San Diego State University

Apr 24, 2024

2020/2021 University Catalog

2020/2021 University Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Psychology

Undergraduate Information
Graduate Information
Imperial Valley

OFFICE: Life Sciences 110
TELEPHONE: 619-594-5358
UNDERGRADUATE ADVISING OFFICE: Life Sciences 105
TELEPHONE: 619-594-5412 or 619-594-5358 / FAX: 619-594-1332
WEBSITE: http://www.psychology.sdsu.edu

Accredited by the American Psychological Association (Clinical Psychology).

Undergraduate Information

Faculty

Emeritus: Borges, Bryson, Defran, Dunn (SDSU-IV), Fenson, Franzini, Graham, Graf, Hillix, Hornbeck, Kass, Klonoff, Leckart, Lee, Litrownik, Marlin, Marshall, Martin, McCordick, McGivern, Plotnik, Price (Judy), Psomas, Reed, Reilly, Riley, Rodin, Saccuzzo, Sallis, Sattler, Schulte, Scollay, Spinetta
Chair: Gilbert
Professors: Amir, Atkins, Castañeda (SDSU-IV), Cronan, Devos, Friend, Gallo, Gilbert, Hattrup, Holcomb, Malcarne, Matt, Mattson Weller, Müller, Murphy, Price (Joseph), Prislin, Roesch, Sereno, Talavera, Thomas, Twenge, Weersing
Associate Professors: Blashill, Brasser, Conte, Cordero (SDSU-IV), Horvath, Kath, Marinkovic, Marx, Sadler, Thoman, Vaughn, Wells, Yeh
Assistant Professors: Abarbanell (SDSU-IV), Barber, Helm, Kappenman, Villodas, Wiggins
Lecturers: Laumakis, Turner

The Major

What is psychology? Psychology is the scientific discipline that studies human behavior and mental processes: how human beings develop, learn, think and feel. Psychologists study the relative influences of heredity and experience throughout the life span in a wide variety of environments, including the laboratory, home, school, workplace, jury room, hospital and hospice. Faculty of the Department of Psychology at SDSU focus on a number of areas of psychology. Among these are:

the effects of prenatal environments, including the influence of hormones and drugs on brain development and later functioning,
the effects of childhood experience on social-emotional and cognitive development,
the functioning of adults and the elderly in response to biological and environmental challenges,
the normal processes of learning, memory and cognition,
the effectiveness of behavioral and cognitive intervention procedures for enhancing physical and mental well-being.

What do psychology graduates do? The majority of students who graduate with a B.A. in psychology enter the job market and find employment in a broad range of settings, including business, state and local government agencies, and health-care services. Because the B.A. in psychology provides a liberal arts education as opposed to technical training, psychology majors will need to acquire job-specific experience or expect additional on-the-job training.

Does the B.A. in psychology prepare students for graduate work in applied areas? Students who have maintained strong academic records in psychology often enter masters degree programs in counseling: Clinical Social Work; Marriage, Family and Child Counseling; and School Psychology. Others pursue graduate work in a number of related fields including Program Evaluation, Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Public Health, Social Ecology, Education, Criminal Justice, Law, Administrative Social Work, Human Resource Development, and Medicine.

What is the Ph.D. in psychology? Graduate work which leads to the Ph.D. trains one to be a scientific psychologist, to study human behavior and mental processes, and to teach at the university level. The Ph.D. in clinical psychology also includes supervised training in clinical practice. The time commitment for earning a Ph.D. degree is considerable, and these programs are highly competitive. Only a small percentage of psychology graduates will in fact go on to earn the Ph.D. in psychology.

Impacted Program

The psychology major is an impacted program. To be admitted to the psychology major, students must meet the following criteria:

Complete with a grade of C (2.0) or better: PSY 101 , PSY 201 , PSY 211 , PSY 230 , PSY 260 , PSY 280 , and BIOL 100 (or BIOL 203 ). With the exception of PSY 201 , these courses cannot be taken for credit/no credit (Cr/NC). The minimum grade in each class is C (2.0) or better. NOTE: Psychology majors may use PSY 280 to satisfy Mathematics/ Quantitative Reasoning General Education requirement. Note Also: A college level statistics course will be accepted from another department (CIV E 160 ; ECON 201 ; LING 270 ; POL S 201 ; SOC 201 ; STAT 119 or STAT 250 ) combined with PSY 281 in lieu of PSY 280 . PSY 280 must be completed with a grade of B (3.0) or better for students in the emphasis in industrial and organizational psychology;
Have a cumulative GPA of 2.50 or better.

To complete the major, students must fulfill the degree requirements for the major described in the catalog in effect at the time they are accepted into the premajor at SDSU (assuming continuous enrollment).

