If you are an incoming student, you need to declare your major as psychology. If you are an existing TWU student, you need to complete a change of major form. These can be found in the registrar’s office or on the 7th floor of CFO beside CFO 711.

We are currently housed on the 7th and 8th floors of CFO. The main office and instructor mailboxes are located on the 7th floor.

1. Check the departmental website often, http://www.twu.edu/as/psyphil/Undergraduate_Home.htm.
2. Check your portal email. If you don’t check it, have it forwarded to your personal email as ALL university email is sent to the portal email address. Contact the helpdesk at X3971 if you need help with your portal account.

Go to http://www.twu.edu/as/psyphil/Undergraduate_Home.htm. Click on Guidelines to advising link. All of the steps are detailed here.

Because our psychology students have such diverse career goals, we have implemented a track system. Regardless of which track you are on, you will graduate as a psychology major. We have three tracks (you can find suggested course sequences for each at http://www.twu.edu/as/psyphil/Undergraduate_Home.htm):

(1) General track in Psychology – this track is for any student who plans to go on to graduate school in psychology or related areas as well as students who plan to enter the workforce with their bachelor’s degree. There are SUGGESTED courses for all students who plan to attend graduate school noted on the track.
(2) Occupational therapy (OT) – this track prepares students for advanced degree work in occupational therapy. It is a “fast track” meaning that students who plan to attend the master’s OT program on the Denton campus can complete their undergraduate work and their first year of the OT master’s program before receiving their BS in psychology. Students then complete their second year of the OT master’s program and receive the master’s degree. NOTE: students must apply and be accepted into the Denton OT program in the middle of their junior year. Students who are not accepted or choose not to enter the OT program MUST switch to the General Track in Psychology or the PT track and complete the required coursework. Please see As an OT/PT student, what should I be doing differently?question for additional information about being an OT or PT student.
(3) Physical therapy (PT) accelerated track - this track prepares students for advanced degree work in physical therapy. It is a “fast track” meaning that students who plan to attend the master’s PT program in Dallas or Houston can complete their undergraduate work and their first year of the PT master’s program before receiving their BS in psychology. Students then complete their second year of the PT master’s program and receive the master’s degree. NOTE: students must apply and be accepted into the PT program in their sophomore year. Students who are not accepted or choose not to enter the PT program MUST switch to the General Track in Psychology, PT track or the OT track and complete the required coursework. Please see As an OT/PT student, what should I be doing differently?question for additional information about being an OT or PT student.
(4) Physical therapy (PT) track - this track prepares students for advanced degree work in physical therapy. No graduate work is completed on this track. A minor in general science is built into this track. Please see As an OT/PT student, what should I be doing differently? question for additional information about being an OT or PT student.

Only the general track offers the BA/BS option. All OT and PT tracks are BS degrees.
For the BA, you will take 6-8 hours of Natural Science and 6-8 hours of a foreign language.
For the BS, you will take 12-16 hours of Natural Science.
Which is best? It depends on your ultimate goals. If you plan to go into a health related field such as OT, PT or psychiatric nursing, then the BS would be the better option. If you plan on going to graduate school in forensic psychology, then the BS would be the better option. If you are unsure or the BA/BS distinction is not emphasized in your career goals, choose based on your strengths.

Go to http://www.twu.edu/academicaffairs/coreCurriculum.htm. This will contain a series of links to all courses currently listed as filling that position. If addition, this information is also often contained in the general catalog and the course schedule.

Go to http://www.twu.edu/academicaffairs/coreCurriculum.htm. Choose Humanities/Visual Performing Arts. Look at Humanities section. Courses for the literature requirement must begin with the prefix ENG.

Go to http://www.twu.edu/academicaffairs/coreCurriculum.htm. Choose Humanities/Visual Performing Arts. Look at Visual and Performing Arts section. Please make sure that you take a minimum of 3 hours worth of coursework fulfilling this requirement.

Courses that meet this requirement must actually teach how to communicate in a second language, e.g. Spanish, German, ASL (COMS 4553 & 4613), etc. Therefore, mythology or other courses taught in the English, Speech and Foreign Language department that do not involve teaching of actual communication will NOT qualify.

Go to http://www.twu.edu/admissions/transfer/guideslist.htm for information about course equivalency.

Go to http://www.twu.edu/as/psyphil/Undergraduate_Home.htm. Click on Graduation Guidelines for the Psychology Department link. All of the steps are detailed here. ALSO, make sure that you have looked at the university requirements available at http://www.twu.edu/registrar/gradinfo.htm. 

You still need to go through the same advising and graduation steps. However, we highly recommend that you also meet/communicate with an advisor in OT/PT. In addition, it is highly recommended that you join related organizations for OT/PT students. The appropriate department should be able to give you additional information. Finally, it is especially important for you to register as early as possible. Because your track requirements are so specific, you should register when able in order to optimize your chances of getting into these classes.

The PSY 3013 Professional Development in Psychology course is designed to answer these questions as well as help you to learn the skills you need to thrive as a psychology major. Please take this course as early as possible in your sequence of classes.
In addition, the APA web site is full of information about psychology, www.apa.org. Also, the Career Services Department on the TWU campus provides wonderful resources for students. Go to http://www.twu.edu/o-cs/ for more information.

Psi Chi, the national honor society in psychology, is an affiliate with the American Psychological Association as well as other state and regional organizations. The TWU chapter focuses on building connections between students, providing opportunities for community service and offering opportunities for research scholarships. All psychology majors in minors who have completed 9 hours in psychology, have a 3.0 in psychology and are in the top 35% of their classification are eligible to apply. Meetings will be announced within the first month of the semester and students may attend or contact an officer for additional information. Applications and further information is available in the display case across from CFO 711.

The first step is to begin early. Go to http://www.twu.edu/as/psyphil/faculty.htm and click on faculty names to find out about research interests of faculty. The second step is to contact that faculty member to determine if they are accepting students onto their research team. There is a course, PSY 4961, which corresponds to research team experience. You must have the instructor’s approval before registering for this course.

All students must take either PSY 4953 Cooperative Education or PSY 4763 Early Field Experiences in Psychology. Cooperative Education courses are offered in conjunction with the Cooperative Education Office in the TWU Career Center. Cooperative Education experiences require that students work in a psychologically-oriented position in the community. Early Field Experiences in Psychology requires a minimum of 60 volunteer hours outside of class meetings at a psychologically-oriented agency. Please see http://www.twu.edu/as/psyphil/Undergraduate_Home.htm for additional information. Also, please make sure that you do not miss the deadlines. You should start the process at least 1 month prior to these deadlines to ensure placement.

Semester	Deadline
Summer Session	April 15th
Fall Session	April 15th
Spring Session	November 15th