Degree
Bachelor of Arts with a major in PsychologyMission
The Department of Psychology offers students a broad-based liberal arts education with an emphasis on community, social, and individual approaches to understanding human behavior. Students are thus exposed to a combination of theoretical, scientific, and practical approaches to solving human problems. Issues of gender, race, class, and culture are emphasized in courses throughout the curriculum. As a result of required course work and internship experiences, the department graduates students with marketable skills that prepare them for entry-level positions in social services or for graduate study in related areas. As part of this mission, the Department of Psychology offers three majors with concomitant minors in psychology, neuroscience, and animal behavior. Additionally, the department offers minors in Art Therapy and Mental Health Rehabilitation. The Mental Health Rehabilitation minor leads to a certificate from the State of Maine Department of Health and Human Services in MHRT/C.
Major Description
The psychology major introduces students to the many factors that explain human behavior, thoughts, and feelings to prepare them for a wide range of professional and academic experiences beyond college. Students will both have an opportunity to learn about current knowledge in the field broadly and to select electives that will allow them to learn more about specific specialty areas. For example, many of our students come to the major with an interest in helping others or pursuing a career in counseling or therapy. These students will have the opportunity to develop basic counseling skills and knowledge about abnormal psychology and mental health while still also exploring the other facets of psychology. The major draws on the extensive experience of our faculty in the areas of clinical, counseling, social, and cognitive psychology; human development; cognitive neuroscience; learning and memory; the biological basis of behavior; and animal modeling.
Essential to the psychology major are active and experiential learning opportunities for all students. For example, all students complete at least one internship during their time at UNE. The internship is a critical part of helping students to link the concepts they are learning in their coursework to the work they pursue after graduation. We have a well-developed network of sites that have accepted our students into their organizations for these training experiences and work with students to match them to an experience that fits their interests. Internships provide students with the opportunity to learn experientially and to explore different career directions. In fact, many of our students elect to complete a second internship as part of their degree to gain additional experience, and internships often lead to the first jobs after graduation for our students. In addition to the in-depth internship experience, all faculty in the major employ active learning opportunities within their courses. Students explore the real-world implications of the concepts they learn in the classroom starting their first year on campus.
An additional experiential opportunity that many of our students complete is participation in faculty-led research. All students, as they move through the major, learn what current research tells us about how humans engage with each other, think, feel, and behave. They also have opportunities to discover how this knowledge is obtained through the scientific process, with faculty members providing a supportive environment in which students learn the thinking skills important to reading and conducting research. Students as part of the major complete at least one small research project with a group of peers on a topic they select together. In addition, many students elect to participate in on-going professional research with a faculty member. Numerous students develop their own research questions with a faculty mentor and these faculty-supervised projects result in presentations and publications for those students.
Finally, students completing a psychology major may elect to complete a minor area of study as well. Faculty advisors work with each student to help them identify a minor that will help them to achieve their future goals. For example, many of our majors plan to provide counseling services after graduation and elect to complete a minor in either mental health rehabilitation or art therapy (both minors offered within the Psychology Department). Other students may have interest in applying their knowledge of psychology in a business setting after graduation and may decide to pursue a minor in the Business Department.
Our goal is to ensure that as students leave the major they have developed not only knowledge consistent with their interests, but also applied skills that will assist them as they move forward into careers or additional educational opportunities (e.g., graduate school in psychology, graduate work in other allied health fields).
Curricular Requirements
Credits | |
---|---|
CAS Core Requirements | 42-46 |
PSY Majors must take PSY 250 as one of their SGA courses | |
PSY Majors must take EXP courses outside of the Psychology Department for their Core requirement | |
PSY Majors are encouraged to take MAT 120 as their Math core |
Credits | |
---|---|
Psychology Program Required Courses | |
PSY 105 - Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
PSY 225 - Psychology Statistics | 3 |
PSY 285 - Research Methods | 3 |
PSY 300 - Psychology Internship I | 3 |
PSY 405 - Special Topics Seminar | 3 |
PSY 205 - Abnormal Psychology | 3 |
PSY 255 - Social Psychology | 3 |
PSY 350 - Theories of Personality | 3 |
PSY 365 - Biological Bases of Behavior | 3 |
PSY 380 - Learning/Conditioning and Behavior Modification or PSY 384/384L - Animal Learning and Behavior |
3-4 |
PSY 383 - Memory and Cognition | 3 |
3 open PSY or NEU electives (at the 200 level or higher) PSY 212 Positive Psychology PSY 215 Psychology of Gender PSY 226 Motivation & Emotion PSY 325 Health Psychology PSY 236 Mental Health & Society PSY 245 Evolutionary Psychology PSY 252 Forensic Psychology PSY 254 Cultural Psychology PSY 275 Intro Tech in Animal Behavior PSY 295 Listening/Communication Skills PSY 305 Special Topics PSY 310 Children and Stress PSY 316 Psychology of Consciousness PSY 318 Community Psychology PSY 325 Psychology of Aging PSY 335 Comparative Animal Behavior PSY 345 Sports Psychology PSY 362 Animal Cognition PSY 364 Soc and Emotion Dev in Childhood PSY 370 Drugs, Society, and Behavior PSY 375 Trauma and Health PSY 400 Psychology Internship II PSY 410 Theory/Res/Pract Couns Psych PSY 430 Intro to Art Therapy PSY 450 Fourth-year Thesis PSY 486 Adv Research in Psychology NEU 205 Introduction to Neurobiology NEU 205L Introduction to Neurobiology lab NEU 306 Behavioral/Cognitive Neuro NEU 306L Behavioral/Cognitive Neuro Lab NEU 410 Neurobiology of Mental Illness |
9 |
Program Minimum Required Total Credits | 42-43 |
Open Elective Courses (needed to reach 120 credits) | variable |
Minimum Required Total Credits | 120 |
Students wishing to pursue teacher certification in Psychology can complete a double major with Psychology and Secondary Education or a major in Secondary Education and a concentration in Psychology. For more information, see the Secondary Education catalog page.