Advising

All students planning to major in psychology are urged to visit the Psychology Undergraduate Advising Office (Life Sciences 105). Students should meet with a psychology adviser at least once per semester to ensure they are on track to graduate. The Advising Office is open year-round and may be contacted at 619-594-5412, psychology.advising.sdsu@sdsu.edu.

Major Academic Plans (MAPs)

Visit http://www.sdsu.edu/mymap for the recommended courses needed to fulfill your major requirements. The MAPs website was created to help students navigate the course requirements for their majors and to identify which General Education course will also fulfill a major preparation course requirement.

Graduate Information

Faculty

Paul E. Gilbert, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology [Senate Distinguished Professor], Chair of Department
Jeffrey M. Conte, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology, Associate Chair of Department
Nader Amir, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology
Catherine J. Atkins, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, Associate Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs, College of Sciences
Donna M. Castañeda, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, SDSU Imperial Valley
Thereasa A. Cronan, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology
Thierry Devos, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology
Margaret Friend, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology
Linda C. Gallo, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology
Kate E. Hattrup, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology
Phillip J. Holcomb, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology
Vanessa L. Malcarne, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, Co-Director of Clinical Training and of Doctoral Program
Nancy A. Marlin, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology and University Provost, Emeritus
Georg E. Matt, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology
Sarah N. Mattson Weller, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology
Robert F. McGivern, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, Emeritus
Ralph-Axel Müller, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology
Claire Murphy, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology
Joseph M. Price, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology
Radmila Prislin, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, Resource Management
Scott C. Roesch, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology
Martin I. Sereno, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology
Gregory A. Talavera, M.D., Professor of Psychology
Jennifer D. Thomas, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology (Graduate Adviser)
Jean M. Twenge, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology
V. Robin Weersing, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology
Aaron J. Blashill, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology
Susan M. Brasser, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology (Associate Graduate Adviser)
Elizabeth D. Cordero, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology, SDSU Imperial Valley
Keith J. Horvath, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology
Lisa M. Kath, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology
Ksenija Marinkovic, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology
David M. Marx, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology
Melody S. Sadler, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology
Dustin B. Thoman, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology
Allison A. Vaughn, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology
Kristen J. Wells, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology
May Yeh, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology (Associate Graduate Adviser)
Linda B. Abarbanell, Ed.D., Assistant Professor of Psychology, SDSU Imperial Valley
Larrisa K. Barber, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychoogy (Associate Graduate Adviser)
Jonathan L. Helm, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychology
Emily S. Kappenman, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychology
Miguel T. Villodas, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychology
Jillian L. Wiggins, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychology

Associateships and Assistantships

Graduate teaching associateships and graduate assistantships in psychology are available to a limited number of qualified students. Further information may be obtained from the master’s program adviser, Department of Psychology.

General Information

A Master of Science degree program in applied psychology with a focus on industrial/organizational psychology, quantitative methods, or program evaluation is offered. A Master of Arts degree program with a specialization in physical and mental health research, developmental, behavioral and cognitive neuroscience, social/personality or learning and cognition is available for persons who expect subsequently to pursue a Ph.D. degree. For students currently enrolled in the Ph.D. program, an M.S. in clinical psychology is offered. In addition, the Department of Psychology, jointly with the Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, offers an APA-accredited program of graduate study leading to the Doctor of Philosophy degree in clinical psychology with programs of study in behavioral medicine, neuropsychology, or experimental psychopathology. A scientist-practitioner training model serves as a guide for the experiences provided for doctoral students. It is expected that graduates of this program will be prepared to serve as scientists, innovators, and leaders in the field of clinical psychology. These programs can prepare students for teaching careers.

The doctoral program requires that students spend a minimum of five calendar years in study and research. In the first four years, doctoral students must complete their prescribed coursework satisfactorily as well as engage in research and a series of clinical practica. In the last year of the program all students must complete a 12-month APA-accredited clinical internship.

The department has a strong scientific research orientation, and emphasizes the master’s degree as preparation for doctoral work. Students in all programs must take an advanced statistics/experimental design course sequence and produce an empirical research thesis.

The department awards approximately 30 master’s degrees annually. A substantial proportion of the graduates who apply go on to enroll in doctoral work at well-known universities.

The clinical psychology faculty staff a Psychology Clinic for graduate clinical training and service to the metropolitan San Diego community.

Admission to Master’s and Doctoral Study

Students applying for admission should electronically submit the university application available at http://www.calstate.edu/apply along with the application fee.

All applicants must submit admissions materials separately to SDSU Graduate Admissions and to the Department of Psychology.

