Online Bachelor's in Psychology
Why should you get this degree?
Are you curious about the human mind, or why people do the things they do? Are you committed to the idea that you want to be a responsive, considerate mental health professional, or an advocate for your community? Are you passionate about engaging in innovative research on the mind and human behavior? If so, a bachelor's degree in psychology may be right for you. The Department of Psychology at Fort Hays State University provides compelling, hands-on experiential programs that will arm you with practical skills and theory.
Which courses will you take?
General Education
Are you a First-Time Freshman Student?
All first-time freshman students are required to complete the 36 hour general education program.
Are you a Transfer Student?
If you transfer 45 credit hours from another institution, or if you have an Associate's degree, you are under the Transfer and Articulation agreement.
Psychology Major
The psychology major consists of two components: a 30 hour core curriculum, and a 6 hour elective curriculum. Students must complete all courses in the psychology core. However, students get the opportunity to tailor their major to specific interests by selecting 2 courses from our list of psychology electives to complete the 36 hour major.
Bachelor of Arts
| Category | Credit Hours |
| General Education Program | 34 |
| Psychology Major Classes | 36 |
| Foreign Language | 10 |
| Free Electives | 40 |
| Total | 120 |
Bachelor of Science
| Category | Credit Hours |
| General Education Program | 34 |
| Psychology Major Classes | 36 |
| Additional Math and Science Classes | 10 |
| Free Electives | 40 |
| Total | 120 |
Coursework
- This course involves a survey of principles related to human and animal behavior. The focus will be on the evaluation of theories and methods of analyses, related research, and practical applications of principles of behavior.
- Identify different theoretical perspectives and important concepts in psychology.
- Show how psychology is applied to real world problems.
- Discover how general psychology relates to major and career goals.
- Articulate knowledge about psychology effectively.
- Deduce personal opinions on psychological topics by using scientific reasoning.
- An introduction to specific areas of psychology and to the organization of psychology as a disci- pline. Students will interact with all faculty members of the psychology department.
- Demonstrate familiarity with the major fields and career paths in psychology.
- Summarize roles and responsibilities for careers in psychology.
- Discover professional expectations needed to obtain career goals.
- Use effective communication to discuss short-term and long-term goals.
- Plan short-term and long-term career goals using scientific reasoning and data analysis.
- This course will give students the fundamental skills in psychology and science to become critically thinking, research oriented life-long learners. Students will learn to evaluate scientific claims, concepts, and principles to be better able to understand and apply psychological research findings.
- Requisite Information: (1) PSY 100 - Non-Lab Pre-Requisite; (2) ENG 101 - Non-Lab Pre-Requisite
- Discover the key aspects, use, and process of scientific writing in psychology.
- Show how scientific inquiry and writing can be used to examine problems in everyday life.
- Determine how the process of scientific writing can be applied to career goals.
- Develop appropriate APA style written and oral communication skills.
- Illustrate how research findings can be used to support claims in scientific inquiry.
- Critique and utilize empirical psychological research in the synthesis of scientific arguments.
- Justify psychological arguments and appeals using critical thinking.
- Compose scientifically based arguments about psychological issues.
- Express ethical and cultural sensitivity in scientific writing.
- A study of the classification, description, and treatment of human psychological disorders.
- Requisite Information: (1) PSY 100 - Non-Lab Pre-Requisite
- Identify the causes, symptoms, and treatments for mental disorders.
- Discuss how mental disorders impact individuals and societies.
- Discover how abnormal psychology relates to major and career goals.
- Articulate knowledge about mental health issues to others effectively.
- Connect data regarding mental disorders to societal issues.
- Compare theoretical approaches to mental health treatment using critical thinking.
- Produce ethical concepts about mental disorders in varying cultures.
- The study of normal human cognitive processes, i.e., those activities involving thinking, reason- ing, problem-solving, decision-making, and remembering. Information processing forms the framework for study. The historical threads leading to current widely believed analogies between computing machines and the human mind/ brain will be examined. Specific techniques for more efficient memory and practical problem- solving strategies will be examined.
