** PSYCH designations refer ONLY to courses offered Spring 2007 or later.
Click on a question below to see the answer, or scroll down to see all of the questions and answers:
1. Who can answer my questions
about the psychology major?
Well, it depends on the questions. A good place to start is by calling,
emailing, or stopping by the Psychology Advising
Center in 111 Moore Building. Sherri Gilliland can answer your questions
about forms and procedures, and about who you must see for particular
questions. The advising staff can answer questions about requirements,
course selection, and other academic issues (but you will often need an
appointment to see them). More difficult or complicated questions usually
must be addressed to the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Professor
Richard Carlson .
2. How
can I choose between the BA and BS degrees?
This choice depends on a number of factors, including your interests and
career plans. In general, the BA degree is intended to provide a broad
liberal arts education with a focus on psychology, and the BS degree is
intended to provide a more focused program for students with specific
career goals or scientific interests. For a more detailed response to
this question, please visit our page on choosing between BA and BS degrees.
3. Can I take courses
at another college or university and count them toward my major requirements?
Yes, if those courses are approved by the Admissions Office and by the
Psychology Department. You can start by using the program on the Admissions
website called "Evaluate Transfer Courses" to research previously
reviewed courses from other institutions. If a course you are interested
in does not appear on that site you will want to go to the Admissions
Office who has information about credit by transfer. After you have checked
with the Admissions Office to make sure that Penn State will accept the
credits, you should have the course reviewed by the Psychology Department
(call or email the advising office) to make
sure that it will count toward the major requirements. You will need to
provide at least a catalog description of the course; often, a syllabus
is needed as well. We recommend getting approval in advance. Please
note that community college courses can usually not fulfill 400-level
requirements! There are also limits on how many credits from other
universities can be applied to the major; click here for details
4. Can you
explain multiple majors at Penn State?
Penn State has recently simplified its multiple-major procedures; for
details, a good source to check before talking with an advisor is the
University's Undergraduate
Advising Handbook. Use the index to find
the entry on multiple majors (concurrent majors).
5. How do I make
use of a faculty advisor?
The Psychology Department does not routinely assign faculty advisors,
and advising is done primarily by our professional advising staff. However,
most faculty members are happy to talk with students about their areas
of psychology. Remember that faculty members are busy people, and you
will generally find that making an appointment works better than just
dropping by. Also, specific questions about the major requirements, general
education, and the "red tape" aspects of Penn State are probably better
addressed to the advising staff in 111 Moore (it is just as hard for faculty
to keep up with all the rules and procedures as it is for you!).
6. What's
the difference between Counseling Psychology and Clinical Psychology?
There are, in truth, many similarities between what clinical and counseling
psychologists do. Both are involved in psychological testing, therapy,
teaching and research. Both are also trained to understand and work with
psychopathology. Counseling psychologists most often work with normal
or moderately maladjusted individuals and clinical psychology training
emphasizes working with more severe mental disorders.
Counseling psychology as a psychological specialty facilitates personal and interpersonal functioning across the life span with a focus on emotional, social, vocational, education, health-related, developmental, and organizational concerns. Counseling psychology is unique in its attention both to normal developmental issues and to problems associated with physical, emotional, and mental disorders. Counseling psychology, as a field, also differs from clinical psychology in that its population interests are diverse beyond psychopathology and traditionally include vocational and educational counseling.
Both clinical and counseling psychologists are employed in a variety of settings depending on the services they provide and the client populations they serve. Clinical psychologists are commonly employed in in-patient facilities. Typical employment sites for counseling psychologists are counseling centers and educational settings (particularly colleges and universities). Clinical psychologists are employed in university counseling centers and counseling psychologists are employed at inpatient facilities.
Psychologists in both disciplines are employed as instructors, supervisors, researchers, and direct service providers. Both clinical and counseling psychologists practice independently, providing counseling, psychotherapy, assessment, and consultation services to individuals, families, groups, and organizations. Additional settings in which clinical and counseling psychologists practice include community mental health centers, Veterans Administration Medical Centers and other medical facilities, family services centers, health maintenance organizations, rehabilitation agencies, business and industrial organizations, and consulting firms.
7. What's the difference
between a Psy.D. and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology?
About 25 years ago, it became clear there was a greater need for practicing
therapists than clinical researchers. APA began developing clinical psychology
graduate programs (focused on training you how to work with major psychopathology)
that did not place equal or greater emphasis on research. These became
Psy.D. programs. If you know you do not have an interest in research as
part of your career, it is likely you are best suited for a Psy.D. program.
