The
psychology program at Briar Cliff is a versatile program that contains a common set of core courses for all students. Beyond this common core, however, students may choose among several paths depending upon their specific interests and goals. The
psychology curriculum is arranged with several functions in mind:
To give the student, as a part of a general education, some familiarity with the principles, methods, and findings of psychology. This will provide valuable background for students preparing to work in a variety of professions or positions in medicine, law, theology, business, teaching, engineering, and other areas;
To provide knowledge and skills requisite for advanced study in
psychology at the graduate level;
To provide academic work that will prepare the student to pursue a career as a bachelor's level psychological technician in either the social services or personnel fields.
Curriculum for a Psychology Major
In order to graduate with a Bachelors of Arts in Psychology from Briar Cliff University, a student must have 13 term courses* including the following required courses:
Ψ PSYC 110 Introductory Psychology
Ψ PSYC 280 Developmental Psychology
Ψ PSYC 295 Experimental Psychology (must earn a grade of C or higher)
Ψ PSYC 310 Social Psychology
Ψ PSYC 360 Abnormal Psychology
As well as two courses from each of the following three categories:
PSYC 350 (Child Psychology), 351 (Psychology of Adolescence) and 353 (Human Sexuality)
PSYC 320 (Psychological Assessment), 380 (Theories of Personality), 410 (Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy) and 460 (History and Systems)
PSYC 352 (Psychopharmacology), 400 (Learning and Memory) and 415 (Cognitive Psychology)
Finally, majors are allowed to choose
2 psychology electives from all remaining psychology courses and take six hours of PSYC IR**. An internship (PSYC 390/490) is strongly recommended as one of the thirteen term courses.
The following courses are also required:
Ψ CSCI 100 Introduction to Computers (must earn a grade of C or higher)
Ψ MATH 200 Statistics (must earn a grade of C or higher)
Ψ SPEC 111 Public Speaking (must earn a grade of C or higher)
Ψ WRTG 109 Introduction to College Writing (must earn a grade of C or higher)
Ψ Science course with a lab (e.g., BIOL 102 with BIOL 102L; CHEM 111 with CHEM 111L)
*Students may not count more than one D/D+ in their major course work./span>
**Students may not count more than 5 psychology courses from another institution toward the major. Transfer courses are subject to departmental approval.
*** PSYC IRs are 1 hour courses in which a specific area of psychology is explored in greater detail. Typically, these classes are taught in a seminar format with group discussions and analysis of psychological issues.
