Psychology is generally defined as the science of the behavior of individual organisms. The field offers tremendous diversity in terms of the ways in which behavior is studied. For example, physiological psychologists do work that is sometimes indistinguishable from the biological sciences, while social psychologists do work that is more closely related to that of sociologists and cultural anthropologists. Psychology is an evolving discipline that is best understood from a variety of differing perspectives. This diversity often produces stresses and conflicts within the field. One of our primary goals is to teach the student majoring in psychology how to deal with ambiguity, how to reflect on this experience, and how to ask sophisticated questions about behavior and experience.

The Online Electronic Catalog (OEC) is the university?s official compilation for all curriculum. The OEC serves as the basis for major, minor, specialization, certificate, and program requirements for the academic year. For current policy and curriculum requirements refer to the CWU online catalog at http://www.cwu.edu/registrar/catalogs. You may choose the catalog that is appropriate for your major requirements, based on the quarter that you were accepted into your program. Some students may be using more than one catalog to meet general education and major requirements. A student should expect to meet the specific requirements of the psychology major or minor listed in the OEC that is current at the time he or she is accepted by the department into the major or minor program. A student should expect to complete general education requirements as listed in the OEC current at the time of first enrollment at either Central or a community college in the state of Washington, provided he or she transfers directly to CWU from the community college and has not attended another four-year institution.

A 45-credit major program is available to students who are pursuing a second major or a minor in a related field. A 60-credit major program is available to students who have not declared a second major or a related minor. Both programs provide an academic program that is suitable for students planning to pursue graduate-level education. The programs differ only in the number of elective credits required to obtain the degree.