KWUPsychologyProgram

Dept. of Behavioral Science and Human Services

Building ConnectionsLearning, Educating, and Collaborating Through

Scholarship

Prospective psychology majors should ask and receive answers

to

eight crucial questionsduring their campus visits.

The following eight slidesidentify these questions.

Question #1Graduate School

Where do your alumni attend graduate school, and in what

areas of specialization do they earn graduate degrees?

Question #2Career Preparation

What careers do your graduates enter, and what kinds of job-related skills can they list on their resumes and describe

during job interviews?

Question #3Research

What kind of research is performed by the faculty in your department, and how well are students mentored by

your faculty in the research process?

Question #4Classes

What classes are offered

by your department?

Question #5Academic Advising

Will I be able to obtain high quality academic advising?

Question #6Community-Based Learning

Will there be opportunities for me to earn academic credit by engaging in

practica, internships, or service learning projects in the community?

Question #7Clubs and Organizations

Does your department have an active Psychology Club, and can I earn membership in Psi Chi (the

national honor society in psychology)?

Question #8Sense of Community

How does your department promote a sense of community among its

students and faculty?

The following slides will provide you with the answers to these eight

questions about the KWU Psychology Program.

GraduateGraduateSchoolSchool

• In a recent alumni survey, 62% of psychology graduates reported that they had gone on for further education

• Because some students did not respond or could not be located, a conservative estimate is that 20% go on to graduate school, a percentage higher than the national average

What are examples of graduate schools attended by KWU

Psychology Majors?

Kansas UniversityUniversity of

MemphisWashburn University

University of Nevada, Reno

Capella UniversityKansas State University

Emporia State University

SWT, San Marcos, TX

Washington Univ.,

St. Louis

Friends University

Pennsylvania St. University

Fort Hays State University

What are areas of specialization in which

KWU Psychology Majors have earned graduate degrees?

Professional Counseling

Counseling and Educational Psychology

Human Factors/ Engineering Psychology

Social Work Masters of Divinity Sports Psychology

Industrial Psychology

Addictions Counseling

Clinical Psychology

Developmental Psychology

Political Psychology

Social Psychology

Marriage and Family Therapy

School PsychologyMasters of Business

Administration

Career Career PreparationPreparation

What are some sample job titles of KWU Psychology

Majors?

Director of Human

Resources

Substance Abuse Program

Coordinator

Second Language Resource Specialist

Corrections Counselor

Elementary School Teacher

Staff Development

Specialist

Lead Family Consultant

Grant Writer

Physician’s Assistant

Administrative Coordinator

Retail ManagerDirector of After-School Programs

School Counselor

Mental Health Professional

Therapist Gemologist

PastorMental Health Case Manager

Substance Abuse Counselor

Probation Officer

Food Bank Manager

Basketball Coach Case ManagerSchool Social

Worker

Hospice Worker Neurologist Social Worker Soccer Coach

What are some of the specific job skills that

KWU Psychology Majors and Minors can acquire

and include on their resumes?

• Express ideas effectively

• Demonstrate listening and helping skills

• Use information technology successfully

• Work comfortably in collaborative settings

• Operate from an ethical framework

• Understand issues from a variety of perspectives

• Think critically about complex issues

• Gather and organize information from multiple sources

• Perform and interpret descriptive and inferential statistics

ResearchResearch

• Many BSHS courses have a research component in order to help students design, critique, conduct, analyze, write, and present research.

• The Psychology Program also has two research options available for credit– Research Assistant – serve as part of a research

team, working with faculty on faculty projects– Independent Study – conduct your very own

project from start to finish, similar to a Senior or Honors Thesis.

What are questions KWU Behavioral

Science Faculty answer with their research?

• Do romantic or scary movies affect perceptions of one’s date?

• What does it take to select a fair and impartial jury?• Does watching soap operas affect one’s beliefs about

relationships?• How do people remember things they read in text?• Why do people believe in pseudoscientific claims?• What is the relationship between spirituality and

psychological and emotional issues?• How can we persuade people to donate organs?• How does scholastic feedback affect self-esteem?

What are the titles of asample of the research

conducted recently by KWU Psychology Majors and

Faculty?

