Home 2013-2014 Undergraduate College Catalog Undergraduate Programs of Study(Majors, Minors & Requirements) Psychology

Psychology

Up one level

Undergraduate Programs of Study(Majors, Minors & Requirements)

In this section

Psychology Major Requirements

Psychology Minor Requirements

Psychology Transfer Credits

Psychology Departmental Honors and Distinction

Psychology Advising

Psychology Portfolio

Psychology Departmental Web Page on the World Wide Web

Psychology Course Distinctions: Making Sense of Numerical Course Listings

The Psychology Department offers a broad program covering areas of clinical, cultural, developmental, humanistic, physiological, and social psychology. The Psychology major is designed to provide both breadth and depth in training, emphasizing the scientific nature of psychology. Students explore the study of behavior from both the empirical and the theoretical perspectives. Furthermore, students become familiar with statistical procedures and develop skills in research design. In addition to classroom work, internships and research placements are available. Several faculty members are involved in ongoing empirical research projects in which motivated students are encouraged to participate. The program provides strong academic training consistent with pre-professional preparation for a career in a variety of psychological fields, in education, in business, and in research.

Faculty and Professional Interests

Jessyca Arthur-Cameselle: Sport psychology and clinical psychology: eating disorders in athletes, treatment of anxiety disorders, and burnout from sport.

Katherine Bao: Positive Psychology: increasing happiness, sustaining happiness, adaptation to positive life events, and romantic relationships

Alison S. Carson: Cultural psychology: acculturation processes, culture and cognition, and qualitative research methods.

Everett Delahanty: Humanistic psychology: folk psychology, psychology of experience, psychology of relationships, self psychology, sensation and perception, and psychology of emotions

P. Susan Gerrity: Developmental psychology: attachment, friendship and love; development of self perceptions and beliefs about self and others; identity, positive development, coping, and emotion regulation

Julie Higgins: Cognitive Psychology: memory, how interference influences memory processes, cognitive aging, cognitive neuroscience, and source memory

Anthony C. Santucci: Biopsychology: biological bases of mental illnesses, neuroscience, physiological measures/effects of emotions, head trauma, and psychopharmacology

George E. Schreer: Social psychology: stereotyping, prejudice, social stigma, persuasion, aggression, and group processes

Psychology Major Requirements

A minimum of 13 courses are required for the major as described below:

I. Overview of the Discipline

PSY 1004: Fundamentals of Psychology

II. Tools of the Discipline (both courses required)

PSY 2012: Statistics for the Social Sciences
AND
PSY 2040: Research Methods in Psychology

III. Content Breadth of the Discipline (One course from each pair-5 courses-required)

Biological	PSY 2004: Physiological Bases of Behavior	or	PSY 2008: Sensation and Perception
Clinical/Personality	PSY 2011: Abnormal Psychology	or	PSY 2036: Personality Psychology
Cultural	PSY 2042: Psychology and Culture	or	PSY 2046: Psychology of Identity
Development	PSY 2001: Developmental Psychology: Infancy through childhood	or	PSY 2052: Developmental Psychology: Adult development
Social	PSY 2009: Social Psychology	or	PSY 2063: Social Influence and Persuasion

IV. Capstone (1 course required)

A capstone course is any 3000 or 4000-level course taken in the junior or senior year.

V. Elective courses (4 courses required)

Students must complete at least 4 additional courses in psychology, at least one of which must be at the 3000 level

The recommended course sequence for the major is:

Freshman Year:

PSY 1004: Fundamentals of Psychology, and
one course from the five content breadth selections

Sophomore Year:

PSY 2012: Statistics, and
four remaining content breadth courses

Junior Year:

PSY 2040: Research Methods in Psychology, and
two or three (of the four) additional electives

Senior Year:

Capstone and remaining elective courses

Important Considerations for the Psychology Major and Minor

A minimum grade of C - is required in order to count a psychology course for the major or minor.

Psychology Minor Requirements

For the minor, PSY 1004: Fundamentals of Psychology and a minimum of 4 elective courses are required. Students are encouraged to take electives from several content breadth areas in order to be broadly educated in the field of psychology.

Important Considerations for the Psychology Major and Minor

A minimum grade of C - is required in order to count a psychology course for the major or minor.

Psychology Transfer Credits

No more than half of the courses used for the major or the minor can be transferred to Manhattanville from another academic institution. Students must get written approval for all courses taken elsewhere to be used toward the Psychology major or minor. Current Manhattanville students, who want to take courses at other schools, to be used for either their Psychology major or minor, should get written approval of the Chairperson before taking the courses. Transfer students who want to use courses taken elsewhere for their Manhattanville Psychology major or minor must get written approval of the Chairperson. This written approval then should be placed in the student's Portfolio. (See Academic Advising web page “Forms” to obtain a "Transfer Credit Approval Form.”) Students receiving either a "4" or a "5" on a high school AP Psychology exam can apply that credit toward PSY 1004 upon presenting the Chairperson with the appropriate documentation confirming the student’s AP exam score.

