Psychology, Bachelor of Science (accelerated masters degree option)
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 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 fields to increase opportunities and earning potential. Graduates can also find work with programs such as Americorps, PeaceCorps, Fulbright Student Program, or City Year.
- Adult Learning and Instruction
- Human Resources Specialist
- Market Research Analyst
- Marketing Specialist
- Public Relations Specialist
- Recruiter
- Sales Representative
- Social and Human Services Assistant
- Social Science Research Assistant
- Training and Development Specialist
- Attorney
- Counselor
- Higher Education Administrator
- Psychologist
- Researcher
- Therapist
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
- Natural Sciences requirement only
- Yes
- No
- 2.0+ cumulative GPA, 2.0+ major GPA
Psychology, Bachelor of Science (accelerated masters degree option)
Brightpoint Community College (program-specific pathway) (Associate of Science: Psychology)
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
- Attend Tyler orientation
- Register for SDV 100
- Be prepared for academic challenges in your ENG and MTH classes. Visit the Academic Resource Center on either campus.
- Schedule an appointment with your academic advisor each semester and cultivate relationships with your professors.
- Log into Navigate and view its features to help you on your pathway
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 or in your community.
- Identify a mentor in a diversity organization.
EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS
- Create LinkedIn profile.
- Get involved with a student or professional organization.
- Explore the community college’s iGrad Job Genius Search Engine to look into building a career and financial future.
- Visit career services to begin cultivating your own virtual brand across all social media profiles.
- Browse careers related to psychology through the career coach.
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."
- Create, upload and update your resume to the College Central Network.
- Understand how you will fund your education by taking advantage of free Financial Aid counseling.
MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING
- Explore the different concentrations of the psychology degree.
- Explore the accelerated BS to M.Ed. in Counselor Education.
- Meet with your academic advisor.
- Use Navigate to remain on your pathway
- Be prepared for academic challenges in your classes. Visit the Academic Resource Center on either campus to get ahead.
- Explore your eligibility for the Two-Year College Transfer Grant.
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
- Attend diversity-focused events on campus and in your community (i.e. international festival).
- Become familiar with OMSA at VCU.
- 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.
- 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.
- Find out about VCU REAL and learn about REAL graduation requirement.
PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
- Conduct informational interviews or shadow someone in a field of career interest.
- Consider who you would like to have serve as professional and academic references for future letters of recommendation.
- Explore the types of aid available at VCU.
- Take advantage of free Financial Aid counseling.
- Use the cost calculator to estimate your tuition/fees as an upperclassman at VCU.
Psychology, Bachelor of Science (accelerated masters degree option)
Brightpoint Community College (program-specific pathway) (Associate of Science: Psychology)
Course | Title | Equivalent course | Credits | Requirements |
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SDV 100 | College Success Skills | UNIV 101 | 1 | Elective |
ENG 111 | College Composition I Note: students with credit for AP English Language and Composition will only receive credit for UNIV 111 at VCU and should take ENG 112 to fulfill the VCU composition requirement. | UNIV 111-112 | 3 | General education |
MTH 154 | Quantitative Reasoning | MATH 131 | 3 | General education |
PSY 200 | Principles of Psychology | PSYC 101 | 3 | Major |
Foreign Language | Foreign Language 101 or humanities elective (take elective course if you successfully completed through the third year of a foreign language in high school) | VCU equivalent | 3 to 4 | General education |
CST 100 | Principles of Public Speaking | SPCH 121 | 3 | Elective |
ENG 112 | College Composition II | UNIV 200 | 3 | General education |
MTH 245 | Statistics I | STAT 210 | 3 | Major (Ancillary) |
Foreign Language | Foreign Language 102 or elective (take elective course if you successfully completed through the third year of a foreign language in high school) | 3 to 4 | General education | |
PSY 230 | Developmental Psychology (fulfills developmental psychology requirement for major) | PSYC 304 | 3 | Major |
History | Select one: HIS 121 or 122 | HIST 103 or 104 | 3 | General education |
BIO 101 | General Biology I | BIOL/Z 151 | 4 | Major (Ancillary) |
PSY 210 | Statistics for Behavioral Sciences Note: the VCU equivalent for PSY 213 is subject to review by the Department of Psychology. Please provide syllabus information upon transfer to VCU. | PSYC 2XX | 3 | Major |
Art elective | Art (select 1): ART 101, ART 102, CST 130, CST 151, MUS 121 | VCU Equivalent | 3 | General education |
HIS | History elective (select 1): HIS 111, 112, HIS 121, HIS 122 | HIST | 3 | General education |
ENG | 200-level ENG Literature elective (select 1) | ENGL | 3 | General education |
BIO 102 | General Biology II | BIOL/Z 152 | 4 | Major (Ancillary) |
PHI 220 | Ethics | PHIL 201 | 3 | General education |
PSY 225 | Theories of Personality (fulfills social/personality psychology requirement for major) | PSYC 309 | 3 | Major |
Transfer Elective | Transfer elective | VCU equivalent | 3 | Elective |
John Tyler Credits Transferred to VCU | 60 |
Course | Title | Credits | Requirements |
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PSYC 214 | Application of Statistics (see comment above for PSY 213) | 0 to 3 | Major |
PSYC 317 | Experimental Methods | 3 | Major |
PSYC ___ | Physiological/learning psychology requirement (select 1): PSYC 401, PSYC 406, or PSYC 410 | 3 | Major |
PSYC ___ | Self-development/applied psychology requirement (select 1): PSYC 303, PSYC 308, PSYC 310, PSYC 318, PSYC 340, PSYC 407, PSYC 412, PSYC 415, PSYC 416, PSYC 426 | 3 | Major |
PSYC 451 | History of Psychology | 3 | Major |
PSYC ___ | Select three Psychology upper-level elective (300- or 400-level courses) | 9 | 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 | 21 | Elective | |
Credits Completed at VCU | 60 | ||
Bachelor's degree total | 120 |