The Major in Psychology  – Goals and Outcomes Assessment

Goals

The B.A. program in Psychology is designed to give students a thorough background in psychological theory, methodology, and applications.  Core courses provide an introduction to the field and its statistical and methodological tools.  Majors choose from a variety of electives designed to acquaint them with the breadth of the field; key content areas include developmental, social, personality, clinical, and cognitive psychology.  Majors in Psychology also have opportunities to gain professional experience through internships, as well as hands-on research apprenticeships with our faculty.  Our program gives the major an excellent preparation for graduate training in psychology.  It also provides preparation for graduate work in other social science domains such as education, sociology, and political science, as well as for professional training in medicine, business, social work, and law.  Combined with general education requirements, the major also is designed to prepare students for employment in an array of affiliated professions including advertising, management, mental health, child development, forensics, communications, education, marketing, personnel and human resources, and government.

Assessment Instruments

All Psychology majors demonstrate competence in the field in three ways:

(1)    Students are required to complete courses in General Psychology (PSY201), Introductory Statistics (PSY322 with lab), General Research Methods (PSY350 with lab), and a 300-level course with lab with a grade of C- or better.  In addition, they are required to complete at least one course in four substantive areas of psychology: experimental, clinical, developmental, and social/personality.

(2)    The fall of the senior year, each student is required to successfully complete the Senior Seminar in Psychology (PSY451).  In this course, students write about and discuss controversial issues in the major areas of psychology, as well as make a formal presentation on at least one topic.

(3)    The Psychology Senior Assessment is a comprehensive examination requirement that can be completed either by passing the Advanced GRE or the MFT (Major Field Test) in Psychology.  Scores for passing the exams are set by the Department faculty.  Both of these exams are standardized tests produced by the Educational Testing Service.  The GRE is normed on students going to graduate school, while the MFT is normed on Psychology majors throughout the country.

Appropriateness of Assessments

Course requirements ensure that students have a grounding in methodological and statistical approaches of the field as well as in the content of each of four major areas: experimental, clinical, developmental, and social/personality psychology.  In addition to breadth in the field, their remaining four elective courses can be chosen to provide depth in an area of Psychology most relevant for the student’s graduate school or career plans.

The Senior Seminar (PSY451) assesses students’ ability to engage in discussion on important issues based on what they have learned in their first three years.  In addition, it provides a basis for determining their ability to present their ideas to their peers, using the available literature in the field.

The results of the Senior Assessment allow us to compare our students’ performance to national norms, thus helping to ensure that their learning in psychology is comparable to that at other institutions.  The MFT provides a comparison base for students at other institutions entering the job market.  The inclusion of the Psychology GRE option helps assess the relative success in preparation for entry into graduate programs in Psychology.

Marc M. Sebrechts, Chair

Carol Glass, Director of Undergraduate Studies

Department of Psychology

September 14, 2004