DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY

Ronald Nowaczyk, Chairperson and Director of Graduate Studies, 115 Rawl
Program Directors:

Thomas W. Durham, Clinical Psychology
John G. Cope, General Psychology
Michael B. Brown, School Psychology

The Department of Psychology offers degrees in three graduate areas.  All three areas require the completion of a research skills course (PSYC 6430), completion of a thesis, and written and oral examinations over the field and the thesis.  The student will consult with his or her program director in order to decide which approved elective courses best meet the needs of his or her program.  Additional alternative courses may be considered, subject to the approval of the student's program director and the departmental chairperson.  It is important to note that requirements of both the Graduate School and the Department of Psychology must be met before a degree is awarded.

MA IN PSYCHOLOGY, GENERAL AND THEORETIC

The general psychology program offers students the opportunity to specialize in one of three concentrations.  The academic concentration (42 s. h.) is designed to provide the preparation necessary to teach psychology at the community college level.  The research concentration (42 s. h.) focuses on courses for those who wish to conduct research or prepare for doctoral training.  The industrial/organizational concentration (45 s. h.) is designed for students wishing to apply psychological expertise to situations involving human resources in organizations. 

The industrial/organizational concentration requires a summer internship between the first and second year.

Program requirements include:

MA IN PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL

The clinical psychology program of study leads to a master of arts degree in psychology and eligibility for licensure in North Carolina as a licensed psychological associate.  Students are admitted into one of two concentration areas within the program:  child clinical psychology (including MR/DD) or adult clinical psychology.  The program requires a minimum of 51 s.h. of instruction and is generally completed in two years.  During the second year, the student will spend 1000 hours in an on-site internship placement under the supervision of a licensed psychologist.  The program provides classroom training in ethics, psychological assessment and diagnosis, and psychotherapy.  In addition to classroom learning, the student will also engage in supervised practica experiences during the first-year of training in addition to the second-year practicum.  Finally, students will gain research experience through the completion of a master’s thesis project during the second year of training.

Admission to the clinical program follows a review of credentials as well as an on-site interview.  Continuation in the program is based upon satisfactory course work and effective personal functioning and ethical behavior.  At the end of each semester of the student's enrollment, the clinical faculty will conduct a review of student performance.  Continuation in the program is contingent upon a favorable review during these evaluations.  Students who consistently show borderline course performance, who are not developing good applied skills in the practice of psychology, who fail to complete course work on a timely basis, or who otherwise perform unprofessionally or unsatisfactorily, may be required to complete additional courses or practicum work, or may be removed from the program.

Program requirements are as follows:

MA IN SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY/CAS IN SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY (LEVEL II)

The graduate program in school psychology is a three-year program to train psychologists for practice in public school and related settings and requires 63 s.h. credit. The program requires full-time attendance, and students must complete both the MA and CAS degrees. The first two years of the program provide classroom training and field experiences in assessment, consultation, and interventions for children, adolescents, families, and systems. The third year consists of a full-time paid internship in a public school setting.

Program completion meets the current requirements for licensure by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction as a Level II school psychologist, for certification by the National School Psychology Certification Board, and satisfies the educational requirements for licensure by the North Carolina Psychology Board as a licensed psychological associate. The program is approved by the National Association of School Psychologists, the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education Programs, and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

Program requirements include:

PSYC: Psychology

5250. Topics in Psychology (3) (WI*) P: Minimum of 9 s.h. in PSYC. Selected topics at advanced level. Topics vary.

5311. Sensation and Perception (3) P: PSYC 3310, 3311; or consent of instructor. Psychophysics and psychophysiology of various sense systems together with current theoretical approaches to perception.

5312, 5313. Laboratory Methods in Physiological Psychology (3,0) 1 lecture and 4 lab hours per week. P: PSYC 3310, 3311; or consent of instructor. Basic techniques, including basic surgery, stereotaxic, histological, and behavioral testing.

5315, 5316. Behavioral Neuroscience: Literature and Laboratory Experience I (3,3) 1-hour seminar and 8 hours lab per week. P: PSYC 2210; 3310 or 3311; consent of instructor. Recently published research in behavioral neuroscience and lab work on ongoing research project.

5320. Behavioral Pharmacology Seminar (3) P: PSYC 3310, 3311; or consent of instructor. Behavioral and neurophysiological effects of psychoactive drugs in experimental animals and clinical populations.

5325. Introduction to Psychological Testing (3) P: PSYC 1000 or 1060; a statistics course. Principles of testing, including requirements for validity, reliability,  norm samples, and examples of psychological tests.