Graduate Admissions

The following materials should be submitted as a complete package directly to:

Graduate Admissions
Enrollment Services
San Diego State University
San Diego, CA 92182-7416

Official transcripts (in sealed envelopes) from all post-secondary institutions attended;

NOTE:
- Students who attended SDSU need only submit transcripts for work completed since last attendance.
- Students with international coursework must submit both the official transcript and proof of degree. If documents are in a language other than English, they must be accompanied by a certified English translation.
GRE scores (http://www.ets.org SDSU institution code 4682);
English language score, if the language of instruction was not English (for English language see: http://www.ets.org; for IELTS see http://www.ielts.org; SDSU institution code 4682).

Department of Psychology

Students applying to both the SDSU/UCSD joint doctoral program and the SDSU master’s degree program are required to file only one university application and pay only one fee, which covers both programs. However, separate departmental applications, one for the master’s program and one for the doctoral program, must be filed if the student wishes to be considered for both programs.

Master of Arts Degree in Psychology

Master of Science Degree in Psychology

For application information, please consult the program website: http://www.psychology.sdsu.edu/graduate/masters-programs/prospective-students/application-procedures. All application materials are submitted electronically and include the following:
1. Departmental application;
2. Statement of purpose;
3. Curriculum vitae;
4. Completed application for an assistantship (if applicant is interested in this type of financial support);
5. Three letters of recommendation from persons familiar with the applicant’s academic performance.

Ph.D. Degree in Clinical Psychology

For application information, please consult the program website: http://clinpsyc.sdsu.edu. All application materials are submitted electronically.

Section I. Master’s Degree Programs

Admission to the Degree Curriculum

Admission to the Department of Psychology master’s program involves a two-step process. Applicants must file one application with the university, and a separate application package with the Department of Psychology.

To be considered for admission to the Department of Psychology programs, applicants must satisfy particular department requirements. These requirements and instructions for completing the department application package are shown below. The department application form is available at http://www.psychology.sdsu.edu. Students are admitted to the master’s programs in the fall semester only.

To qualify for admission to the master’s programs in psychology, the student must have:

For the M.A. program: An undergraduate major in psychology (or coursework equivalent to the SDSU bachelor’s degree) consisting of at least 24 upper division units with a grade point average of 3.0 or better. The major must include classes in general psychology, physiological psychology, and statistical methods. In addition, the student must have completed three of the following courses: abnormal psychology, cognitive psychology, developmental science, intermediate statistics, introduction to research methods, psychology of learning, psychology of personality, psychological testing and measurement, sensation and perception, or a psychology laboratory course. Six units of upper division psychology electives, which may be selected from the above list, are also required.
For the M.S. applied program: An undergraduate major in psychology (or coursework equivalent to the SDSU bachelor’s degree) consisting of at least 24 upper division units with a grade point average of at least 3.0. The major must include classes in general psychology, statistical methods, psychological testing and measurement, intermediate statistics or research methods, and at least one class providing research experience in psychology. In addition, the student must have completed three of the following classes: developmental science, social psychology, abnormal psychology, psychology of personality, cognitive psychology, industrial/organizational psychology, experimental psychology with laboratory, psychology of learning, or sensation and perception. Six units of upper division psychology electives, which may be from the above list, are also required.
A grade point average of not less than 3.0 in all undergraduate coursework.
A minimum score above the 50th percentile rank on both the verbal and quantitative sections of the GRE General Test.
The GRE should be taken by November. The GRE Subject (Advanced Test in Psychology) is optional but highly recommended to non-psychology majors. The student should take this test as well as the GRE General Test in sufficient time so that the results will be available prior to the application deadline.

Meeting all of the indicated criteria does not guarantee admission to the program, since admission is also dependent on the facilities and resources available in the department.

For admission to the university, all students must satisfy the general requirements for classified graduate standing, as described in Admission and Registration .

NOTE: Admission to the university does not guarantee admission to the Psychology Department.

Advancement to Candidacy

The student must satisfy the general requirements for advancement to candidacy as stated in Requirements for Master’s Degrees . Having obtained three grades of C or lower in graduate courses automatically precludes advancement to candidacy.

In addition, students must have an approved thesis proposal prior to advancement to candidacy.

Imperial Valley

Faculty

Emeritus: Dunn
Professor: Castañeda
Associate Professor: Cordero
Assistant Professor: Abarbanell

The Major

the effects of prenatal environments, including the influence of hormones and drugs on brain development and later functioning,
the effects of childhood experience on social-emotional and cognitive development,
the functioning of adults and the elderly in response to biological and environmental challenges,
the normal processes of learning, memory and cognition,
the effectiveness of behavioral and cognitive intervention procedures for enhancing physical and mental well-being.

Advising

All psychology majors are urged to make an appointment with an academic adviser during their first semester of residence at SDSU. Students who plan to transfer as psychology majors should make an appointment before registering.