UNIVERSITY FACULTY SENATE FORMS

Revised 3-1-07

Academic Program Approval

 

This form is a routing document for the approval of new and revised academic programs.  Proposing department should complete this form.  For more information, call the Faculty Senate Office at 831-2921.

 

                                          Brian Ackerman                                                                              2385

Submitted by: _____________________________________phone number__________

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                             

                             Add a Bachelor of Science Degree curriculum for majors

Action:  _______________________________________________________________________________________

(Example:  add major/minor/concentration, delete major/minor/concentration,  revise major/minor/concentration,  academic unit name change, request for permanent status, policy change, etc.)

                                                              06F

Effective term________________________________________________________________________________

                                                (use format 04F, 05W)

                                                                                                     BA

Current degree___________________________________________________________

                                    (Example:  BA, BACH, BACJ, HBA, EDD, MA, MBA, etc.)

                                                                                                                              BS (in addition to BA)

Proposed change leads to the degree of: ______________________________________

                                                                                             (Example:  BA, BACH, BACJ, HBA, EDD, MA, MBA, etc.)

 

                                      Bachelor of Science in Psychology

Proposed name:__________________________________________________________

                                            Proposed new name for revised or new major / minor / concentration / academic unit

                                                                                (if applicable)

 

Revising or Deleting: 

 

Undergraduate major / Concentration:_________________________________

                                                                                    (Example:  Applied Music – Instrumental  degree BMAS)

 

Undergraduate minor:_______________________________________________

                                   (Example:  African Studies,  Business Administration,  English, Leadership, etc.)            

 

Graduate Program Policy statement change:____________________________

                                                                        (Attach your Graduate Program Policy Statement)

 

            Graduate Program of Study:__________________________________________

                                 (Example:  Animal Science: MS  Animal Science:  PHD  Economics: MA Economics: PHD)

 

 

                Graduate minor / concentration:______________________________________

 

 

List program changes for curriculum revisions:

 

 

Addition of a Bachelor of Science Degree Program to the existing Bachelor of Arts Degree Program.  The BA Program will not change.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

List new courses required for the new or revised curriculum:

 (Be aware that approval of the curriculum is dependent upon these courses successfully passing through the Course Challenge list. If there are no new courses enter “None”)

 

CURRICULUM

                                                                                                                        CREDITS

DEGREE:  BACHELOR OF SCIENCE

MAJOR:    PSYCHOLOGY

 

University Requirements:

 

ENGL 110       Critical Reading and Writing                                                      03

 

MULTICULTURAL COURSE                                                                    03

 

 

 

COLLEGE REQUIREMENTS:

 

Foreign Language                                                                                             00-12

Breadth Requirements                                                                                       24 *

(Minimum of 6 credits each in Groups A & B;

12 credits in Group C)

 

SECOND WRITING REQUIREMENT                                                     03

 

SCIENCE CORE:

 

Biological Sciences                                                                                        11*

Take these 3 courses:                                                                                      

 

BISC 207                    Introductory Biology I                                                   04

BISC 208                    Introductory Biology II                                                 04

BISC 306                    General Physiology                                                       03

 

BISC 207 will be taken in the Spring semester and 208 in the Fall semester, as per

agreement with the Biology Dept.

 

Chemistry and Physics                                                                                  08*

Take two courses in sequence:                                                             

 

CHEM 103/104                       General Chemistry or                                        08

PHYS 201/202                        Introductory Physics I/II                                   08

 

Mathematics                                                                                                  03-04*

 

MATH 221                  Calculus or                                                                   03

MATH 241                  Analytic Geometry and Calculus A                                04

 

Computer Science                                                                                          03*

 

CISC 105                    General Computer Science                                           03

 

 

Major Requirements:

 

PSYC 100                   General Psychology                                                      03

PSYC 207                   Research Methods                                                        03

PSYC 209                   Measurement and Statistics                                           03

 

One of the following four courses:                                                                     03

PSYC 312                   Learning and Motivation

PSYC 314                   Brain and Behavior

PSYC 316                   Biological Bases of Behavior

PSYC 320                   Introduction to Neuroscience

 

