- Class sizes and Class Offerings
- Advising
- The first two years
- Degree Structure
- Special Opportunities
- Who should consider the New Kensington Psychology Program?
The Psychology Program at Penn State New Kensington has four full-time faculty and approximately 40 undergraduate majors. A Bachelor of Arts degree in Applied Psychology is offered. This 127-credit B. A. program combines the advantages of a liberal arts degree in psychology with the development of practical skills easily applied to a variety of government, social service, business, and industry occupations. In addition to core coursework that includes statistics, research methods, and principles of measurement, students learn and apply skills during a required 12 credit internship experience. In addition to the internship experience, all students are provided with the opportunity to conduct their own research project or to work with faculty on their research projects. Past and current students have presented their findings at national and regional conventions.
Class sizes and class offerings
Class sizes are small (on average 10-15 students) with even the largest class (Introductory Psychology) having no more than 60 students. Course offerings are broad including courses within abnormal, clinical, personality, developmental, cognitive, industrial/organizational, social, and health psychology. Some core courses (research methods, principles of measurement) are offered only once a year so students should be attentive to scheduling.
Advising
Students are assigned a psychology faculty member as an advisor when they declare intent to major in psychology. Students typically keep the same advisor until they graduate. Students may also go the Division of Undergraduate Studies for advising assistance. The Campus Career Center maintains additional resources for career advising. The Program maintains a listserv for announcements about events and programs related to Psychology and internships.
The first two years
As in other Penn State Psychology programs, students in their first two years focus on lower-division courses. Courses typically fulfill General Education requirements, and prerequisites for more advanced courses. There are no entrance-to-major (ETM) requirements. Students may either enter into New Kensington or change location to or from another campus after their first two years.
Degree structure
Psychology majors must select from two programs leading to a baccalaureate degree. For those students who wish to spend their entire undergraduate career at the New Kensington campus, they can earn a degree in applied psychology (PSYBA). Students are required to take course in several categories representing different subareas within psychology (e.g., developmental, cognitive, social). All students take PYSCH 100 – Introduction to Psychology, PSYCH 212 – Developmental Psychology, PSYCH 296 – Independent Study, PSYCH 301W – Basic Research Methods, PSYCH 404 – Principles of Measurement, and PSYCH 495/496 – Internship. Students are also strongly encouraged to take PSYCH 494 – Research Topics to develop and execute their own research project or to work on a faculty member’s research project. Students who take PSYCH 494 – Research Topics are expected to present findings at a regional (Eastern Psychological Association) or national (American Psychological Association, Association for Psychological Science) conventions.
For those who wish to transfer to University Park after two years, they can earn either a bachelor of arts (PSYBA) or bachelor of science (PSYBS) in psychology. The PSYBA degree provides a very broad education in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. While many of the PSYBA and PSYBS requirements are the same, PSYBA requirements include an additional 12 credits of a foreign language, and additional credits of arts, humanities, social and behavioral sciences, and other cultures. The PSYBS degree has options for specific interests. The PSYBS degree requires only that the student have two years of language in high school or at least a C in one language course at Penn State. The PSYBS program requires the student to complete one of the following four options. Students who want a general science background rather than specializing in neuroscience and health, business, or computers and statistics are advised to choose the Biological and Evolutionary Science option. Those who want to go into medicine, neuroscience, or a health-related field, should choose the Biological Sciences option. Those who want to work in business should choose the Business option (but note that it is often difficult to schedule Business courses). Those who want to specialize in computers and statistics should select the Quantitative Skills option. All options require the students to take additional supporting courses in arts or humanities, natural sciences, and social and behavioral sciences.
Special opportunities
Penn State New Kensington psychology majors are strongly encouraged to supplement their coursework with research experience. "Research experience" usually means working on research projects conducted by faculty, performing tasks ranging from participating in discussions with faculty to testing subjects, designing surveys, or coding data. This provides an opportunity to get to know faculty members on a one-to-one basis, and to see the science of psychology in operation. This experience enhances understanding of the field of psychology and can also have some other practical benefits:
- It enhances resumes by demonstrating involvement outside the classroom.
- Working on research with a professor gives that professor an opportunity to get to know the student well enough to write an effective letter of recommendation.
- Working on research can help students decide whether a particular field of psychology is a good career choice.
Students have the opportunity to join Penn State New Kensington’s Chapter of Psi Chi, the National Honor Society in Psychology, for the purposes of encouraging, stimulating, and maintaining excellence in scholarship, and advancing the science of psychology. Membership in the New Kensington Chapter is open to undergraduates who are making the study of psychology one of their major interests and who meet the minimum qualifications. Eligibility includes:
- Completion of 3 semesters or 5 quarters of the college course,
- Completion of 9 semester hours or 14 quarter hours of psychology courses,
- Ranking in the top 35% of their class in general scholarship, and
- A minimum GPA of 3.25 (on a 4.0 scale) in both psychology classes and in cumulative grades.
All students are encouraged to join the Penn State New Kensington Psychological Association, an organization for psychology majors and others interested in psychology.
Penn State New Kensington also offers students the opportunity to conduct a one-year internship at NIMH Undergraduate Fellowship in Mental Health at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. Students accepted into the program will devote a year planning and implementing a supervised research project in a basic or clinical science laboratory in addition to taking courses in biology, chemistry, and neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh or Carnegie Mellon University.
Who should consider the New Kensington Psychology program?
The Applied Psychology Program at Penn State New Kensington offers a broad curriculum and the opportunity for hands-on involvement in research that will provide a basic foundation of knowledge and critical thinking skills that can lead to success in a range of future endeavors. Many students have developed close collaborations with faculty members. Approximately one-fourth of our students go onto graduate school immediately after graduation while others begin careers in their chosen field.