Psychology, B.S.

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The Psychology major at York College of Pennsylvania provides students with the necessary background to pursue a number of professional careers within and related to psychology. Core Requirements and Content Domains have been designated to provide the integral background for further educational and professional growth. Elective courses allow the student to concentrate on his or her individual career goals and interests.

The Psychology faculty assist each student in preparing for his or her career and/or graduate school goals. It is important that each Psychology major meet with an advisor at least once per semester. A program advising guide is also available from advisors. Students who wish to declare Psychology as a major after the first semester of the freshman year must contact the Behavioral Science Department at (717) 815-1375 or casmith@ycp.edu for further information.

Requirements for Graduation:

To be eligible for graduation, students majoring in Psychology must complete a minimum of 120 credits, achieve a cumulative grade point average of 2.0, satisfy the College’s residency requirements, complete the General Education Requirements of the College and complete graduating outcome assessments. A minimum grade of 2.0 is required for First Year Seminar and all courses taken as part of Foundations. Courses used to complete General Education Requirements may not be taken on a pass/fail basis.

The General Education Requirements of the college require students to successfully complete a First Year Seminar, Foundations, Disciplinary Perspectives, and a Constellation. Students who enter the college with 30 credit hours completed will not take a First Year Seminar course and therefore must take an additional 3 credits for graduation. Transfer students that are awarded 60 or more credits upon acceptance to York College will not be required to complete a Constellation.

General Education Requirement

First Year Seminar

FYS 100 First-Year Seminar 3 credit hours

Foundations Requirements

FCO 105 Rhetorical Communication 3 credit hours
Choose one of the following Advanced Communication courses:
CM 212 Public Speaking 3 credit hours
FCO 210 (WRT210) Communication in Professional Cultures 3 credit hours
FCO 215 Technical and Scientific Communication 3 credit hours
FCO 225 (WRT225) Interdisciplinary Communication 3 credit hours
Choose one of the following Quantitative Fluency courses:
PHL 222 Critical Thinking 3 credit hours
PHL 231 Logic 3 credit hours
Choose one of the following American Citizenship courses:
ECO 201 Principles of Economics (Micro) 3 credit hours
HIS 111 American Civilization I 3 credit hours
HIS 112 American Civilization II 3 credit hours
PHL 245 American Philosophical Thought 3 credit hours
PS 101 (PS141) American Government and Citizenship 3 credit hours
Choose one of the following Global Citizenship courses:
ECO 200 Principles of Economics (Macro) 3 credit hours
G 100 (G243) World Regional Geography 3 credit hours
HIS 102 The West in the World 3 credit hours
PS 102 Contemporary Global Issues 3 credit hours
Students may take six credits of the same foreign language courses to fulfill their Global Citizenship requirement under the following conditions:

a. Six credits of the same, non-Spanish, foreign language OR

b. Six additional, advanced Spanish credits beyond the major requirement of SPN102

Disciplinary Perspectives Requirement

Choose one of the following Humanities courses:
FLM 216 Introduction to Film 3 credit hours
HIS 101 The Foundation of the West 3 credit hours
LIT 200 Introduction to Literary and Textual Studies 3 credit hours
PHL 221 Introduction to Philosophy 3 credit hours
REL 265 World Religions 3 credit hours
PHL 238 Race, Gender, and Sexuality 3 credit hours
OR
WGS 238 Race, Gender, and Sexuality 3 credit hours
Choose one of the following Arts courses:
ART 101 Art and Visual Culture 3 credit hours
CRW 272 Introduction to Creative Writing 3 credit hours
MUS 186 (MUS200) Listening to Music 3 credit hours
THE 154 Introduction to Theatre 3 credit hours
Social/Behavioral Sciences course:
SOC 100 Introduction to Sociology 3 credit hours
Choose one of the following Natural/Physical Sciences courses:
BIO 204 (BIO110) Exploring Biology 3 credit hours
CHM 240 Perspectives on the Molecular World 3 credit hours
ESS 254 Local Perspectives on the Geological World 3 credit hours
G 151 Introduction to Physical Geography 3 credit hours
PSC 152 Concepts in Physics in Everyday Life 3 credit hours

Constellation Requirement

The Constellation requirement is met when a student completes four courses from a minimum of three disciplines within the Constellation requirements. Transfer students that are awarded 60 or more credits upon acceptance to York College will not be required to complete a Constellation except for Education majors.

Required Major Courses:

Because the Core Requirement courses are sequential in nature, students must earn a 2.0 grade or higher in their current Core Requirement course(s) to progress to the next course in the sequence.

Core Requirements

PSY 110 Orientation to the Psychology Major 1 credit hour
PSY 200 Essential Skills and Tools in Psychology 3 credit hours
PSY 270 Design and Analysis I 3 credit hours
PSY 271 Design and Analysis II 3 credit hours
PSY 370 Design and Analysis III 3 credit hours
PSY 490 Senior Capstone in Psychology 3 credit hours

Content Domains

Students should consult the Psychology Major Advising Guide, located on the MyYCP Psychology community site for suggestions on how to best sequence Psychology Content Domain courses.