Psychology Departmental Honors and Distinction

The minimum criteria to be eligible for Departmental Honors are:

"B" or higher in all psychology courses;
a minimum of 3.5 GPA in psychology
Completion of one of the two options for prolonged, advanced study of a single topic (courses must be completed at Manhattanville)

1) at least one semester of PSY 4020: Writing Review Articles followed by PSY 4025: Research and Writing Experience or

2) at least one semester of PSY 4020: Writing Review Articles followed by PSY 4030: Field Work Experience

A- in both courses 4000-level courses is the minimum for consideration for honors

Following the completion of these minimum requirements, Departmental Honors are awarded based on the recommendation of the full Psychology Department faculty’s evaluation of the intellectual quality of a student’s entire psychology program.

In addition to Honors, the Psychology Department also awards Departmental Distinction. This award is given to graduating psychology majors who, although not meeting the requirements for Departmental Honors, have demonstrated outstanding performance in the classroom, in the laboratory, or in the field, or who have exhibited dramatic intellectual growth and development of scholarly sophistication during their time at Manhattanville. Distinction is awarded based on the recommendation of the full psychology department faculty.

Psychology Advising

Students planning to major in Psychology will need to declare a psychology major during the second semester of the sophomore year by the date listed on the academic calendar. The Declaration of Major Form requires the signature of the Psychology Chairperson, who will assign a full-time faculty advisor in the Psychology Department (see list above). The signature of the new major advisor is also required on the Major Declaration Form. (See Academic Advising web page “Forms” to obtain an “Undergraduate Declaration/Change of Program, Minor or Change of Advisor Form.”)

Psychology Portfolio

Students who major in Psychology are required to obtain the signatures of both the Chairperson and their major advisor for their Portfolios. If their major advisor also serves as the Chairperson, students are required to obtain the signature of another full-time Psychology Department faculty member.

Psychology Departmental Web Page on the World Wide Web

Additional information about the department including faculty research interests and course syllabi can be found on the department's Web page located at http://www.mville.edu/undergraduate/academics/majors/psychology.html In addition, several Psychology faculty members maintain their own personal Web pages on the college’s Web site.

Psychology Course Distinctions: Making Sense of Numerical Course Listings

1000-level courses: Courses with 1000 numbers provide a broad introduction to the fundamental principles of the diverse field of psychology. These courses serve either as gateway courses into the major or minor, or provide general education in psychology for non-major/minor students. No prior background in psychology is assumed of students taking these courses. Students of any academic status (freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior) can enroll in these courses. PSY 1004 is a lecture-based course.
2000-level courses: Courses with 2000 numbers are predominantly lecture-based courses that provide an introduction to the fundamentals of a sub-discipline in psychology. These courses are considered "foundation-level electives" and can be taken either for major or minor credit. Although, generally, no formal background in psychology is required of students taking these courses, students are encouraged to have already taken either PSY 1004. Some 2000-level courses may have 2000 level prerequisites (e.g. PSY 2001 is a pre-requisite for PSY 2002). Lower-level electives serve to prepare students for more in-depth specialized intellectual study that is required of 3000-level courses. Students of any academic status (freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior) can enroll in these 2000-level courses.
3000-level courses: Courses with 3000 numbers provide an in-depth intellectual study of a specialized topic or a subfield of psychology. These courses are considered "upper-level electives." Typically, these courses are conducted in a seminar-type format with significant reading, writing, and intellectual discussion required of the student. While it is often assumed and strongly encouraged that students have had a 1000-level introductory course, in addition to a 2000-level elective that has provided an overview of the particular sub-discipline of psychology from which the specialized topic is drawn, especially academically strong students without these courses may be allowed to enrolled in 3000-level course with the instructor’s approval. Students enrolled in these courses should have junior or senior academic status.
4000-level courses: Courses with 4000 numbers are arranged on an individual basis between the student and the full-time faculty member who has agreed to supervise the project. These courses, by their very nature, require a great deal of independent work on the part of the student. Given these characteristics, courses with 4000 numbers are considered "individualized upper-level electives." These courses involve either a significant empirical or library research-based component, or an internship experience at an institution outside Manhattanville College. A significant writing assignment is also an integral part of these courses. Depending on the supervising professor, students in these courses may occasionally meet in groups to share common experiences and progress made with fellow students. Courses with 4000-level numbers can be taken multiple times for credit. Almost without exception, these courses are reserved for students who major in Psychology, although there may be highly special circumstances under which a student not a major in Psychology is allowed to enroll. Typically, students enrolled in these courses are of junior or senior academic status.
5000-level courses: Courses with 5000 numbers designate graduate level courses.