Undergraduate Education Committee



Undergraduate Studies Committee

Fall, 2007

Chair’s Report

December 12, 2007

Present: D. Lapsley (Chair), A. Venter, G.A. Radvansky, A. Kelly, M. Gibson (Psych Club co-president)

D. Lapsley gaveled the meeting to order at 1:00pm. Three items were on the agenda:

1) A proposal for a new summer course

2) the charge from the Planning Committee concerning the placement of our majors in graduate school

3) a proposal to develop a B.S. track in psychology

Course Proposal

The committee considered a proposal for a new statistics course to be offered in the summer term, ’08. It was agreed unanimously that the course should be approved for inclusion on the summer schedule. It was also doubted that this committee has the mandate or authority to approve new course proposals. This authority was kept explicitly out of the terms-of-reference that the Committee generated for the departmental procedures manual.

We discussed whether this was a reasonable function for the Committee.

Two points were raised against the committee taking on this function.

1) Faculty should not have to seek permission to offer certain courses out of respect for academic freedom

2) The Director of Undergraduate Studies, in consultation with the Department Chair, should decide such matters (which is the current procedure, and that seems to be working fine).

Two points were raised in favor of the committee taking on a review function:

1) It is common practice in many academic departments (in many universities) to vet new course proposals through a “curriculum committee” as a kind of peer review of the need and suitability of the course (and its staffing) in light of the curricular goals and resources of the department;

2) It is an opportunity for increased faculty governance of the affairs of the department, as opposed to a top-down hierarchical model of decision-making where chairs-and-directors make the important decisions.

The committee felt that faculty consent was required before it could take on this responsibility.

Placement of Graduate Students

The committee was charged by the Planning Committee to address the observation of Dean Roche that the placement of our majors in graduate programs “was not at the best universities.” We discussed two suggestions of the Planning Committee: 1) examine the response rate on the ‘senior survey’ and find ways to insure that the survey comprehensively picks up students who might later go on to graduate school after some hiatus (e.g., working in labs, doing service); and 2) find ways to “move students into better graduate programs.” For example, what about discouraging PsyD and MSW programs? Would the B.S. degree option help?

The Director of Undergraduate Studies noted that his survey of graduating majors (implemented for the first time last year) had good response rate (142/160). Of the 142 respondents about 40% (56) report going on to graduate school.

We discussed various ways to improve our assessment so that we can track better those students who work in labs for a year or two before moving on to graduate school; or elect to do service before applying to graduate school. This will require working with the Alumni Office.

The committee wondered if the real concern was not whether the placements were at the weak or “not the best” universities, but whether students were opting for degrees other than the Ph.D. Are too many of our majors opting, e.g., for Psy.D and MSW degrees? If these degrees meet student interests, then there should be no objection to students pursuing these fields. On the other hand, perhaps the advantages of the Ph.D. for academic and applied settings can be stressed better. We discussed ways to handle this in special studies and in our general advising.

Insofar as this issue was a charge from the Planning Committee, we decided to write a more formal response. D. Lapsley will draft the response and circulate it to the committee for approval.

We noted, too, that “placement of majors in graduate programs” is not one of the benchmarks by which the quality of undergraduate programs is determined (Dunn et al., 2007, American Psychologist, 62, pp. 650-670).

The B.S. Option for Psychology Majors

The USC recognizes that some faculty feels strongly about this issue, and hence has begun to study some of the implications of moving in this direction.

The committee wondered what the problem is in our department such that a B.S. option is the solution. At least three answers were raised. First, the B.S. option would instruct, underscore or exemplify to our colleagues in Arts & Letters that we are a lab-based science; and that we have unique resource and staffing needs. Second, the B.S. option could perhaps improve the quality of our undergraduate majors (and hence their placement in graduate schools). Third, a B.S. degree simply reflects the reality that psychology is a science.

D. Lapsley shared his survey of 21 peer and aspirational institutions about their degree options for psychology majors. Fourteen of these universities offer only the B.A. degree. In one university (UC-Berkeley), even “science” majors receive the B.A. degree.

Six additional universities offer both the B.A. and the B.S degree; and one (Loyola University-Chicago) offered only a B.S. degree. Of the six universities that offer both degrees, the distinguishing factor seems to be additional coursework required by the B.S. degree in the natural sciences (e.g., biology, physics, chemistry) and in mathematics.

Some committee members doubted whether this data allows us to build a compelling case for a B.S. option.

It was noted that the B.S. option might have unintended consequences, such as driving down the number of double majors and the number of students who work in our labs as special studies students.

It was noted a large number of psychology majors already take a program of study that looks like a B.S. track---these are pre-professional majors whose goal is medical school. They do not seem to be disadvantaged with a B.A. degree;

It was noted that we do not take into consideration in our own evaluation of prospective students whether they have a B.A. or B.S. degree.

It was noted that requiring students to take additional courses in the natural sciences and mathematics actually makes things worse for reinforcing the idea that psychology is a science, because it acknowledges that students must take courses in the College of Science to earn their degree.