Both Psy.D. and Ph.D. clinical psychologists are well trained to conduct
psychotherapy and psychological assessments, but most Psy.D.'s have less
research training and are typically not hired as faculty at universities.
They do get hired with equal frequency in practice-only positions. When
you finish a Psy.D. program, it's likely you'll have more therapy experience
under your belt than someone graduating from a Ph.D. program. The Ph.D.
in clinical psychology is the same Ph.D. that is awarded for other scientific
disciplines. That is, it is a research degree.
8. Do I need
to have clinical experience to be a good candidate for graduate school?
In general, clinical programs know there are only a few opportunities
for undergraduates to get clinical experience prior to graduate school.
So the basic answer is "no." However you will want to tailor decisions
you make to the degree and program you are applying for. Counseling psychology
programs and Psy.D. programs in clinical psychology stress practice more,
so getting some kind of experience (crisis hotlines, volunteer psychiatric
hospital practicums, and other community based mental health service experiences)
can be helpful if these are your goals. If you are heading to a Ph.D.
program in clinical psychology, it is better to spend that time getting
research experience than clinical experience.
9. Can I substitute another
statistics course for STAT 200 or PSY 015/PSYCH 200?
STAT 200 or PSY 015/PSYCH 200 is an Entrance to Major requirement and
is a prerequisite for PSY 201W/PSYCH 301W. However, many students taking
PSY 201W/PSYCH 301W for the psychology minor have taken other comparable
statistics courses, and these are often acceptable as substitutes. Currently
approved courses are STAT 250, 301, 319, or 451 (STAT 100 is not
acceptable); QBA 101 and 102; QBA 200; MSIS 200; or ED PSY 400.
Psychology majors who have taken one of these courses before changing
their major to Psychology may also request a substitution through the
Advising Center as these are reviewed on a case-to-case basis. Other substitutions
may be possible; if you have questions, contact the Director of Undergraduate
Studies, Rich Carlson.
10. Which courses require
a C or better?
All courses that are used to fill requirements for the Psychology
major require a C or better. This includes psychology courses, STAT 200
or PSY 015/PSYCH 200, and all courses used in the BS options and their
supporting courses.
11. Do research projects
(PSY/PSYCH 494), independent studies (PSY/PSYCH 296/496), and internships
(PSY/PSYCH 495) count toward the major requirements?
Up to 3.0 credits of PSY/PSYCH 494, 495, or 496 may be applied to your
major requirements for all students who have entered the major Fall
2004 or after. Any credits taken beyond 3.0 credits in any of
these categories will fall into electives.
For students who entered the major before Fall 2004, PSY/PSCYH 494, 495, and 496 may only fulfill elective credits. Under special circumstances, independent studies courses (PSY/PSYCH 496) may be counted toward the major requirements with advance approval of the instructor. In such cases, reading assignments and graded written work are required.
12. How do I arrange to
receive credit for an internship (PSY/PSYCH 495)?
The short answer is this: Find an internship placement, and work out a
plan of study with a psychology faculty member. The plan of study will
require written work, and perhaps reading, in addition to the internship
work itself. For more details, see the Internships in Psychology page.
13. How do I
get research experience?
Usually, students get research experience by arranging to work in a faculty
member's laboratory for research project credit (PSY/PSYCH 494). Most
faculty members are happy to have undergraduates working with them, and
you should contact faculty in your area of interest (see Faculty Research Interests). If you
have a work-study award, you can often get research experience through
a work-study position in a faculty lab. For more detail, see the Research Experiences in Psychology page. NOTE:
You may not recieve credit as well as pay for the same hours.
14. How can I add
a course that is full?
Usually, "full" means just that--there is no room for more students, in
most cases due to room size. However, you can visit the Advising
Center in 111 Moore Building to find out if there is a waiting list
or policy on adding students to the specific Psychology course you're
interested in.
15. How do I request exceptions to
academic policies?
Exceptions to degree requirements (e.g., course substitutions) can be
made to the Psychology Department; start by talking to an advisor in the
Advising Center in 111 Moore Building. Requests
for exceptions to other policies usually require a petition to the Faculty
Senate. These petitions go through the College of Liberal Arts, and the
procedure is described here.
This page was last updated on 08-06-07.
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