- Requisite Information: (1) PSY 100 - Non-Lab Pre-Requisite
- Recognize major findings and principles in cognitive psychology.
- Discuss how cognitive psychology can be applied to real world problems.
- Determine how cognitive psychology relates to career goals.
- Articulate knowledge about mental processes to others effectively.
- Infer scientific conclusions about cognitive psychology based on analytical thinking.
- Compare research findings in cognitive psychology to synthesize new ideas.
- Illustrate critical thinking in understanding mental processes.
- Devise a proposed study to explore new areas in cognitive psychology.
- Support ethical principles to study cognitive psychology.
- This course involves the study of the individual in social interaction and social influence situations. The focus will be on the investiga- tion of theoretical, empirical, and practical issues related to interpersonal behavior and group processes.
- Requisite Information: (1) PSY 100 - Non-Lab Pre-Requisite
- List the major concepts, theoretical perspectives, and historical trends in social psychology.
- Discuss how individuals and societies are impacted by social cognition.
- Determine how social psychology relates to major and career goals.
- Develop appropriate skills to share findings in social psychology.
- Prioritize research findings when solving societal problems.
- Critique and utilize research to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of social psychology.
- Choose empirical evidence in theories and appeals to think critically about social issues.
- Test and integrate empirical research to explore complex and diverse issues in social psychology.
- Support ethical principles to study and understand social psychology as a science.
- A survey course dealing with the theoretical assumptions of why changes in behavior occur during the growth and development of the individual.
- Requisite Information: (1) PSY 100 - Non-Lab Pre-Requisite
- State the key principles and theories in developmental psychology.
- Relate how developmental psychology is useful in parenting.
- Determine how developmental psychology relates to personal career goals.
- Articulate knowledge about human development to others effectively.
- Classify different research designs utilized to study developmental psychology.
- Recommend how empirical research in developmental psychology can be synthesized to understand personal development across the lifespan.
- Defend beliefs about development using critically developed perspectives.
- Create an intervention for a child or adult using empirical developmental research.
- Formulate ethical concepts about approaches to development in varying cultures.
- An introduction to methods of analysis of research data in the behavioral and social sciences. Includes measurement problems, data description, frequency distributions, central tendency, variability, norms, correlation, hypothesis testing, decision making, and evaluation of the results of empirical investigations. Emphasis will be placed on real world applications of statistics.
- Requisite Information: (1) PSY 100 - Non-Lab Pre-Requisite; (2) MATH 100 or higher
- Identify key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in data analysis.
- Discover the importance of data analysis in everyday life.
- Understand the importance of data analysis to psychologists.
- Use APA style to communicate details of data analysis.
- Infer research conclusions based on data analysis.
- Judge the merits of research claims through examination of data.
- Illustrate critical thinking in analyzing data.
- Design a data analysis plan.
- Solve data analysis problems using professional ethical discretion.
- A beginning course in the basic techniques in experimental methodology: how to formulate a problem, design a study to answer the question, organize the results and communicate them in a formal style.
- Requisite Information: (1) PSY 100 - Non-Lab Pre-Requisite; (2) PSY 201 - Non-Lab Pre-Requisite; (3) PSY 480 - Non-Lab Co-Requisite
- Identify key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in research methods.
- Discover the importance of research design in everyday life.
- Understand the importance of research design to psychologists.
- Use APA style to communicate details of research designs.
- Infer the value of results based on research design.
- Judge the merits of research claims through examination of methods employed.
- Illustrate critical thinking in designing research studies.
- Design an empirical research study.
- Plan research studies using professional ethical discretion.
- This course covers a number of topics in neuro- psychology, including the mapping of mental functioning onto the brain and the assessment of selected neurological difficulties.
