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Psychology Bachelor's Degree Program

Charter Oak State College Psychology

Charter Oak State College has an online bachelor's degree in Psychology, the science of behavior. It covers the behavior of humans, normal and abnormal, and across the life span.

The field is concerned with the development of principles of behavior and the application of those principles to individuals, society, and the institutions of government, business, and mental health.

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Our Bachelor of Science in Psychology degree program requires a minimum of 39 credits in the major: 4 core courses (12 credits), 3 elective courses (9 credits), 5 concentration courses (15 credits), and the Capstone course (3 credits).

See the full requirements for our Psychology major in our Official Catalog.

Core courses:

This course is designed to provide students with an introduction to psychology across a variety of sub-disciplines including, but not limited to, clinical, neuropsychological, developmental, cognitive, biological, and experimental. The course will focus on how psychology began with a philosophical perspective and has developed into a multidisciplinary science.

This course will provide an overview of the general concepts associated with descriptive and inferential statistics in psychology. There will be an examination of the purpose behind the use of statistics in psychology and an investigation of the process undertaken to derive these statistics. Students will apply these principles by conducting a variety of statistical analyses.

Prerequisites: ENG 101, PSY 101, or SOC 101

This course will provide an overview of the major ideas and sociohistorical factors that relate to the study of the mind and behavior, and have shaped the field of psychology as a scientific discipline. Topics covered will include the evolution of this field of study from its roots in the philosophy of Ancient Greece and Rome, the beginning of the scientific method, Darwinian theory, the establishment of the major psychological schools of thought, and rise of applied psychology.

Student can have no more than 6 credits remaining in their major to complete in their degree program prior to enrolling in this course.

Prerequisites: ENG 101, ENG 102, PSY 101, & 3 additional credits in Psychology

This course will be an examination of the fundamental principles of behavioral science research. There will be an overview of the conceptual need for research and an analysis of the methods or designs commonly employed and the procedures utilized to collect and analyze data. Students will review and design research in their areas of interest.

Prerequisites: ENG 101, ENG 102, MAT 105, and an Introductory Behavioral Science course.

Choose two of these courses:

This course provides an overview of classic and current theory concerning the processing of information by the human mind. Emphasis is placed on the study of higher mental processes such as perception, learning, problem solving, categorization, decision-making and language.

Prerequisites: ENG 101, ENG 102

Recommended: PSY 101

This course provides an overview of neuropsychological disorders and treatment including the history of the science, disorders associated with hemispheric specialization, motor control problems, deficits in attention, language, memory, generalized cognitive disorders, and our current understanding of the relationship between brain plasticity and recovery of function.

Counts toward fulfillment of the Natural Science General Education requirement. Cannot be used toward Science concentrations.

Prerequisites: ENG 101, ENG 102

Recommended: PSY 101

In this course, students will explore historical, traditional, and contemporary literature on learning and memory and the biological basis of learning and memory. Areas of theory covered will include: classical/respondent conditioning, instrumental/operant conditioning, and social learning theory with attention to clinical, counseling, and educational applications.

Prerequisites: ENG 101, ENG 102

Recommended: PSY 101

This course explores the historical and contemporary theories of development as they impact upon maturation and socialization of adolescents. The biological, cognitive, and social/cultural changes that take place during adolescence are examined for their impact on self-awareness, character development, and gender development. The role that parents, friends, school, work, and the media play in influencing these changes is also detailed.

Choose one of these courses:

This course presents fundamental principles underlying social influences upon human behavior; such as attitudes and attitude change, socialization, communication, group dynamics, inter-group relations as influenced by social structure and individual personality, cognition, and emotional factors.

Prerequisites: ENG 101, ENG 102

Recommended: PSY 101

This course reviews the development of personality theory, major models of personality, and the major theorists and their contributions to the field. Focus will be on personality development, personality structure, and potential for change.

Prerequisites: ENG 101, ENG 102

Recommended: PSY 101

This course will examine the psychological and biological processes of abnormal behavior and explore the symptoms, theory and treatment of a wide variety of psychological disorders.

Prerequisites: ENG 101, ENG 102

Recommended: PSY 101

This course will be a culmination of previous required courses taken within the Psychology major. Students will conduct a literature review of both primary and secondary sources and then synthesize this information into the writing of an in-depth paper answering a critically thought out hypothesis, research methodology, and finally drawing conclusions on the information discussed.

Prerequisites: ENG 101, ENG 102, PSY 101, PSY 216, & PSY 410

Students enrolled in the Psychology major will earn 15 of their credits in one of these four concentrations:

  • Life Span - courses for this concentration may include:
  • PSY 236: Life Span Development
  • PSY 301: Psychology of Play
  • PSY 319: Psychology of Gender
  • PSY 335: Psychology of the Exceptional Child
  • Social/Behavioral - courses for this concentration may include:
  • PSY 236: Life Span Development
  • PSY 301: Psychology of Play
  • PSY 319: Psychology of Gender
  • PSY 333: Social Psychology & Deviance
  • PSY 454: Psychology of Addiction
  • Cognition & Learning - courses for this concentration may include:
  • PSY 236: Life Span Development
  • PSY 301: Psychology of Play
  • PSY 335: Psychology of the Exceptional Child
  • PSY 450: Neuropsychology
  • General Psychology - this concentration will be developed with your Academic Advisor

Students who graduate with a major in Psychology will be able to:

  1. Apply, evaluate, and analyze different domains of psychology. This includes, but is not limited to, such domains as cognitive, behavioral, physiological, humanistic, socio-cultural, and psychodynamic.
  2. Solve problems by applying previous knowledge to a new problem, and distinguish between pseudoscience and scientific findings.
  3. Write about psychological topics with clarity and logical organization.
  4. Synthesize information from primary and secondary sources.
  5. Understand psychological phenomena both systematically and empirically.
  6. Use qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, including statistical reasoning, research design, and evaluation of data.
  7. Apply psychological perspectives to a research area: memory, learning, personality, perception, and psychopathology.
  8. Synthesize learning of the concentration through a research paper, project, portfolio, or practicum.

Download our Psychology Brochure


Additional Earnings

Bachelor’s degree holders make $1 million more on average over their lifetime compared to their peers who have only a high school degree.*

Opportunity

Employees with a bachelor’s degree now make up 57 percent of total wages earned. **

More Jobs

99 percent of jobs created since the recession (December 2007 - June 2009) went to individuals with at least some postsecondary education.**

* Jaison R. Abel and Richard Deitz Do the Benefits of College Still Outweigh the Costs?
** Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce America’s Divided Recovery: College Haves and Have-Nots, 2016

*** Broken a:238430 www: CTA Undergrad - Request Info and Contact Info - BS4 ***

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