5380. Psychology of the Exceptional Child (3) P: PSYC 1000 or 1060. Study of children who are markedly different from the average child in physical, mental, emotional, academic, or social characteristics.

5400. Advanced Gerontology (3) P: PSYC 1000 or 1060; GERO 2400 or consent of instructor. Seminar on psychological research and its applications to the aged.

5990, 5991, 5992. Field Experience in Psychology (1,1,1) May be taken concurrently. Accepted graduate psychology students spend approximately 10 hours per week per credit hour in lab/field experiences under joint supervision of field supervisor and university instructor. May count maximum of 3 s.h. of field experience toward BA or MA PSYC requirement. Additional hours may count toward electives. P for undergraduate students: PSYC major; 9 s.h. in PSYC; minimum cumulative and PSYC major 2.0 GPA; dept consent.  P for graduate students: PSYC major; minimum cumulative and major GPA of 3.0 in PSYC; dept consent. Application of concepts and principles from related courses to applied situations in field.

6327. Methods in Human Measurement (3) P: Statistics course or consent of instructor. Rationale and techniques of psychological measurement. Emphasis on determination of different estimates of reliability and validity. Introduction to questionnaire and test construction and fair employment procedures.

6333. Applied Behavior Analysis (3) P: PSYC 4333 or consent of instructor. Advanced study of principles, applications, and research methodology of behavior analysis.

6343. Psychology of Organizational Behavior (3) P: PSYC 3241 or graduate standing or consent of instructor. Systems approach to understand behavior in work organizations. Emphasis on recent research on job satisfaction and motivation to work. Cases and simulations illustrate principles of leadership, decision making, and organizational design. Topics vary as new research appears.

6350. Psychology of Sexual Behavior (3) P: Graduate standing; 6 s.h. of PSYC or consent of instructor. Research relating to psychological aspects of sexual behavior. Conventional and unconventional sexual expression. Research regarding treatment methods for sexual problems.

6380. Interdisciplinary Practice: Services for Children with Serious Emotional Disturbances and Their Families (3) Same as CDFR 6380; NURS 6380; SOCW 6380 System of care model for use across disciplines in mental health services for children with serious emotional disturbances and their families. Prepares professionals to participate in holistic, interdisciplinary team practice in variety of settings.

6402. School Consultation (3) P: Graduate standing in school or clinical psychology or counselor education or consent of instructor. Theory, models, and methods of consultation and systems change in schools.

6404. Professional School Psychology (3) P: Graduate standing in school psychology or consent of instructor. Current issues in school psychology. History, foundations, models of service delivery, and legal and ethical issues in school psychology. Role and function of school psychologist.

6405. Advanced Educational Psychology (3) Comprehensive study of psychological principles and techniques as applied to various aspects of human learning. Emphasis on  relationships between brain functions and learning processes.

6406. Advanced Developmental Psychology (3) Review of theories and research dealing with developmental change. Emphasis on life span development and application of developmental psychology to social service professions.

6408. Fundamental Psychological Concepts (2) P: Graduate standing or consent of instructor. Review of basic psychological thought in areas especially related to human interaction. Emphasis varies depending on theoretical orientation of instructor.

6409. School Assessment I (3) P: Graduate standing in school psychology or consent of instructor. Standardized testing procedures, applied psychometrics, and selection, administration, and interpretation of individual measures of intelligence and visual-motor abilities.

6410. School Assessment II (3) P: PSYC 6409. Selection, administration, and interpretation of measures of children's academic, behavioral, emotional, and social functioning.

6411. School Assessment III (3) P: PSYC 6410; RP: PSYC 6452. Selection, administration, and interpretation of instruments and measures to assess preschool children and children with low-incidence handicaps.

6412. Advanced Physiological Psychology (3) P: PSYC 2210, 3310. Advanced study of research and theory on neurophysiology of learning, drives, emotions, perception, and attention.

6413. Clinical Neuropsychology (3) P: Graduate standing in school or clinical psychology or consent of instructor. Introductory study of brain structure. Emphasis on practical assessment and intervention strategies.

6420. Issues in Personnel Selection (3) Application of psychological research and theory to personnel selection and training. Emphasis on theoretical and practical considerations of job analysis, selection, performance appraisal, and training. Current issues in criterion development, test validation, and federal guidelines.

6421. Social Psychology (3) Current research and theory in selected topics such as attitudes, dehumanization and conformity, aggression, and effective group functioning and change.

6422. Group Dynamics (3) Psychological nature of task-oriented groups and dynamics and principles of group processes. Relationship between groups and individuals, group structure, group performance, leadership, group tasks, and communication patterns.

