Psychology Major, Bachelor of Arts (BA)
General Admission Information for Psychology
High school students should have at least one year of algebra. Social science courses, including psychology and natural science courses such as biology and chemistry are also encouraged. Transfer students may be given credit for appropriate transfer courses in the major and for electives. Transfer credits will be limited to 20 lower division courses and no more than 30 transfer credits total can be applied toward the degree.
General Degree Completion Requirements for Psychology
Students who major in psychology but who transfer some lower division psychology coursework from other colleges/universities must complete at least 50 hours of upper division credits in the 70 credit psychology major.
Note:
- two years of a single high school world language or one year of a single college-level world language is required;
- if a student takes PSYC 201 or PSYC 305 or PSYC 306 for Cluster A, they cannot take PSYC 201 or PSYC 305 or PSYC 306 as an elective;
Capstone Course: the university capstone requirement is met by the department capstone PSYC 490 and must attain a grade ≥C.
Required courses are designed to provide students with the foundations of the field. Through careful planning in the selection of cluster and elective courses, students may develop a program of study to prepare for application to graduate school programs or meet specific career goals in psychology-related business/human services occupations.
Major Requirements
- To declare psychology as a major, students must have a minimum cumulative GPA ≥2.0 and completed PSYC 100 or its equivalent with a grade ≥C.
- Transfer students may be given credit for appropriate transfer courses in the major and for electives. Transfer credits will be limited to 20 lower division credits and no more than 30 transfer credits total applied toward the major.
- Students must attain a grade ≥C for each of the required courses:
- There is no overall GPA requirement for this major.
| Required Prerequisite Course | ||
| PSYC 100 | GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY | 5 |
| Required Courses (taking PSYC 309 prior to PSYC 310 is highly recommended. Must receive a grade of C or higher in all required courses.) | ||
| PSYC 309 | SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES OF PSYCHOLOGY | 5 |
| PSYC 310 | PSYCHOLOGICAL STATISTICS | 5 |
| PSYC 413 | RESEARCH METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY | 5 |
| Required Focus Experience Courses–students choose from any combination of the following | 3 | |
| SEMINAR IN PSYCHOLOGY | ||
or PSYC 498 | SEMINAR | |
| DIRECTED STUDY (permission required) | ||
or PSYC 499 | DIRECTED STUDY | |
| INTERNSHIP (permission required) | ||
| Required Cluster Credits–PSYC majors are required to take a specified number of courses from clusters A and B as follows | ||
| Cluster A Core Course Requirements–choose at least four of the following | 18-20 | |
| THEORIES OF PERSONALITY | ||
| ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY | ||
| FOUNDATION OF PSYCHOTHERAPY | ||
| CHILD AND ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT (only one developmental course will count towards the BA) | ||
or PSYC 201 | LIFE-SPAN DEVELOPMENT | |
or PSYC 306 | ADULT DEVELOPMENT | |
| HUMAN MEMORY AND COGNITION | ||
| CONDITIONING AND LEARNING | ||
| EMOTION AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE | ||
| SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY | ||
| CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY | ||
| BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF BEHAVIOR | ||
| Cluster B Applied/Lab and Speciality Course Requirements–choose at least three of the following | 10-15 | |
| TESTS AND MEASUREMENTS | ||
| HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY | ||
| BLACK PSYCHOLOGY | ||
| CARE AND CUSTODY OF FEMALE OFFENDERS | ||
| DRUGS AND BEHAVIOR | ||
| COGNITIVE AND BEHAVIOR CHANGE | ||
| PSYCHOLOGY OF WOMEN | ||
| HUMAN SEXUALITY | ||
| COLLABORATIVE CARE & BHSS INTERNSHIP PREP | ||
| PSYCHOLOGY AND THE LEGAL SYSTEM | ||
| INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS | ||
| PSYCHO-ONCOLOGY | ||
| COMPASSION FOCUSED THERAPY | ||
| HAPPINESS AND POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY | ||
| TRAUMA: THEORY, ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT | ||
| SOCIAL INFLUENCE | ||
| INDUSTRIAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY | ||
| CHILDHOOD PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AND TREATMENT | ||
| PREJUDICE AND STEREOTYPING | ||
| EXPERIMENTAL COURSE | ||
| WORKSHOP, SHORT COURSE, CONFERENCE, SEMINAR (may be counted as a cluster course or elective as approved by the department chair) | ||
| Electives–courses used as electives in the major must come from cluster A or B or Focus Experience list above (those not used to meet the minimum cluster requirements). | 6-15 | |
| Required Senior Capstone | ||
| PSYC 490 | SENIOR CAPSTONE: THE TRADITION OF PSYCHOLOGY (a UGR–senior capstone) | 4-6 |
| or PSYC 491 | SENIOR THESIS | |
| Total | 70 | |
Plan of Study
The following plan of study is for a student with zero credits. Individual students may have different factors such as: credit through transfer work, Advanced Placement, Running Start, or any other type of college-level coursework that requires an individual plan.
