Bachelor of Psychological Science at The University of Vermont

Having a strong foundation in psychological science allows people to excel in any number of career paths, whether one chooses a career in business, education, health, government, or the non-profit sector."

The Department of Psychological Science at UVM offers both a bachelor of arts (B.A.) degree and a bachelor of science (B.S.) degree. Which option you choose will depend on your specific interests and whether you are more interested in arts, humanities, social sciences, and languages or with natural sciences and mathematics.

The B.A. option is primarily designed for students who are interested in becoming a practitioner working in an applied setting such as a counselor, therapist, or social worker. The degree is also a good framework for careers in medicine, research, neuroscience, law and business.

Preparation for a particular career comes with the courses you choose to take, not the degree that you earn. For example, students routinely enter medical school having earned a B.A. degree and having taken courses in physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics. Similarly, students frequently earn a B.S. degree having also taken a large number of courses in the social sciences or humanities.

Outcome 1: Students should understand core concepts, theoretical perspectives, empirical findings, and historical trends in most of the subdisciplines of psychology (social, developmental, clinical, biobehavioral, learning and memory, and history of psychology).

1.  Students should be able to identify the key theories, research findings, and sociocultural contexts that have shaped the subdisciplines over time.
2.  Students should be able to identify what makes each subdiscipline of psychology unique, and be able to generalize/transfer psychological knowledge across the core areas.
3.  Students should understand the reciprocal relationship between theory and hypotheses on the one hand and research methods, results, and the interpretation of the results on the other.

Outcome 2: Students should be able to understand and evaluate critically the primary and secondary literature in the science of psychology.

1. Students should be able to articulate and distinguish between distinct theses and arguments in the scientific literature.
2.  Students should be able to identify strengths and weaknesses of methodological design as described in the literature, as well as recognize when conclusions are appropriate to the data presented.
3.  Students should be able to identify the broader implications of research findings based on their critical evaluation of the scientific literature.

Outcome 3: Students should be able to understand, synthesize, and communicate psychological material both orally and in writing.

1. Students should effectively distinguish between evidence and opinion.
2. Students should be able to summarize, synthesize, and interpret main ideas.
3. Students should be able to develop a clear thesis, justify its importance, and support it with evidence.
4.  Students should effectively present quantitative information.