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Mental health is a growing issue in today’s always-on-the-go world. Professionals with a psychology background and education are needed in every walk of life. If you’re looking for a local program focusing on psychology degree in Chicago, East-West University has a solution: a Bachelor of Arts in Behavioral Sciences with your option to focus on Psychology.
Psychology is typically defined as the systematic and scientific study of behavior and mental processes. The goals of psychology are the description, explanation, prediction and control of behavior and mental processes. Psychology is considered one of the most popular, if not the most popular undergraduate major, with well over 70,000 graduates every year receiving their degrees. However, most graduates with just an undergraduate concentration in psychology do not immediately go to work in the field, except at an entry-level position.
Typically, some form of graduate training at the master's or doctoral level is required to truly progress professionally in this area. In addition to the interdisciplinary core requirement of 60 credit hours for the B.A. degree, BHS students who choose to conentration in psychology are required to complete an additional concentration of 20 hours in that area.
Psychology degree requirements for this concentration includes courses in experimental, physiological, and abnormal psychology, as well as the psychology of motivation.
You might be asking yourself, “What can I do with a Psychology degree?” A B.A. degree with a a concentration in psychology from EWU can qualify you for a variety of entry-level jobs which require the use of “people skills.” Graduates may assist psychologists and other professionals in community mental health centers, vocational rehabilitation offices, correctional facilities or similar social service agencies. Job titles are likely to be something other than “psychologist” which is a professional label and might include case workers, therapy aides, counselors, social workers, rehabilitation assistants, and the like. In business, the job titles might be in the areas of sales, marketing and personnel. Some management training programs also recognize the value of training in psychology. However, we encourage additional academic training, in order to expand your employment opportunities.
Those who pursue further study in psychology might consider exploring career information in any one of the following areas:
Surveys have shown nearly two-thirds of all B.A. graduates in this area are eventually working in business settings or in the sales/service sector. Such students often possess good research and writing skills, good problem solving ability, and have higher-level thinking ability when it comes to analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information. Many find jobs in such fields as:
If you are interested in a career as a psychologist, you should complete graduate study in psychology. Take time to research your choices. The program you select should match your interests and level of academic preparation. A graduate school’s catalogue, brochures, and web sites are usually the best and most direct source of information about each program and their respective admission requirements. However, it is suggested that you discuss your plans with your advisor and seek out more information by contacting the American Psychological Association (APA):
APA Education Directorate
750 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
e-mail: education@apa.org
Both undergraduate and graduate students in psychology can have affiliation with the APA and attend their annual convention. Student affiliates can receive free subscriptions to the American Psychologist journal and GradPsych, the quarterly magazine written especially for psychology students. GradPsych covers information students need to succeed in their career goals and also has extensive job listings.
The APA also sponsors a program called Minority Undergraduate Students of Excellence (MUSE). The MUSE Program is administered by the APA Office of Ethnic Minority Affairs. It provides information on application and financial aid procedures for outstanding minority undergraduate students. For more information contact the APA at www.apa.org
Curricular requirements must comply with all general academic requirements for a bachelor’s degree, including:
The program embodies three broad blocks of curricular requirements or components:
I: General Education Core (64 quarter hours);
II: BHS core and concentration courses 60 quarter hours
III: Elective courses (56 quarter hours), for a total of 180 quarter hours
I: General Education Core courses:
II: BHS Core and selected Psychology concentration area courses
III: Elective courses:
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