Psychology
Missions and Expectations
The mission and expectations of the Department of Psychology are consistent with the overall goals of West Virginia University Institute of Technology. The overriding missions is to implement career-oriented education in psychology to individuals at the undergraduate level. The curriculum is designed to produce students who have a broad understanding of both basic and applied psychology, particularly in the areas of learning and behavior, and who have the knowledge and skills necessary to utilize their coursework with excellence in a variety of employment settings. The diversity of courses offered also is designed to ensure that each student is well prepared for further studies in psychology and related fields at the graduate level.
Psychology Program Standards
APA Quality Undergraduate Psychology Programs
The WVU Tech Psychology BA program seeks to uphold the American Psychological Association’s “14 Principles for Quality Undergraduate Psychology Programs” The principles emphasize clear and rigorous goals for student achievement, the importance of both classroom and non-classroom learning environments, and an understanding how the study of psychology enables individuals to make informed judgments which strengthen the community and build public policy.
For more information on each of the APA quality program principles, go to http://www.apa.org/education/undergrad/principles.aspx
The psychology curriculum at WVU Tech is designed to give both a broad base of knowledge and skill as well as training in proved-solutions for behavioral disorders.
The APA and BACB are the properties of their respective trademarks. Professional Field Placements/Internships
As a part of their training, psychology upperclassman at WVU Tech may complete an off-campus professional field experience for academic credit.
Students have recently completed field placements at:
State-of-the-art behavioral laboratoryChildren’s Therapy Clinic, Charleston, WV
Psychiatric Unit, Mt. Olive Maximum Security Correctional Facility
Fayette County Public School System Middle School Counseling
Prestera Center Behavioral Health Services
The American Red Cross of Central West Virginia
The Beckley Treatment Center
The Kennedy-Krieger Institute of Baltimore, Maryland
Tech is one of only two programs in the state to have an animal behavioral laboratory and colony. The laboratory has lab rats which serve as part of training courses for students to learn behavior modification principles. These principles are crucial in helping people with autism, intellectual disabilities, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, Alzheimer’s, and a host of other behavioral disorders. Students learn first-hand in classroom and independent study environments how to apply behavioral principles in systematic ways to living subjects. At the conclusion of their training, many students adopt their lab subjects as pets!
The behavioral laboratory has state-of-the-art operant chambers, stimuli machines, and behavior event-recording hardware and software, with some of the software written by our own faculty.