Department of Psychology

Mission Statement

The psychology program at Coastal Carolina University is comprised of a group of highly qualified and motivated teacher-scholars dedicated to a comprehensive range of specialty areas within the field of psychology. Our mission is to provide a premier undergraduate psychology education for students from the region, state, nation, and world, by creating and disseminating information about human behavior, thought, and emotion. Consistent with the University’s comprehensive orientation, our curriculum provides students with theoretical knowledge and practical skills necessary to investigate questions important to the human condition from a scientific perspective, emphasizing critical thinking and communication skills in a collaborative environment. In addition, we strive to foster the personal and professional growth of our students by offering extensive and varied opportunities for integrative experiential learning, including faculty/student collaborative research, community-based internships and access to prestigious scholarships for international studies.

Student Learning Outcomes

Students will:

Learn to read and interpret psychological research studies.
Develop critical thinking skills related to evaluating research in psychology.
Demonstrate knowledge of APA writing style.
Apply appropriate statistical analyses for data sets.
Effectively present research and/or research proposals in a public forum.
Demonstrate appropriate applications of the APA Code of Ethics.
Demonstrate content knowledge in the major sub-disciplines of psychology.

A major in psychology offers students a thorough foundation in research design/ methodology and statistics. In addition, psychology majors will be exposed to the major content areas in psychology, specifically basic principles of learning and experimental psychology, developmental and social psychology, and areas in clinical assessment. Graduates of the program often seek employment with mental health and social service agencies, or pursue graduate degrees to prepare for careers in teaching, research, counseling, and consulting.

Programs

Majors/Degrees

Minors

Psychology Minor

Certificates

Gerontology Certificate

Courses

Psychology