Revisions and additions were requested by Chancellor’s Office on two separate
occasions prior to approval.
Psychology AA-T
Development Criteria Narrative & Documentation
Criteria A. Appropriateness to Mission
1.
Statement of Program Goals and Objectives The discipline faculty will take care of this
requirement
2.
Catalog Description for Existing Program and New Option: The Articulation Officer will
take care of this requirement
Psychology is the study of our thinking, feeling and behaving. It is the study of human beings, a very complex
phenomenon. Cabrillo College offers a diverse program with several goals: 1) to expose students to the variety
of subfields in psychology; 2) to engender knowledge of and appreciation for the spirit and nature of scientific
inquiry; 3) to facilitate insight into oneself and increase knowledge of and sensitivity to others; and 4) to
introduce students to the basic body of knowledge, thus preparing them for further study in psychology.
Because the field of psychology is broad and diverse, psychologists can and do work in a variety of settings.
Most psychologists have a Master's degree or a Ph.D. This usually requires two to six years of study after a
Bachelor's Degree.
Psychologists may teach, conduct research, perform psychological testing, or do consultation in a variety of
settings including hospitals, social service agencies, businesses, industries, colleges, and universities. Applied
psychology integrates theory, research, and practice to help people with close relationships, with decisionmaking, with death and dying, and with other issues. Applied psychology can also produce superior job
performance in the human services, education, and many other fields.
Cabrillo offers options for degrees in Psychology. An Associate Degree requires 60 units appropriate to your
educational goal, to include general education and at least 18 units in a major. Courses should be selected to meet
the lower-division major preparation requirements at your intended transfer university. These specific course
requirements can be found at www.assist.org for 4-year public institutions in California. Please see a counselor for
advisement to ensure you are taking the best possible courses given your goal.
The first option listed below is the Associate in Arts in Psychology for Transfer (AA-T), which is intended for
students who plan to complete a bachelor’s degree in a similar major at a CSU campus. Students completing these
degrees are guaranteed admission to the CSU system, but not to a particular campus or major. This degree may not
be the best option for students intending to transfer to a particular CSU campus or to a university or college that is
not part of the CSU system. The following is required for all AA-T or AS-T degrees:

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
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Completion of 60 CSU-transferable semester units.
Minimum grade-point average (GPA) of at least 2.0 in all CSU-transferable coursework. While a
minimum of 2.0 is required for admission, some majors may require a higher GPA.
Completion of a minimum of 18 semester units in the major with a grade of "C" or better.
Certified completion of the California State University General Education-Breadth pattern (CSU GE
Breadth) or the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) pattern.
3.
Program Requirements The Articulation Officer/Curriculum specialist will take care of this
requirement
Requirements for the Associate in Arts in Psychology for Transfer (AA-T):
Unit Summary Table:
Or
4.
Major courses Total:
19-22 units
CSU GE Breadth courses
37-39 units
CSU IGETC courses
37 units
Electives – CSU transferable
2-21 units
Double-Counted major and GE:
15-17 units
Total Degree (maximum)
60 units
Background and Rationale The Discipline faculty will take care of this requirement
Discipline faculty aligned the AA-T in Psychology to the TMC because of the
clear and substantial benefits this alignment would provide community college
students with the intent of transferring to a CSU. After reviewing the TMC, we
ascertained that Cabrillo College already offers all of the courses identified on the
TMC. We examined the C-ID numbers for the classes that we offer to ensure that
the descriptions and learning outcomes of our classes are consistent with those
that have been identified as core major preparation. We know that we have
enough coverage of the suggested TMC courses to adequately offer the required
core and elective classes that students need to complete the AA-T in Psychology
in a timely manner. Psychology is a popular major at Cabrillo and ranks third in
the most awarded transferable degrees for 2011-2012.
Also, both of Cabrillo’s local CSU’s, CSU Monterey Bay and San Jose State
have declared that the TMC based Psychology AA-T is a “Similar” Transfer
Associate Degree.
Criteria B. Need The discipline faculty will take care of this requirement
6. Place of Program in Curriculum/Similar Programs
The new AA-T in Psychology degree will be housed in the Psychology
Department under the division of Human Arts and Social Sciences. The new
degree is in addition to Cabrillo’s existing AA Degrees in Psychology, which
include a non-transferable AA degree and two transferable AA Degrees. Other
than the newly approved Psychological Statistics course (PSYCH 2A) this AA-T
degree requires courses already taught at the college, that are re-packaged into
the TMC-aligned degree.
Criteria D. Adequate Resources The discipline faculty will take care of this requirement
The college has the faculty assignments available to adequately offer the
required core and elective classes that students need to complete the AA-T in
Psychology in a timely manner. No additional resources will be required beyond
those currently available. This includes library and learning resources, facilities,
equipment and financial support. All of the faculty that will teach in this program
meet the State minimum qualifications and possess knowledge in this program
area.
E. Compliance: The discipline faculty will take care of this requirement
The proposed Associate Degree for Transfer is based on the approved Transfer
Model Curriculum provided by the Academic Senate for California Community
Colleges in accordance with SB1440 and California Education Code sections
66746-66749. There are no licensing or accrediting standards that apply to this
program. No additional student selection criteria is required. This program
complies with California Code of Regulations, title 5, sections 55201 and 58106.
Additionally, there are no additional fees required beyond those identified in
California Education Code section 76300.
Revised 1/8/2013