The Psychology Major
A major in psychology enables students to pursue a variety of post-baccalaureate activities. Many psychology majors continue their studies in graduate school, where they may specialize in such areas as clinical, counseling, developmental, experimental, physiological, social, or sports psychology. Some majors choose to become certified teach psychology and sociology in secondary schools. Others enroll in a variety of professional programs such as law, medicine, education, speech pathology, rehabilitation, or social work. Some enter directly into careers such as management, human services, rehabilitation, or recreational supervision. Some of our majors obtain employment as a direct consequence of an undergraduate internship. Students considering psychology as a major or minor are encouraged to seek a mentor/advisor in the department before declaring a major or minor. Acceptance as a major is contingent on a student passing both Psychology 101 and 215 with a grade of C or better. A pre-requisite for enrolling in 215 is a C or better in 101.
Course Requirements for a Psychology Major
All majors take the core courses, 101, 215, 216, 480 and the correlative course, Math 108; in addition, to provide a broad base to their study of psychology, students choose one course from each of the four core groupings: (a) Behavioral Neuroscience (327, 328, 347), (b) developmental psychology (250, 261, 262, 324); (c) social, clinical and personality psychology (254, 344, 361, 454); (d) research methods and applications (217, 220, 315, 365). Students considering psychology as a major or minor are encouraged to seek a mentor/advisor in the department before making any final decision about a major or minor. Acceptance as a major is contingent on a student passing both Psychology 101 and 215 with a grade of C or better. A Pre-requisite for enrolling in 215 is a C or better in 101. Many majors will be encouraged by their mentor/advisor to do an internship or a research project. In order to be considered for departmental honors, a student must complete either an internship or independent research under the supervision of a faculty member. Any exceptions to these requirements must be discussed and agreed to by the departmental faculty.
Enrichment
We strongly recommend that majors enrich their background with an introductory course in computer programming, a field experience (298) or internship (498), an independent research project (481) or the special topics courses (280, 281). One-hour courses offered through student Development (610, 611, 612) allow students direct experience in a helping role and are suggested as preparation for a field experience (298) or internship (498).
Additional Special Opportunities
We encourage students to assist with faculty research projects or to develop their own projects. Computer terminals and programs are available for conducting experiments, simulations and for data analysis; video-taping equipment can be used for animal or child developmental research or student training; we have a playroom equipped for unstructured small group play with an observation area which can be used to study young children; we also have equipment for individual cognitive assessment interviews. Facilities for human experimental research allow the possibility of research measuring visual and auditory perception, memory, and reaction time. An operant laboratory allows for the study of animal learning. Comparative and physiological laboratories include facilities for maintenance and study of several species of rodents and fish; a histology laboratory is equipped for the investigation of neural and hormonal factors in behavior.
The Hiram psychology department belongs to the Ohio Consortium for Undergraduate Psychology Conferences which meets every spring. We encourage students to present their research at this and other conferences. The department has contacts with many social service agencies in the area. Students may arrange internships or field placements which provide an opportunity to work with adolescents, young children, or older adults. These human services experiences can be arranged in many different contexts, from the criminal justice system to residential or out-patient treatment facilities.