Handbook for the Prospective Undergraduate Psychology Major at Emporia State University • Mission Statement and Standards for the Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Arts in Psychology Major • Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts Curricula • 23 Reasons for Majoring in the Bachelor of Science /Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at Emporia State University • Scholarship Information • Books and Videotapes in the Undergraduate Advising and Career Information Center to support your academics and career planning • Web Sites for Careers in Psychology • The Graduate Psychology Programs at Emporia State University • Salary Information for Psychology Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree Graduates Provided by the National Association of Colleges and Employers • I'm Getting My Bachelor's Degree in Psychology–What Can I do With It? Visit the department's web site at http://www.emporia.edu/psych Mission Statement and Standards for the Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology at Emporia State University The mission of the Bachelor of Science in Psychology degree is to produce graduates who think scientifically, creatively, and ethically about behavior and cognitive processes and express themselves clearly in their oral and written presentations to others. Standard 1. Our majors will demonstrate a broad knowledge base in psychology. A. Content domain knowledge in psychological testing, social psychology, learning, sensation and perception, cognition, developmental psychology, neuropsychology B. Research Methods/Statistics C. History and Systems of Psychology D. Information gathering Standard 2. Our majors will demonstrate the skills to be scientific and creative thinkers while exercising sound judgment. A. Logic (deduction, induction, synthesis) B. Judgment C. Intuition D. Information literacy–discerning factual information from propaganda Standard 3. Our majors will demonstrate the skills to be clear writers and articulate presenters. A. Writing B. Presenting Standard 4. Our majors will demonstrate understanding of diverse views and values as well as of ethical standards in the use of human and animal participants. A. Human diversity B. Ethical basis for making judgments C. Treatment of human and animal participants D. APA’s ethical guidelines Standard 5. Our majors will demonstrate the intrapersonal skills of self-reflection and selfassessment. A. Self-reflection B. Self-assessment 2 This page is intentionally blank. 3 23 Reasons for Majoring in the Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology at Emporia State University 1. The department has a comprehensive Mission Statement and program standards aligned to national guidelines for best practices in undergraduate psychology curriculum. 2. The BS in psychology curriculum adheres to the American Psychological Association’s (APA) position that the fundamental goal of education in psychology, from which all the others follow, is to teach students to think as scientists about behavior. 3. Majors take the course PY102 Introduction to the Psychology Major class for one credit hour. The course is offered to all new freshmen and transfer students every fall and spring semester and includes critical thinking activities, demonstrations, library/writing skills, field trips, job available with the BS degree, and APA format. Students also plan a social outing with faculty and other majors. 4. The department has an Advising and Career Information Center in the department. Advisement of all psychology majors is done by trained faculty. Advisement includes providing career information and the center has a library containing all current books to help psychology majors understand all the opportunities available to them with their degree. 5. All psychology majors participate in a mentoring program with psychology faculty in anticipation of the undergraduate internship. 6. Every major completes a Senior year internship—either field based or research based. The PY490 Internship Handbook and PY490 Catalog of Internship Sites are available at http://www.emporia.edu/psyspe/documents.htm 7. The department has a newly updated web site at http://www.emporia.edu/psych 8. Computing for psychology majors features eight new computers with speakers and DVDs connected to the internet with a laser printer and scanner. 9. CD-ROMs for practicing computer-administered practice exams of the Graduate Record Examination are available in the Advising Center. 10. Psychology courses are taught in modern multimedia classrooms. 11. Majors annually attend conventions of the Association for Psychological and Educational Research in Kansas, Southwestern Psychological Association, and American Psychological Association. 12. Majors are invited and encouraged to join student organizations including Psychology Club, Psi Chi, the Student Society for Industrial/Organizational Psychology, the Student Art Therapy Organization, Mental Health Counseling Student Organization, and the School Psychology Student Society. 