Bachelor of Arts in Psychology

In this foundational course, students explore the principles necessary for achieving personal and career success. GEN 101 serves as a road map, guiding students as they begin their academic journey. Through self-discovery, surveying available resources, connecting with UAGC groups, and engaging with Career Services, students learn the essential skills of planning and goal setting. Students apply their personal strengths, skills, and lifelong learning strategies to develop essential career competencies. By making these meaningful connections students gain a deeper understanding of how their education relates to their desired career path.  Congratulations on embarking on this college journey filled with growth, exploration, and endless possibilities! This course is not available for non-degree seeking students and is not available as an elective.

This course offers an overview of digital fluency as it applies to personal, academic, financial, and professional success. Students will analyze the impact of digital technology on personal, social, and diversity issues and will develop digital skills that will assist in achieving academic, personal, and career goals. An overview of digital media is introduced with practical strategies for application in personal and professional life.

Learn and use key, practical skills that are applicable at home, at work, and in all UAGC courses! As UAGC students progress in their academic journey, strategies for personal, professional, and academic success continue to develop. This introductory course takes a two-pronged approach to setting students on a path to success. It merges fundamental informational literacy concepts with essential resources and skills that prepare students for college and career. Students learn how to identify, locate, evaluate, apply, and acknowledge information obtained through UAGC Library databases and internet search engines. By applying the research process, students sharpen critical thinking skills and learn to use information ethically. The final project is a practical and relevant opportunity for students to apply their learning in personally, professionally, and academically meaningful ways.

ENG 121 is designed to introduce students to the standards of writing in both academic and professional settings. The class will operate by first introducing, and then allowing students to practice, several written communication skills. Throughout, we will work to understand writing as a process, one that is strengthened through critical thinking, deepened by research, and built on a foundation of professional standards. Students will articulate a sense of their own skills and goals, and engage in collaborative conversations with peers and their instructor so as to be able to express their ideas more effectively. During the course, students will use the writing process to scrutinize their own perspectives while challenging them to embrace a wider conversation.

This course is designed to expand students’ appreciation of film and knowledge of how films are made. Through analysis of storytelling in a visual medium, students will examine the ways in which movies are shot, develop characters, evoke emotion, depict physical reality, reflect society, and have the power to influence it. Though the focus of the course is film itself, students will gain deeper intercultural fluency while growing their skills in critical thinking, written communication, and visual analysis.

This course is a study of correct and incorrect reasoning involved in everyday activities. The fundamentals of language and argument, deductive and inductive reasoning and other aspects of practical reasoning are examined. 

This course examines and evaluates theories and arguments concerning ethics and moral reasoning from a philosophical perspective. By engaging with historical and contemporary sources, students will analyze theories about the meaning, nature, and justification of ethical concepts; determine and assess how different forms of moral reasoning apply to contemporary moral issues; become more reflective and informed about their own moral beliefs; and develop their capacity for critical practical reasoning.

In this course, students will develop and expand their research and writing skills to communicate ideas in informed, ethical, and persuasive written documents intended for a range of audiences across a range of situations and contexts. Students will receive instruction and practice in synthesis and analysis, bolstering their written communication skills with a thorough understanding of academic research while honing critical thinking skills and effective work habits. Through writing well-structured, logical, and effective academic essays, students will explore tools and develop topics in a way that is meaningful to academic and professional lives. Prerequisite: Successful completion of ENG 121 or equivalent with a grade of “C-” or better.

This course is designed to aid students in understanding the dynamics of interpersonal relationships. Verbal and nonverbal communication patterns among people in personal, social, academic, and professional settings will be examined, within and between cultures, including both face-to-face and technologically mediated channels.  The nature of these interactions will be evaluated using contemporary communication theory. The course will enable students to identify their interpersonal communication skills and behaviors and to more critically evaluate their own oral communication and that of others. The primary goals of the course are to improve the quality of students’ communication in their personal and professional relationships, to enhance students’ experience and. confidence with oral communication, and increase awareness of the importance of interpersonal communication that is inclusive and equitable.

A survey of government at the national level. Emphasis is placed on the constitutional basis of American government, federalism, the sources and forms of political behavior, the operation of the three branches of government, and the making of national policy.

Students explore culture in its role of guiding human behavior and providing social order, structure, and stability for individuals and groups of people. Culture is presented as a system of adaptation involving beliefs, behavior, language, customs, socio/political strategies, traditions, and technology that evolve over time. Recommended prerequisite: ENG 122.

