Undergraduate Studies in Psychology at SFU:
Overview
Contents
Introduction
Program Goals
Learning Outcomes
Introduction
Psychology may be defined as the scientific study of behaviour,
thought, and feeling. The science of psychology relates to virtually every aspect of
people's lives. Psychology plays an important role in solving human problems and promoting
the well-being of individuals.
Psychology is both a scientific discipline and a profession. Working
within a scientific discipline, psychologists use a variety of research methods for
building and testing theories about behaviour. A general distinction can be made between
basic research (which builds psychology's base of knowledge) and applied research (which
tackles practical problems). The goal of basic research is to identify factors that
influence or cause a particular type of behaviour, thought, or feeling. Applied
psychologists make use of principles discovered through basic research to solve practical
problems.
Students who are considering pursuing a degree in psychology should:
- want to understand people,
- be willing to undertake an orderly scientific approach
to understanding the rich and complex nature of human behaviour,
and
- be willing to invest a great deal of time and effort in their studies.
Program Goals
The Department of Psychology is in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences,
and the undergraduate study of psychology is part of a liberal arts education.
Briefly, the goals of a liberal arts education are to enhance students' written
and oral language skills,
analytic and research skills, and interpersonal communication skills. Preparing
students for specific careers is NOT a goal of a liberal arts degree. This
may come as a surprise
since you may be interested in taking an Undergraduate Degree in Psychology
in order to prepare yourself for a career as an academic or applied professional
psychologist. Indeed,
many students do enter psychology with the belief that they will become
clinical psychologists who will spend their professional lives giving therapy
to clients suffering
from mental problems such as depression, anxiety, or paranoia. However,
although some students who major in psychology do pursue a professional career
in applied or academic
psychology, the vast majority do not. There is nothing particularly special
about psychology in this regard. The same is true of other liberal arts disciplines;
for
example, most people with an Undergraduate Degree in History do not become
professional historians, nor do those with an Undergraduate Degree in Philosophy
become professional
philosophers. In sum, the focus of an undergraduate program in psychology,
including the undergraduate program at Simon Fraser University, is to meet
the goals of a liberal arts
education rather than to produce professional psychologists.
Learning Outcomes
Every undergraduate program is organized to facilitate students'
acquisition of specific knowledge and skills. Four general goals of the undergraduate
program in psychology can be identified. First, students with a B.A. in psychology should
acquire knowledge of the central questions or issues in psychology, of the methods that
are used to gather data relevant to these central questions, and of the range and quality
of answers presently available. Second, through written and oral presentations, students
should attain proficient language skills. Third, practice in the close and critical
analysis of issues in psychology should improve students' empirical, analytical, and
inferential skills, resulting in high levels of problem-recognition and problem-solving
abilities. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, exposure to a variety of perspectives on
central psychological issues should result in an enriched personal, social, and cultural
life.