The committee was pessimistic about the prospects of pursuing the B.S. option.

|Degrees Offered by Departments of Psychology of Peer and Aspirational Institutions |

|Institution |College |Degree(s) |Comment |

|Emory University | |B.A |The possibility of a B.S. has been discussed in the past. |

|University of Chicago |Division of Social |B.A. | |

| |Sciences | | |

|Cornell University |Arts and Sciences |B.A. | |

|UC-Berkeley |Letters and Science |B.A. |Every student gets a B.A., even those in the sciences. |

|Stanford University |Humanities and |B.A. |It is possible to earn a B.A.S (Bachelor of Arts and Science) if one completes, “with no overlapping courses, the curricular requirements of |

| |Sciences | |two majors which ordinarily would lead to different bachelor’s degrees (that is, a B.A. and B.S). A Concurrent B.A. and B.S is also possible |

| | | |in the event there are overlapping courses. |

|Washington University |Undergraduate College|B.A. |Everybody gets the B.A., even those in chemistry, mathematics, physics, biology, etc. |

|University of Minnesota |Liberal Arts |B.A. | |

|Northwestern University |Weinberg College of |B.A. | |

| |Arts & Sciences | | |

|Yale |Yale College |B.A. | Psychology students take the B.A., although the undergraduate coordinator there notes that “students complain of it.” He writes: “We have a |

| |(undergraduate | |track called “Behavioral Neuroscience” within our major, and we’re thinking of a proposal to award a B.S. degree to at least that track.” In |

| |college) | |addition to the Behavioral Neuroscience” track, there a “Philosophy” track along with the Standard Major. One can connect the degree with |

| | | |Education in a way that leads to Connecticut teacher licensure. There is also a cognitive neuroscience program at Yale. |

|Harvard |Arts and Sciences |A.B. |The Bachelor of Science (S.B.) degree appears to be an option only for students in the Engineering Sciences |

|Dartmouth College |Dept of Psychological|B.A. | |

| |& Brain Sciences | | |

|Boston College |Arts and Science |B.A. | |

|Georgetown |Georgetown College |B.A. | |

|University of Pennyslvania |Arts & Science |B.A. | |

|Degrees Offered by Departments of Psychology of Peer and Aspirational Institutions |

|Institution |College |Degree(s) |Comment |

|Indiana University |Arts & Science |B.A. or B.S. |The BS is more ‘intensive” requiring more advanced courses in psychology and natural sciences; is designed for “the career oriented and highly |

| | | |motivated student”; it emphasizes breadth of preparation in science, math/computer skills and lab work in psychology; smaller sections reserved|

| | | |for BS students; grads well-prepared for “graduate training in psychology, for professional schools and for jobs (not necessarily in |

| | | |psychology) that utilize scientific training and quantitative techniques.” The B.A. or B.S. option depends on career goals. B.A. is fine for |

| | | |“a job that relates to community or social services”, and it “is fine for many graduate programs.” The B.S. is better “if you want to go into |

| | | |medicine or an allied health field” (or any career “which will utilize science knowledge or research, math or computer skills”.) |

|University of Arizona |Social and Behavioral|B.A. or B.S. |The B.S. appears to require a “Supporting Science Requirement” as follows: 1 math course; 8 hours chemistry, 8 hours physics, 8 hours biology. |

| |Sciences | | |

|Vanderbilt University |Arts and Sciences |B.A. or B.S |What differentiates the degrees appears to be the # of hours permitted outside of the College. The B.A. requires 120 hours, of which 102 hours|

| | | |must be taken within the College. “The Bachelor of Science degree differs from the Bachelor of Arts degree in the extra flexibility it |

| | | |provides for including work outside the College of Arts and Science. Otherwise the requirements for the two degrees are the same.” |

|University of Michigan |Literature, Science &|B.A. or B.S. |120 hours are required; in order for an LSA student to receive a B.S. they need to complete 60 of their 120 credits in physical and natural |

| |the Arts (LSA) | |science and mathematics. |

|Duke University |Trinity College of |B.A. or B.S. |The B.S. degree requires a course in Calculus and 6 hours from at least two of the following departments: Biology, Biological Anthropology, |

| |Arts & Sciences | |Chemistry, Computer Science (above 100-level), Mathematics (above 100-level), Physics, Zoology |

|Michigan State University |College of Social |B.A. or B.S |Psychology requires 31 credits. The B.S. degree “…is for students interested in pursuing graduate education is some areas of psychology, |

| |Science | |students completing the Pre-Medical requirements, or students who prefer taking science courses.” Students who opt for the B.S. “…must satisfy|

| | | |the University Integrative Studies Requirement with the Natural Science Alternative Track.” This requires 8 credits: one course in Biological |

| | | |Science, one course I Chemistry or one course in Physics (above intro); 2 credits of laboratory experience in Biological or Physical Science. |

| | | |There is also a Mathematics requirement, and an additional Science requirement choosing a course from one of 4 areas: Neuroscience, Physiology,|

| | | |Genetics or Animal Behavior. |

|Degrees Offered by Departments of Psychology of Peer and Aspirational Institutions |

|Institution |College |Degree(s) |Comment |

|Loyola U. of Chicago |Arts and Sciences |B.S. |Three tracks are offered: Human Services, Natural Sciences or Social Science. Students in all three tracks take 12 courses (Psy 101, |

| | | |Statistics, Research Methods, two “Group A” and two “Group B”, one lab, one capstone, electives). In addition, students in the Natural |

| | | |Science track must take 2 math courses and 4 natural science courses (from a prescribed list: Biology 101/111; Biology 102/112, two additional |

| | | |lecture/lab courses (4 hours each) in biology, chemistry or physics). Students in the Social Science track must take 2 math courses and 3 |

| | | |social science courses (from a prescribed list: Anthro, Criminal Justice, Economics, Political Science, Social Work, Sociology).. Students in |

| | | |Human Services track must take 2 math and 3 social science courses (from a prescribed list: Human Sexuality, Gender, Childhood Psychopathology,|

| | | |Adolescence, Maturity and Aging, Consumer Psychology, I/O, Health Psychology, Community Psychology, Addiction). |

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