4 13. ESU’s chapter of Psi Chi, the National Honor Society in Psychology, received the 2005 Psi Chi/Ruth Hubbard Cousins National Chapter Award. The chapter was the 2000 Midwest Regional Chapter of the Year and had been working on a five year plan to become National Chapter of the Year. 14. Psychology faculty are well trained, widely published, and recipients of state, regional, and national awards. 15. Psychology majors present their research papers at the annual ESU Students’ Psychology Symposium and the Great Plains Students’ Psychology Convention. 16. Psychology majors learn Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) for Windows for analyzing their data. 17. Psychology majors have opportunity to train a rat for the Rat Olympics held every semester. 18. Psychology majors are encouraged to work on their own research or the research of graduate students and faculty in experimental psychology, clinical psychology, industrial/organizational psychology, and school psychology. 19. Professional development sessions for all majors occur every Tuesday and Thursday from 11 to noon. No class is scheduled in the department during this time so all students can attend. 20. The department has a rich schedule of summer courses to accommodate student needs as they move through the program. 21. The department adheres to no-conflict scheduling to ensure psychology majors can enroll in every psychology course they need when they need it. 22. Every spring semester, the department offers PY 502 Professional Psychologist to prepare juniors for jobs or graduate schools by working with students to develop their vitas/resumes, personal statements, and transcripts. 23. The department has adopted 10 writing standards to be used by all undergraduate and graduate majors in their written work. The learning guide and grading rubric are available at http://www.emporia.edu/psych/documents.htm. 5 The Emporia State University Hornet Scholarship Through the generosity of many Emporia State University alumni, faculty, staff and friends, first-time freshmen and transfer students who are enrolled full time are eligible for the Emporia State University Hornet Scholarship. For freshmen, the Hornet Scholarship is based on a combination of an official ACT composite score, an official final high school transcript and GPA, and completion of the scholarship application. For transfers, the scholarship is based on the final cumulative transfer GPA, completion of 12 or more credit hours and completion of the scholarship application. Students starting Fall 2011 may re-apply for renewal of the scholarship an additional two semesters (total of four consecutive semesters excluding summer) through an application subject to retaining sufficient academic performance. Students starting at ESU Spring 2012, are eligible for half of the total scholarship, and may re-apply for an additional two semesters. Freshmen ESU Hornet Scholarship Index New Freshmen: 2011 high school/home school/GED graduates, or previous graduates without college credit are eligible to apply for the Freshmen Hornet or General Scholarship. HS GPA ACT 22 ACT 23 ACT 24 ACT 25 ACT 26 ACT 27 ACT 28 3.75 – 4.00 3.50 – 3.74 3.25 – 3.49 3.00 – 3.24 $700 $700 $700 $700 $700 $700 $700 $700 $1,000 $800 $800 $800 $1,200 $1,200 $1,000 $800 $1,400 $1,200 $1,000 $1,000 $1,600 $1,600 $1,000 $1,000 $1,800 $1,600 $1,400 $1,100 ACT 29 and Above $2,000 $1,800 $1,600 $1,200 New freshmen students who were selected as Valedictorian or ranked 1 in their graduating class are eligible for an additional $500 award. Students selected as Salutatorian or ranked 2 in their class are eligible for an additional $250 award. Transfer ESU Hornet Scholarship Index New Transfers: Students with credit earned after high school graduation are eligible to apply for the Transfer Hornet or General Scholarship. Transfer GPA Transfer Hours 12 – 24* Transfer Hours 25 – 40* Transfer Hours 41 – 50* Transfer Hours 50+* 3.86 – 4.00 3.75 – 3.85 3.50 – 3.74 3.25 – 3.49 $1,000 $700 $700 $700 $1,000 $700 $700 $700 $1,700 $1,200 $1,000 $700 $2,000 $1,200 $1,000 $700 *Transfer Hours are those hours accepted by Emporia State University Students who are Phi Theta Kappa members are eligible for an additional one-time $1,000 scholarship. Students selected for the PTK All-Kansas Academic Team are eligible for an additional $500 for an overall award of $1,500. These scholarships may be combined with the Hornet Scholarship. Please Note: To be considered for any scholarship, a Scholarship Application is required. The Scholarship Application is available on the Admissions Webpage: www.emporia.edu/admiss or the Office of Financial Aid Webpage: www.emporia.edu/scholarships. 