| DEPARTMENT OF
PSYCHOLOGY Chair: Dr. Larry Christensen (460-6321)
Graduate Coordinator: Labbe’
Professors: Allen, Brown, Christensen, Labbe’, Vitulli, Williams
Associate Professors: Anderson, Crum,
Downey, Langhinrichsen-Rohling, Sinnott, Turner, Welsh
Assistant Professors: Arata, Faust
UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES
The objective of psychology, as a science, is to understand, explain, and predict
the behavior of organisms. The Department of Psychology has developed and organized its
course offerings to meet three major goals:
- To provide a strong foundation for those students
who plan to enter a graduate school of psychology after completing their undergraduate
degree requirements.
- To assist those students who are planning careers
in psychology or in related fields by providing a flexible curriculum that can be designed
to meet the career goals of individual students.
- To meet the needs of those students who are taking
psychology courses as part of their liberal arts education.
REQUIREMENTS
FOR A MAJOR IN PSYCHOLOGY
A minimum of 36 semester hours in psychology including 30 hours from the
undergraduate core and six hours of electives.
UNDERGRADUATE CORE
Topic Area
Basic
Exper / Learn
Personality / Soc
Developmental |
Course Number PSY 120, 220, 310 320, 410
PSY 383,420,430
PSY 340, 435, 440
PSY 350, 356 |
Required All five
Any Two
Any Two
Any One |
Total: Ten
courses (30 hours)
The remaining six hours of electives needed for a major
may be taken from any courses not taken previously (excluding PSY 250).
Students who are preparing for graduate study are
encouraged to take all courses listed in the undergraduate core and any additional courses
recommended by their faculty advisor. Student research is encouraged by the faculty and
students may obtain course credit for individual student research projects in PSY 494.
REQUIREMENTS
FOR A MINOR IN PSYCHOLOGY
A minimum of 21 semester hours in Psychology, including PSY 120, 220 and 15
semester hours of electives (twelve of those must be in courses numbered 300 or above).
GRADUATE
STUDIES
The Master of Science degree program in Psychology is designed to provide
individuals with knowledge of current theories, principles, and methods of experimental
and applied psychology in preparation for future work toward a doctoral degree, employment
under supervision in an applied setting, employment in a research setting or employment in
a junior college teaching position.
The student is given an opportunity
to apply for a concentration in either of the following areas of study:
- General/Experimental Psychology
- Applied Psychology
An individualized course of study will be developed by the
student and an advisor so as to fulfill the student’s career objectives and, at the
same time, meet all requirements for the M.S. degree in Psychology.
REQUIREMENTS
FOR ADMISSION
Students are admitted Fall Semester only. Applications to the Psychology
Graduate Program should be completed by March 1 for admission the following Fall.
Applications completed after March 1 will be considered only if there are still openings
available. Please note that the Psychology Graduate Program is a competitive program with
a limited capacity and admits students to begin in the Fall Semester only.
In addition to the Graduate School
application form and required supporting documentation, the Department of Psychology
requires submission of a Psychology Department application form, statement of purpose and
three letters of recommendation. Applicants will be asked to indicate whether they are
applying for the general/experimental or the applied concentration. Applicants should
contact the Department of Psychology for guidelines on submission of these materials.
The following criteria supplement the Graduate School
criteria for admission (see Categories of Admission):
REGULAR
ADMISSION
In addition to meeting graduate school requirements for regular admission (see Categories
of Admission), applicants to the psychology graduate program must meet the following
criteria:
- Completion of at least 21 semester hours of
psychology courses on the undergraduate level including at least one statistics course and
one course in experimental methods/ research design. In addition, the following courses
are highly recommended: abnormal psychology, physiological psychology, learning,
personality, social psychology, developmental psychology, and history/ systems of
psychology.
- Summed score of 1000 or better on the verbal and
quantitative subtests of the General Test of the Graduate Record Examination.
- Submission of a score on the GRE Subject Test in
Psychology is recommended, especially for applicants for graduate assistantships.
PROVISIONAL
STANDING
Applicants who do not meet all requirements for regular admission but who
show evidence of promise as a graduate student may, in exceptional cases, be considered
for provisional admission if space is available in the program. The graduate admissions
committee will consider provisional admission on an individual basis. Students admitted
provisionally may be required to make up deficiencies in their undergraduate course work
without graduate credit in addition to completing the normal degree requirements listed
below.
Provisional students may apply for
regular standing after satisfactory completion of the first nine semester hours of
recommended graduate course work in psychology. Students must also remove any
undergraduate deficiencies before being approved for change of status. Students in
provisional standing who receive a grade lower than "B" in any graduate or
undergraduate psychology course will be recommended to the Dean of the Graduate School for
academic dismissal.
