Introduction Statement

The Psychology Department is proposing a complete revision of the undergraduate psychology major, as described in this document. The department’s Curriculum Committee has developed the proposal, with significant input from the department chair and the faculty, as well as extensive research and consultation with numerous outside sources (details provided herein).

The chair of the Psychology Department is Kathleen Mosier. The chair of the Psychology Department Curriculum Committee is Kate Hellenga. Curriculum Committee members include: Marina Abalakina, Avi Ben Zeev, Diane Harris, Jae Paik, and Chris Wright.

Contact Information

Kathleen Mosier, Department Chair: kmosier@sfsu.edu 338-1059

Kate Hellenga, Assistant Professor: hellenga@sfsu.edu 338-2887

Nature and Rationale of the Request

We request approval for a general restructuring of the psychology major, such that our major program reflects the current state of the discipline of psychology and holds true to the department’s educational philosophy. We believe that a student graduating with a psychology major should gain both breadth of exposure to the field’s major areas of study, and depth of knowledge through specialized coursework in a subset of those areas. The restructured major, developed through several years of self-study, consultation, and research, would accomplish these goals and create a program of study reflective of the best that CSU and other universities have to offer in our field.

The Psychology Department has a rich history, going back to the 1930s. We are one of the most complex departments at San Francisco State University in terms of our size and array of sub-disciplines. In 1985-1986, the department had 52 permanent faculty (including 13 pre-retirement faculty), and a position allocation of 45.5. Currently, the department has approximately 25.4 FTEF, including 22 tenured/tenure-track faculty members and 4 FERPS. We have 2 full-time committed lecturer positions, and two new faculty members arriving in Fall 2008.

We currently have about 1,650 majors, and regularly employ 10-20 lecturers (5-6 FTEF), depending on budget constraints, to cover the number of courses needed to serve our students. In 1995, the department introduced a new undergraduate major designed to eliminate bottlenecks caused by understaffing and to ensure that students graduate in a timely manner. However, the current program does not address changes in the emphases and disciplines within the field of psychology as described below. That is the primary reason for this new revision.

The field of psychology has grown and changed enormously in recent years. We have seen marked advances in our understanding of the links between physical biology (e.g., neurology and physiology) and psychology (e.g., emotion, behavior, cognition). At the same time, methodological advances (both statistical/quantitative and qualitative) and expanded domains of study (e.g., legal psychology, multicultural responsiveness and validity) have taken hold and thereby reshaped the entire field. In response to these changes, the department developed and has, to date, successfully implemented a long-term hiring plan to ensure that our faculty areas of expertise reflect the state of the art in psychology. The proposed major reflects the hiring trends we have followed over the past several years.

The process for revising the undergraduate psychology major began formally in the fall of 2005. The department’s Curriculum Committee collected data throughout the fall semester from a variety of sources. First, Committee representatives interviewed senior faculty to learn about the history of the psychology major at SFSU and to determine the rationale for the structure of the major in its then-current form. Second, the committee reviewed recommendations for psychology major curricula and learning objectives suggested by the American Psychological Association, the professional association for the field of psychology. Third, feedback about the major was culled from survey and focus group data collected from graduating senior psychology majors. Example topic areas included the strengths of the major, the course need areas, and the extent to which seniors felt that the major prepared them for future work in the field of psychology. Finally, the Curriculum Committee gathered competitive intelligence data on the structure of the psychology major at 35 comparable universities, including all of the CSU campuses. Data included major prerequisites, total units in the major, requirements for electives outside the major, and structure of the major.

The result of this process is a proposed major program that is a better reflection of 21^st century psychology, and covers the broad gamut of knowledge that psychology students should have. The core content areas cross subfield lines, and accomplish curricular goals as defined by the APA. These include: “…synthesizing the natural science and social science aspects of psychology by requiring students to take courses in both knowledge bases, …evaluating research methods…, research designs…, statistics, and psychometric principles…, understanding how the study of psychology enables individuals to make informed judgments which strengthen the community and build public policy.” (from APA, Principles for Quality Undergraduate Psychology Programs) The proposed changes also make our major program much more consistent with the content, units and structure of other psychology major programs in similar institutions.

Reasons for the Changes

The new major seeks to increase students’ understanding of the major requirements and career opportunities in the field; require exposure to more core content areas of psychological inquiry and practice; and avoid increasing in academic requirements (number of units) or forcing complete uniformity upon students. The reasoning behind each aspect of the revision is provided below; detailed comparison of old and new major programs, along with old and new roadmaps to graduation, are provided in later sections of the proposal.

Core Courses

It should be mentioned that we are currently seeking impaction status, but that it has not been approved as yet. This would impact the placement of PSY 200: General Psychology. In this proposal, PSY 200 is classified as a required core course. If we are permitted to declare impaction, PSY 200 will become a prerequisite to declaring the Psychology major, reducing the number of units in the major by three. The curriculum presented in the following sections is based on our current, non-impacted status.

