愛荷華大學

Learning Outcomes

The learning outcomes in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences align with several of the learning goals from the American Psychological Association’s guidelines for undergraduate psychology education. These learning outcomes expand and deepen students' foundational knowledge obtained through the GE CLAS Core program.

Psychology majors will:

understand psychology as an empirical science;
graduate with a knowledge base in psychology, including an understanding of the major principles and theories in the field’s main content areas;
have learned how to use scientific reasoning to understand psychological phenomena and how to interpret and conduct psychological research; and
be able to apply their knowledge of psychology to real world situations and recognize the importance of ethical standards and diversity in psychology.

Overview

Psychology is one of the largest undergraduate majors, both nationally and at the University of Iowa, and an undergraduate degree in psychology provides students with skills that are relevant to many career paths. The major in psychology is designed to contribute to students' general liberal arts and sciences education and to provide a foundation for postbaccalaureate training in psychology and closely related disciplines as well as in areas such as business, law, communication, medicine, and the allied health sciences. Students who intend to enter the job market immediately after completing an undergraduate degree should complement their psychology major with substantial preparation in another program more closely tied to the world of work (e.g., education, social work, business, journalism, nursing). Almost all vocational opportunities in psychology require advanced degrees.

The psychology major for the Bachelor of Science is intended for students who plan to pursue advanced work in psychology or in a related discipline. It requires a specific grade-point average for admission and certain courses in experimental psychology, mathematics, and natural science. The program leaves time for students to supplement the psychology major with another program of study.

Students who change to a psychology major after two years of undergraduate work may find they do not have sufficient background for the B.S. program.

Students begin with a general introductory course, followed by methodology and data analysis courses, and introductory courses in several broad areas: developmental science, clinical psychology, cognitive psychology, and social psychology. These courses are followed by a behavioral neuroscience course and upper-level psychology course work selected by each student.

The Bachelor of Science with a major in psychology requires a minimum of 120 s.h., including 55-57 s.h. of work for the major, with at least 41 s.h. in psychology courses. Students must maintain a g.p.a. of at least 2.00 in all courses for the major and in all UI courses for the major.

The major in psychology is designed to contribute to students' general liberal arts and sciences education and to provide a foundation for postbaccalaureate training in psychology and closely related disciplines as well as areas such as business, law, communication, medicine, and the allied health sciences.

Undergraduate psychology students who do not intend to enroll in graduate school immediately after earning their bachelor’s degree frequently earn a second major in a discipline that has broad opportunities for employment, such as education, social work, business, journalism, or nursing.