Undergraduate Course Catalog 2010-2011
College of Liberal Arts
» http://www.unh.edu/liberal-arts/
Psychology (PSYC)
» http://www.unh.edu/psychology/
» Click to view course offerings
Chairperson: Robert G. Mair
Professor: Victoria L. Banyard, Victor A. Benassi, Ellen S. Cohn, Robert C. Drugan, Peter S. Fernald, Kenneth Fuld, Benjamin Harris, Robert G. Mair, John D. Mayer, Edward J. O'Brien, David B. Pillemer, Rebecca M. Warner, William R. Woodward
Associate Professor: J. Pablo Chavajay, Brett M. Gibson, Michelle D. Leichtman, Jill A. McGaughy, Carolyn J. Mebert, William Wren Stine
Research Associate Professor: Lisa M. Jones, Kimberly J. Mitchell
Affiliate Associate Professor: Julie E. Williams
Assistant Professor: Andrew B. Leber, Edward P. Lemay
Affiliate Assistant Professor: Zorana Ivcevic
Senior Lecturer: Mark J. Henn, Richard I. Kushner, Peter Yarensky
Lecturer: Robert P. Eckstein, Joan Glutting, Michael A. Mangan, Kelly Peracchi
The psychology major provides students with a broad education, while also allowing some specialization. The program exposes students to the scientific study of behavior and encourages an increased understanding of the behavior of humans and animals.
Students who wish to declare psychology as a major after enrolling in the University should consult with the department’s academic counselor for application procedures and criteria.
Students majoring in psychology must complete 44 credits with a minimum grade of C- in each course and a 2.0 overall average in all major requirements. The psychology department does not accept other departments’ statistics courses toward the psychology major. Students who have taken a statistics course other than PSYC 402 must pass a competency exam in order to apply to the major and/or register for PSYC 502. Major department courses taken to satisfy major requirements cannot be used to satisfy Discovery requirements. Students who use PSYC 402 for the Discovery requirement must take an additional psychology course that is eligible for major credit to replace PSYC 402 in the major. (PSYC 444 and 595 may NOT be used for this purpose.)
Requirements for the Major
A. Three core courses: PSYC 401, 402, and 502
B. Four breadth (500-level) courses as follows
Two courses from Group I
PSYC 511, Sensation and Perception
PSYC 512, Psychology of Primates
PSYC 513, Cognition
PSYC 521, Behavior Analysis
PSYC 531, Psychobiology
Two courses from Group II
PSYC 552, Social Psychology
PSYC 553, Personality Psychology
PSYC 561, Abnormal Behavior
PSYC 571, Pioneers of Psychology
PSYC 581, Child Development
PSYC 582, Adult Development and Aging
C. Four depth (700-level) courses as follows
Two courses from Group I
PSYC 702, Advanced Statistics (if not used in group II)
PSYC 705, Tests and Measurements (if not used in group II)
PSYC 710, Visual Perception
PSYC 712, Psychology of Language
PSYC 713, Psychology of Consciousness
PSYC 720, Animal Cognition
PSYC 722, Behaviorism, Culture, and Contemporary Society
PSYC 731, Brain and Behavior
PSYC 733, Drugs and Behavior
PSYC 735, Neurobiology of Mood Disorders
PSYC 737, Behavioral Medicine
PSYC 741, A-D Advanced Topics
Two courses from Group II
PSYC 702, Advanced Statistics (if not used in group I)
PSYC 705, Tests and Measurements (if not used in group I)
PSYC 755, Psychology and Law
PSYC 756, Psychology of Crime and Justice
PSYC 758, Health Psychology
PSYC 762, Counseling
PSYC 763, Community Psychology
PSYC 765, Dysfunctional Families and Therapy
PSYC 771, Psychology in 20th Century Thought and Society
PSYC 780, Prenatal Development/Infancy
PSYC 783, Cognitive Development
PSYC 785, Social Development
PSYC 791, A-G Advanced Topics
PSYC 793, Internship
Note: Most offerings have one or more prerequisite courses. Students (with the help of their advisers) are expected to select breadth courses that will later enable them to select depth courses appropriate to their interests and career goals.