6426. Motivation (3) Research and theory in motivation.

6427. Advanced Principles of Learning (3) P: Graduate standing in PSYC or consent of instructor. Intensive review of elementary principles of learning and more advanced study of field of learning. Emphasis on principles rather than theory.

6428. Cognitive Psychology (3) P: Graduate standing in PSYC or consent of instructor. Research and theory in cognition. Attention, memory, imagery, language, conceptual behavior, and problem solving.

6430. Statistics and Research Design (3) 2 classroom and 3 lab hours per week. P: Graduate standing in PSYC or consent of instructor. Statistical inference, including special correlational techniques, significance tests, and analysis of variance. Coordination of statistics with principles, methods, and design. Computation of descriptive and inferential statistics.

6431. Design and Analysis (3) Designed for student preparing to engage in research. P: Graduate standing in PSYC or consent of instructor and one graduate-level (inferential) statistics course. Research in experimental areas of behavioral sciences.

6433. Computation of Behavioral Statistics (3) P: PSYC 6430, 6431. Computation of behavioral statistics using hand calculators, microprocessors, and mainframe statistical packages.

6440. Individual and Group Counseling Theory (2) May not count toward degree unless PSYC 6441 is completed. P: Graduate standing in school psychology program or consent of instructor. Basic theory and application of principles involved in individual and group counseling. Emphasis on application of theoretical and practical approaches of group and individual counseling for school psychologist.

6441. Individual and Group Counseling Theory and Practice (1) 3 hours per week in school setting under academic supervision. P: Graduate standing in school psychology; PSYC 6440. Application of concepts and principles of group processes by school psychologist.

6442. Psychological and Educational Interventions (3) P: Graduate standing in school psychology; PSYC 6409, 6410. Plan, implement, and evaluate psychological and educational interventions for children’s academic and behavior problems. Integration of instructional and behavioral psychology, instructional design, remedial instructional strategies, and behavior management techniques.

6450. Advanced Psychopathology (3) P: Admission to clinical psychology graduate program. Diagnosis, etiology from several theoretical viewpoints, and implications for interventions. Broad biopsychosocial framework.

6452. Child and Adolescent Psychopathology (3) P: Graduate standing in school or clinical psychology or counselor education or consent of instructor. Major childhood emotional disorders. Emphasis on assessment and diagnosis.

6460. Clinical Psychology Practicum I (2) C: PSYC 6466. Development of skills in intake interviewing, mental status examination, diagnostic interviewing, and other specialized assessment interviews.

6461. Clinical Psychology Practicum II (2) C: PSYC 6484 or 6485. Development of skills in intellectual, visual-motor, behavior ratings, and personality evaluation with major psychology assessment instruments.

6462. Clinical Psychology Practicum III (2) Placement in mental health facility. C: PSYC 6467 or 6468. Development of skills in individual psychotherapy with adults or children.

6465. Ethics and Professional Practice (3) P: Admission to PSYC graduate program. Seminar reviews ethical principles and practice issues relevant to professional psychology.

6466. Psychotherapy Concepts and Techniques (3) P: Consent of instructor. Basic theory. Emphasis on object relations, self psychology, or interpersonal specialties, plus cultural awareness and research. Live training in intake procedures and case management.

6467. Psychotherapeutic Interventions with Children and Families (3) P: PSYC 6452 or consent of instructor. Theoretical models, system of care components, and therapy techniques for working with children with emotional problems and their families. Ecological interpersonal and behavioral approaches.

6468. Psychotherapy: Theories, Research, and Practice (3) P: PSYC 6450 or consent of instructor. Psychotherapy research, theories, and techniques. Professional issues and ethical and value considerations.

6475. Personality Theory (3) Indepth evaluation of major theories of personality, past and present.

6477. Seminar in Group Psychotherapy (3) P: Psychotherapy or counseling course or consent of instructor. Principles of existential and other group psychotherapies. Emphasis on specific populations, research, and cultural issues. Training group experience.

6484. Psychological Assessment of Children and Adolescents (3) C: PSYC 6461. Introduction to intellectual and personality assessment for children aged birth to sixteen.

6485. Psychological Assessment of Adults and Older Adolescents (3) C: PSYC 6461. Selection and use of appropriate psychological assessment procedures leading to integrated report of findings for evaluation of intelligence, emotional disorder, and personality of persons over age seventeen with a wide variety of presenting problems.

6486. The Rorschach Technique (3) P: Consent of instructor. Intensive study of Rorschach technique. Emphasis on Exner's administration, scoring, and interpretive system to assess  personality functioning of individual.

