How to Declare a Psychology Major

We are pleased that you would like to declare a major in Psychology. To make your declaration official you need to complete the following steps:

1. Complete the major declaration form (which you can get here, from the registrar's office or the Psychology Department office) and turn it in to Kathy Adamski, the Psychology Department Administrative Assistant (phone 395-7730), Schaap Science Center 1110.

2. Complete the Psychology Major Interest Form and turn it in to Kathy Adamski.

3. Attend a New Major Meeting. We hold a meeting the first Thursday of every month during the academic year. If you cannot attend during this time, please set up an individual meeting with Dr. Jarvis.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call or e-mail Dr. Lorna Jarvis, 395-7731 or jarvis@hope.edu

Recommended Sequence of Courses for the Psychology Major

The psychology major is composed of a minimum of 32 credits plus a statistics course. The major requirements are broken down into the following elements:

Summary of Psychology Curriculum (Revised Fall 2008)

Fundamental Courses

All majors must take:

• Introduction to Psychology (100)
• Research Methods (200)
• Statistics (fulfilled by taking Mathematics 210 or Mathematics 311) 
  

Survey Courses

• Students must take four of the following courses:
• Developmental Psychology (230)
• Social Psychology (280)
• Physiological Psychology (320)
• Cognitive Psychology (340)
• Behavior Disorders (370) 
  

Topical Seminar

Students must take four credits from the following list of topical seminars:

• Acculturation of Latino Children (305, 4 credits)
• Practical Aspects of Memory (310, 4 credits)
• Adult Development and Aging (335, 2 credits)
• Industrial/Organizational Psychology (350, 4 credits)
• Psychology of Women (380, 4 credits)
• Advanced Research (390, 4 credits)
• Studies in Psychology (395, 2 or 4 credits)
• Clinical Psychology (410, 4 credits)
• Health Psychology (420, 2 credits)
  

Cultural Diversity

Students are required to take six credits of courses identified as having cultural diversity as its primary focus. These courses do not need to be psychology courses. 

Service Learning or Field Experience

Students are required to participate in one service-learning course. This requirement is usually fulfilled by taking Developmental Psychology, but can also be fulfilled by taking Clinical Psychology or Psychology Internship. For more information regarding the internship, please visit:
http://faculty.hope.edu/psych/psy496/index.htm

Students who are interested in attending a research-based graduate program are encouraged to take Advanced Research or a Psychology 290/490 course that focuses on conducting research. Students interested in a career in the helping professions are encouraged to take Psychology 265.