The Psychology program's curriculum offers students the opportunity to study in the field's core domains: biological, developmental, cognitive and social. Students also take elective courses of their choice and, in their senior year, choose a capstone course to study an area of interest in depth.
A degree in psychology provides the foundation for a variety of career paths. With a bachelor's degree in psychology, the student might expect to find work in such fields as education, sales, marketing, social work, social services, real estate, data analysis, public relations, administration and many more.
Earning a bachelor's degree in psychology also may position students for further study at the graduate level. For instance, by earning a master's degree, students may pursue employment in community counseling, school counseling, marriage and family therapy, management, and other occupations in the public and private industry. Many graduate programs in psychology require students to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) for admission. Students considering graduate training are therefore encouraged to take courses in skill areas emphasized by the GRE. These skill areas include language/verbal skills, mathematical skills and analytic skills.
Program of Study
Students who wish to declare a psychology major should notify the Office of Records and Registration.
PSYCH 101: Introduction to Psychology is a pre-requisite for all psychology courses.
To qualify for PSYCH 300: Statistics for the Social Sciences, students must earn a grade of C or better in MATH 135.
To qualify for PSYCH 301: Research Methods, students must have completed PSYCH 102 with a C or better and PSYCH 300 with a C or better.
To qualify for PSYCH 397: Internship, students must have completed PSYCH 102 with a C or better.
Graduation with a B.A. or a B.S. in psychology requires a grade of C or better in every course required for the major.
Transfer students who wish to obtain a B.A. or a B.S. degree in psychology from Saint Xavier University must pass at least five 300-level psychology courses at Saint Xavier University with a grade of C or better.
Psychology Major (B.A/B.S.)
The psychology major may lead to a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) or a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree.
B.A. degree requires the completion of the general education program, 37-39 credit hours to fulfill the psychology degree, and six additional credit hours of humanities outside the major area (courses that meet the General Education requirements in Art and Design, Foreign Languages, History, Literature, Music, Philosophy, and Religious Studies will fulfill this requirement).
B.S. degree requires the completion of the general education program, 39 credit hours to fulfill the psychology degree, and six additional credit hours of mathematics/science courses.
Requirements
Students who major in Psychology must take the following courses for a total of 39 credit hours.
Core (4 courses)
- PSYCH 101: Introduction to Psychology (3)
- PSYCH 102: Psych Science and Careers Seminar (2)
- PSYCH 300: Statistics for the Social Sciences (3)
- PSYCH 301: Research Methods (4)
Biological Domain (1 course)
PSYCH 311, 319, 329, 339 or Special Topics course in this domain (3)
Cognitive Domain (1 course)
PSYCH 312, 313, 315 or Special Topics course in this domain (3)
Development Domain (1 course)
PSYCH 199, 200, 201, 224 or Special Topics course in this domain (3)
Social Domain (1 course)
PSYCH 206, 210, 232, 328 or Special Topics course in this domain (3)
*Capstone (1 course)
B.A. Major Capstone Options: PSYCH 390 (3) or PSYCH 397 (1-3)
B.S. Major Capstone: PSYCH 390 (3)
Electives (4 courses)
No more than two PSYCH electives from 200-level courses and at least two electives from 300-level courses (12)