College of Arts and Sciences
The psychology major requires a minimum of 30 hours, including 21 hours of credit in upper-division (i.e., PY 3xxx or PY 4xxx) courses in psychology. Students are required to take 9 credit hours of PY courses at the 4000 level. One of these courses is the capstone experience PY 4960. The other 6 hours of 4000-level courses are designed to help students develop or reinforce skills for the capstone. The 4000-level courses are writing-intensive and designed for advanced students: they involve reading original source journal articles and require a significant APA-style written assignment that involves integrating conceptual, theoretical, and empirical material. Students must earn a C or better in both a methods course (PY 3100 or PY 3110) and at least one 4000-level course prior to enrolling in capstone. Students may only count either PY 2400 or PY 2550 towards the Psychology major.
There are three foundational psychology courses required for the major: (1) PY 1000 (or PY 1100), (2) BSS 2100, and (3) PY 3100 or PY 3110. In addition, all majors must complete a capstone course - PY 4960. The psychology major also requires a minimum of one unique course from each of the following four groups of courses:
Applied Group A: PY 2550, PY 3200, PY 3250, PY 3700, PY 3810, PY 4500, PY 4510, PY 4570;
Biological/Experimental Group B: PY 3300, PY 3350, PY 3650, PY 4200, PY 4300, PY 4800, PY 4890;
Cultural/Social Group C: PY 3600, PY 3800, PY 3820, PY 4010, PY 4020*, PY 4400, PY 4430*, PY 4600;
Developmental Group D: PY 2400, PY 4020*, PY 4320, PY 4430*, PY 4440.
Two additional upper-level PY courses must be completed beyond the minimum of one unique course from each of the four groups of courses.
*If a course is listed in more than one grouping it can only fulfill the requirement for one grouping. A grade of C or better is required in all upper-division courses counted toward fulfillment of the major requirements. (A grade of C- will not satisfy the requirement.)
Students are strongly encouraged to complete PY 2100 and PY 3100 (or PY 3110) during the sophomore year. Other courses should be selected on the basis of interest and in consultation with the department.
The major advisor should be consulted about the selection of the 12 semester hours of upper-division coursework in related areas of study.
To find which courses will fulfill core requirements, search the Course Schedule by “Attribute Type” to locate courses in the current and upcoming semester that fulfill specific core requirements. The Course Schedule is located on the Rockhurst Registrar’s webpage at www.rockhurst/registrar.
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