BA - Psychology

What is a Clinical Psychology degree?

If you want to become a clinical psychologist, you can get there with a clinical psychology degree from Florida Tech. Here, you'll develop a strong background in psychology and get hands-on experience in research and communication. Our clinical psychology degree program is dynamic and focused. You'll get started right away, taking core courses like Introduction to Psychology and Psychology Research Methods and Statistics as a freshman. Guided by highly qualified faculty who care about your success, you'll hone your strengths and begin specializing as early as sophomore year. Unique electives allow you to develop career-track concentrations in sub-fields such as animal learning and behavior, clinical/counseling psychology, industrial/organizational psychology, and sport psychology. Employers that have recruited Florida Tech clinical psychology degree students for internships and careers include the Brevard Zoo, Children's Home Society, Circles of Care, Dolphin Quest Oahu, EPCOT, Space Coast Early Intervention Center and the Brevard County Sheriff's Department. Many psychology majors go onto graduate school at Florida Tech and other prestigious universities, including Boston College and Ohio State.

Learning

Internships and Cooperative Learning: Beyond the classroom, clinical psychology degree majors build leadership experience through exciting internships and participation in academic organizations like Psi Chi (psychology honor society), the Undergraduate Psychology Student Association, student government, and over 100 other student organizations. internship experience and conduct a substantial research study on a topic of your choosing. As a result, you get practical experience, an enhanced job search portfolio, and a stronger sense of yourself as a scholar, the perfect preparation for graduate and professional school and employment.

Curriculum

Curriculum program plans shown reflect current degree requirements. Previous academic year requirements can be accessed from the catalog page by choosing the appropriate academic year.

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Bachelor of Arts in Psychology

The bachelor’s programs in psychology provide both a solid basis for graduate training in all areas of psychology, and a liberal arts and sciences education to students planning other careers or professions, such as law or business.

The B.A. degree is designed for students whose interests are primarily in the social sciences and humanities. Students consult with their faculty advisers to select the degree program most appropriate to their interests and goals.

Degree Requirements

Candidates for a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology must successfully complete 120 credit hours.

The undergraduate psychology degree programs are designed to allow students to customize their coursework to meet their specific interests and needs. Coursework within the psychology major includes a 29-hour psychology core and an additional 21-hour psychology concentration that includes courses in psychology and other areas that are deemed appropriate to the students’ intellectual goals and interests in psychology. The concentration must be approved by the undergraduate program chair.

Restricted Electives

The Restricted Elective in a foreign language requires two semesters of a foreign language other than a student’s home language. No courses with the prefix PSY or PSF, other than PSY 2444, can be used as the Social Science Elective. Life Science Electives include biology, ecology and EDS 1032. Physical Science Electives include chemistry, geology, meteorology, physics, space sciences and EDS 1031. Communication Electives may be satisfied by any COM 2000-level or above courses, foreign languages or linguistics.

Psychology bases courses and a list of concentrations follow the undergraduate psychology program plans in this section.

Courses are offered in the department to facilitate several concentrations: animal learning and behavior, clinical/counseling psychology and applied behavior analysis, cognition–perception, industrial/organizational psychology, neuropsychology, social–cultural psychology and sport psychology. Students may also design their own concentrations appropriate to pursuing postgraduate education in law, medical fields, business and the experimental fields of psychology. Students are encouraged to pursue minors in other disciplines, such as business administration, communication or biology.

Curriculum

Freshman Year

Sophomore Year

Junior Year

Senior Year

TOTAL CREDITS REQUIRED 120

*Psychology Bases

Not all humanities core courses are offered online or every term; check the current schedule of classes for humanities core options.