Courses could be offered in different terms, checking the academic schedule is paramount in keeping an individual plan current. Students should connect with an advisor to ensure they are on track to graduate.
All Undergraduate students are required to meet the Undergraduate Degree Requirements.
This major requires the completion of the World Language requirement. Students pursuing a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree must complete two years of a single language in high school or one year of a single language in college.
| First Year | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
| ENGL 101 | 5 | ENGL 201 | 5 | PSYC 201 (Cluster A Elective/Social Science BACR 2) | 5 |
| MATH 107 or 121 | 5 | Humanities & Arts BACR 11 | 5 | Natural Science BACR 11 | 5 |
| PSYC 100 (Social Science BACR 1) | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 |
| 15 | 15 | 15 | |||
| Second Year | |||||
| Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
| PSYC 231 (Natural Science BACR 2) | 3 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | PSYC 202 (Humanities & Arts BACR 2) | 5 |
| Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 |
| Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 |
| Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | ||||
| 18 | 15 | 15 | |||
| Third Year | |||||
| Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
| PSYC 309 | 5 | PSYC 310 | 5 | PSYC 321 or 331 (Cluster A/Diversity - graduation requirement) | 4-5 |
| Cluster A Elective2 | 5 | PSYC 374 (Cluster A elective/Global Studies - graduation requirement) | 5 | PSYC 413 | 5 |
| Cluster B Elective | 5 | Cluster B Elective3 | 5 | PSYC 495, 498, or 499 | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | 12-13 | |||
| Fourth Year | |||||
| Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
| PSYC 490 (Senior Capstone - graduation requirement) | 6 | Cluster B Elective 3 | 5 | Psychology Elective4 | 4 |
| Psychology Elective4 | 5 | Psychology Elective4 | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 |
| Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 |
| 16 | 15 | 14 | |||
| Total Credits 180-181 | |||||
- 1
University Graduation Requirements (UGR) and Breadth Area Course Requirements (BACR) courses may be less than 5 credits and additional credits may be required to reach the required 180 total credits needed to graduate. Students should connect with an advisor to ensure they are on track to graduate.
- 2
Cluster A Core Course Requirements–choose at least four from the approved list.
- 3
Cluster B Applied/Lab and Speciality Course Requirements–choose at least three from the approved list.
- 4
Electives–courses used as electives in the major must come from the approved Cluster A or B or Focus Experience list (those not used to meet the minimum cluster requirements).
University Competencies and Proficiencies
English
Quantitative and Symbolic Reasoning
Placement and Clearance
Prior Learning/Sources of Credit AP, CLEP, IB
General Education Requirements (GER)
- Minimum Credits—180 cumulative credit hours
- 60 upper-division credits (300 level or above)
- 45 credits in residence (attendance) at Eastern, with at least 15 upper-division credits in major in residence at Eastern
- Minimum Cumulative GPA ≥2.0
Breadth Area Core Requirements (BACR)
Humanities and Arts
Natural Sciences
Social Sciences
University Graduation Requirements (UGR)
Diversity Course List
World Language (for Bachelor of Arts)
Global Studies Course List
Minor or Certificate
Senior Capstone Course List
Application for Graduation (use EagleNET) must be made at least two terms in advance of the term you expect to graduate (undergraduate and post-baccalaureate).
Use the Catalog Archives to determine two important catalog years.
Requirements in Degree Works are based on these two catalog years:
- The catalog in effect at the student's first term of current matriculation is used to determine BACR (Breadth Area Credit Requirements) and UGR (Undergraduate Graduation Requirements).
- The catalog in effect at the time the student declares a major or minor is used to determine the program requirements.
Students who earn a BA in Psychology from EWU should be able to:
- evaluate empirical research in psychology;
- explain how APA’s principles of ethics can be applied to a research study in psychology;
- investigate a major theoretical perspective from psychology;
- utilize APA (American Psychological Association) style requirements when writing.