The following catalog information is as it appears in the 2006-2007 Catalog. Degree requirements from other catalogs might differ from those that follow. Please check with your advisor to confirm the requirements that apply to you.

The general objective of the psychology major is to enhance understanding of behavior and mental processes and to examine their connections to the fields of biology and the social sciences.

This general objective is translated into specific objectives that concern the understanding of (a) scientific methodology, (b) the current state of psychological knowledge, and (c) the application of both methodology and knowledge to real-world problems and events.

 The psychology major consists of six components. First, a required core of courses that introduces students to the field and to communication skills within the field. This core includes required methodology courses in writing, library research, statistics, and experimental design. Second is a lower-division content-course requirement. Third is a set of upper-division content courses that represent psychology’s close alliance with both social science and natural-science approaches to the study of behavior. Fourth, psychology majors select upper-division semester-hours from a group of elective offerings. Fifth, every psychology major must complete a St. Mary’s Project, an in-depth study on a topic of the student’s choosing. Finally, psychology majors must demonstrate, through one of the approved options provided in documents made available by the department, that they have an understanding of the contributions of diversity and multiculturalism to the understanding of psychology.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

To earn a bachelor of arts degree with a major in psychology, a student must satisfy the following minimum requirements:

1. General College Requirements (see “Curriculum” section), including the following requirements to satisfy the major:
2. At least 44 semester-hours as specified in a., b., c., d., e. and f., below. A grade of C- or better must be received in each course under point 2., and the cumulative grade point average of courses used to satisfy the major must be at least a 2.00. Courses taken for Credit/No credit may not be used to satisfy requirements under point 2.

a.	Required Core Courses: 12 semester-hours
	PSYC 101- Introduction to Psychology
	PSYC 201- Psychological Statistics
	PSYC 203- Writing and Research Methods in Psychology
b.	Lower-division Content Course: 4 semester-hours chosen from:
	PSYC 210- Comparative Animal Behavior
	PSYC 220- Critical Thinking: An Introduction to Cognition and Perception
	PSYC 230- Lifespan Development
	PSYC 250- Social Psychology
	PSYC 270- Study of Personality
c.	Distribution Across Content Areas: 16 upper-division semester-hours, as specified below. Note: At least 8 semester-hours of these 16 hours must be laboratory courses (400 level).
	Content Area A: 8 semester-hours
	PSYC 331- Infant and Child Development
	PSYC 333- Adolescence
	PSYC 335- Adulthood and Aging
	PSYC 362- Focus on Social Psychology
	PSYC 375- Abnormal Psychology
	PSYC 378- Counseling
	PSYC 430- Developmental Psychology with Laboratory
	PSYC 450- Social Psychology with Laboratory
	PSYC 470- Counseling and Psychotherapy with Laboratory
	Content Area B: 8 semester-hours
	PSYC 312- Sensation and Perception
	PSYC 314- Drugs, Brains, and Behavior
	PSYC 420- Psychology of Learning with Laboratory
	PSYC 422- Biological Psychology with Laboratory
	PSYC 424- Cognitive Psychology with Laboratory
d.	Upper-Division Electives: A minimum of 8 additional semester-hours in upper-division psychology courses. Credits earned from internships, field experiences, and independent studies cannot be used to meet this requirement. A maximum of either four semester-hours of a St. Mary's Project in Psychology (PSYC493/494) OR four semester-hours in Directed Research in Psychology (PSYC 397 or PSYC 497) can be counted toward this requirement.
e.	Diversity Requirement: Satisfaction of diversity requirement from an approved list of courses, experiential hours, or a proposal submitted to the Department Diversity Committee that demonstrates how this requirement has otherwise been met. The official document that describes the details of this requirement is made available to all declared psychology majors each semester.
f.	Every psychology major must complete a St. Mary's Project. This project may be in psychology or in another major discipline or study area. The guidelines established in the selected area apply.