Program Requirements

Photo: Psych grads celebrate their BA milestone with a party at the home of the department chair, Dr. Bev Weins

General Education Core 48 units
Bible and Theology 18 units (9 units for transfer students)
Electives 10 units (21 units for transfer students)
Major 52 units
  128 Total Units for the BA

Psychology majors and minors will be encouraged to take the following courses in their general education program:

  • Interpersonal Processes* as their Communication choice.
  • Introduction to Psychology* as their Behavioral Science choice.
  • Biology, Physiology, or Anatomy as one of their Science choices.
    Cultural Geography is also recommended for those who choose International Psychology as their concentration.
  • Advanced Academic Writing as their depth elective.
  • Wisdom Literature, Psalms, or Jeremiah as a GE elective.
  • Sociology, World Religions, and Kairos: God, the Church and the World are recommended for those who choose International Psychology as their concentration.

* If this course is not taken as part of the general education curriculum, it must be taken within the major or minor electives.

Psychology Major

All students in this department earn a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Each student may earn a general psychology degree or choose an area of concentration.

Required Core Courses 31 units
Electives 9 units
Concentration 12 units
52 Units Total
Required Core Courses include: 31 units
Psychology and Christian Thought (PSYC102) 3 units
Developmental Psychology (PSYC141) 3 units
Psychology of Relationships (PSYC230) 3 units
Personality Theory & Therapy (PSYC300) 3 units
Counseling Skills (PSYC331) 3 units
Human Sexuality (PSYC333) 3 units
Abnormal Psychology (PSYC351) 3 units
Field Work in Psychology I & II (PSYC475a&b) 4 units
Research Methods & Statistics (PSYC490) 3 units
Applied Integration (PSYC498) 3 units
Elective Courses: Choose from this group
9 units
(Electives can be chosen from any of the concentrations and/or the following courses)
Social Psychology (PSYC203) 3 units
History and Systems of Psychology (PSYC310) 3 units
Psychology of Learning (PSYC400) 3 units
Grief and Loss (PSYC432) 3 units
Career Development (PSYC442) 3 units
Professional Skills (PSYC460) 3 units
Advanced Statistics for the Social Sciences (PSYC491) 3 units

Pre-psychology graduate school students:

Students planning to continue apply to graduate school are advised to choose the following electives:

  • Advanced Statistics for the Social Sciences
  • History and Systems of Psychology
  • Psychology of Learning
  • Psychological Testing and Assessment
  • Social Psychology

A Note about Field Work I & II:

Students work at a field placement site for both semesters of their senior year. There is some provision for starting field work the summer before the senior year for those students who are interested in doing so. The field work requirement is 45 hours per unit or a total of 180 hours. Finding a placement site is the student's responsibility. A Field Work Manual which includes the policies and procedures of the field work experience, a list of potential placement sites, and all of the forms needed for successful completion of the field work assignments is provided. The manual can be downloaded by clicking on the student materials link to the right. Academic advisors are also helpful as students plan for this senior year experience. Field work sites should be chosen for their value in providing the student with work experience in the area of their concentration. A site supervisor and a faculty field work supervisor meet with students regularly as they gain experience in the field and apply what they have learned in the classroom to real life settings.

Comprehensive Evaluation Requirements

The comp exam is part of the Advanced Integration curriculum and is taken during the last semester in the Psychology degree program. One retake is allowed if the student is unable to pass the exam on the first attempt. Students who pass one part of the two part examination are only required to retake the part they do not pass (either the Knowledge or the Applied section). Successful completion of both parts of the Comp is required in order to graduate from the psychology program.

Concentrations