Psychology Department

Department Policies

For graduation, students must have a 2.5 average in all psychology major requirements. A course in which a student receives a grade below a “CD” will not be counted toward the major or minor. If a student repeats a course, the better grade will be counted toward the GPA for purposes of admission to the major, graduation and inclusion in the minor. Transfer course grades will be counted toward the GPA for purposes of admission to the major.

A minimum of three courses toward the major and two courses toward the minor must be taken at Edgewood College.

There are four different concentrations for students majoring in Psychology. Each concentration requires an internship experience. See the table below for information on internship requirements, and refer to each concentration in the catalog for additional information and course descriptions.

Internship Policies

Each psychology major is required to complete a minimum of one internship credit for graduation. A student can complete multiple internships but a maximum of eight internship credits can be counted toward the 120 credits needed for graduation.

Internship Courses

PSY 497 3 : Every Psychology major will register for 1 credit of the PSY 497 COR 3 module to be taken coincident with the first semester of the internship.

PSY 495 : 1 credit required for Clinical/Counseling Concentration, also for General Psychology concentration.

**General Concentration can fulfill their internship requirement with one of PSY 392 /PSY 492 research experience courses, Clinical Counseling Concentration can do research experience courses in addition to their required internship.

PSY 400 : 4-6 credits required for the Human Services Concentration internship (totaling 400 hours).

PSY 496 : Substance Abuse Counseling Concentration. Students are required to take 2 semesters of PSY 496 at 4 credits each semester (totaling 240 hours).

Major Concentration	Internship Course(s)	# of Credits	Minimum # of Internship Hours for Graduation Requirements
General Psychology*	PSY 495 OR PSY 392 /PSY 492	1	60
Clinical Counseling*	PSY 495	1	60
Human Services*	PSY 400	4-6	400 (for certification)
Substance Abuse*	PSY 496	4	240 (total)
* Every psychology major will also register for PSY 497 3 during the first semester of their internship for 1 credit.

Research Experience Courses

The research experience courses are an opportunity for all psychology majors to gain experience working with psychology faculty on research projects. The research experience courses are not required for all Psychology majors but can potentially fulfill internship and senior seminar requirements. The research courses can be taken as a sequence. A student could begin with PSY 292 as an introduction to research, progress to more independent work through PSY 392 (can fulfill internship requirement), and then culminating in PSY 492 which would fulfill the senior seminar requirement (PSY 498 ). However, the research courses do not have to be taken as a sequence but instead can be taken as a stand-alone experience with the consent of a Psychology faculty mentor.

Research Course	Brief Description	Prerequisites	# of Credits	Requirements of the major that can be fulfilled
PSY 292 - Research Practicum	Beginning level research experience in a support role in a project.	PSY 101 ; consent of instructor	1-2 credits per semester (only 1 PSY 292 course can be taken at a time)	None.
PSY 392 - Independent Research	Intermediate level research experience where students will engage in independent research.	PSY 101 ; consent of instructor	1-2 credits per semester (only 1 PSY 392 course can be taken at a time)	When taken in combination with PSY 497 , can fulfill the internship requirement.
PSY 492 - Psychology Research Thesis	A two-semester senior level capstone research project.	PSY 101 ; PSY 375 ; consent of instructor	Required to take 2 semesters at 2 credits	When taken in combination with PSY 497 , can fulfill the internship requirement and will fulfill senior capstone course, PSY 498 .

Course and Credit Requirements for the Concentrations and Minor

For the psychology minor and each psychology concentration, the courses required are listed in the catalog. There is no minimum number of credits. Students need to complete the required courses for the major or concentration. For the psychology minor, five courses in psychology are required, which must include General Psychology or the equivalent transfer course. No course with fewer than three credits will count toward the minor.