PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT

MINOR REQUIREMENTS

The minor in Psychology requires completion of Introduction to Psychology with a minimum grade of C; plus 20 upper-division psychology course units, also with a minimum grade of C. Courses must be taken for a letter grade unless Credit-No Credit is the only grading option. A Change of Minor form should be completed and signed by the Department Chair. An advising file will be made for you once you've been accepted into the minor.

For information on how to meet with an advisor in order to plan a coherent field of study in Psychology, see the Advising Guidelines.

Department Learning Goals

The Department is committed to students developing the following skills while being a Psychology major. Individual courses within the curriculum target one or more of these skills. Students are encouraged to take courses which develop all of these competencies.

1. Be familiar with the major concepts, theories, and perspectives in psychology.
2. Be able to apply psychological theories, concepts, and principles to individual experience as well as to broader social issues and social systems.
3. Be able to reflect on personal experience in light of psychological knowledge.
4. Be able to recognize and understand the complexity of cultural diversity, in light of psychological knowledge.
5. Be able to understand and apply basic research methods in psychology and the social sciences.
6. Be able to demonstrate skills that promote behavioral change at the individual, organizational, and community levels.

GE Information

The GE requirements differ according to the time you’ve attended SSU. Students attending from their freshman year complete 51 units of GE; transfer students complete 48 units of GE. All the GE requirements are listed on the pattern sheets or the GE Transfer Evaluation sheet. The pattern sheets are in the handouts outside of the Psych office, Stevenson 3092, or download from www.sonoma.edu/sas/advising/ge/gepattern.shtml .

When you reach Junior status (the semester you reach 60 units) you must take 3 upper division GE courses (courses at the 300 level and above) in at least two different GE areas—save room for them when you plan your GE courseload. Upper-division GE Psychology courses (Psy 302; Psy 303; Psy 326) can be double-counted as courses for the minor.