The mission and educational goals of the Bachelor of Science in Psychology program are as follows:

The mission of the Bachelor of Science in Psychology is to provide students with an education from a holistic orientation, with particular emphasis on building practical skills that utilize basic psychological principles to enhance human performance potential and to develop characteristics that will prepare students to be positive transformational leaders.

1. Students will demonstrate familiarity with the major concepts, theoretical perspectives, empirical findings and historical trends in psychology;
2. Students will understand and apply basic research methods in psychology, including research design, data analysis and interpretation;
3. Students will respect and use critical and creative thinking and skeptical inquiry;
4. Students will understand and apply psychological principles to personal, social and organizational issues;
5. Students will be able to communicate effectively in a variety of formats;
6. Students will recognize, understand, and respect the complexity of socio-cultural and international diversity;
7. Students will develop insight into their own and others’ behavior and mental process and apply effective strategies for self-management and self-improvement;
8. Students will emerge from the major with realistic ideas about how to implement their psychological knowledge, skills and values in occupational pursuits in a variety of positions and settings, especially leadership positions and entrepreneurial settings;
9. Students will demonstrate an understanding concerning the “vitalistic,” as opposed to the mechanistic, perspective on human functioning in which the mind, body and spirit operate dynamically to create quality of health and wellbeing; and
10. Students will demonstrate an understanding of personal integrity and how to manage it effectively to promote excellence in the personal and professional realm.

Bachelor of Science in Psychology Degree Curriculum

Areas I, II, III

Core Curriculum Offerings    

“Psychology students are required to take ENG 121 Public Speaking in Area I and PSY 101 Intro to Psychology in Area III B”

Area IV: Psychology Core

50 Quarter Credit Hours

• MSC 201 - Introduction to Statistics
• PSY 241 - Quantitative Methods in Psychology
• PSY 242 - Research Methods in Psychology
• PSY 290 - Life Span Developmental Psychology
• PSY 356 - Personality Psychology
• PSY 357 - Introduction to Social Psychology
• PSY 358 - Psychology of Religion and Spirituality
• PSY 455 - Abnormal Psychology
• PSY 456 - Biopsychology
• PSY 457 - Psychology of Motivation and Emotion

Area V: Applied Psychology Requirement

42 Quarter Credit Hours

• PSY 160 - Careers in Psychology
• PSY 203 - Compassion and Secular Ethics
• PSY 255 - Positive Psychology
• PSY 256 - Psychology of Excellence
• PSY 311 - Introduction to Life Coaching
• PSY 320 - Health Psychology
• PSY 359 - Health Practitioner/Patient Relationship
• PSY 366 - Behavior Modification
• PSY 499 - Senior Capstone Seminar

Area VI: Psychology Electives

20 Quarter Credit Hours

Any psychology course in the University curriculum, not previously used toward degree requirements.

• PSY 257 - Psychology of Adjustment
• PSY 312 - Advanced Life Coaching
• PSY 313 - Career Coaching
• PSY 329 - Environmental Psychology
• PSY 340 - Sport Psychology
• PSY 367 - Legal and Ethical Issues in Coaching
• PSY 369 - International and Cross-Cultural Psychology
• PSY 375 - Marriage and Family
• PSY 376 - Human Sexuality
• PSY 377 - Introduction to Counseling
• PSY 458 - Psychological Tests and Measurement
• PSY 459 - Leadership and Group Process
• PSY 465 - Psychology in the Workplace
• PSY 466 - Psychology of Mind/Body
• PSY 468 - Psychosocial Aspects of Pain Management
• PSY 495 - Directed Study
• PSY 496 - Directed Research

Area VII: General Electives

5 Quarter Credit Hours

Any undergraduate course, 100 level or above, not used previously.

Bachelor of Science in Psychology (Coaching Track)

To obtain a coaching track concentration, students are required to take the following:

• PSY 312 - Advanced Life Coaching
• PSY 367 - Legal and Ethical Issues in Coaching

• AND

• PSY 497 - Coaching Practicum I
• PSY 498 - Coaching Practicum II

Additional Completion Requirements

1. Completion of at least four years of prescribed study, of which a student must earn at least 25% of coursework in residence at Life University, with at least 25 quarter credit hours of psychology courses in residency.
2. Satisfactory completion of all psychology courses in Areas IV – VI with a minimum grade of C.
3. Satisfactory completion of all courses with a minimum overall cumulative GPA of 2.0.
4. A recommendation for graduation and completion of an exit interview with Psychology faculty.
5. File a petition to graduate.
6. Student Administrative records reviews
   1. Registrar Office – Complete a formal records review
   2. Financial Aid Office – Exit interviews with a Counselor
   3. Student Accounting – “Perkins” Exit interview
7. Confirm CLP 090, FYE 101  and FYE 103  completion status requirements