The College of St. Scholastica


The Psychology Major at St. Scholastica:
An Overview for Prospective Students

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For additional details go to:
  • The Psychology Undergraduate Student Handbook.
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  • Psychology Department Home Page

What Do Psychologists Do?

Psychology is the scientific study of memory, stress, psychotherapy, love, persuasion, hypnosis, perception, death, conformity, creativity, conditioning, personality, aging, intelligence, sexuality, emotion, and more. The subject matter of psychology is the behavior and experience of human beings and other organisms. While some psychologists are engaged in research to further our under-standing of behavior, many are involved in applying the principles developed in the laboratory and field studies to human problems. As the complexity of society increases, psychological knowledge takes on a more and more important role - in courts, in classrooms, in legislatures, in prisons, in boardrooms, and behind sales counters, in clinics, and in hospitals. Because of the growing relevance of psychology, students planning to enter professions such as medicine, law, management, social work, education, speech pathology, or counseling often elect a major or minor in psychology. Those who go on to become professional psychologists work in a variety of settings. A recent survey gave the following proportions for major career tracks of psychologists: The mental health field, including private practice, hospitals, clinics, counseling centers, and guidance centers accounts for 44 percent. Twenty-nine percent are involved in teaching and research at the college level, while 15 percent are involved in elementary and high schools. Thirteen percent work in business or government. Developmental psychologists study patterns of change from infancy through old age, including physical, cognitive, social, and moral development. Clinical psychologists generally focus on abnormal behavior in an effort to understand, diagnose, and change such behavior. Counseling psychologists also treat abnormal behavior but usually focus on normal problems of living (e.g., marriage and educational counseling). Industrial psychologists usually work for a business enterprise applying psychological knowledge to such areas as personnel policies, working conditions, production efficiency, and decision making. Experimental psychologists use scientific methods to carry out experiments designed to develop a basic understanding of such processes as learning, memory, motivation, sensation, and perception in human beings and lower animals. Physiological and comparative psychologists study the contributions of biological factors - such as heredity, the sensory and nervous system, drugs, and species differences - to various kinds of behavior. Social psychologists use a variety of scientific methods to study the behavior of people in social situations, from couples and small groups to crowds. The emerging field of health psychology uses psychological principles in health maintenance. This list provides a good overview, but keep in mind that the field is constantly growing as new research is completed and as new ways to apply psychological knowledge are discovered.

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The Psychology Faculty

Mary Alice Carlson, M.A., University of Minnesota, Instructor.    She teaches Introduction of Counseling and Abnormal Psychology, Group Dynamics, and Lifespan Development.  Her areas of expertise include facilitating a variety of support groups and educating professional and family caregivers.  She has also dedicated herself to working closely with families in providing her expertise as a counselor and advocate.

Darryl Dietrich, Ph.D., Syracuse University, professor. He is a developmental psychologist with research interests in memory, religious belief, and the family bed. His most recent scholarly activities include (a) a presentation on parenting styles at a conference on children that he helped organize in Russia, (b) a research report at the Gerontological Society of America on memory workshops for older adults, and (c) authoring test item and study guide books for two widely used textbooks on developmental psychology.

Angela Rosenberg Hauger, Ph.D., Washington University, associate professor, licensed psychologist, and coordinator of the Gerontology Program. Dr. Hauger is trained as a teacher, researcher, and clinician with specialties in clinical psychology and geropsychology. She teaches courses such as abnormal psychology, research methods, psychological aspects of aging, and mental health and aging. She enjoys mentoring student research and consulting with community agencies about aging-related topics.

Gerald Henkel-Johnson, Psy.D., University of St. Thomas, associate professor, Chair of the Psychology and Sociology Departments, and coordinator of the Humans Services Concentration. He is a counseling psychologist working primarily with adults. Currently his focus is on older adults in nursing home settings and incarcerated individuals in state and federal prisons. He teaches counseling, organizational behavior, biological psychology, group dynamics, health psychology, and behavior management.

Robert Hensley, Ph.D., Iowa State University, assistant professor. Dr. Hensley comes to The College of Saint Scholastica from Mansfield University of Pennsylvania, joining the Psychology Department faculty in August 2007. His research interest is in human relationships, especially how college students adapt to ended relationships. He is also interested in studying close relationships in late adulthood, as well as predictors of mortality in the oldest old. He teaches general psychology and lifespan developmental psychology.

Chandra Mehrotra, Ph.D., Ohio State University, professor and Dean of Special Projects. His specialties are in the areas of statistics, research methodology, psychological measurement, and program evaluation. His recent work has focused on strengthening teaching and learning through faculty development. In addition he continues to provide assessment-related consultation both within and outside the College. He is the co-author of a book on aging and diversity.

Karen Petersen, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, assistant professor.  She is a bio-psychologist who teaches statistics, biopsychology, and research methods.  Her particular area of research focus is on psycholosocial correlates of cardiovascular disease, including SES effects on immune parameters.  She has also been involved in research on stress and pain.

Debra S. Schroeder, Ph.D., Bowling Green State University, associate professor. She is a social psychologist who teaches courses in general psychology, social psychology, research methods, psychology of gender, and statistics. Her recent research endeavors have included: (a) facilitation of a student research group that developed, collected data on, analyzed, and presented the results of a measure of the quality of undergraduate advising; (b) publication of two articles on the role of gender in major professor-graduate student mentoring; and (c) evaluation of a grant obtained through Student Diversity Services.