Students in this major can participate in the pre-health graduate school preparation tracks.
Academic and Technical Standards
A grade point average of 2.25 is necessary to be approved to add a major in Psychology, Animal Behavior, or Neuroscience, and to add a minor in Psychology, Animal Behavior, Neuroscience, Art Therapy, or MHRT/C. Double majoring or majoring and minoring within the Department of Psychology may be possible for a student. However, students interested in this option should do so with close consultation of their academic advisor to ensure that a substantial degree of overlap between the two areas does not occur.
A minimum grade of C- must be achieved in all psychology courses used toward graduation. Students must also complete the University Core mathematics requirement by the end of the first year. The department strongly recommends that students take PSY 225 and PSY 285 in their sophomore year. The department requires that PSY 225 and PSY 285 be completed by the end of the junior year. See Undergraduate Academic Policy also.
Learning Outcomes
At the completion of their bachelor's degree in Psychology, students will be able to:
- Demonstrate fundamental knowledge and comprehension of the major concepts, theoretical perspectives, empirical findings, historical trends, and empirical findings in psychology and the ability to apply these to behavioral problems.
- Demonstrate scientific reasoning and problem solving, including effective research methods (e.g., design, data analysis, and interpretation).
- Recognize and/or employ ethically and socially responsible behaviors for professional and personal settings in a landscape that involves increasing diversity.
- Demonstrate competence in writing and in oral and interpersonal skills, including in the context of a psychological project.
- Apply psychology-specific content and skills, effective self-reflection, project-management skills, teamwork skills, and career preparation.
Minors
A student with GPA of at least 2.25 and a major at UNE may minor in Psychology with the approval of the academic director. Declarations must occur prior to the completion of the first semester of the junior year. Major programs of study with significant course overlap with psychology minor requirements may be disallowed by the chair. Students declaring a minor in Psychology will not be allowed to double-dip credits across the minor and either major or core requirements (unless no other options are provided by the major, minor, or core requirements). A minimum of eighteen hours of approved course credit with a minimum grade of "C-" in each course is required for the minor in Psychology as follows:
Credits | |
---|---|
Psychology Minor Required Courses | |
PSY 105 - Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
SOC 150 - Introduction to Sociology | 3 |
Four other Psychology courses at the 200 level or higher. double-dip with other major, minor, or core requirements) |
12 |
Minimum Required Total Credits | 18 |
Honors Program
We offer qualified students the option of graduating with Honors. This includes significant research, scholarship or creative activity under the direction of a faculty member. Interested students should consult with their major advisor.
Transfer Credit
Courses completed at another accredited college can be transferred to this degree program. Transferred courses must be reasonably close in scope and content to the required courses offered at UNE in order to count as exact equivalents. Otherwise, they may transfer as general electives. All courses completed must be no older than five years. Other restrictions apply. See Undergraduate Admissions also.
Admissions
Financial Information
Tuition and Fees
Tuition and fees for subsequent years may vary. Other expenses include books and housing. For more information regarding tuition and fees, please consult the Financial Information section of this catalog.
Notice and Responsibilities Regarding this Catalog
This Catalog documents the academic programs, policies, and activities of the University of New England for the 2020-2021 academic year. The information contained herein is accurate as of date of publication May 1, 2020.
The University of New England reserves the right in its sole judgment to make changes of any nature in its programs, calendar, or academic schedule whenever it is deemed necessary or desirable, including changes in course content, the rescheduling of classes with or without extending the academic term, canceling of scheduled classes or other academic activities, in any such case giving such notice thereof as is reasonably practicable under the circumstances.
While each student may work closely with an academic advisor, he or she must retain individual responsibility for meeting requirements in this catalog and for being aware of any changes in provisions or requirements.