As in the current major, two core courses (PSY 371: Introductory Psychological Statistics, and PSY 400: Introduction to Research in Psychology) will be required for all majors. (Note: PSY 400 will be a three- rather than a four-unit course). In addition, two online courses will be required as described below.

Online Courses. Two proposed online courses (one unit each) are meant to act as “bookends” for the psychology major experience. The first (PSY 303: Psychology: The Major and the Profession), to be taken in the first semester of the major, provides an introduction to the field and discipline of psychology and to the requirements of the major program itself. The second (PSY 690: Future Directions for Psychology Majors), to be taken prior to applying for graduation, helps students to identify their own work styles, marketable skills, and the link between these assets and career choices in psychology. The second course also includes psychology department assessment measures.

In addition to providing information on many aspects of psychology and graduate school/career options, the online courses are designed to complement faculty advising, ensuring that would-be and new psychology majors are familiar with the major structure as they begin taking advanced courses, and that graduating seniors have some preparation for life after graduation. The courses also address APA guidelines: “Foster effective student advising that goes beyond providing information about institutional procedures and policies by motivating students a) to explore and develop their values, interests, abilities, and career and life goals; b) to encourage the student to consider the many postbaccalaureate educational possibilities, including graduate and professional school, and c) to become increasingly independent in their decision making We hope to implement a peer advising program to supplement faculty and online advising. (from APA, Principles for Quality Undergraduate Psychology Programs)

Breadth and Depth Coursework

The current psychology major program is extremely flexible. Of 40 units of study, only ten are courses that all psychology majors must take; 21 units are electives within psychology (15 units) and in related fields (six units). The remaining nine units are divided equally (three units apiece) among three sets of courses, two covering broad content areas and the third comprising the practicum courses. One result of this flexibility is that psychology students can and do “specialize” their study quite early, without exposure to and cross-pollination with important areas of psychological research and theory. Encouraging such specialization is inappropriate at the undergraduate level, and may even be a disservice to the students.

The proposed major program balances flexibility with broad exposure to the field, ensuring a more rigorous and comprehensive curriculum while maintaining parity in terms of total units required for the major. The proposed major realigns courses into four content areas, consistent with current trends in the field as defined by the APA, an area focusing on Statistics, Methodology and Practical Applications, and an area for Special Projects in Psychology. The categorization of basic courses in each content area was made based on the course’s placement in the current major and/or classification of the course content area as a “Division” in APA. Students are required to take one basic course in each of the four content areas (12 units) and six additional basic or breadth courses (18 units) in at least four of the six areas. All active psychology courses are categorized within the six content areas, thus improving their visibility/accessibility and increasing guidance for students’ course selection process. The outcome for students will be a more complete and representative understanding of the field of psychology.

Elimination of Outside Electives

The existing requirement that students take six units in “anthropology, biology, sociology, philosophy, or other related fields by advisement” is eliminated in the revised major. This requirement has been confusing for advisors and students alike, and the term “related fields” has been used inconsistently in justifying the approval of electives outside the four areas listed.

Statement of Benefits

Department and Program

The new curriculum enables the department to offer a curriculum that is more in line with current standards in the field, and with the faculty expertise we have been building within the department. It brings all of the active courses into the scope of a content area, which will increase demand for courses previously classified as electives and enable faculty members to teach more diverse courses in their area of expertise.

The new major eliminates confusion about the outside electives requirement. This requirement was instituted in the past to guarantee that students would gain exposure to some upper division classes outside of psychology. The university-wide Segment III requirement currently accomplishes this goal to a great extent, and psychology students often double-count the Segment III classes toward the outside electives requirement of the major.

Students

Students will be the primary beneficiaries of the new curriculum. As discussed, the new major will ensure broader and more comprehensive exposure to the field of psychology without prolonging time to graduation. At the same time, the requirement of taking basic and breadth courses improves students’ readiness for graduate school. The combination of broad knowledge and exposure to breadth courses will make SFSU psychology graduates more competitive and desirable applicants to graduate schools around the country.

University

SFSU benefits from a strong undergraduate program in psychology which provides a sound, comprehensive, and multi-faceted education to its graduates. The strength of the program is a factor in attracting better students

Descriptions of the Changes

Chart of Current and Revised Curricula

Current Major			Proposed Major
Course	Title	Units	Course	Title	Units
Core Requirements			Core Requirements
			PSY 200	General Psychology (or equivalent)	3
PSY 200	General Psychology	3	PSY 303	Psychology: The Major and the Profession (online)	1
PSY 371	Introductory Psychological Statistics	3	PSY 371	Introductory Psychological Statistics	3
PSY 400	Introduction to Research in Psychology	4	PSY 400	Introduction to Research in Psychology	3
			PSY 690	Future Directions for Psychology Majors (online)	1
			One Basic Course from each of Areas 1 through 4 (below)		12