Psychology (B.A.)

Go Analyze and Explore the Mind

Southern New Hampshire University’s psychology program offers you a solid foundation in the content and methods of psychology, an understanding of behavior from a psychological perspective and practical experience in the community.

Students with undergraduate degrees in psychology make excellent employees because of their solid backgrounds in the liberal arts and their research-based understanding of social problems involving human behavior. Psychology majors also have solid writing and problem-solving abilities.

We believe students learn best when they are allowed to integrate classroom experiences into such applied learning situations as case studies, group projects, volunteer and experiential learning, internships, field trips and involvement in research activities, professional organizations and clubs, including Psi Chi, the Psychology National Honor Society. These optional experiences integrated within selected courses enable you to demonstrate what you learned and receive feedback from your peers, professors and professionals in the field. The field-based experiential model enables you to experience different aspects of the broad field of psychology early on.

Graduates are well-prepared to pursue graduate degrees in several fields of psychology, including developmental psychology, educational psychology, school psychology, sports psychology, forensic psychology, counseling and clinical psychology, community mental health, cognitive psychology, personality and social psychology and industrial and organizational psychology. The undergraduate degree in psychology can also be a stepping stone for students to move into other fields. It is not unusual to see psychology students obtain advanced degrees in business, law, education, medicine or the broad social sciences.

Graduates may find employment at myriad social service agencies and in the fields of education and business.

Requirements

B.A./B.S. Core
Liberal Arts Core

Psychology Major Courses

PSY 108 Introduction to Psychology
PSY 211 Human Growth and Development
PSY 215 Psychology of Abnormal Behavior
PSY 216 Psychology of Personality
PSY 224 Research Methods
PSY 305 Cognitive Psychology
PSY 444 Senior Seminar in Psychology
Four Psychology Electives
Five Free Electives

Graduation Requirements

Full-time day students must take SNHU 101 First Year Seminar: Foundations in Critical Thinking.
Continuing Education students take SNHU 100 Pro Seminar or a Free Elective.

Child and Adolescent Development Concentration
Psychology majors may choose to focus their study on child and adolescent development. Students must take a minimum of 12 credits in the concentration area.

The following courses should be taken in place of the psychology electives for students pursuing the child and adolescent development concentration:
PSY 311 Child and Adolescent Development
PSY 312 Psychology of Childhood and Adolescent Adjustment
PSY 314 Disorders of Childhood and Adolescence

Choose one of the following:
PSY 201 Educational Psychology
PSY 230 Psychology of Individual Differences and Special Needs
PSY 291 Experiential Learning
PSY 325 Advanced Research Methods
PSY 335 Assessment and Testing
PSY 443 Psychology Internship
PSY 480 Independent Study In Psychology