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1999-2000 Catalog

Degrees and Programs

Psychology

College of Liberal Arts
Department of Psychology
(907) 474-7007

Degrees: B.A., B.S., M.A.

Minimum Requirements for Degrees: B.A.: 120 credits, B.S.: 120 credits, M.A.: 48 credits

Psychology seeks to guide the student in an understanding of human behavior. The field of psychology is necessary for students who are preparing for graduate study in psychology and also is helpful in preparing for other career fields.

The community psychology program trains master's-level practitioners in mental health and community development who can work sensitively and effectively in cross-cultural community contexts, particularly in native settings in rural areas and urban settings with multicultural populations.

The program attempts to meet the demand for trained mental health professionals in rural Alaska; however, graduates have also found employment in rural America and internationally.

The program prepares individuals who are interested in strengthening a sense of community and promoting the assets of communities as resources for primary prevention. The objectives of the program are:

  1. To train master's-level psychologists for rural and cross-cultural settings.
  2. To place master's-level psychologists in human and social service agencies in Alaska in both rural and semi-urban areas having large cross-cultural and rural populations.
  3. To provide in-service and continuing education for mental health professionals with a special emphasis on rural and cross-cultural issues.

The program prepares generalists who are capable of doing individual counseling, designing and evaluating community based interventions, facilitating social change and who understand assessment and diagnosis. Students are expected to become cross-culturally competent in those areas critical for a rural, community psychologist. The program is practice-oriented and seeks to educate reflective practitioners who can integrate theory and practice and have the requisite research skills to facilitate change at the individual and community level. The program considers prevention to be a major responsibility of the rural practitioner. Prevention and treatment are seen as inseparable tasks for the rural provider as they work to build intact communities capable of meeting human needs and enhancing the strengths and competencies of their members.

Core courses cover counseling, prevention, assessment and research. Students build their graduate study plan with electives available both in the psychology department and other departments in the university.

A full-time or part-time internship is required of all students as well as a thesis. All courses present a cross-cultural perspective.

* M.A. degree in Community Psychology.

Undergraduate Program

Major

Psychology -- B.A. or B.S. Degree

Concentrations: Community, Clinical, Social-Personality; Experimental, Learning, Physiological

  1. Complete the general university requirements.
  2. Complete the B.A. or B.S. degree requirements (page 29 or 30).
  3. Complete the following program (major) requirements:*
    1. Complete the following:
      PSY 101 -- Introduction to Psychology (3 credits)
      PSY/SOC 250 -- Introductory Statistics for Behavioral Sciences (3)
           or STAT 200 -- Elementary Probability and Statistics (3) (3 credits)
      PSY/SOC 473W -- Social Science Research Methods (3 credits)
    2. Complete 3 credits of a diversity requirement, selected from the following:**
      ANS (any course)
      ANTH 242 -- Native Cultures of Alaska (3 credits)
      ANTH 301 -- World Ethnography (3 credits)
      ANTH 302 -- Anthropology of Siberia (3 credits)
      ANTH 303 -- Gender in a Cross-Cultural Perspective (3 credits)
      ANTH 308W,O -- Language and Gender (3 credits)
      ANTH 380 -- The People of Alaskan Southwest: Aleuts, Kodiak Islanders and the Chugach (3 credits)
      ANTH 381 -- The Inupiaq and Yup'ik Peoples (3 credits)
      ANTH 382 -- The People of Alaskan Southeast (3 credits)
      ANTH 383 -- Athabaskan Peoples of Alaska and Adjacent Canada (3 credits)
      COMM 330 -- Intercultural Communications (3 credits)
      COMM 351 -- Gender and Communication (3 credits)
      HIST 110 -- History of Alaska Natives (3 credits)
      HIST 123 -- Japan: The Changing Tradition (3 credits)
      HIST 200 -- Heritage of Alaska Natives (3 credits)
      HST 120 -- Cultural Diversity in Human Service (3 credits)
      JB 380O -- Women, Minorities and the Media (3 credits)
      PSY 310 -- Cross-Cultural Psychology (3 credits)
      PSY 360O -- Psychology of Women Across Cultures (3 credits)
      RD 315 -- Tribal People and Development (3 credits)
      RD 375 -- Women and Development (3 credits)
      SOC 160 -- Current Woman (3 credits)
      SOC 242 -- The Family: A Cross-Cultural Perspective (3 credits)
      SOC 408 -- American Minority Groups (3 credits)
      WMS (any course)
    3. Complete 15 credits from 1 concentration and complete 9 credits from the other:

      Community, Clinical, Social-Personality

      1. Complete the following:
        PSY 230 -- Psychology of Adjustment (3 credits)
        PSY 240 -- Lifespan Developmental Psychology (3 credits)
        PSY 304 -- Personality (3 credits)
        PSY 310 -- Cross-Cultural Psychology (3 credits)
        PSY/SOC 330 -- Social Psychology (3 credits)
        PSY 345 -- Abnormal Psychology (3 credits)
        PSY/WMS 360O -- Psychology of Women Across Cultures (3 credits)
        PSY 445W -- Community Psychology (3 credits)
        PSY 455 -- Clinical Psychology (3 credits)
      2. Minimum credits required (120 credits)

      Experimental, Learning, Physiological

      1. Complete the following:
        PSY/PE 337W -- Exercise and Sport Psychology (3 credits)
        PSY 350 -- Comparative Psychology (3 credits)
        PSY/SOC 370 -- Drugs and Drug Dependence (3 credits)
        PSY 380 -- Environmental Psychology (3 credits)
        PSY 440 -- Learning and Cognition (3 credits)
        PSY 460 -- Physiological Psychology (4 credits)
        PSY 470 -- Sensation and Perception (3 credits)
        PSY 475 -- Experimental Psychology (4 credits)
      2. Minimum credits required (120 credits)

* Student must earn a "C" grade or better in each course.

** Student is not limited to this list.

Minor

  1. Complete the following:
    PSY 101 -- Introduction to Psychology (3 credits)
    PSY electives (18 credits)
  2. Minimum credits required (21 credits)

Graduate Program

Community Psychology -- M.A. Degree

  1. Complete the following admission requirements:
    1. Students are accepted in the spring for the fall semester. Applications are due by March 1. Notification of admission will occur prior to the end of the spring semester. The program accepts a maximum of 10-12 students per year, with the option to accept less given limited resources.
    2. Completion of the baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution in counseling, psychology, sociology, social work, human services, education or related helping professions. A minimum grade point average of 3.25 and/or evidence of personal and professional suitability for community psychology work and interest in rural practice will be sought. In part, this will be inferred from the participant's academic and employment history and an interview when possible.
    3. Three letters of reference are required endorsing the applicant's admission to the community psychology program.
    4. Scores from the general test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) normally exceed the 50th percentile.
    5. A non-social science background may be accepted but the applicant must complete the necessary undergraduate prerequisites as delineated by their advisor prior to advancement to candidacy. These include Abnormal Psychology, Social or Community Psychology, Research Methods and Statistics.
    6. Part-time students are accepted.
    7. The student must enroll in 1 core required course during the first semester.
  2. Complete the general university requirements.
  3. Complete the master's degree requirements.
  4. Complete internship* (0-12 credits)
  5. Complete the following core courses:
    PSY 630 -- Community Psychology (3 credits)
    PSY 631 -- Community Psychology: Cross-Cultural Applications and the Ethics of Change (3 credits)
    PSY 635 -- Field-Based Research Methods (3 credits)
    PSY 638 -- Proseminar in Community Psychology (3 credits)
    PSY 660 -- Counseling Theories and Applications I (3 credits)
    PSY 662 -- Counseling Theories and Applications II (3 credits)
    PSY 663 -- Clinical Methods and Assessment (3 credits)
    PSY 678 -- Psychological Assessment (3 credits)
    PSY 690 -- Internship in Community Psychology (0-12 credits)
    PSY 699 -- Thesis (6 credits)
    Approved electives (6 credits)
  6. Minimum credits required (48 credits)

* Complete an internship under the supervision of a qualified psychologist, mental health or human services practitioner. The internship is for either a full-time, one-semester or part-time, one-year; placements are arranged after at least 24 credits are completed. By approval of committee, additional elective credits may be substituted for all or part of the internship requirement.