- Requisite Information: (1) PSY 100 - Non-Lab Pre-Requisite
- State the key principles and theories in neuropsychology.
- Discuss the biological basis of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.
- Determine how neuropsychology relates to personal career goals.
- Articulate knowledge of structures and functions of the brain.
- Deduce from research findings the impact of biology on psychological and neurological disorders.
- Select appropriate empirical sources and integrate the information to explain neuropsychological issues.
- Defend beliefs about the biological basis of behaviors using critically developed perspectives.
- Integrate empirical research to explore specific neuropsychological conditions.
- Formulate ethical concepts about approaches to neuropsychology in diverse cultures.
- PSY 225: Introduction to Therapeutic Skills (3)
- PSY 312: Introduction to School Psychology (3)
- PSY 315: Industrial Psychology (3)
- PSY 325: Human Sexuality (3)
- PSY 330: Elements of Learning (3)
- PSY 350: Special Topics Courses (these vary from semester to semester) (3)
- PSY 355: Drugs and Behavior (3)
- PSY 357: Forensic Psychology (3)
- PSY 359: Evolutionary Psychology (3)
- PSY 369: Criminal Psychology (3)
- PSY 375: Case Management (3)
- PSY 412: Social & Emotional Development (3)
- PSY 415: Adolescence (3)
- PSY 420: Psych of Aging (3)
- PSY 422: Intimate Relationships (3)
- PSY 425: Personality (3)
- PSY 430: Sports Psychology (3)
- PSY 450: Perception (3)
- PSY 452: Judgment & Decision Making (3)
- PSY 460: Behavioral Addictions (3)
- PSY 462: Eating Disorders (3)
- PSY 474: Independent Studies (1-3)
- PSY 476: Apprenticeship (1-3)
- PSY 685: Behavior Therapy (3)
Recommended Course Sequence
The faculty in the Department of Psychology have put considerable thought into recommending the following sequence of courses. In our experience, students who take courses in this order maximize their chances of success. PSY 100 (General Psychology) serves as a prerequisite for all of our courses. Next, we recommend students take PSY 101 and PSY 201, followed by PSY 480, then PSY 498 and PSY 668. The psychology electives, and other content courses (300, 334, 340, and 400) can be taken at any time throughout your college career after you complete PSY 100.
How long does it take?
| Credit Hours/Semester | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 18 |
| Semesters to Earn Degree | 40 | 20 | 13.33 | 10 | 8 | 6.66 |
| Years to Earn Degree* | 20 | 10 | 6.66 | 5 | 4 | 3.33 |
*based on taking courses only in spring and fall semesters. Time can be reduced if you take summer courses
How much does it cost?
| Credit Hour Rate | Credit Hours for Degree | Total Estimated Cost |
| $242.76 | 120 | $29131.20 |
What can I do with the degree?
Students earning a bachelor's degree in psychology will have a foundation to enter a specific career or to pursue additional graduate work. The first question to ask yourself is "what do you want to do?" The second question is "do you want to pursue graduate work?"
For students interested in moving directly into the workforce upon graduation, a psychology degree will provide ample skills. For example, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics cites analytical, communication, interpersonal, observational, and problem-solving skills, as well as patience and integrity. These skills can be applied to a wide range of careers. Examples include human resource management, sales, criminal justice, and marketing. For students interested in pursuing careers in the mental health and helping professions with a bachelor's degree, we have created the workforce ready certificate program in case management. Students with this certificate receive direct training in becoming case managers, which is a bachelor's level career.
For further reading on a bachelor's degree in psychology:
- https://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/psn/2018/01/bachelors-degree
- https://www.apa.org/gradpsych/features/2009/first-job
INTERESTED IN THE PROGRAM?
Please contact the Department of Psychology at 785-628-4405.
How to Reach Us
Department of Psychology
Fort Hays State University
600 Park Street
Martin Allen Hall 104
Phone: 785-628-4405
psecreta@fhsu.edu
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