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The Department of Behavioral Sciences includes the
areas of psychology, sociology and social work. The master of arts degree
is offered in psychology. Sociology may be used in the master's degree
program in interdisciplinary studies and as a minor in other graduate degree
plans. Courses in these two areas provide a comprehensive introduction
to scholarly literature, activities and research.
Lectures, seminars, discussions and independent
studies or investigations are designed to help students acquire an introduction
to the mastery of knowledge, creative scholarship and research in their
field. A graduate degree often serves as preparation for a career in education,
community service programs or various professional roles. For many students,
a master's degree is preparation for doctoral work in psychology.
The master's degree program in psychology is a 42-hour
program. Graduates of the program have found employment in medical and
mental health agencies as well as educational and community service programs.
Other graduates have entered various doctoral programs in psychology.
Graduate study in sociology prepares the student to understand
change and society and its institutions and to apply this understanding
in a variety of employment settings. These include community college teaching,
criminal justice agencies, corporate organizations, social policy development,
social action programming, and social research and its practical applications.
Graduate study also prepares some students for various doctoral programs
in sociology. Additional information on the program may be obtained from
the department.
Master of Arts (M.S.) Degree
Major in Psychology (Major
Code: 5119)
Admission Requirements
Course Descriptions
NOTE: 201 is a basic requirement for all graduate courses. Select courses may have additional prerequisites.
5302. Social Psychology. Review of theories and research relating to individual behavior in the social environment. Same as SOCI 5302. (3 3 0)
5376. Cognitive Processes. Basic cognitive processes: attention, memory, concept formation, reasoning and information processing. (3 3 0)
5390. Psychology of Adolescence and Youth. Psychological growth and development from adolescence through early maturity. (3 3 0)
5398. Current Issues in Psychology. Topics such as psychology of religion, psychobiology, community psychology or behavioral medicine. (3 3 0)
5423. Abnormal Psychology. Personality abnormalities; description, causation, treatment. (3 3 0)
5425. Theories of Personality. Major theories of personality development. (3 3 0)
5430. Psychology of the Emotionally Disturbed Child and Youth. Dynamics and management of emotionally disturbed children. (3 3 0)
5469. Introduction to Psychological Testing. Administration and interpretation of representative tests of mental ability, achievement, interests, aptitudes and personality. (3 2 2)
5477. Behavior Modification. Prerequisite: 375 or permission of instructor. Basic techniques and procedures of behavior analysis and modification. (3 3 0)
5480. Drugs and Behavior. Prerequisite: 201. Introduction to the field of psychopharmacology with emphasis on relationships between drugs, their mechanisms of action in the nervous system and human behavior. (3 3 0)
5488. Theories of Counseling. Survey of major counseling theories and related techniques, and introduction to current ethical and professional issues for the beginning human-services worker. (3 3 0)
5501. Thesis. (3 0 0)
5502. Thesis. (3 0 0)
5512. Professional Seminar in Psychology. Advanced study of basic topics of general psychology. Restricted to students admitted to graduate psychology program. (3 3 0)
5513. Seminar in Learning. Advanced study of basic topics of general psychology. Restricted to students admitted to the graduate psychology program. (3 3 0)
5514. Philosophy of Science and Psychology Ethics. The relationship among science, psychology and philosophy. Professional ethics for the field of psychology in the contemporary environment. (3 3 0)
5523. Advanced Psychopathology. Prerequisite: 423/5423 or permission of instructor. Dynamics of basic psychopathological disorders. (3 3 0)
5530. Advanced Statistics in Psychology. Prerequisite: 304. Advanced study of statistical designs and analyses in psychology. (3 3 0)
5540.Program Evaluation . Prerequisite: three semester hours of undergraduate statistics. Social research procedures to systematically investigate the effectiveness of social intervention programs which include history of program evaluation, terminology, methodology and applications. Same as SOCI 5540. ( 3 3 0 )
5550. Clinical Intervention. Psychological techniques applied to counseling and clinical situations. (3 3 0)
5552. Brief Psychotherapy. Prerequisite: 12 hours psychology including 201. Introduction to theory and practice of conducting brief psychotherapy. Issues related to working in managed health care settings. (3 3 0)
5560. Marriage and Family Counseling. Intervention for marriage and family crises. (3 3 0)
5569. Assessment and Diagnostics. Prerequisite: 469/5469. Methods of determining dynamics and extent of behavioral and psychological dysfunction. (3 3 0)
5579. Practicum in Psychology and Counseling. Prerequisite: good standing in the graduate program and approval of instructor. May be taken for a maximum of six semester hours. (3,6 0 0)
5580. Research and Experimental Design in Psychology. Prerequisite: 304. Complex research designs including factional, factorial and incomplete block. Coverage of parameter estimation in psychology. (3 3 0)
5590. Problems in Psychology. Prerequisite: approval of instructor. Individual study and research on a specific topic within the discipline of psychology. May be repeated once with approval of department head. (3 0-3 0-6)
5596. Seminar in Human Development. Prerequisite: Restricted to students admitted to graduate psychology program or permission of instructor. Basic topics in human development. (3 3 0)
5598. Current Issues in Psychology. Prerequisite: 12 hours in psychology (including 201) and permission of instructor. Ethics, application, methodology and research, neuropsychology or comparative psychology are representative issues. (3 3 0)
Social Work (SOWK)
(Numbers in parentheses indicate semester, lecture and lab hours.)
Students having taken undergraduate "stacked" courses
at WTAMU that have a graduate component cannot take the graduate course
if they have already received credit for the corresponding undergraduate
course.
