Oct 13, 2024  
2020-2021 Undergraduate Bulletin 
    
2020-2021 Undergraduate Bulletin [ARCHIVED BULLETIN]

Psychology, BA Major in


Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: Majors and Minors

The Bachelor of Arts (BA) major in psychology is a program of study that:

  • Exposes students to concepts and research from multiple theoretical perspectives on behavior and mental processes.
  • Trains students in the scientific method and engages them in behavioral research.

Within these program goals the BA in Psychology also helps carry out the mission of the Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences : students of psychology are taught to think critically about truth claims involving behavior, and to reason and communicate scientifically. The BA in Psychology prepares students for work and/or graduate study in a wide range of fields outside of psychology including business, education, health, law, and technology. The BA in Psychology is preparation for graduate study in psychology, and for careers in behavioral research and human service professions.

Program Requirements


A Psychology major consists of 33 semester hours distributed as follows:

1. Required Courses - Total Semester Hours: 15


2. Psychology Electives (Essential Electives) - Total Semester Hours: 12


Complete four (4) courses from the Essential Electives category, which represent the fundamental areas of psychological science.


Four (4) of the following courses with at least one (1) course from each category:

a) Biopsychological


b) Learning/Cognitive/History


c) Developmental/Social/Clinical


Specialty/Applied Electives - Total Semester hours: 6


Complete two (2) additional PSY courses. These courses, generally represented by a 2-digit course code in the list of courses below (e.g., PSY 089) represent important, but more narrowly focused or applied fields of psychology, as compared to the Essential Electives. The only prerequisite generally required for these courses is PSY 001 , but see the course descriptions for other requirements.


This requirement may be fulfilled by combinations of specialty/applied elective courses and/or additional essential elective courses.

3. ETS Major Field Test


The ETS Major Field Test in Psychology is required of all majors and is to be taken in the research seminar.

4. Grade requirement


All courses for the major require a grade of C- or better.

Note:


There is a 45 semester hour limit in the student’s major. This means that although psychology majors are welcome to take more psychology courses than the 33 s.h. minimum required for graduation, no credit toward graduation will be given for any semester hours in psychology over 45 s.h. A student may go beyond this limit if enrolled in Honors in Psychology (PSY 100 ) with permission from the Psychology Department. No other exceptions will be made.

Complete BA Requirements


BA Requirements  in HCLAS.

Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: Majors and Minors