USF TELEPHONE DIRECTORY - University of Sioux Falls

PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology (B.A.)
Description: Psychology is a diverse field of inquiry. As a result,
“psychology” is often defined in a variety of ways both
professionally and popularly. At the University of Sioux Falls, the
faculty see psychology as the scientific study of behavior. That
definition offers both disciplined and flexible study from a variety of
perspectives. As a scientific endeavor, we believe that to understand
behavior in its many forms we should utilize an empirical approach.
Thus, we ask questions about ourselves and objectively study
behavior through a variety of methods to learn about how and why
people act as they do rather than merely speculate about ourselves.
We do not conduct research for its own sake, however. In addition to
learning about behavior, psychologists are compelled to apply what
we learn to everyday living, both normal and abnormal.
“Scientific study of behavior” may sound dry and unappealing
to something as interesting as behavior. However, a fantastic aspect
of science is the interplay of disciplined study and creativity.
Psychologists must be able to think of precise, manageable, and new
ways to study and interpret behavior. Often we need to design new
ways to study both old and new phenomena in a world that is both
stable and dynamic. USF’s psychology students and faculty work
together to integrate accepted, sound research methods and new
ideas to learn about behavior.
Goals: The psychology program develops students’ critical thinking,
problem solving, and communication skills as they learn the
discipline of psychology. Students will develop their understanding
of the basic principles, theories, research and applied methods of the
field. In conjunction with the liberal arts core and the result of
studying psychology within a Christian context, students will
enhance and expand their appreciation of psychology’s role in the
liberal arts, service to others, their own lives, being a citizen, and
their vocations. In order to meet the objectives of the Psychology
program, the University regularly assesses how well it realizes these
and other goals and its methods to achieve them.
Vocational Applications: The study of psychology prepares
students for graduate study in psychology and related fields; it can
also serve as a part of the preparation for careers in a wide variety of
fields such as teaching, ministry, communications, social services,
business, theater, personnel work, organizational management, and
marketing research.
Requirements: In addition to meeting the liberal arts core
requirements of the University, the student must take at least 37
semester hours of study in the major curriculum, including the
psychology core, the required course BIO 100, and one of the two
concentrations. Majors are required to maintain at least a 2.0 GPA in
Psychology courses; in addition, no course will count toward a major
if the grade is below “C-.” All psychology students are encouraged
to pursue elective courses that allow them to apply and examine what
they learn in psychology from other academic perspectives.
80 Psychology
Psychology Core Courses
❏ BIO 100 Concepts in Biology
❏ PSY 201 General Psychology
❏ PSY 233 Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences
❏ PSY 250 Methods of Research
❏ PSY 405 Experimental Psychology
❏ PSY 408 Biological Psychology
❏ PSY 411 Child Psychology
Experimental Concentration
❏ PSY 341 Psychology of Learning
❏ PSY 413 Adult Development and Aging
❏ PSY 431 Cognitive Psychology
Six semester hours of Psychology Electives:
❏ PSY _________________________________
❏ PSY _________________________________
Counseling Concentration
❏ PSY 305 Abnormal Psychology
❏ PSY 403 Psychology of Personality
❏ PSY 407 Counseling
Six semester hours of Psychology Electives:
❏ PSY _________________________________
❏ PSY _________________________________