One of the following three courses:                                                                    03

PSYC 310                   Sensation and Perception

PSYC 340                   Cognition

PSYC 344                   Psychology of Language

 

One of the following two courses:                                                                      03

PSYC 350                   Developmental Psychology

PSYC 380                   Psychopathology

 

One of the following two courses:                                                                      03

PSYC 370                   Research in Personality

PSYC 390                   Social Psychology

PSYC 394                   Cultural Psychology

 

Three courses at the 400-level or the 600-level:                                                 09 *

 

Two courses of supervised research:                                                                 06 *

PSYC 468                   Research or                                                                             

UNIV 401/402            Thesis

 

A grade of C- or better is required in all BISC, CHEM, PHY, MATH, CISC, and PSYC courses.

 

* These components supplement the current BA curriculum by adding Science Background, specifying Calculus as a Math requirement, adding to the major one 400 level course, the possible substitution of 600 level courses, and the supervised research requirement.  The University Thesis program will substitute for the PSYC 468 requirement.  To compensate for the added course requirements, the new degree program reduces the number of credits needed to satisfy the Arts & Sciences General Education requirements by 6 in each of Groups A and B.

 

 

 

Other affected units:

(List other departments affected by this new or revised curriculum.  Attach permission from the affected units.  If no other unit is affected, enter “None”)

 

Biological Sciences

Chemistry

Physics

Mathematics

Computer Science

 

 

 

 

Rationale:

(Explain your reasons for creating, revising, or deleting the curriculum or program.)

 

            We first explain our goals for this proposed Bachelor of Science Degree Program.  Then we describe and explain the details.

 

Goals:

 

We propose a new Bachelor of Science Degree Program for several reasons.  First, we would like to increase the number of students who apply to graduate schools in psychology and the competitiveness of our best students for entrance into top level graduate programs.  We can increase the number by emphasizing the science end of psychology and the strong interrelations with other life sciences.  Similarly, exposure to more physical science and more opportunities for supervised independent research in our department (e.g., through PSYC 468) will enhance competitiveness.  Good graduate programs in Clinical Science now, for instance, recruit students on the basis of their science interests and demonstrated aptitude, and appreciate the Bachelor of Science degree.

 

Second, we would like to better meet the needs of students with strong science backgrounds and interests who change majors to Psychology because of changing career aspirations.  Providing more opportunities to take upper level and graduate courses and to do supervised research enhances the ability of these students to craft specialty concentrations.  The Bachelor of Science Degree Program thus both channels and rewards their achievements.  Similarly, students in our undergraduate Neuroscience program, with exceptionally strong science backgrounds, will welcome the new opportunity to earn a Bachelor of Science degree rather than a BA.

           

More generally, third, we would like to offer dedicated students the opportunity to engage in depth the rigorous scientific approach to Psychology advocated by the faculty.  A Bachelor of Science Degree Program serves a rhetorical purpose in communicating that approach and will serve to recruit select students away from the Bachelor of Arts program.  As we develop the Bachelor of Science Program, we plan to focus on providing exciting, rigorous, and sequenced research experiences in our laboratories.

 

Finally, a Bachelor of Science Degree Program dramatically enhances our competitiveness in applying for grants from federal funded programs for undergraduate research and teaching in aspects of psychological science.  NIMH, for example, has a program to enhance the undergraduate science training of potential applicants to Clinical Science graduate programs. 

 

Details:

 

            The proposed program requires students to take between 25 and 26 credits in courses constituting the science background (11 in Biology, 8 in Chemistry or Physics, and 6-7 in Computer Science and Math).  This total represents an increase of possibly 12 to 13 science credits over the usual number for BA Psychology majors.  We also are requiring 6 extra credits in courses in Psychology, with 3 coming from an additional specialty seminar and 6 coming from two semesters of quasi-independent supervised research (PSYC 468).  The typical BA major also has 3 credits of electives, which we are eliminating.  To partially compensate for the extra credits in the Science background and Psychology components, we propose to reduce the number of credits necessary to satisfy the Arts and Sciences Groups A and B requirements.  Halving that number frees up 12 credits.   