6 Books and Videotapes for Psychology Majors in the Undergraduate Advising and Career Information Center to Support Academics and Career Planning About The Psychology Major Is Psychology the Major for You? Getting the College Edge Navigating Your Future Career Counseling of College Students The Handbook of Psychology Making the Most of College Video: Communicating for Science Video: Psychology-Scientific Problem Solvers Video Skillbuilders: Test Taking, Health and Wellbeing, Time Management, Note Taking, Exploring Majors Video: Annual Clips for Coursework for the Helping Professions (1 and 2) Preparing for the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) The GRE Test for Dummies REA Coaching and Study Guide for the GRE General Test Getting Into Graduate School and Graduate Study Graduate Study in Psychology Getting In: A Step By Step Plan for Gaining Admission to Graduate School in Psychology (1st and 2nd ed.) Preparing for Graduate Study in Psychology: 101 Questions and Answers Graduate Programs in the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Allyn & Bacon Guide to Master's Programs in Psychology & Counseling Psychology Preparing for Graduate Study in Psychology The Internship, Practicum, and Field Placement Handbook (5th ed.) Careers in Psychology Career Paths in Psychology The Psychologist's Guide to an Academic Career Psychology: Fields of Application Opportunities in Psychology Careers Taking Charge of Your Career Direction Career Planning Guide On Course: Strategies for Creating Success in College and in Life Knowledge in Psychology Encyclopedia of Psychology (Vol. 1-8) Evaluating Scientific Research 7 Web Sites for Careers in Psychology If you are interested in a career in psychology, the following web sites have information about what psychology graduates are doing. The American Psychological Association http://www.apa.org/careers/resources/guides/careers.pdf http://www.apa.org/about/students.aspx http://www.apa.org/education/undergrad/psych-career.aspx Linda Walsh, University of Northern Iowa, Department of Psychology http://www.uni.edu/walsh/linda1.html Books on Careers for Psychology Majors http://www.stthomas.edu/psychology/careers/ Book on Careers in Psychology http://www.psychwww.com/careers/books.htm University of Tennessee Knoxville Career Services http://career.utk.edu/students/majors/links/psychology.htm www.whatcanidowiththismajor.com/major/psychology 8 Graduate Degree Programs in Psychology at Emporia State University The quality of the training and advising at the undergraduate level is supported and enhanced by strong master's degree programs in psychology. There are two psychology graduate degree programs at Emporia State University. The Master of Science in Psychology has concentrations in Experimental and Industrial/Organizational Psychology. In order to apply, a student is required to have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or 3.25 on the last 60 hours of course work and have completed a minimum of 27 hours of psychology, which must include introductory, developmental or social psychology, statistics, experimental psychology, learning or cognitive psychology or memory, abnormal psychology or personality, psychological testing or foundations/history of psychology, and any additional 6 hours of other psychology course work. The degree requires a minimum of 36 credit hours, including a research thesis and an internship. Experimental: http://www.emporia.edu/psych/experim.htm Industrial/Organizational: http://www.emporia.edu/psych/indust.htm The Master of Science in Clinical Psychology is a 60 hour program leading to the Licensed Master’s Level Psychologist credential. In order to apply, a student is required to have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or 3.25 on the last 60 hours of course work and have completed a minimum of 27 hours of psychology including introductory, developmental psychology, statistics, experimental psychology, psychological testing, abnormal psychology, theories of personality, and foundations/history of psychology. http://www.emporia.edu/psyspe/Clinical_Psychology.htm The combined Master of Science/Specialist in Education degrees in School Psychology require 69 hours, including a research thesis and practicum. In order to apply, a student is required to have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or 3.25 on the last 60 hours of course work, and completed 23 semester hours of work in psychology including introductory, statistics, developmental psychology, psychological testing, abnormal psychology, personality theory, history of psychology, and/or experimental psychology. In addition, applicants must be EITHER certified as a regular classroom teacher at some level OR have completed the Survey of 9 Exceptionalities course and a field experience with exceptional students. This may be done concurrently with the school psychology program. http://www.emporia.edu/psych/school.htm 10 Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology Salary Information The average salary offer for Undergrad Psychology majors is $40,611 Average Starting Salary Offer for BS or BA in Psychology Graduates The average salary offer for jobs offered in Counseling: $32,500 The average salary offer for jobs offered in Human Resources/Industrial Relations: $41,930 The average salary offer for jobs offered in Other Health Related: $40,140 The average salary offer for jobs offered in Social Work: $38,912 The average salary offer for jobs offered in Teaching and Educational