Bachelor of Science: Psychology
VCU
The Bachelor of Science in Psychology curriculum reflects the discipline’s major functions — scientific research, teaching, acting as a healing profession and raising philosophical questions about the assumptions, values and ideals of human beings and their societies, which reflects psychology’s origin in philosophy. Through a core set of requirements the student systematically develops understanding and skill in scientific methods of inquiry, focusing on the human mind and behavior. To fulfill the degree requirements, students may pursue the standard curriculum by selecting courses from four content areas that introduce students to the healing and philosophical sides of psychology and provide a broad understanding of the field as a whole; or the student may apply to one of several more focused concentrations that draw upon the special strengths of the VCU Department of Psychology.
Some students may choose to study psychology because they enjoy the subject and wish to pursue careers requiring "any major." In this scenario, it is critical to develop desirable skills through internships, part-time or summer jobs, or volunteer experiences. Some skills valued most by employers include: communication, interpersonal, leadership, teamwork, and computer skills. Other students may major in psychology because they want to work in a related field. Many entry-level helping positions are available, however the amount of direct client contact is limited for those who only have a bachelor's degree. Students may wish to pursue graduate education in psychology, social work, counseling, college student personnel, or other related fields to increase opportunities and earning potential.
- Adult Learning and Instruction
- Human Resources Specialist
- Market Research Analyst or Marketing Specialist
- Public Relations Specialist
- Public relations specialist
- Recruiter
- Sales Representative
- Social and Human Services Assistant
- Social Science Research Assistant
- Training and Development Specialist
- Attorney
- Higher Education Administrator
- Psychologist, Counselor, or Therapist
- Researcher
Telephone: (804) 827-1349
Email: transferinfo@vcu.edu
VCCS Transfer Planning Checklist
Telephone: (804) 828-1222 or (800) 841-3638
Email: ugrad@vcu.edu
Apply Here.
Completion of associate degree
Minimum GPA of 2.5
All courses must be completed with a grade of "C" or better
- STAT 210
- 1-2 additional science courses
- Yes
- No
- 2.0 overall and in GPA
Bachelor of Science: Psychology
Germanna Community College (Associate of Arts and Sciences: General Studies, Psychology Specialization)
MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING | GET CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY | DEVELOP CULTURAL AGILITY | EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS | PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE | ||
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Explore | Year 1 |
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Experience | Year 2 |
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MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING
- Register for SDV 100.
- Be prepared for academic challenges and use tutoring resources to get ahead.
- Schedule an appointment with your academic advisor each semester.
- Cultivate relationships with your professors.
GET CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY
- Get involved with student clubs and organizations.
- Volunteer for service learning or community service projects.
- Learn about the transfer admission process for VCU.
DEVELOP CULTURAL AGILITY
- Attend diversity-focused events on campus.
- Identify a mentor in a diversity organization.
EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS
- Create Linkedln profile.
- Get involved with a professional or student organization.
- Visit career services to begin cultivating your own virtual brand across all social media profiles.
- Browse careers related to psychology through the career coach.
- Explore the community college’s iGrad’s Job Genius Search Engine to look into building a career and financial future.
PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
- Take a career assessment through the career coach.
- Assess your preparation for a career by completing a Gap Analysis.
- Use SDV 100 to create a weekly and monthly budget.
- Develop personal and career goals and create SMART steps for 2-3 "dream jobs."
- Work with career services to build resume.
MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING
- Be prepared for academic challenges in your classes. Use tutoring resources to get ahead.
- Research scholarship opportunities and explore your eligibility for the Two-Year College Transfer Grant.
- Reflect on your academic preparation for VCU by completing the MINDSET Inventory.
GET CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY
- Visit the VCU campus and attend a transfer admission session.
- Research housing for next year.
- Join a professional organization related to psychology: American Psychological Association, Association for Psychological Science.
DEVELOP CULTURAL AGILITY
- Learn about short-term, semester and year-long study abroad options.
- Consider learning a foreign language to open doors to international organizations and future study.
- Attend diversity-focused events on campus and in your community (i.e. international festival).
- Continue to partner with diversity leader/ facilitator/ mentor to move towards cultural competence.
- Get involved with service-learning opportunities.
EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS
- Attend Career & Internship Fairs throughout the year.
- Acquire career related experience (e.g., job, internship, organization involvement).
