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Graduate Classes

Psychological Science


Below is a list of graduate courses offered by the Department of Psychological Science. Besides these courses, our graduate students also take courses (such as statistics and social psychology) in other departments. The primary purpose of our graduate courses is to serve our two department graduate programs (M.A. in Clinical Psychology and Master's in Cognitive and Social Processes). However, students from other departments or non-degree students may enroll in courses if they have the appropriate prerequisites and, if necessary, the instructor's permission (with the exception that only students admitted to our clinical program may take courses in psychotherapy or assessment. All Graduate Courses in Psychological Science address diversity issues as part of the course objective.

524 - Psychology of Women (3 hrs.)
Psychological approaches to the study of women with special emphasis on achievement motivation and dependency, attitudes toward women, development of sex-role identity, biological an social influences on women's behavior, self-concepts and psychological conflict in women, and a critical appraisal of research in sex differences.

573 - Industrial Psychology (3 hrs.)
Psychological principles applied to personnel selection and training, worker motivation and morale, labor problems in industry, engineering psychology, and personal problems in industry.

574 - Organizational Development: A Psychological Perspective (3 hrs.)
Interventions to improve efficiency and effectiveness of organizations. Critical analysis of change techniques from a process and small group perspective with special emphasis on the limitation and logic involved in their use.

575 - Psychology of Selection and Placement (3 hrs.)
Principles of personnel testing for selection and placement. Focuses on the development of predictors and criteria, selection of an appropriate validation model, and the psychological dynamics of interview processes.
Prerequisite: PSYSC 573 or equivalent

595 - Special Topics in Psychology (3 hrs.)
Varying topics. See notices outside department office.
Prerequisite: Permission of department chairperson

615 - Learning and Motivation
Analysis of research and theories of basic conditioning, learning processes, and motivation. Biological bases of motivation will also be considered. Emphasizes models of animal learning and motivation but considers their relevance for human behavior.
Prerequisite: Experimental methods (PSYSC 284, 584, or equivalent)

616 - Perception and Cognition (3 hrs.)
Survey of theories of and research concerning attention, perception, memory, thinking (including problem solving, decision making, and logical reasoning), and language.
Prerequisite: Experimental methods (PSYSC 284, 584, or equivalent)

617 - Memory (3 hrs.)
Explores models of human memory processes, as well as biological, environmental, and social factors affecting memory.
Prerequisite: Perception and Cognition (PSYSC 616)

618 - Thinking (3 hrs.)
Examines psychological theories, models, research, and applications of problem solving, decision making, reasoning, and other kinds of intelligent human cognitive processing.
Prerequisite: Perception and Cognition (PSYSC 616)

619 - Psychology of Language (3 hrs.)
A review of research on the psychological processes involved in the comprehension and production of language. Topics include sentence and discourse processing, pragmatics, conversation structure, representation and meaning, language and thought, and language acquisition.

623 - Theories of Personality (3 hrs.)
Review and comparison of modern theories of the development of personality structure, with emphasis on empirical data presented by proponents of various theoretical positions.

631 - Behavior Disorders in Children (3 hrs.)
The origins, development, and treatment of childhood disorders. Differential diagnosis: diagnosis, prognosis, and psychotherapy.

632 - Abnormal Psychology (3 hrs.)
Systematic study of behavior pathology. Etiology, symptomatology, prognosis, and prevention of the psychopathology of physical illness and handicaps, psychosomatic and somatopsychic illnesses, neuroses, psychoses, character disorders, addiction, and acute and chronic brain disorders.
Prerequisite recommended: Undergraduate personality course (PSYSC 317)

640 - Introduction to Psychological Assessment (3 hrs.)
Covers theoretical and practical implication of various psychodiagnostic tools, including age, gender, ethnicity, language, disability, and culture factors related to the assessment and evaluation of individuals and groups. Issues of reliability, validity, and ethics, plus the development of basis diagnostic skills, will be emphasized.
Open only to students in the clinical M.A. program
Prerequisites: PSYSC 623 (Personality) and PSYSC 632 (Abnormal)

641 - Psychodiagnostic aspects of Intellectual Dysfunction (3 hrs.)
A seminar dealing with the origins, patterns, and problems of assessing psychodiagnostic aspects of intellectual or cognitive dysfunction.
Prerequisites: PSYSC 632 (Abnormal) and PSYSC 640 (Assessment I)

