Department of Psychology

Location: 203 Social and Behavioral Sciences Building, Phone: (409) 880-8285

Chair: Randolph Smith

Degree Coordinators:

• Industrial/Organizational Psychology Graduate Program -James K. Esser
• Community/Counseling Psychology Graduate Program -Joanne Lindoerfer

Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes and, as such, is a diverse field that touches all aspects of human endeavor. The objectives of the Department of Psychology are to provide students with current knowledge through learning experiences in and out of the classroom that will increase critical thinking skills, equip them with research methodology, and prepare them for employment in business, education, community agencies, other professional areas, or graduate school.

Admission to Department of Psychology Programs

Students wishing to major in psychology must present SAT/ACT scores of 900/19. Students changing their major to psychology must have SAT/ACT scores and be in good standing in the university.

Degrees Offered

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology -120 hrs
Bachelor of Science -Psychology -120 hrs
Minor in Psychology -18 hrs
Master of Science Applied Psychology

Bachelor of Arts – Psychology Major

The degree of Bachelor of Arts in Psychology will be awarded upon completion of the following:

1. General Requirements: See Philosophy of Knowledge Core Curriculum, and degree requirements. Plus eight semester hours of Biology (1406-1407, 1408-1409, or 2401-2402), 12 semester hours and completion of 2312 course in foreign language or 9 hours of sign language and completion of DSDE 4307, an additional 3 hours of math above MATH 1314; ENGL 3310
2. Major: PSYC 2301 General Psychology, PSYC 2471 Introduction to Statistical Methods, PSYC 3420 Methods in Psychology. An additional 18 semester hours to include at least three courses selected from PSYC 3320, 3340, 3360, and 4320, and at least three courses selected from PSYC 3330, 4310, 4360, and 4380.
3. Minor (18 semester hours). An approved minor of at least 18 semester hours; a minimum of 12 semester hours must be on the advanced level.
4. Electives. A sufficient number of approved electives (6 upper level hours) to complete a total of 120 semester hours
5. Completion of a standardized test of psychological knowledge such as the Major Field Achievement Test
6. Meet all remaining general education degree requirements of the university and college.

Total Minimum Hours: 120. Additional requirements may be required for specialized areas, such as preparation for graduate school, certifications, or licensures. Please see a program advisor or the department chair for details.

Bachelor of Science – Psychology Major

The degree of Bachelor of Science in Psychology will be awarded upon completion of the following:

1. General Requirements: See Philosophy of Knowledge Core Curriculum. Plus, eight semester hours of Biology (1406-1407, 1408-1409, or 2401-2402); eight semester hours of physical science (two lab courses); three hours of Computer Science; three additional hours of math above MATH 1314; and ENGL 3310
2. Major: PSYC 2301 General Psychology, PSYC 2471 Introduction to Statistical Methods, PSYC 3420 Methods in Psychology, PSYC 4430 Experimental Psychology.An additional 18 semester hours to include nine semester hours selected from PSYC 3320, 3340, 3360, and 4320, and nine semester hours selected from PSYC 3330, 4310, 4360, and 4380.
3. Minor: An approved minor of at least 18 semester hours; a minimum of 12 semester hours must be on the advanced level
4. Electives: A sufficient number of approved electives (9 upper level hours) to complete a total of 120 semester hours
5. Completion of a standardized test of psychological knowledge such as the Major Field Achievement Test
6. Meet all remaining general education degree requirements of the university and college.

Total Minimum Hours: 120. Additional requirements may be required for specialized areas, such as preparation for graduate school, certifications, or licensures. Please see a program advisor or the department chair for details.

Minor in Psychology

A total of 18 hours of psychology courses are required for a minor, of which 12 hours must be upper level. PSYC 2270 does not count toward a minor. The department will not accept any grade in the minor below a C. Required lower division courses: PSYC 2301 General Psychology, PSYC 2471 Statistical Methods

It is advisable for a student to meet with someone in the Department of Psychology to discuss the selection of the remaining hours to best address the needs of the individual student.