NON-DEGREE
STUDENTS
Applicants for non-degree status in psychology are considered only in
exceptional cases and will normally be admitted only if they meet regular admission
standards. That is, they must have a 3.0 GPA overall and in psychology, a score of 1000 or
better on the verbal plus quantitative subtests of the Graduate Record Examination, and
must have completed the required undergraduate course work. Following admission,
non-degree students must have permission of the department chair and director of graduate
studies of the college for each course they wish to enroll in. Enrollment will be approved
on a space-available basis with preference being given to degree students. Non-degree
students must satisfy the same prerequisites and co-requisites as degree students.
PROGRESS
TOWARD DEGREE
All graduate students will be evaluated each semester to determine if they
are making satisfactory progress toward completion of degree requirements. Students will
be given written reports, including specific deficits, if they are not making satisfactory
progress. Such students will have one semester to remedy the specific deficits listed or
will be subject to dismissal from the program.
GRADUATE
ASSISTANTSHIPS
Each year the Psychology Department recommends qualified applicants to the
Dean of Graduate School for graduate assistantships. Applicants must be students in
Regular Standing. The graduate admission committee strongly recommends that applicants for
assistantships submit scores from the GRE Subject Test in Psychology as part of their
application materials.
Application forms for graduate
assistantships may be obtained by writing the Psychology Department, University of South
Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688-0002 or by calling the secretary of the Psychology Department at
(334)460-6321. The deadline for receipt of completed assistantship applications is March
1.
GRADUATE
CORE CURRICULUM
The core courses in Part A are required of all students in the
Master’s Program in Psychology regardless of concentration. The core courses in Part
B are required of all students in the Master’s Program in Psychology regardless of
concentration but may be waived if the student has sufficient undergraduate background in
the subject matter. Any waivers must be approved by the Graduate Committee. In addition to
these core courses, all students are required to complete either a major project in
psychology (PSY 598, minimum of three hours required) or a thesis (PSY 599, minimum of six
hours required). Further guidelines for completion of theses and major projects are
available in the Department of Psychology.
Core Courses (Research Methodology) -
Part A
| PSY 500 |
No Credit |
PSY 501 |
4 hrs |
| PSY 502 |
3 hrs |
PSY 506 |
3 hrs |
Part B
One of the following
| PSY 510 |
3 hrs |
PSY 514* |
3 hrs |
| PSY 516* |
3 hrs |
|
|
Total Hours Required 16 hours
Research Experience
| PSY 598 |
min of 3 hrs |
| PSY 599 |
min of 6 hrs |
*Dual listed with 400-level courses.
Applied
Concentration
In addition to the graduate core curriculum,
students admitted to the applied concentration are required to complete all courses in
Group A below and either PSY 552 or 554 from Group B for a total of at least 22 hours. In
addition, students in the applied concentration must complete either a major project in
psychology (minimum of three hours required) or a thesis (minimum of six hours required).
Satisfactory completion of PSY 530 with a minimum grade of "B" is required
before a student is allowed to enroll in any practicum course.
Group A - Required Applied Courses
| PSY 530 |
1 hr |
PSY 532 |
3 hrs |
| PSY 540 |
3 hrs |
PSY 542 |
4 hrs |
| PSY 544 |
4 hrs |
PSY 550 |
3 hrs |
Group B - Therapy
Courses
| PSY 552 |
4 hrs |
PSY 554 |
4 hrs |
Group C - Elective
Courses
| PSY 503 |
3 hrs |
PSY 524 |
3 hrs |
| PSY 556 |
1-4 hrs |
PSY 558 (elect) |
3-6 hrs |
| PSY 570 |
3 hrs |
PSY 572 |
3 hrs |
| PSY 590 |
3 hrs |
|
|
Note: In addition to the
specific courses listed on the previous page, other 500-level or dual-listed (400/500)
psychology courses and graduate courses in other departments (e.g. CED) may be taken for
elective credit with prior approval of the student’s graduate advisor and the
Graduate Committee.
General/Experimental
Concentration
Students admitted to the general/ experimental concentration will develop
an individualized program of study in consultation with their graduate advisor. The
program of study must be approved by the Psychology Graduate Committee and must include
the graduate core curriculum and other courses (typically 12 to 15 hours) culminating in
completion and oral defense of a thesis based on original research. A minimum of 36 hours
of graduate courses are required.
Descriptions
of all Psychology (PSY) courses
College of Arts and Sciences
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