5510. Foundations of Social Welfare. Historical development of the social welfare system in the United States. Conceptual frameworks are developed for analyzing social welfare institutions and evaluating social welfare policies and programs. Evolution of the social work profession. (3 3 0)
5541. Community and Organizational Practice. Human service organizations and community with emphasis on theory and practice models. Focuses on understanding community and organizational change. (3 3 0)
5562. Research Methods in Social Work. Methods of scientific inquiry as it applies to social work. Techniques and tools of social research, problem conceptualization, research designs and data collection. (3 3 0)
5580. Human Behavior and Social Environment. Behavioral and social science knowledge of human behavior and development through the life span. Majors systems in society: individual, group, family and community; and diversity of ethnicity, race, class, sexual orientation and culture. (3 3 0)
Sociology (SOCI)
(Numbers in parentheses indicate semester, lecture and lab hours.)
Students having taken undergraduate "stacked" courses
at WTAMU that have a graduate component cannot take the graduate course
if they have already received credit for the corresponding undergraduate
course.
NOTE: SOCI 201 is a basic requirement for all graduate courses. Select courses may have additional prerequisites.
5342. Research in Juvenile Delinquency. Causes and manifestations of delinquency and the particular problem of the juvenile offender, agency for delinquency adjustment; evaluation of penal methods. (3 3 0)
5402. Criminology. Crime as a social problem; theories concerning nature and causes of crime and treatment of the criminal; programs and facilities for crime prevention. (3 3 0)
5404. Community Corrections. Origins, functioning and effectiveness of probation and parole with emphasis on the problem of pre-sentence/pre-release investigations and supervision. (3 3 0)
5411. Contemporary Families. Families as social institutions; changes in family structure and their impact on family members; family organization and disorganization; future of the family and home. (3 3 0)
5421. Research in Racial and Cultural Minorities. Characteristics and distribution of ethnic and other culture minorities in modern societies; nature and causes of conflicts arising from group contacts and interaction; problems of minority adjustment and assimilation. (3 3 0)
5425. Sociology of Gender Roles. Male and female gender roles in American society; evolution of gender roles; and contemporary challenges to traditional gender roles in society. (3 3 0)
5430. Sociology of Education. Social origins of goals and curricula; theories of change and control; nature of achievement in education and educational policy. (3 3 0)
5445. Health Care Policy and Planning. Comprehensive overview of major issues in health care practices and policy in the United States. (3 3 0)
5461. Sociological Theory. Concepts and theories of modern sociology and examination of assumptions which underlie them. (3 3 0)
5462. Social Research. Logic and techniques of social research. Relationship of social theory and method. (3 3 0)
5485. Research in the Sociology of Law. Social control functions of law and legal institutions with attention to present-day legal procedures in civil, criminal, family and social welfare laws. (3 3 0)
5510. Seminar in Social and Political Theory. Topics vary from classical to modern theories. May, with permission of instructor, be repeated once when topics vary. Same as POSC 5510. (3 3 0)
5513. Seminar in Criminal Justice Administration. Contemporary national, state and local problems in criminal justice. With consent of instructor, may be repeated once when topics vary. Same as POSC 5513 and CJ 5513. (3 3 0)
5514. Seminar in Deviance. Critical investigations of deviant behavior in society. Topics may include crime, delinquency, mental illness, alcoholism, drug abuse, institutionalized means of prevention and treatment. With permission of instructor, may be repeated once when topics vary. Same as CJ 5514. (3 3 0)
5515. Problems in Social and Political Institutions. Critical investigation of social conditions affecting the structure and functions of contemporary social and political institutions. Same as POSC and CJ 5515. (3 3 0)
5516. Seminar in Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile Justice. Theoretical causes of delinquency and youth criminality, rehabilitation and punishment of the juvenile offenders and the role of the juvenile justice system. Same as C 5516.( 3 3 0 )
5517. Seminar in Criminology and Social Policy. Theories of criminal behavior and research based on these theories; analysis of criminal behavior theories and their impact on social policy. With permission of instructor, may be repeated once for credit when topics vary. Same as CJ 5517. (3 3 0)
5540. Program Evaluation. Social research procedures to systematically investigate the effectiveness of social intervention programs which include history of evaluation , terminology, methodology and and applications. Same as PSY 5540.( 3 3 0 )
5584. Advanced Field Practicum. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Advanced fieldwork in social agencies, under supervision, as arranged and directed by the staff. Translation and extension of theoretical knowledge in professionally supervised practice with individuals, groups and communities. May be repeated once with approval of instructor. (1-6 0 0)
5587. Seminar in Research Methods. Nonparametrics; measurement; surveys, research design; scale construction; methodology. May be repeated once with permission of instructor. Same as CJ and POSC 5587. (3 3 0)
5588. Statistics for Social and Criminological Research. Prerequisite: undergraduate social statistics or equivalent. Statistical techniques most commonly used in criminal justice with emphasis on probability, estimation, hypothesis methods, sample techniques and use of SPSS. Same as CJ/POSC 5588.
5590. Problems in General Sociology. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Directed individual and group investigations of specific areas in sociology including stratification, intergroup relations, socialization, social institutions and deviance. May be repeated once with permission of instructor. (3 0 0)
5591. Readings in Sociology. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Directed individual group readings and investigations in areas of sociology not otherwise covered in available courses. May be repeated for credit with permission of instructor provided topics vary. (3 0 0)
5598. Advanced Issues in Sociology and Social Policy. Prerequisite: 201. Social policy, applied research methods, issues in sociological theory, sociological foundations of organizational behavior, sociological foundations of administrative and welfare law, sociological perspectives of corrections or international sociological perspectives. May be repeated once for credit when subject matter varies. (3 3 0)
| ESS
Homepage |
Top of Page |
| West
Texas A&M University
Webmaster webmaster@mail.wtamu.edu All contents copyright (C) 1997, WTAMU. All rights reserved. Revised: July 3, 2000 |
|