UT Permian Basin’s online Bachelor of Arts in Psychology is highly marketable and broadly applicable, equipping you with the soft or durable skills most employers are seeking in candidates today. By aligning our BA in psychology with your areas of professional and personal interest, you can enjoy a more enriching educational and occupational experience. Our program enables you to achieve this with four optional focus areas representing popular psychology subfields and specializations.
Let’s explore those focus areas and their recommended courses now, along with some future career options in psychology and beyond.
Clinical Psychology
Clinical psychology focuses on studying, evaluating, diagnosing, preventing, and treating emotional and behavioral disorders. If you’re interested in this field, we recommend taking the following courses during your BA program:
- PSYC 4351 Tests and Measurements
- PSYC 3344 Lifespan Development
- PSYC 4304 Physiological Psychology
- PSYC 4305 Drugs and Behavior
- PSYC 3321 Introduction to Psychopathology
- PSYC 4308 Clinical Practice and Mental Health Therapy
Potential careers in clinical psychology include clinical psychologist (with additional education) in a range of healthcare and education settings, counseling roles, and more.
Developmental Psychology
Developmental psychology is dedicated to examining the physical, mental, and behavioral changes occurring from conception to old age. If you’re interested in this field, we recommend taking these courses during your BA program:
- PSYC 3344 Lifespan Psychology
- PSYC 4304 Physiological Psychology
- PSYC 3386 Human Sexuality
- PSYC 4345 Language Development in the Young Child
- PSYC 4341 The Exceptional Child
Potential careers in developmental psychology include developmental psychologist (with additional education) or child development specialist in a range of healthcare, education, and government settings.
Forensic Psychology
Forensic psychology is the use of psychological principles and techniques in contexts related to civil and criminal legal systems. If you’re interested in this field, we recommend taking these courses during your BA program:
- PSYC 3311 Social Psychology
- PSYC 4305 Drugs and Behavior
- PSYC 3345 Child Abuse and Neglect
- SOCI 4370 Family Dysfunction and Substance Abuse or SOCI 4320 Social Stratification
- PSYC 4375 Psychology and Law
Potential careers in forensic psychology include forensic psychologist (with additional education) in a range of criminal justice system settings, criminal investigator, correctional officer, treatment specialist, or victims’ advocate.
Health Psychology
Health psychology studies connections between behavior, cognition, physiology, and social/environmental factors in health outcomes. It integrates psychological and biological research to develop evidence-based interventions for preventing and treating illness and assesses the physical and psychological condition of individuals before, during, and after medical and psychological treatments. If you’re interested in this field, we recommend taking these courses during your BA program:
- PSYC 4307 Health Psychology
- PSYC 4304 Physiological Psychology
- PSYC 3344 Lifespan Psychology
- PSYC 3386 Human Sexuality
- PSYC 3350 Positive Psychology
- PSYC 4305 Drugs and Behavior
Potential careers in health psychology include health psychologist (with additional education), health care facility administrator, employee health maintenance program specialist, substance abuse counselor, and veterans counselor.
Ready to apply?
Note: Focus areas are optional. If you elect to pursue a focus area, it will not appear on your degree or student transcript.
Sources:
https://www.apa.org/education-career/guide/subfields/developmental