Concentrations and Suggested Courses

Students have the option to choose one of the following concentrations to provide depth within one of the sub-disciplines of psychology:

Animal learning and behavior: The concentration in animal learning and behavior allows students the opportunity to pursue specialized knowledge and skills in animal learning and training. Courses in both biological sciences and behavior analysis emphasize biological bases of behavior and species-typical learning as well as standard principles of training that cross species lines. Most students in this concentration also add a minor in biology. The culmination of the program is an internship within a facility or institution that emphasizes animal training, husbandry or education of the public in these areas. Previous graduates have earned internships at nationally and internationally known facilities such as Oahu’s Sea Life Park, Dolphin Quest Bermuda, Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium and the Oregon Coast Aquarium.

Applied behavior analysis: The concentration in applied behavior analysis prepares undergraduate students for the associate certification in behavior analysis (BCABA) that permits career opportunities in facilities and with organizations that emphasize behavioral interventions. In the ABA concentration, special emphasis is given to principles of behavioral analysis and intervention strategies, particularly in working with children who have developmental disabilities. Internship opportunities under the supervision of licensed board-certified behavior analysts are available at Florida Tech’s Scott Center for Autism Treatment. In addition to the bachelor’s degree career opportunities, psychology graduates with this concentration have been successful in attaining acceptance in applied master’s degree and Ph.D. programs.

Clinical/counseling psychology: The clinical/counseling concentration exposes students to courses and field placements that emphasize the assessment and treatment of mental and emotional disorders as well as disorders of adjustment and substance abuse. Students interested in pursuing postgraduate study in clinical, counseling or school psychology, or in obtaining employment in a mental health or social service agency after graduation, should study in areas that will familiarize them with these occupations and build basic skills. Such areas of study include substance abuse, abnormal psychology, clinical psychology, professional ethics and assessment techniques.

Industrial/organizational psychology: Students who plan to enter business directly after graduation, or apply to an MBA program or to a graduate program in personnel or industrial/organizational psychology should select courses in psychology and business that will help define their interests, prepare them for graduate school admission or develop skills. Some useful areas of study include industrial/organizational psychology, business law, management, human resource management, organizational behavior and substance abuse. Students who choose this concentration are encouraged to add a minor in business administration.

Sport psychology: Students looking forward to graduate programs in sport psychology or careers in coaching or training will take courses that are foundational to these pursuits such as physiological psychology, leadership, group behavior and sport psychology, and applied sport psychology. These classroom experiences, combined with practical training and research, give students a view of the various opportunities within this growing field as well as preparation for advanced study or practice. A minor in education is encouraged for those interested in working in secondary education.

Specialty concentrations: In addition to these five areas, students may work with their adviser to develop a concentration in other psychology sub-disciplines such as neuropsychology, experimental cognition and social–cultural psychology.

Psychology Honors Program

Academically gifted, highly motivated students may participate in the department’s honors program. Students who plan to seek graduate degrees are strongly advised to consider this program.

The psychology honors program is available to juniors enrolled in all undergraduate psychology programs (B.A., B.S., psychology; B.A., forensic psychology). The honors program includes six credit hours of Psychology Honors Thesis (PSY 4515) taken in place of the internship (PSY 3999, PSY 4000, PSY 4001). Students must also complete a minimum of three (3) credits of the Psychology Honors Seminar (PSY 4590), usually taken in place of lower-level courses in the concentration area or in place of free electives. Only honors students may write a thesis.

Admission Requirements

Prospective honors students must have reached their junior year. Applicants should have completed a minimum of 12 hours of psychology (PSY, PSF) courses with a GPA of 3.5 in those courses and a minimum overall GPA of 3.2. These courses may be taken at Florida Tech or transferred from another four-year university. Community college courses will not be included in the GPA calculation.

To earn the honors distinction, students must successfully complete the program with a graduating GPA of 3.5 in psychology and an overall GPA of 3.2. Only courses taken at Florida Tech will be included in this calculation. A minimum average GPA of 3.0 in PSY 4590 is required. Successful students will receive a certificate indicating completion of the requirements.

Required Courses

Note: All honors seminars may be repeated for a total of three credits. The thesis may be repeated for a total of six credits. A maximum of 17 credit hours may be applied to the psychology honors program.