Bachelor's Degree Programs in Psychology: A Comprehensive Overview
Psychology has become a popular major for undergraduate students, and a bachelor's degree in psychology can provide a solid foundation for a variety of career paths. This article explores the landscape of bachelor's degree programs in psychology, highlighting coursework, opportunities, and potential career paths.
Curriculum and Core Coursework
A bachelor's degree in psychology typically involves a comprehensive curriculum designed to provide students with a broad understanding of the field. All psychology majors complete a set of foundation courses (17 credit hours) that teach the history and breadth of the field. Students also take 20 credits of required courses from the various emphasis areas including cognitive, social, clinical or organizational, developmental and biopsychology plus an additional eight hours of psychology courses. The online psychology degree requires coursework in psychology, statistics, mathematics and biology. Courses are required in four core areas within the discipline as well as elective psychology courses.
Experiential Learning and Extracurricular Activities
Psychology students can benefit greatly from working in their specific areas of interest. For qualified students, internships are available with local organizations and businesses. Saint Leo maintains a strong reputation with many internship sites in the area.
Many universities offer extracurricular activities to enhance the learning experience. The Psychology Club focuses on increasing awareness about psychology, unifying students who have an interest in the field of psychology and assisting with academic development through study groups. Students can also participate in Psychology Club and Research Club. Psi Chi, the international honor society in psychology, is another valuable resource for students.
Skills Developed
An undergraduate degree in psychology provides students with skills employers seek including communication, interpersonal, problem-solving, research and time management skills. Saint Leo’s College of Arts, Sciences, and Allied Services offers students a holistic education that lays a strong foundation for critical and independent thinking. The curriculum is designed to help students broaden their horizons and build valuable skills sought by employers.
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Specialization Options
Saint Leo University offers four specialization options for psychology students. No matter which learning experience you choose, you will receive plenty of professional development opportunities, industry knowledge from expert professors, and support from the Saint Leo community.
Online Psychology Programs
Designed for students whose commitments make traditional campus attendance impractical, our online program stands at the forefront, providing flexible academic options with the same elite faculty and rigor that makes us a leading university and top research institution. We connect people with opportunities, remove obstacles and set the standard for online higher education. Saint Leo University’s online learning experience provides a well-rounded education with the flexibility to tailor your course of study to meet your individual needs. We know our students have lives outside school, and we seek to meet them where they are.
You may also choose to pursue your degree through one of our education centers, which merge a traditional in-person education with the flexibility to match your lifestyle. Education centers offer eight-week academic terms as well as evening and weekend classes.
Career Paths and Further Education
Graduates pursue advanced study in psychology, as well as employment in human service settings and mental health facilities. An undergraduate degree in psychology from UTampa provides students with skills employers seek including communication, interpersonal, problem-solving, research and time management skills.
Insights from a Psychology Graduate
Lisa Fritscher earned a Bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of South Florida. She always knew she would go into psychology. Her mom took a job in the Behavioral Health day treatment program at Winter Haven Hospital, in Winter Haven, Florida, when she was three. Her job title changed over the years as she finished her bachelor’s and later her master’s, but her work was always hands-on with clients. In those days, it was common for employees to bring their kids to work. For a variety of reasons, though, she left school after getting her associate of arts degree (in theater). She decided to go back and finish her BA in psychology after she got married. Interestingly, her then-husband (they’re divorced now) also chose psychology, so they were in all the same classes.
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There were two main reasons she chose USF. Her dad got his engineering degree at USF when she was very young, and she sometimes went to classes with him. She had terrific early memories of the campus and the experience. Also, USF had a branch campus in Lakeland, Florida, where they lived at the time. USF is a highly-rated research university. But many of the top professors also teach at the branch campus in Lakeland.
She worked for several years as the About.com (now Verywell Mind) Phobias Guide. She absolutely would not have gotten the About.com position without a degree in psychology. The company is highly respected for its expert advice across hundreds of topics, and each Guide is carefully selected from a diverse pool of applicants. Although every health-related article on About.com is vetted by a trained Medical Review Board, she retains ultimate responsibility for the advice that she gives my readers. Her general knowledge of psychology gives her a thorough understanding of the complex problems her readers face and helps her create content that is useful to them.
Her career has taken innumerable twists and turns. She got out of hands-on client care in 2001 due to burnout. She’s one of those people who has trouble leaving it all at the office, and she spent way too much time and energy worrying about her clients during her off-time. After a few false starts, she became a freelance writer in 2005. She understand target markets almost innately and am able to tailor her writing to meet a particular audience’s needs. While any good writer can do that, she feels that a grounding in psychology has given her a leg up. She is particularly interested in marriage and family, and have earned 60 credit hours toward an MA in that specialty. Since she no longer do hands-on therapy, she is debating whether to finish her master’s.
Specialized Courses
In this introductory course, students apply psychological principles and concepts to the personal and business use of social media. Students examine trends, motivations, and challenges in the use and abuse of social media and evaluate the psychological rewards and risks of connecting with others, gaining attention, and engagement. Students also analyze prosocial and antisocial social media uses and the basics of social media marketing.
In this course, students gain a basic understanding of the impact criminal psychology and criminal behaviors have on the law, police, and communities. Students also examine the uses of criminal psychology relative to criminal behaviors, and theories surrounding these behaviors. In addition, students analyze popular criminal defenses relative to criminal psychology and behaviors, and explore examples in well-known criminal cases.
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