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Location: 203 Social and Behavioral Sciences Building, Phone: (409) 880-8285

Chair: Randolph Smith
Chair E-mail: randolph.smith@lamar.edu

Degree Coordinators:

• Industrial/Organizational Psychology Graduate Program - James K. Esser, e-mail: jkesser@my.lamar.edu 
• Community/Counseling Psychology Graduate Program - Joanne Lindoerfer, e-mail: joanne.lindoerfer@lamar.edu 

Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes and, as such, is a diverse field that touches all aspects of human endeavor. The objectives of the Department of Psychology are to provide students with current knowledge through learning experiences in and out of the classroom that will increase critical thinking skills, equip them with research methodology, and prepare them for employment in business, education, community agencies, other professional areas, or graduate school.

Admission to Department of Psychology Programs

Students wishing to major in psychology must present SAT/ACT scores of 900/19. Students changing their major to psychology must have SAT/ACT scores and be in good standing in the university.

Degrees Offered

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology – 120 hours
Bachelor of Science in Psychology – 120 hours
Minor in Psychology – 18 hours

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology 

The degree of Bachelor of Arts in Psychology will be awarded upon completion of the following:

1. General Requirements
   See Philosophy of Knowledge core curriculum, section 6.4.1, and degree requirements. Plus eight semester hours of Biology (1406-1407, 1408-1409, or 2401-2402), 12 semester hours and completion of 2312 course in foreign language or 9 hours of sign language and completion of CMDS 4305, an additional 3 hours of math, and an additional 3 hours of fine arts.
2. Major
   Psychology 2301 General Psychology
   Psychology 2471 Introduction to Statistical Methods
   Psychology 3420 Methods in Psychology
   Psychology: an additional 19 semester hours, to include at least three courses selected from Psychology 3320, 3340, 3360,and 4320 and at least three courses selected from Psychology 3330, 4310, 4360, 4380, and 4430.
3. Minor (18 semester hours)
   An approved minor of at least 18 semester hours; a minimum of 9 semester hours must be on the advanced level
4. Electives
   A sufficient number of approved electives to complete a total of 120 semester hours
5. Completion of Major Field Achievement Test
6. Meet all remaining general education degree requirements of the University and College. .

Total Minimum Hours: 120. Additional requirements may be required for specialized areas, such as, preparation for graduate school, certifications, or licensures. Please see a program advisor or the department chair for details.

First Year		Second Year
Fall Semester		Fall Semester
BIOL Lab Science	4	English Literature	3
PSYC 2301	3	Fine Arts from Core Curriculum	3
ENGL 1301	3	Modern Language	3
Modern Language	3	HIST 1301	3
Math from Core Curriculum	3	PSYC 2471	4
	16		16
Spring Semester		Spring Semester
BIOL Lab Science	4	English Literature	3
PHIL 1370	3	Fine Arts from Core Curriculum	3
ENGL 1302	3	Modern Language	3
Physical Activity	1	HIST 1302	3
Modern Language	3	Communication from the Core Curriculum	3
Math from Core Curriculum	3
	17		15
Third Year		Fourth Year
Fall Semester		Fall Semester
POLS 2301	3	Psychology Advanced	6
PSYC 3420	4	Minor	3
Psychology Advanced	3	Elective	6
Minor	3
Elective	3
	16		15
Spring Semester		Spring Semester
POLS 2302	3	Psychology Advanced	3
Psychology Advanced	6	Minor	6
Minor	6	Elective	2
	15		11

Bachelor of Science in Psychology 

The degree of Bachelor of Science in Psychology will be awarded upon completion of the following:

