2017-2018 Undergraduate Course Catalog 
    
    Mar 28, 2024  
2017-2018 Undergraduate Course Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Psychology, BS


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Lawrence J. Lewandowski, Ph.D., Chair
430 Huntington Hall
315-443-2354

Faculty:

Emily B. Ansell, Kevin Antshel, D. Bruce Carter, Catherine A. Cornwell, Amy H. Criss, Joseph W. Ditre, Tanya L. Eckert, Joshua C. Felver, Les A. Gellis, Randall S. Jorgenson, Michael L. Kalish, Lawrence J. Lewandowski, David Kellen, Stephen A. Maisto, Brian K. Martens, Leonard Newman, Tibor Palfai, Aesoon Park, Natalie Russo, Lael J. Schooler, Peter A. Vanable, Laura E. VanderDrift, and Sarah Woolf-King.

Psychology is the scientific study of behavior. Professional psychologists may be researchers investigating behavior and/or practitioners, applying their knowledge and skills to individual and social problems.

The Psychology Department offers several options for students. These include a Bachelor of Arts major, a Bachelor of Science major, and a minor. Students planning to pursue a career in which a background in psychology is useful, such as business, communications, or social services, will find the B.A. degree to be an appropriate track. These students are encouraged to pursue experiences through part-time work or internships in their area of interest. Students interested in pursuing professional careers in psychology, social work, or other professional fields such as law will need to attend graduate school and obtain an advanced degree. These students are encouraged to consult with their academic advisor for advice on whether the B.A. or B.S. degree is most appropriate to meet their long-term goals. The B.S. degree is recommended for students planning professional careers in such fields as medicine, dentistry, and physical therapy. All students should consult regularly with their faculty advisor in planning a program of study that is consistent with their future academic and career goals. All students are encouraged to utilize the career resources available in the Department of Psychology, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the University to learn about opportunities and prepare strategies to meet their goals.

Petitions

Students interested in taking a psychology class at another institution and transferring it to Syracuse University to count toward either the major or minor must complete a petition form (downloadable from the department web site) and bring it and a syllabus for the course to the Advising Office (415 Huntington) for approval prior to enrolling in the course. Petitions may take up to two weeks for review. Winter intersession classes are generally not accepted as transfer credit. Students should plan their program of study in consultation with their academic advisor in order to insure timely completion of degree requirements No more than three hours of experience credit (PSY 270  or PSY 470 ) may be applied toward the minimum number of hours required for the major.

 

Student Learning Outcomes


1. Identify the major concepts, theoretical perspectives, empirical findings, and historical trends relevant to the foundational domains of psychology, including cognitive, social, clinical, and developmental bases of behavior

2. Understand and apply basic principles related to research design, data analysis, and interpretation.  This would include the ability to formulate testable research hypotheses, design a simple study to test the hypothesis, and apply appropriate statistical tests to answer basic research questions relevant to the field of psychology

3. Demonstrate a basic understanding of the APA ethical guidelines and their applications in the context of conducting psychological research

4. Employ the effective use of written communication in the psychological sciences.  Employ the effective use of oral communication in the psychological sciences

5. Demonstrate the ability to effectively work in the field of psychology through involvement in faculty mentored research, community based internships, and independent study

6. Investigate natural phenomena, including the development of predictive explanatory systems, and includes the study of numerical and other abstract structures and relations

Bachelor of Science in Psychology Degree


B.S. students must earn a grade point average of at least a 2.0 in all upper-division Psychology courses taken at Syracuse University and counted towards the completion of the major (see MySlice for the GPA calculator). Students must begin by taking PSY 205  Foundations of Human Behavior (or the Honors equivalent, PSY 209 ). PSY 205  (or PSY 209 ) is a prerequisite for all other psychology courses except PSY 252 . All majors also must complete PSY 313  Introduction to Research Methodology and are encouraged to complete this course in addition to the required statistics sequence as soon as possible. Majors must satisfy a two-semester statistics sequence from the list below which also satisfies the quantitative skills requirement of the Liberal Arts Core:

Math Sequence Options


Psychology Area Requirements and Electives


One 3-credit course must be completed in each of the four areas of psychology listed below. A single course may be used to satisfy requirements in only one area. Students may petition to have psychology (i.e., PSY) courses not listed in the four areas (e.g., PSY 400 ) count as completing a group requirement. Please note some courses are offered infrequently (COI) which are included in the lists below:

Required Psychology Lecture-Lab Sequence


B.S. students are required to complete one psychology lecture-laboratory sequence (5-6 credits). Courses selected to complete the sequence may not be used to satisfy area requirements previously listed. There are no substitutions for this requirement. The following course sequences qualify for this requirement:

Mathematics and Natural Science Requirements


Required Natural Science Sequence


In addition to the two-semester statistics sequence indicated previously, B.S. students must complete a one -year lecture-laboratory sequence in the natural sciences. A sequence must be in biology (BIO 121 , BIO 123  and BIO 124 ), chemistry (CHE 106 /CHE 116  and CHE 107 /CHE 117 ; CHE 109 /CHE 119  and CHE 129 /CHE 139 ), or physics (PHY 101  and PHY 102 ; PHY 211 /PHY 221  and PHY 212 /PHY 222 ; PHY 215 /PHY 221  and PHY 216 /PHY 222 ).

Mathematics and Natural Sciences Electives


Students must complete three elective courses (9 credits) in mathematics and/or in the natural sciences areas from the list below. These elective courses are intended to deepen or enhance the student’s experience and scholarly interests in the sciences.

Astronomy


All AST courses.

Biology


All BIO courses.

Chemistry


All CHE courses.

Communication Sciences and Disorders


CSD 212  -CSD 315  Introduction to Communication Sciences and Disorders: Anatomy and Physiology of Speech and Hearin

CSD 212  -CSD 325  Introduction to Communication Sciences and Disorders: Fundamentals of Hearing Science

CSD 345  Fundamentals of Speech Science

CSD 409   Cognitive Neuroscience of Speech and Language

Earth Sciences


Geography


GEO 155   -GEO 215  The Natural Environment; Global Environmental Change

GEO 155 -GEO 316  The Natural Environment; River Environments

GEO 155  -GEO 326  The Natural Environment; The Geography of Climate and Weather

GEO 455   Biogeography

GEO 482  Environmental Remote Sensing

GEO 583   Environmental Geographical Information Systems

Mathematics


All MAT courses above 230.

Physics


All PHY courses.

Science Teaching


All SCI courses.

Science, Technology and Society


All STS courses may be accepted by petition

Other Schools and Colleges


(*Apply as Non-Arts & Sciences credit)

David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics

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