Services: $32,661 Source: Spring 2011 Salary Survey, National Association of Colleges and Employers Master’s Degree in Psychology Salary Information The average salary offer for Graduate Psychology majors is $42,749 Psychologist Earnings Median annual earnings of wage and salary clinical, counseling, and school psychologists in 2009 were $66,040. The middle 50 percent earned between $43,560 and $72,970. Median annual earnings of wage and salary industrial-organizational psychologists in 2002 were $83,260. The middle 50 percent earned between $53,540 and $94,880. Counselor Earnings Median annual earnings of mental health counselors in 2002 were $38,010. The middle 50 percent earned between $28,950 and $45,160. Median annual earnings of child, family, and school social workers were $39,960 in 2002. The middle 50 percent earned between $34,310 and $50,940. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2009 wage data on OnetOnline.org 11 I'm Getting My Bachelor's Degree in Psychology--What Can I Do With It? by R. Eric Landrum - Boise State University The answer is - plenty! While some undergraduates continue their education in graduate school, the majority of students do not go to graduate school (only about 25% of undergraduate psychology majors nationally go to graduate school). This article is about the options, opportunities, and challenges for the rest--the remaining 75% who seek a good job with their bachelor's degree in hand. At the undergraduate level, many students select psychology as a major because of their interest in someday becoming a psychologist. If you carefully read Eye on Psi Chi articles, talk to other students majoring in psychology, and listen to your professors, you'll understand that you will not be qualified to be a psychologist at the conclusion of your undergraduate training. It's best to think of your undergraduate education in psychology as learning "about" psychology, not learning "to do" psychology. McGovern, Furumoto, Halpern, Kimble, and McKeachie (1991) made this point clear when they stated that "a liberal arts education in general, and the study of psychology in particular, is a preparation for lifelong learning, thinking, and action; it emphasizes specialized and general knowledge and skills" (p. 600). A quality undergraduate education in psychology should prepare you to be a good citizen and a critical thinker. Fortunately, the skills and abilities that psychology majors acquire through their coursework and out-of-class experiences make them marketable for a wide variety of employment options. Even though the bachelor's degree in psychology is not a professional degree, it is still a good choice in becoming a well-rounded, well-educated citizen and person. Why? Although psychology departments at colleges and universities differ, McGovern et al. (1991) identified common goals for undergraduate students to accomplish. These goals include: A knowledge base. There is a wide array of information in psychology that you need to understand to truly be a student of human behavior. In other words, a future employer might actually expect you to know something about human behavior! Thinking skills. Critical thinking and reasoning, analysis of outcomes through experimental methods and statistics give psychology students the tools to make reasoned decisions. Language skills. As scientists, psychologists must be able to communicate findings to the broader scientific community; students must develop reading, writing, and presentation skills. Information gathering and synthesis. Psychology students need to be able to gather information from a number of sources (e.g., library, computerized databases, the Internet) and be able to synthesize this information into coherent lines of reasoning. Research methods and statistical skills. The development of quantitative and qualitative methods of data analysis and interpretation is central to the discipline. Interpersonal skills. Psychology students need to be sensitive to the diversity of the environment in which they live and be able to use this increased sensitivity and selfknowledge to monitor their own behavior. History of psychology. Psychology majors need to understand the contexts out of which popular ideas and people have emerged. George Santayana once said, "Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it." 12 Ethics and values. Psychology majors need to understand the ethical treatment of research participants, to understand conflicts of interests, and to generate options that maximize human dignity and human welfare and adhere to high standards of academic and scientific integrity. This is an important list. If you want to make the most of your undergraduate education, you should try and accomplish as many of these goals as possible. In fact, you might base curricular decisions (in part) by how well the courses and other experiences help you achieve your goals. I've covered what educators want to instill in their students. To be successful, instructors hope that our students want to achieve the same skills, abilities, and qualities. But what about