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Advantages of a B.A  or B.S. in Psychology from St. Scholastica

Like medicine, law, and most sciences, professional employment as a psychologist requires graduate study. There are, however, a variety of jobs the psychology major may pursue without graduate study. We provide a broad-based program that prepares psychology majors for advanced study toward higher degrees in psychology and curriculum fosters learning in several areas targeted by liberal arts and career education: how to learn, how to obtain and/or evaluate different kinds of information, how to think critically, how to solve problems systematically, and how to write effectively. In addition, our courses provide an excellent educational background for a variety of career choices (see "A Word About Our Graduates" section for career choices of recent graduates of our program). By combining the psychology major with another field of study, for example, the student may increase employment possibilities and be better prepared to undertake graduate study in other fields. Secondary education, management, and English are common double majors with psychology. A minor in psychology can strengthen the background of students majoring in other fields.

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The "Coherent Curriculum"

Learning is encouraged through three components of what the Psychology Department calls the "coherent curriculum": (a) Course Requirements and Options: Our required courses are structured and sequenced to allow for gradual increases in understanding rather than giant steps that can leave students feeling lost, and our optional courses allow students to emphasize their own interests within the major; (b) Cocurricular Activities: Our formal courses are supplemented by activities designed to allow the student foster relationships with peers and faculty in psychology and to meet and learn from those in the community in psychology-related careers; and (c) Career Development Assistance: Our faculty provide assistance in helping students determine what they would like to do when they graduate and what experiences they will need to pursue those career goals. See the next few paragraphs for more information about these three components of the "coherent curriculum" and the illustration below for a summary.

Component A: Course Requirements and Options

The Psychology Department offers more than 30 undergraduate courses, of which 12 form the core requirements. Elective courses such as counseling, health psychology, psychology of gender, organizational behavior, and behavior problems of children allow students to explore special interests and shape their own programs.

Further customization of the major occurs in one of the required courses, the Directed Applied Project in Psychology (DAPP). The DAPP takes students outside the classroom during the junior or senior year, where they become involved in half-time employment in the community. During the DAPP, students get the chance to apply what they learned in the classroom to real-life problems. Popular placements include work with mental health patients, apprenticeships in residential child treatment programs, and research assistantships. Field placements have been very valuable to our psychology majors, giving them needed exposure before applying for jobs or graduate schools; it is not unusual for volunteer placements to develop into jobs. For freshman and sophomores, less extensive volunteer placements are encouraged to help in exploring career interests.

A Human Services Concentration (HSC) within the psychology major is available for students who wish to focus their preparation toward applied services following the B.A., as well as for graduate studies. Choosing the HSC during the spring semester of the sophomore year will make it possible to complete the requirements within the usual four years. Careful planning also will allow psychology majors interested in working with older adults to fulfill the requirements for the Gerontology Certificate and/or minor at St. Scholastica.

Component B: Cocurricular Activities

Because we think that combining in and out of class activities best promotes student learning, the Psychology Department offers a number of non-required, but recommended cocurricular activities. Some, such as the Psychology Association of St. Scholastica (PASS), are designed to encourage interactions with peers who are also pursuing careers in psychology. Major activities of PASS include meeting regularly, going on field trips to various community agencies to increase knowledge about available positions, attending conferences, sponsoring social events, and holding fund raisers. Others, such as department colloquia, allow students to interact with guest speakers from the College and community, and to learn about available psychology careers and cutting -edge research. Finally, faculty-student gatherings, some of which are social in nature (our Halloween Potluck) and some of which are educational in nature (research groups), provide settings in which students get to know faculty members. Such interactions can be beneficial in any number of ways, from increasing the likelihood that faculty know students well when it comes time to write letters of recommendation for jobs or graduate school to learning about topics and processes that are difficult to address/practice in the classroom.

Component C: Career Development

Students often enter psychology programs with a general interest in "helping people" but are unaware of what courses to take, what cocurricular experiences will help, what other career goals are available ("helping people" is only one goal of many possible), and what their strengths and areas for improvement are, all of which are important in making the best career choices. This information is provided in several contexts. First, each student receives individual advisement from a faculty member of his/her choice every quarter before signing up for classes (and at any other time that it is requested). Second, in various courses students learn about careers in psychology, what careers might best suit them and how to prepare for those careers (for example, advice on how to get into graduate school). Third, every year, faculty conducts a developmental review in which each student's professional progress toward career goals is monitored and feedback is provided.

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Special Features of Our Program

1.  Coherence of the major:

The three components of the major - courses, cocuricular activities, and career development - are structured to allow for a student experience that is well-rounded.  The course sequence allows for gradual mastery of material, cocurricular activities ecourage socializing with professionals and students in the field, and career development activities foster preparation for the future.

2. Strong emphasis on life span developmental psychology:

Helping professions, such as counseling, nursing, social work, and physical therapy, relay on knowledge of normal development and behavior emphasized in our program - to identify dysfunction, restore normal functioning, or help with chronic problems.

3. Small class size:

The largest psychology classes have approximately 40-60 students, but most have far fewer, and some have as few as ten.

4. Opportunity to focus on individual interests:

For example, while those interested in pursuing careers in human services may choose the Human Services Concentration within the psychology major, those wanting to work with older individuals may opt for the Gerontology Certificate program or Gerontology Minor.  Those who wish to pursue graudate work are supported in activities that enhance graduate school applications.

5.  Strong emphasis on research and evaluation:

Wherever you work, you are likely to be asked to make decisions based on research.  For example, you might be asked to determine whether a program should be continued based on research on its effectiveness.  Our program provides the basic skills you will need to read the research of others and od your own research.

6.  Opportunities to receive mentoring:

Faculty with background in both research and applied fields are available to work closely with students in progressing through the major.  Mentoring can be received in the form of paid and volunteer research and teaching assistanships, research groups, independent studies, and formal and informal career advising.

A Typical 4-Year Course Sequence (Psychology B.A. Major)


A Typical 4-Year Course Sequence (Psychology B.S. Major)

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Last updated on February 18, 2009, by Helen Helberg