Psychology (BS)

This program is offered by the College of Science and Health/Psychology Department. It is available at select international campuses, but it is not available at the St. Louis main campus. Please see the Locations Offering Undergraduate Programs section of this catalog for a list of campuses where this program is offered.

Program Description

The bachelor of science (BS) in psychology is designed to provide the biological, cognitive, personality and social contexts for understanding the behavior of individuals throughout their lifespan. Students who successfully complete the BS in psychology will have the foundation, research skills and data analysis expertise to succeed in a MA/PhD psychology graduate program (e.g. clinical psychology, experimental psychology, etc.).

Students graduating with a bachelor of science (BS) in psychology will need to pursue a graduate degree before they are able to obtain professional licensure. Students are encouraged to check entrance requirements for any post-graduate programs prior to finishing their BS at Webster in the event they need to take additional coursework.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:

• Describe the major concepts, theoretical perspectives, empirical findings and historical trends in psychology.
• Implement the use of scientific reasoning to interpret psychological phenomena and demonstrate the ability to to interpret, design and conduct basic psychological research using statistical analysis. 
• Apply ethical standards to evaluate psychological science and practice and apply those standards to build and enhance interpersonal relationships locally and globally. 
• Demonstrate effective writing, exhibit effective presentation skills and interact effectively with others. 
• Discuss occupational pursuits available in a variety of settings given their psychological knowledge, skills and values. 
• Detail the biological and genetic underpinnings of human behavior.
• Develop a research hypothesis based on the available literature in psychology and then collect, analyze and interpret data to address the question. 

Degree Requirements

For information on the general requirements for a degree, see Baccalaureate Degree Requirements under the Academic Policies and Information section of this catalog.

• 65 required credit hours
• Applicable University Global Citizenship Program hours, with accommodations for the psychology BS
• Electives

Global Citizenship Program for Psychology BS

For students completing the psychology BS, MATH 1430 will satisfy both the requirements of the major and the GCP 'Quantitative Literacy' requirement. In addition, WRIT 1010 will satisfy the requirements of the major and the GCP 'Written Communication' skill requirement. BIOL 1010 and BIOL 1040 cannot be used to complete GCP requirements.

Special Requirements

• Courses completed with a grade below a C- do not count toward fulfilling the specific course requirements of the major.
• Within the required 65 credit hours, 30 credit hours must be at the 3000-level and above with at least 12 credit hours at the 4000-level.
• No more than 6 credit hours total obtained in senior thesis, practica, independent learning experiences, reading courses, directed study and assessment of prior learning may be applied toward the 65 credit hours required for a major. However, students may use any number of thesis, practica, independent learning experiences, etc. toward their overall bachelor degree requirements.
• Transfer students can apply up to 18 credit hours of approve PSYC course work from other universities toward the psychology major.
• Student may substitute a higher-level composition, math or biology course for the non-psychology supporting core curriculum requirement. Students must confirm this substitution with the psychology department. Students may also transfer in these requirements.

Curriculum

The 65 credit hours required for the bachelor of science in psychology include the following:

Non-Psychology Supporting Core Requirements:

• WRIT 1010 The Craft of College Writing (3 hours)
• MATH 1430 College Algebra (3 hours)
• BIOL 1010 Human Biology (4 hours)
• BIOL 1040 Human Genetics (3 hours)

 Psychology Core Requirements:

• PSYC 1100 Introduction to Psychology (3 hours)
• PSYC 1800 Careers in Psychology (1 hour)
• PSYC 2750 Introduction to Measurement and Statistics (3 hours)
• PSYC 2825 Introduction to Research Methods (3 hours)
• PSYC 3025 Psychology and Ethics (2 hours)
• PSYC 4750 Advanced Statistics (3 hours)
• PSYC 4825 Senior Thesis (3 hours)
• PSYC 4925 Senior Capstone: History, Philosophy, and Systems of Psychology (3 hours)
• PSYC 4950 Senior Assessment (1 hour)
• Psychology electives (15 hours)

At least ONE course from EACH of the following five content areas:

Biological Perspectives

• PSYC 3850 Sensation and Perception (3 hours)
• PSYC 4300 Health Psychology (3 hours)
• PSYC 4550 Drug and Chemical Dependency (3 hours)
• PSYC 4650 Biopsychology (3 hours)

Clinical and Counseling Perspectives

• PSYC 3125 Abnormal Psychology (3 hours)
• PSYC 3775 Personality Theory (3 hours)
• PSYC 3900 Introduction to Counseling (3 hours)
• PSYC 4225 Introduction to the Helping Professions (3 hours)

Lifespan Development Perspectives

• PSYC 2200 Child Psychology (3 hours)
• PSYC 2250 Adolescent Psychology (3 hours)
• PSYC 2300 Lifespan Development (3 hours)
• PSYC 2950 Psychology of Adulthood and Aging (3 hours)

Learning and Cognitive Perspectives

• PSYC 3325 Applied Learning Theory (3 hours)
• PSYC 3350 Cognitive Psychology (3 hours)
• PSYC 3525 Memory (3 hours)
• PSYC 3725 Psychology of Judgment and Decision Making (3 hours)

 Social and Cross-Cultural Perspectives

• PSYC 3475 International Psychology (3 hours)
• PSYC 3575 Industrial/Organizational Psychology (3 hours)
• PSYC 3600 Social Psychology (3 hours)
• PSYC 3625 Motivation and Emotion (3 hours)