Department website: https://www.uwplatt.edu/department/psychology

Department Chair: Elizabeth Gates
Office: 231 Warner Hall
Phone: 608.342.1724
E-mail: gatese@uwplatt.edu

Majors

• Psychology
  • Aging Studies Emphasis
  • Human Services Emphasis
  • Substance Abuse Counseling Emphasis
• Social Sciences Comprehensive (See History Department)
  • Psychology Emphasis

Minor

• Psychology

Mission

The primary goal of the UW-Platteville Psychology Department is to prepare students for professional human service roles and/or graduate study in psychology and related fields. Our program fosters:

1. The requisite core of knowledge about the discipline,
2. An exposure to applied aspects of the field, and
3. A greater awareness of self, others, and sociocultural influences.

This goal serves the institution’s mission of broadening students’ perspectives, increasing their ethical sensitivity, and preparing them for their ultimate roles as competent professionals.

Student Learning Outcomes for the Psychology Major

The department adopts as objectives the 10 guidelines developed by the American Psychological Association Task Force on Undergraduate Major Competencies.

Student Learning Outcomes Specific to the Discipline

1. Graduates will demonstrate familiarity with the major concepts, theoretical perspectives, empirical findings, and historical trends in psychology.
2. Graduates will understand and apply basic research methods in psychology, including research design, data analysis, and interpretation.
3. Graduates will respect and use critical and creative thinking, skeptical inquiry, and, when possible, the scientific approach to solving problems related to behavior and mental processes.
4. Graduates will understand and apply psychological principles to personal, social, and organizational issues.
5. Graduates will be able to weigh evidence, tolerate ambiguity, act ethically, and reflect other values that are the underpinnings of psychology as a discipline.

Student Learning Outcomes Fulfilled as Part of a Liberal Arts Education and Enhanced in the Psychology Program

1. Graduates will demonstrate information competence and the ability to use computers and other technology for many purposes.
2. Graduates will be able to communicate effectively in a variety of formats.
3. Graduates will recognize, understand, and respect the complexity of sociocultural and international diversity.
4. Graduates will develop insight into their own and others’ behavior and mental processes and apply effective strategies for self-management and self-improvement.
5. Graduates will emerge from the major with realistic ideas about how to implement their psychological knowledge, skills, and values in occupational pursuits in a variety of settings.

About the Department and Major

Psychology is the empirical and theoretical study of behavior and mental life. It is a science that investigates the causes and dynamics of behavior patterns, and it is a profession that applies knowledge, skills, and techniques to the solutions of individual and social problems.

A psychologist may be either a scientist, a practitioner, or both, who specializes in the study of behavior and the treatment of behavior-related problems. Educational and professional experiences help the psychologist to understand normal human developmental patterns and how people normally perceive, think, and behave in a wide variety of environments and under many different conditions. The scientist conducts research to add to the ever-expanding font of knowledge available to colleagues and the general public. The practitioner is trained to provide professional assistance to children, adolescents, and adults, as well as to couples, families, and groups and may also provide services to schools, agencies, organizations, industries, and institutions.

Students Major in Psychology for a Variety of Reasons:

1. As preparation for graduate work in psychology
2. As a liberal arts preparation for employment in a wide variety of semi-professional or psychology-related fields, including management and personnel work, sales and services, and social service work
3. As a second major in support of a more vocationally-oriented major. Many psychology majors also major in criminal justice, business, and other related fields
4. A significant number of students major in psychology as pre-professional undergraduates in preparation for law, clergy or medicine, or to complete a bachelor’s degree for nursing. Others have no more specific goal in mind than to obtain a high quality liberal arts education

In cooperation with the Department of Criminal Justice, undergraduate psychology majors may complete the coursework needed for the State of Wisconsin Social Worker Training Certificate.

General Requirements

Course List

Course	Title	Credits
Total for graduation		120
General education		44-58
Major studies		37

Departmental Admission Requirements

Upon declaring the psychology major, students must apply for admission to the Psychology Department. The admission requirements include:

1. A grade of “C-” or better in (ENGLISH 1130 and ENGLISH 1230)
2. A grade of “C-” or better in General Psychology (PSYCHLGY 1130)
3. The completion of all remedial mathematics courses (if necessary)
4. The completion of nine credits of psychology courses with a grade of “C-” or better. (This includes PSYCHLGY 1130.)
5. The completion of 42 semester credits at UW-Platteville
6. A cumulative G.P.A. of 2.50 or higher

Please contact the department chair for admission requirements for transfer students.

Note: If students intend to add the psychology major as a second major during their junior or senior year, they must obtain special permission from the department chair. Students wishing to add psychology as a second major their junior or senior year will not be allowed to add Behavioral Research I or History and Systems of Psychology until current psychology majors who need the courses to graduate have added the classes.

Social Sciences Comprehensive Major

Students may complete a Social Sciences Comprehensive Major with an emphasis in Psychology or History. Please refer to the catalog section Social Sciences Comprehensive under Department of History for details.

Major

• Psychology Major, B.S.

  • Aging Studies Emphasis

  • Human Services Emphasis

  • Substance Abuse Counseling Emphasis

Related Major

• Computer Science + Psychology

Minor

• Psychology Minor

• Psychology Major, B.S., Four-Year Plan

Faculty and Lecturers

Additional information about the Faculty and Lecturers below may be found in the Faculty and Academic Staff section of this catalog.