• Personality correlates of romantic movie preference

• Shyness, self-handicapping, and their relationship to terror management theory

• Cognitive style as a mediator between scientific knowledge and pseudoscientific beliefs

• The effects of intelligence on attitudes toward capitalism

• Effects of attachment style and locus of control

• Measure the level of aggression of males and females

• Relationship between adult attachment style and the ability to cope with burnout in long term care facilities

• Perceptions of college athletics

• The effect of personality types on choosing a mate

• Terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon: Post-traumatic stress disorder and gender differences

ClassesClasses

KWU offers 2 major tracks• Psychology

– Flexible, design-your-own class list

– For the graduate school bound, in either clinical or experimental directions

– For someone interested in exploring graduate programs outside psychology, such as med school, law school, or MBA

– For a broad terminal bachelors degree

• Psychological Services– Includes a bachelors-level

counseling certification

– For people interested in human service professions or case work

– Interdisciplinary major with criminal justice

What classes are offered by the

Psychology Program?

• General Psychology

• Physiological Psychology

• Statistics

• Tests and Measurement

• Developmental Psychology

• Cognitive Psychology

• Theories of Personality

• Sports Psychology

• Psychology of Mass Communication

• Experimental Psychology

• Principles of Learning and Conditioning

• Health Psychology

• Industrial/Organizational Psychology

• Social Psychology

• Abnormal Psychology

• Principles of Counseling

• Case Management

• Psychology and Law

• Foundations of Addiction

• Psychopharmacology

• Medical High Risk in Counseling

• Group Counseling

• Introduction to Human Services

• Methods of Research

• Human Sexuality

• History of Psychology

Community-Community-Based Based

LearningLearning

Where have KWU Psychology Majors performed practica,

internships, and service learning?

• Martin Luther King Childcare Center

• St. Francis

• Focus on the Future

• Central KS Foundation

• Red Cross

• Big Brothers Big Sisters

• YMCA

• Prairie View

• Veridian

• Beloit Youth Center• Youthville• Larned State Hospital• Salina Alternative School• Domestic Violence Center

of Central Kansas• Central High School

Counseling Center• Women’s Recovery

Services

Academic Academic AdvisingAdvising

What academic advising opportunities

are available in the KWU Psychology

Program?

• All BSHS faculty are capable, caring, and cooperative advisors, and while you have one primary advisor, all the department faculty are able to enroll or mentor you.

• BSHS faculty serve as a sounding-board as you explore career options, and will guide or suggest courses of action, but ultimately, the decisions are yours.

• BSHS faculty want to make sure you have the best ‘fit’ and so will support transfers either into or out of our program.

• The BSHS department has cooperative agreements with area community colleges and agencies to allow smooth credit transitions into KWU.

Clubs andClubs andOrganizationsOrganizations

Psychology Club and Psi Chi• The Psychology Club is an organization open to any

and all KWU students with an interest in psychology.• The purpose of the Psych Club (affectionately called the

PsyCoyotes) is to build community and connect students with one another, with the faculty and staff, and with psychology-related activities and opportunities in both the Psychology Program and the entire KWU campus.

• Psi Chi is the National Honor Society in Psychology. Because of our department size, we do not have a local Psi Chi chapter, but with faculty sponsorship, students can participate in all Psi Chi events at regional and national conferences.

Sense of Sense of CommunityCommunity

How does the KWU Psychology program

and BSHS Department create a sense of

community among its members?

Community-Building Strategies• Organizations Our Psychology Club helps students

to collaborate, work toward shared goals, help others, and have a voice in the department

• Communications The department keeps in touch with its students and alumni with an e-mail listserv and an internet homepage, along with personal contact at class time.

• Celebrations The department sponsors a number of events to celebrate its community.– Homecoming decoration competition– picnics, movie and pizza parties – Alumni guest speakers

• Mentoring Our faculty make a sincere effort to act as mentors to our students– Senior Exit Interviews with the KWU Assessment

Committee indicate that students (both advisees and otherwise) mention psychology faculty as having a positive impact on their educational experience and personal growth.

• Career Planning Faculty provide formal and informal information about career opportunities and preparation for graduate school.

Be sure to ask these crucial questions when you visit other

schools. The answers you receive will enable you to choose the psychology department that

will be the best fit for you.

The End

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