1. General Requirements
   See Philosophy of Knowledge Core Curriculum, section 6.4.1. Plus, eight semester hours of Biology (1406-1407, 1408-1409, or 2401-2402); eight semester hours of physical science (two lab courses); three hours of Computer Science; three additional hours of math above MATH 1314, and a three-hour, sophomore-level literature course or three-hour language course (includes American sign language).
2. Major
   Psychology 2301 General Psychology
   Psychology 2471 Introduction to Statistical Methods
   Psychology 3420 Methods of Psychology
   Psychology 4430 Experimental Psychology
   Psychology: an additional 18 semester hours, to include nine semester hours selected from Psychology3320,3340, 3360,and 4320 and nine semester hours selected from Psychology 3330, 4310, 4360, and 4380.
3. Minor
   An approved minor of 18 semester hours; a minimum of 9 semester hours must be on the advanced level
4. Electives
   A sufficient number of approved electives to complete a total of 120 semester hours
5. Completion of Major Field Achievement Test
6. Meet all remaining general education degree requirements of the University and College.

Total Minimum Hours: 120. Additional requirements may be required for specialized areas, such as, preparation for graduate school, certifications, or licensures. Please see a program advisor or the department chair for details.

First Year		Second Year
Fall Semester		Fall Semester
BIOL Lab Science	4	English Literature	3
PSYC 2301	3	Fine Arts from Core Curriculum	3
ENGL 1301	3	POLS 2301	3
Elective	3	HIST 1301	3
Math from Core Curriculum	3	PSYC 2471	4
	16		16
Spring Semester		Spring Semester
BIOL Lab Science	4	English Literature or Modern Language	3
PHIL 1370	3	Computer Science	3
ENGL 1302	3	POLS 2302	3
Physical Activity	1	HIST 1302	3
Math from Core Curriculum	3	Communication from Core Courses	3
	14		15
Third Year		Fourth Year
Fall Semester		Fall Semester
Lab Science	4	PSYC 4430	4
PSYC 3420	4	Psychology Advanced	6
Psychology Advanced	3	Minor	6
Minor	3
	14		16
Spring Semester		Spring Semester
Lab Science	4	Psychology Advanced	3
Psychology Advanced	6	Minor	3
Minor	6	Elective	8
	16		14

Dual Major with Biology

Psychology majors wanting a second Bachelor of Science degree in Biology may follow the recommended curriculum for the minimum credit hours provided below.  Coursework during summer is required for dual majors. Both Bachelor of Science degrees must be awarded simultaneously.

First Year		Second Year
Fall Semester		Fall Semester
ENGL 1301	3	MATH 2413	4
BIOL 1406	4	CHEM 3411	4
CHEM 1411	4	PSYC 3420	4
PHIL 1370	3	BIOL 2420 or 3460	4
PSYC 2301	3
	17		16
Spring Semester		Spring Semester
ENGL 1302	3	ENGL 23__	3
BIOL 1407	4	CHEM 3412	4
CHEM 1412	4	PSYC Elective*	3
MATH 2312	3	BIOL 2420 or 3460	4
PSYCH 2471	4	COSC 1371	3
	18		17
Summer I		Summer I
PHYS 1401	4	POLS 2301	3
Summer II		Summer II
PHYS 1402	4	POLS 2302	3
Third Year		Fourth Year
Fall Semester		Fall Semester
PSYC Elective*	3	Fine Arts	3
PSYC 4430	3	BIOL Elective	4
BIOL 3470 or 3450	4	BIOL Elective	4
BIOL Elective*	4	PSYC Elective	3
COMM 1315	3
	17		14
Spring Semester		Spring Semester
PSYC Elective*	3	BIOL 4344	3
BIOL 3470 or 3450	4	BIOL Elective	4
BIOL Elective*	4	PSYC Elective	3
BIOL 4404 or 4470	4	PSYC Elective	3
		PEGA	1
	15		14
Summer I
HIST 1301	3
Summer II
HIST 1302	3

Notes: 
Examples of biology electives approved to the "scientific research report writing intensive" include: experimental design, environmental microbiology, advanced physiology, animal behavior, ecology. 

Advanced psychology electives: Choose any three from either Group I (PSYC 3310, 3320, 3330, 3340, 4320) or Group II (PSYC 3360, 4310, 4360, 4380). 

Minor in Psychology

A total of 18 hours of psychology courses are required for a minor, of which 9 hours must be upper level. The department will not accept any grade in the minor below a “C”.