employers? What do they want? In an article I wrote with undergraduate student Renee Harrold, we surveyed employers around the country and asked them what skills and abilities are important when hiring psychology bachelor's degree holders. Our list is on the left side of Table 1. On the right side of the table is another listing published by JobWeb. Notice the similarities between the two lists. In our study, we also surveyed students about their perceptions of what they thought employers think is important. Out of these top 10 skills and abilities, students significantly underestimated their importance compared to actual employers. Students need to be aware of these gaps in importance, and if a good job is the goal, better align their perceptions with employer's perceptions. Now we have an idea of the most important skills and abilities needed, but we need to know who is doing the hiring, in what types of jobs, and what the salary levels are. Schwartz (2000) reported that the top 10 occupations that employ persons with only a bachelor's degree in psychology are: Top- and mid-level managers, executives, administrators Sales occupations, including retail Social workers Other management-related occupations Personnel, training, labor-relations specialists Other administrative (record clerks, telephone operators) Insurance, securities, real estate, business services Other marketing and sales occupations Registered nurses, pharmacists, therapists, physician assistants Accountants, auditors, other financial specialists While the opportunities are available, Schwartz (2000) estimates that only about 25% of psychology undergraduates end up working in a field closely related to psychology. As you can understand from the skills and abilities found in Table 1, these qualities make psychology majors marketable well beyond the boundaries of psychology. Table 2 presents a wide array of job titles suitable for psychology bachelor's degree holders. Note the variety in the opportunities available! This listing might give you some leads and ideas of avenues to pursue that perhaps you hadn't thought of before. Hopefully there are some items on this list that you've never thought about. It is important to be open to possibilities that you might not typically think of. Psychology majors leave college with a valuable set of skills and abilities, and making the most of your 13 undergraduate experience can help to enhance your marketability. We've had a glimpse of what you can do; now, how much can you make? This is a difficult question to answer because no one organization tracks this information formally and officially. Unfortunately, this leads to great variability in salaries for psychology bachelor's degree holders. The two most current estimates come from Schwartz (2000) and JobWeb (2001b). Schwartz reported that the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that in 1999, the average starting salary for psychology bachelor's degree holders was $20,600. JobWeb reported that the average salary offer to 2001 psychology bachelor's graduates was $30,338. Did the average starting salary really go up $10,000 in one year? No. This variation is due to the different techniques with which the data are collected. Since there is no uniform data collection mechanism, estimates vary. Also, please realize that there are significant regional differences in job offers and in the economy in general. Reality is probably somewhere in the middle of these two estimates. A college degree is a special accomplishment. Only 13% of the United States population holds a college degree. This achievement puts you in the educationally elite in this country. Additionally, your degree tells employers much about you. You have the ability to set a goal and achieve it, and you did not give up on a long-term goal that had hurdles to overcome (Aubrecht, 2001). At the same time, psychology is a popular major. For the past few years there have been over 70,000 psychology bachelor's degree graduates each year. Remember, most of you will be competing with these graduates for the best jobs. What will you do to make yourself stand out in the competition? This article is the first of a three-part series, and in later articles I'll offer some concrete advice on how you can set yourself apart from the crowd, gain the skills and abilities that you need, and increase your marketability to achieve success. One important lesson to remember is that in almost every type of job, you have to start at the bottom and work your way up. That is, you are not going to land the perfect job the first time you apply for it. You may think that your first job after completing college is beneath you. This is not a healthy attitude to have if you want to achieve long-term success. Be patient as you practice and perfect your set of practical skills and abilities while establishing your track record. This is a time during your employment career to show others your work ethic and establish a solid work history. It's easy to enjoy and succeed at a great job--can you find a way to enjoy and succeed at a job that is not as great as you want? Remember, when Bill Gates started Microsoft, he wasn't the world's wealthiest person. It took time, hard work, and some luck to be in the right place at the right time. You know what you need to do--now make it happen! 