Psychology

To earn this degree, you must successfully complete at least 120 credits, including your General Education requirements and the major requirements below.

Major Sequence

At a minimum, all psychology majors are required to complete 36 semester hours of credit in psychology. As part of these 36 hours, students must take a series of 30 or 31 credits of core courses.

As preparation for employment, graduate studies, or pursuing areas of interest, Georgian Court psychology majors have the option of selecting one of five areas:

1. Mental Health and Human Services
2. Human Development
3. Business and Industry
4. Applied Behavior Analysis
5. Addictions Counseling

Selection of these course sequences does not affect the courses required for graduation; the four areas have different recommended courses, as described below.

Mental Health & Human Services

This area is recommended for students pursuing employment in a mental health or human services setting. It is also recommended for students interested in pursuing graduate study in fields such as counseling and clinical psychology. In addition to the core courses listed above, this course sequence recommends:

Human Development

This area is recommended for students pursuing certification in education or employment involving human growth and development. It is also recommended for students interested in pursuing graduate study in fields such as developmental psychology and child psychology. In addition to the core courses listed above, this course sequence recommends:

Business & Industry

This area is recommended for students interested in applying psychological principles to the workplace, such as in human resource development. It is also recommended for students interested in pursuing graduate study in industrial/organizational psychology. In addition to the core courses listed above, this course sequence recommends:

Applied Behavior Analysis

This area is recommended for students interested in pursuing a career in applied behavior analysis. In addition to the core courses listed above, this course sequence recommends:

Addictions Counseling

This area is recommended for students pursuing employment in addictions counseling. It is also recommended for students interested in pursuing graduate study in fields such as counseling and clinical psychology. In addition to the core courses listed above, this course sequence recommends:

Students who complete this sequence of courses are eligible to apply for the Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor (CADC) license once they have completed the requirements for supervised experience required by the Division of Consumer Affairs of New Jersey.

Psychology Scholars Program

In the PSP, students who enter as first-year students complete the regular requirements for the psychology major and complete the following:

• Take the four University Honors Program courses that are offered in the first two years (EN221 Honors Argument: Rhetoric & Research, EN226 HNR American Literature & Culture, and other honors-level General Education courses)
• Take honors-designated sections of the following required courses for psychology majors:

  Course List

  Code	Title	Credits
  PS113	Foundations of Psychology	3
  PS223	Psychopathology	3
  PS332	Psychology of Learning	3
  PS360	Cognitive Psychology	3
  PS334	Social Psychology	3
  PS341	Biological Psychology	3
  PS430	Rsrch Mthds & Stats for the Beh Sciences	3
  PS431	Experimental Psychology	4
  PS455	Senior Seminar	3

• In addition, complete either
  • An internship course
  • PS440 Supervised Research in Psychology or
  • PS460 Research in Psychology I

Students who are simultaneously enrolled in the PSP and the University Honors program must also complete three courses in the University Honors Program:

• EN221 Honors Argument: Rhetoric & Research
• GEN199 WI:Discovering Self in the Universe
• GEN400 WI:Visioning a Future

Students who transfer into the PSP or enter after the first year:

• Complete the regular requirements for the psychology major;
• Take any of the honors-designated PS courses for which they have not already taken an equivalent; if they are unable to take at least five honors-designated PS courses, they are not eligible for the program. Transfer students do not typically take PS113 Foundations of Psychology, but a student who transfers in with very few psychology credits may be advised to do so.
• Complete the internship or research course requirement for the PSP.

Students may substitute a 300- or 400-level psychology course as honors by contract for a regularly offered PSP course by permission of the program director.

Continuation in the program requires maintenance of honors standing in the PSP. In order to maintain membership in the PSP, students must maintain a GPA of 3.2 or obtain the permission of the program director.

Students who successfully complete the PSP are guaranteed admission to their choice of the GCU Psychology and Counseling M.A. programs, pending an application and a successful interview. In order to retain the automatic admission to the graduate program (conditional upon interview), the student must complete the following:

• Graduation overall GPA 3.5, Psychology GPA 3.6
• No semester GPA below 3.0
• No more than two course grades below B-

Transfer Regulations for all Psychology Majors

Students must complete a minimum of 21 credits in the Psychology program at Georgian Court including one of the capstone courses (PS431 Experimental Psychology or PS450 Internship in Psychology or PS456 Internship in Psych:Addictions Treatment or PS455 Senior Seminar).

Gain a deeper understanding of human behavior and develop skills in counseling, intervention, and critical thinking with a minor in psychology from GCU.

Minor Sequence

Eighteen credits must be completed in psychology, including

1. either PS111 Introduction to Psychology or PS113 Foundations of Psychology and
2. PS214 Intermediate Issues in Psychology

At least 9 credits must be completed at Georgian Court, and at least 6 credits must be earned in courses at the 300 or 400 level. Psychology minors can also participate in the Advanced Admission to the M.A. in Applied Behavior Analysis program.