The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences - Butler University

enter graduate school after working for one to
five years in a field related to psychology. Most
of these students enter graduate programs in
psychology, social work and counseling. Some
attend medical or law school. The remaining
students begin careers in a wide range of fields,
most of which are health care or service related
(pharmaceutical companies, non-profit organizations,
health care services, management,
computer services, human resources, sales,
education, and advertising, to name a few).
Psychology Program Student
Learning Outcomes
Psychology students will not only master
the core content areas of psychology, but will
also value an empirical approach to the study
of behavior. In doing so, students will develop
the skills to analyze behavior within a theoretical
context, design studies to address research
questions, and evaluate the validity of scientific
claims.
Degrees
• Major in Psychology
• Minor in Psychology
• Combined Major in Psychology and
Sociology/Criminology (see Combined
Majors)
• Combined Major in Psychology and
Sociology/Social Work (see Combined
Majors)
• Combined Major in Psychology and
Anthropology (see Combined Majors)
• Combined Major in Psychology and
Philosophy (see Combined Majors)
Requirements for the Major
The major in psychology (39-41 credit
hours) sets three goals for student development:
to master a central core of psychological knowledge,
to acquire basic methodological and
computer skills, and to attain a sophisticated
knowledge of at least one area within psychology.
Students must take the following courses:
Content Core:
• SW250-PS, Psychological Inquiry or
equivalent, or NW220-PS, Behavioral
Science
• PS202, Learning
• PS235, Biological Bases of Behavior
• PS320, Life Span Developmental Psychology
• PS350, Social Psychology
• PS385, Cognitive Processes
• PS440, Psychology of Personality
Methodological Core:
• PS210, Research Methods/Statistics I
• PS211, Research Methods/Statistics II
• PS310, Advanced Statistics in Psychology
Specialized Courses:
• One psychology course at the 300-400 level
• One 400-level course
• One 400-level seminar (from the list of
five special-topics seminars)
Psychology majors are encouraged to include
courses in anthropology, the biological sciences,
chemistry, computer science, mathematics,
philosophy, physics and sociology as they plan
their undergraduate career.
Requirements for the Minor
A minor in psychology (21-23 credit hours)
consists of: SW250 or equivalent, or NW220;
PS210 and PS211; any three of PS202, PS235,
PS320, PS350, PS385 or PS440; and any
psychology course at the 300-400 level.
Core Courses Offered by Psychology
NW220-PS, Behavioral Science: Students will
learn the core theories in psychology and the
methods used to derive and test the adequacy
of those theories. Included in this are concepts
of behavioral measurement and statistics, operational
definitions used to assess theoretical
concepts/mechanisms, hypothesis testing and
scientific report writing according to APA
guidelines. Each content area will be covered
through current and past theories and their
methods of testing theoretical adequacy. (U)(5).
Fall only; counts for major/minor credit.
NW221-PS, Human Behavioral Measurement:
An introduction to the philosophy and
nature of science and scientific reasoning as
applied to the problem of measuring human
cognition and behavior. Topics include the
development of surveys, tests, time and event
sampling, reaction time measures, signal detection
methods, as well as physiological measures
of human behavior. (U)(5). Spring only.
NW261-BI-I, Food: Pasture, Table, Body
and Mind: This course about food will encourage
students to consider how food connects to
both society and to science and how society
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