience forms an important base for academic credit and helps students to obtain a range of learning experiences not otherwise found in the department. Students must begin the internship process the semester prior to starting their actual internship.  This includes: attending an internship informational meeting, obtaining a PSY 499 syllabus, setting up internship placement, completing an internship agreement form and providing the agency supervisor with our supervision information letter. See internships updates on the department website. Students planning on graduate work in clinical or counseling psychology are encouraged to gain internship experience well before applying to graduate school.

Research and Teaching Internships

The Psychology Department strongly recommends research assistant work for those students planning to go on to graduate work in psychology at the master’s or doctoral levels. Many university graduate programs require students to have experience in conducting psychological research, as well as in analyzing data and writing up the results. In order to find out more about these research opportunities, students should consult with individual faculty members who are mentoring students in faculty research projects.

Some Psychology Department instructors offer teaching internships to advanced students who have taken and excelled in a course. Duties include working with the classroom instructor in class preparation and classroom tasks, and facilitating small group work. Teaching Assistants register for PSY 482, Teaching Internship (C/NC).

Program Learning Outcomes

The Psychology Department curriculum is arranged to develop the following skills in each student by graduation. The courses are designed to enable each student to:

• Describe key concepts, principles and overarching themes in psychology and apply to relevant contexts (i.e. ethical, clinical, personal, career, scientific, sociocultural). 
• Interpret and design basic psychological research.
• Use scientific reasoning to interpret psychological phenomena.
• Demonstrate skills that promote behavioral change at the individual, organizational, and community levels.
• Identify the Big 8 diversity groups, and analyze their effects on interpersonal and intergroup dynamics. 
• Recognize and respond to instances of explicit and subtle bias and discrimination in personal and professional contexts.
• Demonstrate insight into inner experiences using psychological concepts and practices. 

Degree Requirements

See the “Degree Requirements ” in the University Catalog for complete details on general degree requirements.

General Education Requirements (48 units)

See the “General Education ” requirements in the University Catalog for information on General Education requirements. Some major requirements may double count for GE requirements.

Major Requirements

The Psychology major consists of 40 units in the major, plus a 3-4-unit course in statistics. Many psychology majors take more than 40 major units and/or add a second major or a minor in another discipline. Students are encouraged to work in community internships and to expand their knowledge of diversity issues with coursework within the department and the university.

In addition to statistics, no more than 11 units in the major may be lower-division psychology units. At least 29 units must be upper-division psychology courses (SSU courses numbered 300 or higher). All courses for the major must be taken for a grade if this is offered, and must be passed with a grade of C or better. A maximum of 8 units may be taken Credit/No Credit in the major—this includes internships and special studies courses. Psychology GE courses (PSY 250 and PSY 325) count for the major as well as for GE.

Units

Total units in GE: 48

Total Major units: 44

Total units in university electives: 28

Total units required for graduation: 120

Program Road Maps