Bachelor of Arts - Psychology

Bachelor of Science - Psychology

Dual Degree - Bachelor of Science - Psychology / Bachelor of Science in Biology

Suggested Program of Study–Dual Degree

*Bachelor of Science in Psychology

*Bachelor of Science in Biology – Total Min. Hours: 156

Graduate Program

The Department of Psychology offers a program of study leading to the Master of Science degree in Applied Psychology. It is designed to prepare professional personnel for employment in business, industry, or community mental health. Students may elect to take their primary coursework in industrial/organizational psychology or in community/counseling psychology. (In addition, the department offers a dual specialization program that offers training in both fields.) Students seeking admission to this program must meet the general requirements for admission to the College of Graduate Studies (see section 7.2.3) and must offer the substantial equivalent of a bachelor’s degree in psychology (24 semester hours) including courses in statistics and research methods. The department has flexible admission criteria that allow the faculty to review applicants individually. However, students with GRE scores less than 300 (V + Q) are not usually accepted. All students must also have a minimum 2.75/4.0 undergraduate grade point average overall or 2.75/4.0 on the last 60 hours of undergraduate course work; however, students with GPAs less than 3.0 are not usually accepted. International students must present a minimum TOEFL score of 550 (paper test); applicants with scores of less than 600 are not usually accepted. Post Baccalaureate students are not permitted to enroll in psychology graduate courses without special permission from the department chair.

Degree Requirements

The candidate for the Master of Science degree in Applied Psychology must meet all of the College of Graduate Studies general degree requirements. Additional specific degree requirements are as follows:

1. A minimum of 42 semester hours of course work in psychology, which must include 23 semester hours in PSYC 5300, 5301, 5311, 5302, 5320, 5323, 5350, and two semester hours in PSYC 5120. For the Community Psychology Program, an additional 9 semester hours in PSYC 5310, 5312, and 5313 is required. In the Industrial Psychology Program, an additional 6 semester hours is required in PSYC 5321 and 5322.
2. Candidacy examinations devised by the Psychology Department graduate faculty. A student may petition to be administered the candidacy (qualifying) examination during the spring semester in which the appropriate course work listed in No.1 above is to be completed provided the student is in good academic standing. Dates to sit for the examination will be announced each year. A student must have satisfactorily passed candidacy examinations prior to enrolling in PSYC 5330, 5390, 5310, or 5313.
3. One to three additional semester hours of 5000-level courses in an approved field of study.
4. Practicum: Six semester hours in PSYC 5330 and 5331.
5. Thesis: Submission of an acceptable thesis and satisfactory performance on a final oral examination with a minimum of six semester hours in PSYC 5390 and 5391.

Departmental Policies

Special attention is called to the following departmental policies:

1. Graduate students are prohibited from providing psychological services except when supervised by a faculty member as part of a course requirement or when regularly employed by a licensed psychologist; an exempt agency, as defined by the Psychologist’s Licensing Act; or a departmental-approved nonexempt agency. Students in training are expected to be aware of and abide by the Psychologist’s Licensing Act and the Ethical Principles of Psychologists. A violation of this policy will result in the student’s dismissal from the program.
2. More than six hours of “C” level work will result in the student’s dismissal from the program.
3. Students may not enroll in the same course more than twice (except for Thesis).
4. Qualifying and/or final examinations may be repeated once if failure occurs. In general, a student repeating any portion of the examinations must do so at the next administration of the examination.
5. After admission to candidacy, a student must be enrolled in a thesis course each regular semester until requirements for the degree are completed. In addition a student must be registered for a thesis course each session of the summer term if the student is to receive the degree in August or is involved in research or writing.
6. Students not admitted to the Psychology graduate program may enroll in no more than six graduate hours before being admitted.
7. Licensures available for Community/Counseling program graduates through the state of Texas: Licensed Psychological Associate: 42 hours
   Licensed Professional Counselor: 48 hours
   Consult the licensure board guidelines for additional details

Under unusual circumstances and with the approval of the department chair and the student’s supervising professor, a student may postpone registration for the thesis course for one or more semesters. Unless special permission has been granted, a student who is not continuously enrolled in a thesis course must repeat the candidacy examinations and apply for re-admission to candidacy.