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Department of Psychology

Frank Muscarella, Ph.D., Chair

Faculty: Bacheller, Des Rosiers, Hall, Koncsol, Lauro, Murray, Wated, Wondra

Mission of the Department

The mission of the Department of Psychology is derived from the mission of the university. Grounded in the tradition of the liberal arts, the study of psychology offers students the opportunity to engage in scientific inquiry into human thought, emotion, and behavior in order to formulate important questions and discover meaningful answers. The faculty encourages students to apply their skills and knowledge for the betterment of local and global communities as well as for personal growth. Students are guided to solve individual, interpersonal, and societal problems with sensitivity to diversity and awareness of their own values. Thus, the mission of the Department of Psychology is to prepare students to be scientifically trained, professionally prepared, thoughtful, and contributing citizens of the world committed to engaging in collaborative service and social justice.

Student Learning Outcomes

Courses in the psychology major are designed to serve the mission of the Department and to fulfill the five goals for the psychology major endorsed by the American Psychological Association’s Board of Educational Affairs. The Department of Psychology is committed to supporting students in their pursuit of the following goals and outcomes:

  1. Knowledge Base in Psychology. Students will describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology; they will develop a working knowledge of psychology’s content domains; they will describe applications of psychology.
  2. Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking. Students will use scientific reasoning to interpret psychological phenomena; they will demonstrate psychology information literacy; they will engage in innovative and integrative thinking and problem solving; they will interpret, design, and conduct basic psychological research; they will incorporate sociocultural factors in scientific inquiry.
  3. Ethical and Social Responsibility in a Diverse World. Students will apply ethical standards to evaluate psychological science and practice; they will build and enhance interpersonal relationships; they will adopt values that build community at local, national, and global levels.
  4. Communication. Students will demonstrate effective writing for different purposes; they will exhibit effective presentation skills for different purposes; they will interact effectively with others.
  5. Professional Development. Students will apply psychological content and skills to career goals; they will exhibit self-efficacy and self-regulation; they will refine project-management skills; they will enhance teamwork capacity; they will develop meaningful professional direction for life after graduation.

The minimum grade of C is required in all major courses and corequisites. The total number of re-attempts of psychology courses is limited to two for a psychology major. Withdrawals count as attempts.