 

            We expect to graduate about 10 students per year with a BS degree.  That figure would constitute about 5% of our current Psychology majors.  Many of these 10 students will be in our current Neuroscience interdisciplinary program or will be students interested in Biological Sciences as a major who migrated to Psychology.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Program Requirements: 

(Show the new or revised curriculum as it should appear in the Course Catalog.  If this is a revision, be sure to indicate the changes being made to the present curriculum.)

DEGREE:  BACHELOR OF SCIENCE

MAJOR:    PSYCHOLOGY

 

University Requirements:

 

ENGL 110       Critical Reading and Writing                                                      03

 

MULTICULTURAL COURSE                                                                    03

 

COLLEGE REQUIREMENTS:

 

Foreign Language                                                                                             00-12

Breadth Requirements                                                                                       24

(Minimum of 6 credits each in Groups A & B;

12 credits in Group C)

 

SECOND WRITING REQUIREMENT                                                     03

 

SCIENCE CORE:

 

Biological Sciences                                                                                        11

Take these 3 courses:                                                                                      

 

BISC 207                    Introductory Biology I                                                   04

BISC 208                    Introductory Biology II                                                 04

BISC 306                    General Physiology                                                       03

 

BISC 207 will be taken in the Spring semester and 208 in the Fall semester.

 

Chemistry and Physics                                                                                  08

Take two courses in sequence:                                                             

 

CHEM 103/104                       General Chemistry or                                        08

PHYS 201/202                        Introductory Physics I/II                                   08

 

Mathematics                                                                                                  03-04

MATH 221                  Calculus or                                                                   03

MATH 241                  Analytic Geometry and Calculus A                                04

 

Computer Science                                                                                          03

 

CISC 105                    General Computer Science                                           03

 

MAJOR REQUIREMENTS:

 

PSYC 100                   General Psychology                                                      03

PSYC 207                   Research Methods                                                        03

PSYC 209                   Measurement and Statistics                                           03

 

One of the following four courses:                                                                     03

PSYC 312                   Learning and Motivation

PSYC 314                   Brain and Behavior

PSYC 316                   Biological Bases of Behavior

PSYC 320                   Introduction to Neuroscience

 

One of the following three courses:                                                                    03

PSYC 310                   Sensation and Perception

PSYC 340                   Cognition

PSYC 344                   Psychology of Language

 

One of the following two courses:                                                                      03

PSYC 350                   Developmental Psychology

PSYC 380                   Psychopathology

 

One of the following two courses:                                                                      03

PSYC 370                   Research in Personality

PSYC 390                   Social Psychology

PSYC 394                   Cultural Psychology

 

Three courses at the 400-level or the 600-level:                                                 09

 

Two courses of supervised research:                                                                 06

PSYC 468                   Research or                                                                             

UNIV 401/402            Thesis

 

 

A grade of C- or better is required in all BISC, CHEM, PHY, MATH, CISC, and PSYC courses.

 

ELECTIVES

 

After required courses are completed, sufficient elective credits must be taken to meet the minimum credit requirement for the degree.

 

CREDITS TO TOTAL A MINIMUM OF…………………………..…….           124

 

 

 

 

 ROUTING AND AUTHORIZATION:        (Please do not remove supporting documentation.)

 

Department Chairperson                                                                                                        Date                                       

 

Dean of College                                                                                                                       Date                                       

 

Chairperson, College Curriculum Committee___________________________________Date_____________________

 

Chairperson, Senate Com. on UG or GR Studies                                                                   Date                                       

 

Chairperson, Senate Coordinating Com.                                                                 Date                                       

 

Secretary, Faculty Senate                                                                                                       Date                                       

 

Date of Senate Resolution                                                                                                      Date to be Effective               

 

Registrar                                                                  Program Code                                         Date                                       

 

Vice Provost for Academic Programs & Planning                                                                  Date                                       

 

Provost                                                                                                                                   Date                                       

 

Board of Trustee Notification                                                                                                                Date                                       

 

Revised 11/03/04   /khs