The Discovery Program capstone requirement, taken during the senior year, may be fulfilled by completing one of the following options: 1) the Honors-in-Major program with honors project, Honors Seminar, and research presentation; 2) a 4-credit independent study project and presentation; 3) PSYC 793, Internship; 4) Capstone Seminar.”
Transfer students who elect to major in psychology must complete at least 24 credits in the program at UNH to qualify for the degree in psychology. Transfer students must earn a total of 44 approved credits for completion of the psychology major. The distribution of these credits will be determined by the department’s academic counselor. Transfer students should note that courses are allotted only the number of credits granted by the original institution (after adjustments for semester-hour equivalents). Thus, students transferring from an institution at which courses carry less than four credits each must make up for any credit deficit created by acceptance of transfer credits into the psychology major. Of the four 700-level courses required for the major, at least three must be taken at UNH.
Specific course selections should be discussed with advisers. Exceptions to the requirements for the major require compelling circumstances and a petition to the department.
Psychology majors planning to go on to graduate study in psychology are advised to include PSYC 702 and/or 705 among their courses.
Candidates for a degree must satisfy all of the University Discovery Program requirements in addition to satisfying the requirements of each individual major program. Bachelor of arts candidates must also satisfy the foreign language proficiency requirement.
The minor in psychology consists of five psychology department courses (20 credits), including PSYC 401. No more than four credits of PSYC 795 may be applied to the minor. A maximum of nine approved psychology transfer credits can be applied to the UNH psychology minor.
See the department student services assistant for further details on the major or minor in psychology.
Advising System
Students who enter the University as psychology majors are considered “provisional majors” and are advised in the University Advising and Career Center through their freshman year. Provisional psychology majors are encouraged to complete PSYC 401 and 402 during their first year. During the summer after the freshman year, provisional psychology majors' advising files are transferred to the psychology department. Provisional majors then "confirm" their major in psychology during the fall semester of their sophomore year by attending a major orientation session scheduled by the department. “Provisional majors” are accorded all the rights and privileges of any psychology major. Undergraduate advising in the department is conducted jointly by the department’s academic counselor and the full-time faculty. The academic counselor has primary responsibility for advising confirmed and newly declared freshman and sophomore psychology majors and is the initial contact for all majors in a state of transition (readmitted, transfer, newly declared, etc.). The academic counselor assists students in all phases of educational planning and decisionmaking, including registration, long-range academic planning, degree and program requirements, and career selection and planning. Junior and senior psychology majors are assigned to a faculty adviser with appropriate consideration for student preferences. The advising relationship with a faculty member is designed to encourage refining career and educational decisions.
Undergraduate Awards for Majors
Each year the faculty chooses psychology undergraduates as the recipients of the following awards: the Herbert A. Carroll Award for an outstanding senior in psychology, the George M. Haslerud Award for an outstanding junior in psychology, and the Fuller Foundation Scholarship for an outstanding junior in psychology with demonstrated interests in clinical psychology. Psychology majors with at least a 3.2 grade-point average are eligible for these awards. Faculty nominate students from the eligibility list and final selection of recipients is made by vote of the full-time psychology faculty.
Honors Program in Psychology
The Department of Psychology sponsors an honors program for outstanding students in the major. Students may apply to the honors program in psychology in their sophomore or junior year.
Eligibility criteria include
1. Overall grade-point average of 3.2 or above and 3.4 in major courses
2. Completion of PSYC 401, 402, and 502 with a grade of B or above in each
Requirements of the program include
1. Three 700-level psychology honors courses or equivalent
2. PSYC 797, Senior Honors Tutorial (fall)
3. PSYC 799, Senior Honors Thesis (spring)
Students interested in applying to the honors program should contact the department’s academic counselor by the end of their sophomore year.
Undergraduate Research Conference
The Department of Psychology sponsors the annual George M. Haslerud Undergraduate Research Conference each spring. Undergraduate honors students present their theses at the conference. Contact the department’s academic counselor for more information.
