Psychology

Department: Psychology
Department Chair: David Schmit
Program Option: B.A.

St. Kate’s psychology major provides an outstanding foundation upon which to pursue graduate work or a career in a range of professional fields and professional studies. Many psychology students enter graduate programs in the mental health fields of counseling or clinical psychology, in school psychology, or in experimental areas of the field. Others pursue professional degrees in law, medicine, industrial relations or public health. If you choose this road, you will find encouragement and support from our faculty.

Psychology serves as a sound liberal arts major because the discipline broadly spans the humanities, social and natural sciences. Many graduates with a B.A. degree in psychology find stimulating career opportunities in human services, sales, human resources, public relations, marketing, and advertising.

St. Kate’s graduates have found positions immediately after graduation in the following areas: in schools as a child-care counselor/youth counselor/caseworker; in residential treatment centers, group homes and shelters; in the legal system as victim advocates or in witness protection programs; medical or social science researchers; animal trainers; human resource consultants; and as child life advocates in a hospital pediatric unit.

The Psychology Department at St. Kate’s features an energetic faculty specializing in the areas of clinical, cognitive, developmental, social psychology, history of psychology, and industrial-organizational psychology. Faculty members bring a variety of research interests to their teaching, and students work closely with faculty to perform research and develop written and oral reports of their findings. As a result, St. Kate’s psychology graduates are excellent researchers and communicators, which serves them well in whatever career paths they choose.

Research, Instructional, and Internship Opportunities
Our introductory course General Psychology features a nationally recognized laboratory component that offers you a “hands-on” opportunity to experience how psychologists conduct research while building your scientific writing skills. Upper division lab courses at St. Kate’s are small — approximately 15–20 students — and students often work in groups of two to three to conduct experiments.

For upper division psychology majors who have demonstrated excellence in their course work, paid positions are available as laboratory instructors, scientific writing tutors or statistics tutors. These unique opportunities allow you to practice teaching while sharing your knowledge and skill with others.

As a psychology major, you will take courses in psychology, biology and philosophy and we will encourage you to participate in a broad, liberal arts curriculum. We also recommend that you pursue the rewarding experiences obtainable through internships. Internships are available at a wide variety of social service and health agencies, depending on your interests. Internship sites include the Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Center, Washburn Child Guidance Center, Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Minneapolis Children’s Medical Center, First Call for Help, the American Red Cross, the Arthritis Foundation, and Chrysalis Center for Women.

You may choose to earn a major in psychology in conjunction with a major in a professional program such as education, nursing, occupational science or social work. If you would like to become a secondary teacher, you will need to take additional courses in education, economics, geography, history, political science and sociology to complete requirements for social studies licensure.

See also: Applied Science in Psychology, Education – Social Studies with Grades 5-12 Teaching Licensure (for those interested in teaching in secondary schools), Pre-Physical Therapy.

MAJOR REQUIREMENTS

Eight and one-half courses including:
PSYC 1001 General Psychology with Lab
PSYC 2050 Statistical Methods in Psychology
PSYC 4220 History and Systems of Psychology
PSYC 4850 Senior Seminar: Current Issues in Psychology (2 credits)

At least two advanced psychology courses offering laboratory experimentation, such as:
PSYC 3250 Socialization Processes
PSYC 3350 Learning Principles and Applications
PSYC 3450 Memory and Cognition
PSYC 3550 Industrial/Organizational Psychology
PSYC 3650 Experimental Social Psychology
PSYC 3850 Biopsychology

At least one of the following:
PSYC 3010 Abnormal Psychology or PSYC 3020 Personality Theories
Two electives from the remaining department offerings, which may include internships, research and independent study.

Required supporting work:
Two semesters of general biology with laboratory [either a science major (BIOL 1210 and 1220) or nonscience major (BIOL 1120 and either BIOL 1110 or 1150) track] or another approved laboratory biology sequence (e.g., psychology and nursing double majors may substitute BIOL 2510, 2520 Human Anatomy and Human Physiology and BIOL 2200 Microbiology).

Two philosophy courses selected in consultation with advisor. Recommended courses include PHIL 2100 Critical Thinking or PHIL 2150 Logic, PHIL 2200 Ethics, PHIL 2700 Philosophy of Science, PHIL 3400 Biomedical Ethics, and PHIL/PSYC 2800 Philosophy of Psychology.

Recommended:
SOCI 1000 Principles and Concepts of Sociology
COMM 2020 Communication Dynamics in Interpersonal Relationships
COMM 2090 Communication and Conflict in Groups and Teams
Courses in related social sciences, biology, mathematics, computer science and social work.

Psychology majors satisfy the Writing Requirement for Majors in course assignments throughout the departmental curriculum, rather than in a single course. You complete the Liberal Arts and Sciences Core Writing Requirement with three other writing-intensive courses (CORE 1000 and CORE 3990, and any other writing-intensive course in another department).

URL: http://minerva.stkate.edu/academiccatalog0709.nsf/pages/psychology
This page was created on 05/03/2007 and last updated on 05/03/2007.
Comments, questions and feedback about this site may be addressed to registrar@stkate.edu.