The mission of Applied Psychology, a Bachelor of Science degree program, is to enable students to apply general knowledge of psychology and in-depth knowledge and skill in specific areas of psychology to communicate effectively, think critically, behave ethically and with cultural awareness, and work interpersonally with people from a wide variety of backgrounds.

The educational objectives of the Applied Psychology program are:

• To produce graduates with effective interpersonal skills who can work in a variety of  practical settings.
• To enable students to obtain the knowledge and skills necessary for immediate employment and/or graduate study in psychology and related areas.
• To provide opportunities for students who wish to apply psychology training to employment in business and human service related organizations or to prepare for graduate programs in related areas.
• To serve as a minor to complement other programs on campus.

1. Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the major theoretical approaches, findings, and trends in psychology.
2. Students will demonstrate an understanding of and be able to use major research methodologies in psychology, including design, data analysis, and interpretation.
3. Students will demonstrate an understanding of applications of psychology to personal, social, and organizational problems and issues.

During the 2007-08 academic year, the Applied Psychology faculty formally assessed the student learning outcome summarized below.  Additional details can be found in the attached assessment report and in department assessment records.

Applied Psychology Program Student Learning Outcome 1:  Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the major theoretical approaches, findings, and trends in psychology.

Data were collected from test items in PSY 201, 215, 301, 330, 331, 335, 360, and 361. Both the direct measures and the indirect measures suggest that students are learning about the major theories and trends in psychology, relative to the specific course in which they were tested. However, these data should be interpreted with caution as only a few test items were selected for assessment purposes. The test items selected represent a very small sample of the many theories that comprise the field of psychology. The test items themselves were mostly multiple-choice items, which limits assessment to only recognition of material and may not necessarily reflect what students will take away from the course. The indirect measures of student learning (i.e., students' self-ratings of their progress) provide some evidence that the students believe they are learning. However, due to the small numbers of students in some of the courses, these data should also be interpreted with caution.