Required lower division courses: PSYC 2301 and PSYC 2471 

It is advisable for a student to meet with someone in the Department of Psychology to discuss the selection of the remaining hours to best address the needs of the individual student.

Suggested Program of Study – Dual Degree
Bachelor of Science in Psychology
Bachelor of Science in Biology – Total Min. Hours: 156

Graduate Program

The Department of Psychology offers a program of study leading to the Master of Science degree in applied psychology. It is designed to prepare professional personnel for employment in business, industry, or community mental health. Students may elect to take their primary coursework in industrial/organizational psychology or in community/counseling psychology. (In addition, the department offers a dual specialization program that offers training in both fields.) Students seeking admission to this program must meet the general requirements for admission to the College of Graduate Studies ( see section 7.2.3) and must offer the substantial equivalent of a bachelor’s degree in psychology (24 semester hours) including courses in statistics and research methods. The department has flexible admission criteria that allow the faculty to review applicants individually. However, students with GRE scores less than 1000 (V + Q) are not usually accepted. All students must also have a minimum 2.5/4.0 undergraduate grade point average overall or 2.75/4.0 on the last 60 hours of undergraduate course work; however, students with GPAs less than 3.0 are not usually accepted. International students must present a minimum TOEFL score of 600. Post Baccalaureate students are not permitted to enroll in psychology graduate courses without special permission from the department chair.

Degree Requirements
The candidate for the Master of Science degree in Psychology must meet all of the College of Graduate Studies general degree requirements. Additional specific degree requirements are as follows:

1. Forty-two semester hours of course work in psychology, which must include 23 semester hours in Psychology 5300, 5301, 5311, 5302, 5320, 5323, 5350, and two semester hours in Psychology 5120. For the Community Psychology Program, an additional 9 semester hours in Psychology 5310, 5312, and 5313 is required. In the Industrial Psychology Program, an additional 6 semester hours is required in Psychology 5321 and 5322.
2. Candidacy examinations devised by the Psychology Department graduate faculty. A student may petition to be administered the candidacy (qualifying) examination during the semester in which the appropriate course work listed in No.1 above is to be completed provided the student is in good academic standing. Dates to sit for the examination will be announced each year. A student must have satisfactorily passed candidacy examinations prior to enrolling in Psychology 5330, 5390, 5310, or 5313.
3. One to three additional semester hours of 5000-level courses in an approved field of study.
4. Practicum: Six semester hours in Psychology 5330 and 5331 for I/O students; six semester hours in Psychology 5330 and 5331 for community students.
5. Thesis: Submission of an acceptable thesis and satisfactory performance on a final oral examination with a minimum of six semester hours in Psychology 5390 and 5391.

Departmental Policies
Special attention is called to the following departmental policies:

1. Graduate students are prohibited from providing psychological services except when supervised by a faculty member as part of a course requirement or when regularly employed by a licensed psychologist, an exempt agency, as defined by the Psychologist’s Licensing Act, or a departmental-approved nonexempt agency. Students in training are expected to be aware of and abide by the Psychologist’s Licensing Act and the Ethical Principles of Psychologists. A violation of this policy will result in the student’s dismissal from the program.
2. More than six hours of “C” level work will result in the student’s dismissal from the program.
3. Students may not enroll in the same course more than twice.
4. Qualifying and/or final examinations may be repeated once if failure occurs. In general, a student repeating any portion of the examinations must do so at the next administration of the examination.
5. After admission to candidacy, a student must be enrolled in a thesis course each regular semester until requirements for the degree are completed. In addition a student must be registered for a thesis course each session of the summer term if the student is to receive the degree in August or is involved in research or writing.
6. Students not admitted to the Psychology graduate program may enroll in no more than six graduate hours before being admitted.

Under unusual circumstances and with the approval of the department chair and the student’s supervising professor, a student may postpone registration for the thesis course for one or more semesters. Unless special permission has been granted, a student who is not continuously enrolled in a thesis course must repeat the candidacy examinations and apply for re-admission to candidacy.