The Psychology Department at Rockhurst University aspires to demonstrate to people the utility of psychological science as a foundation for their personal and professional lives. This basic goal directs the ways in which the department's faculty works with students. Both in the classroom and out, students are encouraged to participate in activities designed to promote the development of the following abilities:

• Critical thinking and reasoning 
• Identifying and evaluating sources of information
• Asking questions from a psychological perspective and developing methods for answering those questions
• Communicating with others the benefits of knowing about Psychology

The psychology major & minor:

Psychology applies the scientific process to obtain reliable knowledge about the behavior and cognitive processes of organisms, especially human beings.  Courses in the psychology curriculum aim to foster scientific thinking about humans and to promote application of sound research strategies to understand how and why humans do what they do.  Students are exposed to several theoretical perspectives within different perspectives, to a variety of methodological approaches, and to a variety of techniques for addressing individual human problems.

              The psychology curriculum strives to prepare students for (1) graduate study in psychology and for (2) success in other professional fields, such as business, law, allied health, medicine, and education, in which psychological knowledge is necessary or desirable.  Regardless of major, students frequently select courses in psychology as part of their liberal education so as to obtain a more mature understanding of themselves and other human beings.

Major Field of Concentration

The psychology major requires a minimum of 18 hours of credit in upper-division courses in psychology.  (Upper-division courses have numbers beginning with a 3 or a 4.)  All majors are required to take the four psychology-major base courses which are (1) PY 1000 (or PY 1100) (Introduction to Psychology), (2) PY 2100 (Basic Statistics), (3) PY 3100 or PY 3110 (a Methods course), and (4) PY 4100 or PY 4960 (History and Systems or the Psychology Seminar).  They psychology major also requires a minimum of two courses from each of the following two groups of courses: Group A: PY 3200, PY 3250, PY 3300, PY 3350, PY 4200, PY 4300, PY 4320 or PY 4350; and Group B: PY 3400 (or PY 3410 or PYED 3430 or PY 3440), PY 3500, PY 3550, PY 4400 or PY 4500.  A grade of C or better is required in all upper-division courses counted toward fulfillment of the major requirements. (A grade of C- will not satisfy the requirement.)

              Students are strongly encouraged to complete PY 2100 and PY 3100 (or PY 3110) during the sophomore year.  Other courses should be selected on the basis of interest and in consultation with the department.

              The major advisor should be consulted about the selection of the 12 semester hours of upper-division coursework in related areas of study.

Minor Field of Concentration

              The psychology minor can be fulfilled by completing the first three curriculum requirements of the psychology-major base along with one course from each group (A and B) and one additional upper-division course.  A grade of C or better is required in all upper-division courses counted toward fulfillment of the minor requirements. (A grade of C- will not satisfy the requirement.)