- Run for leadership in your student organization.
- If your GPA is 3.5 or higher, consider applying for the VCU Honors College.
PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
- Conduct informational interviews or shadow someone in a field of career interest.
- Use the cost calculator to estimate your tuition/fees as an upperclassman at VCU.
- Take advantage of free Financial Aid counseling.
- Using LinkedIn, connect to at least 10 people. Check out the VCU alumni page in My Network.
- Consider who you would like to have serve as professional and academic references for future letters of recommendation.
Bachelor of Science: Psychology
Germanna Community College (Associate of Arts and Sciences: General Studies, Psychology Specialization)
Course | Title | Equivalent course | Credits | Requirements |
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SDV 100 | College Success Skills | UNIV 101 | 1 | Elective |
ENG 111 | College Composition I | UNIV 111-112 | 3 | General education |
PSY 200 | Principles of Psychology | PSYC 101 | 3 | Major |
MTH 154 | Quantitative Reasoning | MATH 131 | 3 | General education |
BIO 101 | General Biology I | BIOL/Z 151 | 4 | Major |
HLT/PED | Health or Physical Education elective | VCU equivalent | 2 | Elective |
ENG 112 | College Composition II | UNIV 200 | 3 | General education |
PSY 230 | Developmental Psychology (fulfills developmental psychology requirement for major) | PSYC 304 | 3 | Major |
MTH 245 | Statistics I | STAT 210 | 3 | Major |
BIO 102 | General Biology II | BIOL/Z 152 | 4 | General education |
PSY | Psychology elective (select 1): PSY 216, 225 (fulfills social/personality psychology requirement) | PSYC | 3 | Major |
Social science | Social science elective (select 1): ECO 201, ECO 202, PLS 211, PLS 241, SOC 200 | VCU equivalent | 3 | General education |
Humanities | Humanities elective (select 1): ART 101, 102, 106, HUM 100, REL | VCU Equivalent | 3 | General education |
ENG | Literature elective (select 1): ENG 241, 242, 243, 244, 251, 252 | ENGL | 3 | General education |
HIS | History elective (select 1): HIS 101, 102, 111, 112, 121, 122 | HIST | 3 | General education |
PSY 215 | Abnormal Psychology (fulfills self-development/applied psychology requirement) | PSYC 407 | 3 | Major |
CST 100 | Principles of Public Speaking (or CST 110 or CST 126) | SPCH 121 | 3 | Elective |
HIS | History elective (select 1): HIS 101, 102, 111, 112, 121, 122 | HIST | 3 | General education |
Humanities/Fine Arts | Humanities/Fine Arts elective (select 1): ART 101, 102, ENG 241, 242, 243, 244, 251, 252, HUM 100, MUS 121, PHI 101, 220, REL | VCU equivalent | 3 | General education |
PSY | Psychology elective | PSYC | 3 | Elective |
Social science | Social science elective (select 1): ECO 201, ECO 202, HIS 101, HIS 102, HIS 121, HIS 122, PLS 211, PLS 241 | VCU Equivalent | 3 | General education |
Germanna credits transferred to VCU | 62 |
Course | Title | Credits | Requirements |
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Foreign language through the 102 level. (This requirement can be fulfilled by means of completion of the 102-level of a language or waived if the student completed up through the third level of a foreign language in high school. Additionally, language waiver and placement testing options are available for native or heritage speakers of a non-english language.) | 0 to 8 | General education (not waived by associate degree) | |
PSYC 214 | Applications of Statistics | 3 | Major |
PSYC 317 | Experimental Methods | 3 | Major |
PSYC 451 | History of Psychology | 3 | Major |
PSYC ___ | Physiological/learning psychology requirement (select 1): PSYC 401, PSYC 406, or PSYC 410 | 3 | Major |
PSYC ___ | Psychology upper-level elective(300- or 400-level courses) | 3 | Major |
PSYC ___ | Psychology upper-level elective(300- or 400-level courses) | 3 | Major |
PSYC ___ | Psychology upper-level elective(300- or 400-level courses) | 3 | Major |
Upper-level electives (300- or 400-level courses): consider a minor or a second major Note: Students must complete a minimum of 45 upper-level credits to graduate from VCU. | 18 | Elective | |
Open electives | 19 | Elective | |
Credits completed at VCU | 58 | ||
Bachelor's degree total | 120 |