Program Requirements

The major for the Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree consists of a minimum of 31 credit hours in psychology, at least 9 of which are earned at Wichita State:

  PSY 111 is prerequisite for all higher number psychology courses.

Departmental Honors

Honors Admission

Scholarship and research are encouraged at the undergraduate level. Students who meet the requirements should explore adding the departmental honors program to their undergraduate major. The process is competitive, and not all applicants who meet the admission requirements each year may be accommodated. There is no fee associated with the psychology honors program.

Honors admission requirements include: 

1. Admission to the psychology undergraduate major; 
2. An overall GPA of 3.500 in psychology coursework; 
3. A one-page, single-spaced letter describing reasons for applying to the honors track, goals and potential benefits to participating in the program;  
4. An identified psychology faculty member to mentor the senior thesis;
5. Completion of all required courses (10 credit hours)

   Course List

   Course	Title	Hours
   PSY 111	General Psychology	3
   PSY 301	Psychological Statistics	3
   PSY 311	Research Methods in Psychology	4

6. Completion of three of the core courses: 

   Course List

   Course	Title	Hours
   PSY 320	Biological Psychology	3
   PSY 321	Psychology of Learning	3
   PSY 322	Cognitive Psychology	3
   PSY 323	Social Psychology	3
   PSY 324	Psychology of Personality	3
   PSY 325	Developmental Psychology	3
   PSY 327	Systems and Theories in Psychology	3
   PSY 328	Psychological Testing and Measurement	3

Honors Requirements

Students admitted to the departmental honors in psychology program must complete the following: 

1. Commit to working in the research lab of the faculty mentor for a minimum of two semesters; 
   1. This includes enrolling in PSY 608 Special Investigation for at least 1 credit hour each semester (number of credit hours is to be negotiated between faculty mentor and student).
2. Maintain a 3.500 cumulative GPA in psychology coursework; 
3. Complete honors assignments in four core or elective psychology courses;  
4. Be a participating member of the Psi Chi student organization;
5. Apply for funding to support the senior thesis (e.g., WSU Undergraduate Research Award or Psi Chi Undergraduate Research Grant); 
6. Complete a mentored senior thesis; and
7. Present the mentored thesis at a local, regional or national conference (e.g., WSU psychology department’s Research Roundup, WSU Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Forum, external academic conference [e.g., SWPA]) prior to graduation. 

Applied Learning

Students in the BA in psychology program are required to complete an applied learning or research experience to graduate from the program. The requirement can be met by completing PSY 311.