Psychology

AUM Psychology Program

Program Description

Although a common career goal of many undergraduate psychology students is to become a psychologist or counselor, there are a number of career paths a student can pursue with a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

As a Psychology major at AUM, you’ll develop critical skills as you apply the scientific method to people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions. You’ll develop abilities that will help you succeed in the business world, law school, and many other careers, including, of course, taking graduate studies to become a professional psychologist. You’ll learn to conceptualize problems, evaluate evidence, and defuse potential conflict as you study the underlying causes of human behavior.

Many of the skills students learn within a bachelor’s psychology program will open numerous and often unexpected career opportunities, as well as provide training for many other types of jobs outside the field, especially those in human and social services or education. A few of the most common job titles in these areas include:

Human resource manager
Sales
Case manager
Psychiatric technician

School counselor
Rehabilitation specialist
Law enforcement and corrections
Career counselor

A bachelor’s degree, along with state certification, can also lead to a career as a high school psychology teacher. If you aspire to become a clinical psychologist, AUM’s program will prepare you for graduate school.

Points of Pride

Megan Traffanstedt, an AUM graduate student, and Dr. Steve Lobello attracted international media interest from organizations like CBS News and the Chicago Tribune with her 2016 article in Clinical Psychological Science questioning the diagnosis of seasonal affective disorder.
Up-to-date curriculum is modeled on the American Psychological Association guidelines for undergraduate programs.

Put Your Degree to Work

Note: While salaries vary depending on several factors including your level of experience, education and training, and geography and industry, here is a sampling of the future job growth and salaries in this area.

A psychology degree will prepare you for a range of careers in the community and social science occupations, including social workers, counselors, and religious workers. Employment of community and social service occupations is projected to grow 11 percent from 2018 to 2028, much faster than the average for all occupations, adding about 306,200 jobs. Most projected new jobs in this occupational group are in counselor and social worker occupations, as their services will continue to be needed in areas such as drug abuse counseling and rehabilitation counseling, and also for school and career counseling. The median annual wage for community and social service occupations was $44,960 in May 2018, which was higher than the median annual wage for all occupations of $38,640.

U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics sample
Jobs	Median Annual Pay	Job Growth through 2028
Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors	$44,630	22%
School and Career Counselors	$56,310	8%
Rehabilitation counselor	$35,630	10%

For More Information

Psychology Department
Auburn University at Montgomery
Goodwyn Hall 210
334-244-3306
tsexton1@aum.edu

Soaring Warhawks

Van Orum earned his Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and his National Certified Counselor credential before returning to AUM as a Student Success Advisor in the Warhawk Academic Success Center.
Bethany Mims received her Masters in Psychology from AUM in 2014 and is now in the Ph.D. program in Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida State University.

Program Overview

The course listings below are a representation of what this academic program requires. For a full review of this program in detail, please see our official online catalog AND consult with an academic advisor. This listing does not include the core curriculum courses required for all majors and may not include some program-specific information, such as admissions, retention and termination standards.

Course sampling specific to the Psychology major includes:

Course #	Course Name	Course Description
PSYC 3123	Behavior Analysis	A study of basic learning principles, particularly operant and respondent behavior, reinforcement schedules, escape and avoidance behavior and secondary reinforcement. Includes required laboratory sessions where these principles are applied to a computerized animal.
PSYC 4330	Sensation and Perception	A survey of how organisms sense and perceive the environment. Topics include stimuli that activate the sense organs and theories and research about how the brain and past experiences convert sensations into perceptions.
PSYC 4350	Psychopharmacology: Drugs and Behavior	The study of chemicals that have the potential to alter mood, perception or behavior. Includes the composition and effects of such drugs, theoretical perspectives and empirical research.
PSYC 3450	Social Psychology	A survey of topics such as attitude formation and change, communication, social interaction, leadership, group structure and process and socialization. Usually offered in the fall and spring terms.
PSYC 3460	Psychology of Women	An exploration of the psychological issues related to the biological, emotional, cognitive and social functioning of women.
PYSC 3470	Culture of Psychology	Studies the importance of culture in explaining human behavior. Encourages students to raise questions about traditional viewpoints in psychology and to evaluate different ways of understanding the diversity of human behavior in general.
PSYC 3510	Personality	A survey of the scientific, phenomenological and psychodynamic approaches to the study of personality.
PSYC 3530	Abnormal Psychology	A survey of abnormal behavior, it classification, diagnosis, causes, and treatment. Usually offered every semester.
PSYC 3780	Developmental Psychology	A study of behavioral, emotional and social changes across the lifespan, from conception and infancy, through the childhood, juvenile, adolescent, adult and elderly years.
PSYC 4902	Independent Study in Psychology	Students work under the direction of a faculty member on a topic area of interest. Except in unusual circumstances, students are not normally allowed more than one independent study. All independent studies require a written contract.
PSYC 4924	Practicum in Psychology	Each student works under supervision of a faculty member in a departmentally approved setting to learn skills by providing psychological services. Available every term with consent of an instructor and the department chair.
PSYC 4952	Seminar in Psychology (preferred option)	Topics for the seminar vary, based on student and faculty interest.

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