Bachelor of Arts in Psychology

Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. Because psychology is a very broad discipline, it includes many different specialty areas. Most psychologists are clinical and counseling psychologists, who diagnose and treat emotional and behavioral disorders. Other psychologists apply the principles of psychology to solve practical problems in education, law, medicine, business, and government. Research psychologists teach and carry out scientific studies on a remarkably diverse array of topics.Many careers in psychology today require a master’s or doctoral degree, so we have designed our program to provide students with a strong foundation for graduate school. Psychology majors are encouraged to take courses that expose them to core areas within psychology and prepare them for the scientific perspective graduate programs emphasize. Our majors learn research techniques: how to clarify concepts, locate and evaluate information, design experiments, do statistical analyses of data, and prepare written reports. In addition, they have the opportunity to develop skills in communication and interpersonal relations and to complete a supervised internship, gaining hands-on experience in the practice of psychology. Stetson’s Psychology Department has an excellent record of placing students in graduate programs in psychology and has also prepared graduates to pursue fulfilling careers in many other professions.Qualified graduates of the Psychology Department may be directly accepted into any of Stetson University's three master’s programs offered by the Department of Counselor Education--Clinical Mental Health Counseling; School Counseling; or Marriage, Couple, and Family Counseling--without submitting scores for the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or Miller Analogies Test (MAT). To qualify, a student must major in Psychology at Stetson, have at least a 2.8 GPA for all work at Stetson, successfully complete a group interview, and have satisfactory letters of recommendation. Students who do not meet these criteria may apply for admission in the normal fashion.