644 - Advanced Psychological Assessment (3 hrs.)
Continuation of PSYSC 640 with an emphasis on the selection, administration, interpretation, and use of objective and projective personality assessment devices in conjunction with other techniques. Emphasizes the development of advanced diagnostic skills and ethical considerations.
Open only to students in the clinical M.A. program
Prerequisites: PSYSC 623 (Personality), 632 (Abnormal), and 640 (Assessment I)

652 - Introduction to Psychotherapy (3 hrs.)
Introduction to the treatment of abnormal behavior using individual psychotherapy. Selected theories and techniques are surveyed. Emphasizes the development of basic therapeutic skills, therapist and client characteristics that influence helping processes, ethical considerations, and implications of sociocultural, demographic, and lifestyle diversity.
Open only to students in the clinical M.A. program
Prerequisites: PSYSC 623 (Personality) and 632 (Abnormal)

653 - Advanced Topics in Psychotherapy (3 hrs.)
Selected topics in psychotherapy and related interventions are examined, including crisis intervention, medications, prevention, and community intervention. Also covered are historical, legal, financial, and ethical considerations, procedures for determining accountability, and public policy issues related to mental health services.
Prerequisites: PSYSC 623 (Personality) and 652 (Psychotherapy I)

668 - Physiological Psychology (3 hrs.)
Introduction to neurosciences and some other physiological topics. Includes such topics as the role of bodily function in motivation, learning, consciousness, and perception.
Prerequisite: Research Methods (PSYSC 284 or 584 or equivalent)

670 - Health Psychology (3 hrs.)
The use of psychological techniques in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of medical problems such as cardiovascular disorders, obesity, and chronic pain.
Prerequisite: PSYSC 632 (Abnormal)

680 - Research Methods in Psychology (3 hrs.)
Overview of research methods and techniques in psychology, including experimental, quasi-experimental, correlational, single-case, and program evaluation techniques.
Prerequisite: EDPSY 642 (Intermediate Statistics) and PSYSC 284 (Research Methods)

681 - Professional Orientation (1 hr.)
Introduces students to research and professional work conducted in psychology. PSYSC faculty discuss issues such as educational programs, professional training, methodology, and development of research ideas.

682 - Clinical Orientation (1 hr.)
Introduces students to research and professional work conducted in psychology. PSYSC faculty discuss issues such as educational programs, professional training, and clinical practice.

685 - Clinical Internship (3-6 hrs.)
Supervised applied clinical experience in one or more appropriate settings.
Must have earned at least 20 hours of graduate credit in PSYSC, at least half of which should be from the clinical sequence.
Open only to students in the clinical M.A. program

687 - Advanced Clinical Internship (3-6 hrs.)
Supervised advanced clinical experience in one or more appropriate settings.
Prerequisite: PSYSC 685
Open only to students in the clinical M.A. program

691 - Systems of Psychology (3 hrs.)
The major concepts of various schools of psychological thought and contemporary theoretical systems as they have evolved from their historical origins.

695 - Seminar on Psychology (3 hrs.)
Topics to be announced each semester. Check for notices near the office of the department of psychological sciences.
Prerequisite: 12 hours of graduate credit in psychology

696 - Seminar on Diversity (3 hrs.)
Designed to introduce the application of diversity perspectives to psychological research and practice. Topics such as race, ethnicity, economic status, national origin, disability, gender, sexual identity, age, and religious beliefs are considered.
Prerequisite: Permission of department chairperson

698 - Psychological Investigations (1-3 hrs.)
Independent study on a specific topic for students with special aptitude. Although only 3 hours credit allowed per semester, a total of 6 credit hours can be counted to graduation requirements.
Prerequisite: Permission of department chairperson
Admissions Information Faculty Profiles
Positions Held by Our Graduates Graduate Course Listing
Master's in Clinical Psychology Master's in Cognitive and Social Processes
Meet Our Students Frequently Asked Questions
Graduate Assistantships

Have questions? Need admissions materials?
Contact the Director of Graduate Studies:

Kerri Pickel, Ph.D.
(765) 285-1711

Graduate Programs in Psychological Science (home page)


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Author | Last Modification: September 2004 | Technical comments to the Webmaster

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