PSY 100 General Psychology 3 credit hours
PSY 210 Fundamentals of Biopsychology 3 credit hours
PSY 243 Social Psychology 3 credit hours
PSY 250 Multicultural Awareness 3 credit hours
PSY 307 Cognitive Psychology 3 credit hours
PSY 321 Developmental Science 3 credit hours
PSY 330 Adult Psychopathology 3 credit hours

Psychology Electives

Select four courses from the following:

PSY 215 Sustainability and Psychology 3 credit hours
PSY 216 Forensic Psychology 3 credit hours
PSY 225 Health Psychology 3 credit hours
PSY 227 Childhood Exceptionalities 3 credit hours
PSY 309 Theories of Learning 3 credit hours
PSY 310 Brain and Behavior 3 credit hours
PSY 313 Applied Behavioral Neuroscience 3 credit hours
PSY 331 Child Psychopathology 3 credit hours
PSY 375-399 Special Topics in Psychology 1-3 credit hours (Topics vary as available, individual topics are offered infrequently.)
PSY 395 Eating Disorders 3 credit hours
PSY 421 Psychology Cooperative Internship 3 credit hours
PSY 422 Psychology Cooperative Internship 3 credit hours
PSY 431 Psychology Teaching Practicum 1 credit hour
PSY 432 Psychology Teaching Practicum II 1 credit hour
PSY 440 Personality 3 credit hours
PSY 441 Counseling Theories in Psychology 3 credit hours
PSY 472 History and Systems of Psychology 3 credit hours
PSY 498 Independent Study in Psychology 1-3 credit hours
PSY 499 Independent Study in Psychology 1-3 credit hours

Non-Psychology Requirements

Students who test out of one or both of SPN 101 and SPN 102, through the foreign language placement process, are able to earn these credits by taking other elective courses.

MAT 109 Quantitative Reasoning 3 credit hours
SPN 101 Elementary Spanish I 3 credit hours
SPN 102 Elementary Spanish II 3 credit hours

Physical Activity and Wellness

Students are required to complete one credit of Physical Activity and Wellness selected from the following:

PAW 105 Aqua Exercise (Coed) 1 credit hour
PAW 107 Introduction to Rock Climbing 1 credit hour
PAW 118 Physical Fitness and Conditioning (Men) 1 credit hour
PAW 119 Physical Fitness and Conditioning (Women) 1 credit hour
PAW 123 Learn to Swim - a non-swimmer’s course 1 credit hour
PAW 128 Broadway Dance 1 credit hour
PAW 130 Self Defense 1 credit hour
PAW 134 Concepts of Physical Activity and Wellness (Coed) 1 credit hour
PAW 136 Aerobic Dance (Coed) 1 credit hour
PAW 138 Introduction to High Intensity Functional Fitness 1 credit hour
PAW 139 Trends in Cardiorespiratory Exercise (Coed) 1 credit hour
PAW 163 Yoga 1 credit hour
PAW 164 Introduction to Tai Chi (Coed) 0.5 credit hour
PAW 165 Pilates 1 credit hour
PAW 170 Core Conditioning 1 credit hour

Elective courses (19 credits)

Students may choose any 19 credits of elective courses.

Suggested Course Sequence:

Freshman Year (31 credits)

FCO 105 Rhetorical Communication 3 credit hours
FYS 100 First-Year Seminar 3 credit hours
PSY 100 General Psychology 3 credit hours
PSY 110 Orientation to the Psychology Major 1 credit hour
PSY 200 Essential Skills and Tools in Psychology 3 credit hours
SOC 100 Introduction to Sociology 3 credit hours
Foundations course - 3 credit hours
Foundations course - 3 credit hours
Foundations course - 3 credit hours
Disciplinary Perspectives course 3 credit hours
Psychology Content Domain course 3 credit hours

Sophomore Year (31 credits)

SPN 101 Elementary Spanish I 3 credit hours
Foundations - Advanced Communication course 3 credit hours
Disciplinary Perspective courses 3 credit hours
Disciplinary Perspective courses 3 credit hours
Psychology Content Domain courses 6 credit hours
Psychology Elective course 3 credit hours
Physical Activity and Wellness course 1 credit hour
Elective courses 9 credit hours

Junior Year (30 credits)

MAT 109 Quantitative Reasoning 3 credit hours
PSY 270 Design and Analysis I 3 credit hours
PSY 271 Design and Analysis II 3 credit hours
SPN 102 Elementary Spanish II 3 credit hours
Psychology Content Domain courses 6 credit hours
Psychology Elective course 3 credit hours
Constellation course 3 credit hours
Constellation course 3 credit hours
Elective course 3 credit hours

Senior Year (28 credits)

PSY 370 Design and Analysis III 3 credit hours
PSY 490 Senior Capstone in Psychology 3 credit hours
Psychology Elective courses 6 credit hours
Constellation course 3 credit hours
Constellation course 3 credit hours
Elective courses 7 credit hours
Psychology Content Domain course 3 credit hours