This course focuses on sustainable development from a cross-disciplinary approach, including, economics, management, education, policy, and science. Students discuss sustainability conflicts at the national and international levels, and use online simulations to understand and evaluate sustainability practices.   Topics include zero waste, water management, smart growth, green technology, global change, renewable energy, agriculture, and land management.  

The capstone serves as an opportunity to reflect upon, integrate, and showcase learning achievement. Through discussions and course-embedded assessments, students will demonstrate a mastery of essential general education competencies as they relate to their personal and professional lives and provide evidence of growth through application of competency related skills to real-world situations. A minimum grade of “C-“ is required to meet course requirements. Prerequisite: 75 completed credits or permission of the student’s college or dean.

This course is a survey of selected topics in psychology, including research methods, physiological psychology, sensation, perception, consciousness, learning, memory, motivation, gender roles, abnormal behavior, psychotherapy, and social psychology.

This course provides a basic introduction to the nature of human growth and development from conception through adolescence. Students are provided the opportunity to explore the physical, psychosocial, and cognitive factors of growth and development from both a theoretical and a practical perspective. The context and impact of the family and society as well as individual, cultural, moral, and linguistic differences on development will be covered.

This course is designed to meet general education quantitative reasoning (mathematics) requirements. It will cover such topics as sampling, bias, probability, distributions, graphical methods of portraying data, measures of center, dispersion and position and the Central Limit Theorem. It will also cover computational techniques such as correlation, regression and confidence intervals.

Learning is the relatively permanent change in behavior and mental processes resulting from experience. This course consists of the application of learning theory and research in a wide range of settings where learning takes place. 

Students explore how the thoughts, feelings and behavior of individuals are influenced by other human beings in a variety of social situations. This course also entails a survey and critical analysis of the various methods used by researchers in social psychology. Topics include: social cognition, aggression, prejudice, interpersonal attraction, altruistic behavior, conformity, group influences, and conflict resolution. Prerequisite: PSY 101 or SSC 101 or equivalent.

This course examines the influence of an organization upon the individual, as well as ways an individual can influence an organization. Students will research the use of technology and best practices to present ethical solutions to workplace issues.

Descriptive and inferential statistics are investigated and multiple techniques for statistical analysis are introduced in this course. Formulas for presenting and evaluating data are explored in accordance with generally accepted protocol for statistical analysis. Prerequisite: MAT 232. Students in the RN-BSN program are waived from the MAT 232 course prerequisite. 

This course provides a basic introduction to the nature of human growth and development from conception through death. Students are provided the opportunity to explore the physical, psychosocial, and cognitive factors of growth and development from both a theoretical and a practical perspective. The context and impact of the family and society as well as individual, cultural, moral, and linguistic differences on development will be covered. Prerequisite: PSY 101.

Research Methods is an introduction to the foundations of research methodology, design and analysis. Basic principles of qualitative and quantitative research are explored and evaluated. Understanding the results of statistical analysis as it applies to research is a focus of this curriculum. Prerequisite: MAT 232.

This course reviews the basic concepts and principles of the major theories of personality. It also assesses the scientific worth and validity of these theories as they relate to the development of personality. Theoretical assumptions of the importance of environment and genetics will be stressed. Students will be challenged to identify the theoretical concepts that they think best describe personality development and to evaluate their own personality, as it relates to the theories being presented. Prerequisite: PSY 101 or equivalent and PSY 326.

Students will explore the biological underpinnings of behavior by studying the central and peripheral nervous and endocrine systems, as knowledge of the relationship between mind and body promote better understanding of behavior, emotion, motivation, and health. Students will also examine historical and contemporary biopsychological developments and applications of biopsychology to psychology and other fields. Prerequisite: PSY 101 or equivalent and PSY 326.

The course entails a study of the diagnosis, causes, treatment, and prevention of psychological disorders. Problems with the reliability and validity of the American Psychiatric Association system for diagnosing psychological disorders will be discussed, and various alternative systems will be introduced. Prerequisite: PSY 101 or equivalent and PSY 330. Students enrolled in the BA Applied Behavioral Science program are waived from the PSY 330 course prerequisite.

This course provides a synthesis of the major ideas, perspectives, theories, and concepts gained from the study of psychology. Students will develop a final product that will support their future career and academic advancement, providing the opportunity to integrate key learning and knowledge gained throughout their degree program. Prerequisites: Successful completion of the General Education Capstone course and the majority of the major coursework