6501, 6502, 6503. Problems in Psychology (1,1,1) P: PSYC major or minor; consent of dept chair. Individual study under supervision of staff member.

6510. Assessment in Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities I (3) P: Admission to graduate program in MR/DD; PSYC 5325. Selection, administration, scoring and interpretation of several measures of intellectual, adaptive, and language development functioning. Emphasis on benefits and limitations of comprehensive psychological assessment information in programming of individuals with mental retardation and/or developmental disabilities.

6511. Assessment in Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities II (3) P: PSYC 6510. Selection, administration, scoring, and interpretation of several measures of intellectual, adaptive, and language development functioning. Specifically geared toward or adapted for individuals who are significantly impaired, by visual, auditory, and motor handicaps; autism; and severe and profound mental retardation.

6519, 6520. Directed Research I, II (3,3) P: Consent of dept chair and major professor. Individual research.

6521. Special Topics in Industrial/Organizational Psychology (3) Basic understanding of current theoretical and applied issues relevant to study and practice of industrial/organizational psychology. Emphasis on newly developed technology and research in areas such as organizational theory, small group theories and processes, teams, and organizational development. Topics vary with new research.

6800. Teaching Psychology (3) P: Graduate standing in PSYC. Development of lesson plans, course delivery systems, effective teaching approaches, and methods of classroom management, testing procedures, tests, teaching of specific areas, and related matters. Information, theory, and training necessary to teach (under supervision) 2000-level or below psychology courses.

6810. Practicum in Teaching Psychology (3) P: PSYC 6800 and admission to general PSYC program. Assists assigned faculty member in all aspects of course instruction, including lesson plans, course delivery systems, provision of class lectures, and design and implementation of all student evaluations and tests.

6950. Practicum in Therapeutic Approaches with Children (3) P: PSYC 6440; C: PSYC 6441. Supervised practicum counseling individuals and groups. Instruction and practice in intervention techniques. Emphasis on initial interviews, social and interpersonal problem solving, psychological investigation, reflection, confrontation, disclosure, and termination of therapy.

6951. Practicum in Psychoeducational Assessment (3) P: PSYC 6409. Practicum experiences in psychoeducational techniques, procedures, and analysis and interpretation of psychological tests results. Emphasis on various techniques, including psychometric diagnostics, curriculum-based assessment, behavioral observational techniques, and development of writing skills.

6960, 6961. Internship in Mental Retardation/ Developmental Disabilities I, II (2,2) P: Advanced standing in the graduate general PSYC program with a concentration in MR/DD; P for 6961 only: PSYC 6510, 6511. Application of behavioral technology and assessment and behavioral programming techniques in facilities serving individuals with mental retardation/ developmental disabilities.

6970. Internship in Industrial/Organizational Psychology (3) P: Advanced standing in PSYC; consent of general program director. Professional experience in organizational application of psychological techniques and principles.

6980, 6981, 6982. Field Experience in Psychology (1,1,1) May be taken concurrently. May count maximum of 3 s.h. field experience toward PSYC MA. Additional hours may count toward general electives. Approximately 10 hours per week per credit hour in lab/field experiences under the joint supervision of a field supervisor and a university instructor. P: PSYC major; minimum cumulative and major 3.0 GPA; dept consent. Emphasis on application of concept and principles from related courses to applied situations in field.

6990, 6991. Clinical Psychology Internship (3,3) 1000-hour placement in human services facility. P: Advanced standing in graduate clinical PSYC program. Utilize, develop, and integrate techniques acquired in clinical program.

6994. Seminar for School Psychology Practicum (2) Discussions and experiences to increase knowledge and understanding of organization and operation of public schools.

7000. Thesis (3) May be repeated. May count maximum of 6 s.h.

7992. School Internship I (3) P: Completion of MA in school psychology degree requirements; current standing in CAS in school pschology program. Full-time, supervised experience providing school psychological services in public school setting.

7993. School Internship II (3) P: PSYC 7992. Full-time, supervised experience providing school psychological services in public school setting.

PSYC Banked Courses

5370. Mental Hygiene in Schools (2)
6401. Advanced Child Psychology (3)
6403. Seminar in School Psychology (2)
6445. Sport Psychology (3)
6469. Behavior Therapy: Research and Techniques (3)
6988, 6989. School Internship I, II (3,3)

RELIGIOUS STUDIES

Calvin Mercer, Director, A-440 Brewster

RELI: Religious Studies

5000. Religious Studies Seminar (3) May be repeated for credit with change of topic. P: Consent of instructor or director of RELI. Interdisciplinary seminar examines selected topics.