14 References Appleby, D. (1999, April). Advice and strategies for job-seeking psychology majors. In S. VanderStoep (Chair), Good jobs with a bachelor's degree in psychology. Symposium conducted at the meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL. Aubrecht, L. (2001, Winter). What can you do with a BA in psychology? Eye on Psi Chi, 5, 2931. JobWeb. (2001a). What employers want. Retrieved July 11, 2001, from http://www.jobweb.com/catapult/guenov/comp.html [webmaster's note: the URL for this link has changed to http://www.jobweb.com/Resumes_Interviews/resume_guide/comp.htm] JobWeb. (2001b). Salaries to new college grads climb in spite of slower economy. Retrieved August 8, 2001, from http://www.jobweb.com/employ/salary/01summer.htm [webmaster's note: the URL for this link is no longer available; the most recent salary information can be found here: http://www.jobweb.com/SalaryInfo/03fallss.htm] Landrum, R. E., & Harrold, R. (2001). What employers want from psychology graduates (and what students think employers want). Manuscript submitted for publication. Lloyd, M. A. (1997). Entry level positions obtained by psychology majors. Retrieved July 29, 2001, from http://www.psychwww.com/careers/entry.htm McGovern, T. V., Furumoto, L., Halpern, D. F., Kimble, G. A., & McKeachie, W. J. (1991). Liberal education, study in depth, and the arts and sciences major-Psychology. American Psychologist, 46, 598-605. Occupational Outlook Handbook. (1998). Social and human service assistants. Retrieved September 20, 1998, from http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos059.htm Schwartz, S. K. (2000). Working your degree. Retrieved January 16, 2001, from http://cnnfn.cnn.com/2000/12/08/career/q_degreepsychology/ Shepard, B. (1996). Employment opportunities for psychology majors. Retrieved March 30, 1998, from http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~cjackson/employ.html#employ-top 15 **** Table 2 Categories of Job Titles Relevant to Psychology Bachelor's Degree Holders Related to psychology Academic advisor Alcohol/drug abuse counselor Behavior analyst Career counselor Career planning and placement counselor Case management aide Case worker Child care worker Child protection worker Community outreach worker Community support worker Related to business Administrative assistant Advertising agent Advertising trainee Affirmative action representative Airline reservations clerk Bank management Claims specialist Customer relations Customer service representative Employee counselor 16 Other areas Activity director Assistant youth coordinator Camp staff director College admissions officer Community organizer Community recreation worker Community relations officer Congressional aide Crime prevention coordinator Director of alumni relations Director of fundraising Driving instructor Corrections officer Employee relations assistant Counselor aide Energy researcher Day care center supervisor Events coordinator Director of volunteer services Financial researcher Eligibility worker Hotel management Employment counselor Human relations director Family services worker Human resources recruiter Gerontology aide Insurance agent Group home coordinator Insurance claims/underwriter Housing/student life coordinator Intelligence officer Life skill counselor Job analyst Mental health technician Loan officer Mental retardation unit manager Lobbying organizer Parole officer Management trainee Political campaign worker Marketing representative Probation officer Marketing researcher Program manager Media buyer Public affairs coordinator Occupational analyst Public relations specialist Office manager Publications researcher Personnel Radio/TV research assistant worker/administrator Rehabilitation advisor Property management Residential counselor Public information officer Residential youth counselor Sales representative Secondary school teacher Small business owner Social services assistant Staff training and Social services director development Social work assistant Store manager Urban planning research assistant Technical writer Veterans advisor Warehouse manager Educational coordinator Fast food restaurant manager Foster home parent Film researcher/copywriter Historical research assistant Hospital patient service representative Juvenile probation officer Laboratory assistant Law enforcement officer Neighborhood outreach worker Newspaper reporter Nursing home administrator Park and recreation director Private tutor Research assistant Security officer Statistical assistant Statistical reports compiler Store manager Task force coordinator Teaching Technical writer Vocational rehabilitation counselor Volunteer coordinator Warehouse manager Work activity program director Youth minister Sources: Appleby, 1999; Aubrecht, 2001; Lloyd, 1997; Occupational Outlook Handbook, 1998; Shepard, 1996. 17