Psychology Concentration (A.A.)
Associate in Arts
Program Advisor: Dr. Wayne Klug
413-236-4562 • wklug@berkshirecc.edu
The Liberal Arts Psychology concentration closely parallels freshman and sophomore studies at colleges offering liberal arts baccalaureate degrees in psychology. Graduates of this concentration will transfer with junior status to four-year colleges and universities, and in most cases will be able to complete their baccalaureate degrees there in two years.
This is a MassTransfer eligible program.
Expected Outcomes
Graduates of this program should be able to:
- Demonstrate a knowledge base in psychology by describing key concepts, principles and themes; and gain a working knowledge of content in the abnormal, developmental, biological and social domains;
- Demonstrate familiarity with scientific inquiry and critical thinking by using scientific reasoning to interpret psycho- logical phenomena, and by gaining a working knowledge of research methods in psychology;
- Demonstrate awareness of ethical and social responsibility by applying ethical standards to evaluate psychological science and practice, and by adopting values that build com- munity at local, national and global levels; and
- Demonstrate communication proficiency through effective writing and presentation skills for different purposes, and through effective interaction with others.
Graduation Requirements
Program Courses
| PSY-107 | Introductory Psychology | 3 |
| PSY-204 | Human Growth and Development | 3 |
| PSY-206 | Adolescent Psychology | 3 |
| PSY-207 | Social Psychology | 3 |
| PSY-226 | Abnormal Psychology | 3 |
| - | Professional Electives | 6 |
| - | Free Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 24 |
Professional Electives: See footnote 1
General Education Courses
| BIO-175 | Brain, Mind and Behavior: An Introduction to Biopsychology | 3 |
| COM- | Communication | 3 |
| ENG- | English Composition/Writing | 6 |
| ENG- | Literature | 6 |
| ENV-127 | Environmental Awareness and Responsibility | 1 |
| - | | |
| HIS-113 | Western Civ to 1500 | 3 |
| - | Or | |
| HIS-121 | World History to 1500 | 3 |
| - | | |
| HIS-114 | Western Civilization Since 1500 | 3 |
| - | Or | |
| HIS-122 | World History Since 1500 | 3 |
| - | | |
| MAT- | Mathematics | 3 |
| SOC-105 | Introductory Sociology | 3 |
| - | Natural or Physical Science | 4 |
| - | Humanities & Fine Arts | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 38 |
ENV-127: See footnote 3
Natural or Physical Science: See footnote 3
Additional Requirements
| Core Competencies Portfolio |
4 items |
| Forum |
4 units |
| Health/Fitness |
30 hours |
| Minimum Cumulative Average Overall |
2.000 |
Suggested Pathway to Graduation
The following is a suggestion for completing this concentration in two years. The actual time needed to complete it will vary according to each student’s individual needs.
First Semester
| ENG-101 | Composition I | 3 |
| - | | |
| HIS-113 | Western Civ to 1500 | 3 |
| - | Or | |
| HIS-121 | World History to 1500 | 3 |
| - | | |
| MAT- | Mathematics | 3 |
| COM- | Communication | 3 |
| PSY-107 | Introductory Psychology | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
MAT Mathematics: See footnote 2
Second Semester
| ENG-102 | Composition II | 3 |
| - | | |
| HIS-114 | Western Civilization Since 1500 | 3 |
| - | Or | |
| HIS-122 | World History Since 1500 | 3 |
| - | | |
| BIO-175 | Brain, Mind and Behavior: An Introduction to Biopsychology | 3 |
| SOC-105 | Introductory Sociology | 3 |
| - | Humanities & Fine Arts | 3 |
| ENV-127 | Environmental Awareness and Responsibility | 1 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 16 |
Third Semester
| ENG- | Literature | 3 |
| PSY-204 | Human Growth and Development | 3 |
| PSY-207 | Social Psychology | 3 |
| - | Natural or Physical Science | 4 |
| - | Professional Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 16 |
Natural or Physical Science: See footnote 3
Professional Elective: See footnote 1
Fourth Semester
| ENG- | Literature | 3 |
| PSY-206 | Adolescent Psychology | 3 |
| PSY-226 | Abnormal Psychology | 3 |
| - | Professional Elective | 3 |
| - | Free Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Professional Elective: : See footnote 1
Footnotes
- Professional Electives are chosen from PSY-208, PSY-210, PSY-297, SOC-136, SOC-208, and BIO-180. Additional Professional Electives must be approved by the Psychology Concentration program advisor.
- MAT-123 (Elementary Statistics) is strongly recommended as preparation for “Statistics in Psychology” at the transfer institution.
- The Natural or Physical Science requirement must be fulfilled by one 4-credit laboratory science and one 3-credit non-laboratory science, or by two 4-credit laboratory sciences. Completion of an environmentally-focused laboratory science, such as BIO-109