PSYCHOLOGY

Why Psychology?
Psychology is a multi-faceted discipline, with applications to virtually every area of life. This gives us many reasons to study psychology. Here are a few:

  • To develop insight and skills to allow you to help other people cope with their challenges and grow to meet their potential.
  • To delve into some of the most mysterious and fascinating questions of our day. 
  • To be able to get a job when you finish. The employment outlook is expected to be good for the next several years and there are a wide variety of jobs available in psychology. 

Careers in Psychology
Since psychology offers both general insight into the human nature and specific skills for working with people, it opens many avenues for employment. Here are a just a few examples of career opportunities.
A bachelor’s degree in psychology may allow you to:

  • Work as an assistant in mental health clinics or rehabilitation programs
  • Be a case worker in a social service agency
  • Become a probation officer
  • Enter law school
  • Find jobs in business settings 

A graduate degree in psychology opens many more doors, allowing you to:

  • Be a licensed counselor
  • Work as an applied psychologist in education, business or industry
  • Become a researcher or a university professor.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, “employment of psychologists is expected to grow faster than average for all occupations through 2014, because of increased demand for psychological services in schools, hospitals, social service agencies, mental health centers, substance abuse treatment clinics, consulting firms, and private companies.”

For further information on careers in psychology, follow these links:

Psychology Faculty Accomplishments
Peter Bowen, Ph.D., pbowen@wbu.edu, Professor of Psychology; B.S. Hardin-Simmons University, 1988, M.A. University of Rochester, 1991, Ph.D. University of Rochester, 1996.  Bowen specializes in the experimental areas of psychology, particularly neuroscience.  He has supervised undergraduate student research, including students in the honors program.  He has also published research in several scientific journals and presented research at national conferences, including the Society for Neuroscience and the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. 

Cassie J. Collins, Ph.D., LPC, collinsc@wbu.edu, 806-291-1182, Assistant Professor; B.A., Angelo State University; M.S., Angelo State University; M.Ed., Texas Tech University; Ph.D., Texas Tech University, 2006.  Collins is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a state board approved LPC Supervisor.  She has co-presented research at more than a dozen national conferences and has co-authored several scholarly journal articles.  In addition to serving on the faculty, she continues to work in various settings within the community and in the school system as a consultant and practitioner.  Research interests include life review and reminiscence group counseling among senior adults and counseling special populations.

Perry L. Collins, Ed.D., LPC, LPA, collinsp@wbu.edu, 806-291-1177, Associate Professor; B.A., Lubbock Christian University, 1991; M.S., Angelo State University, 1995; M.P.A., Angelo State University, 1996; Ed.D., Texas Tech University, 1999.  Collins is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a state board approved LPC Supervisor.  He is also a Licensed Psychological Associate.  Collins was mentioned in Texas Monthly Magazine’s 2004 Guide to Texas Colleges and Universities as having the “Best Classes” at Wayland Baptist University.  Collins was awarded Faculty Scholar of the Year at WBU for two consecutive years and has served on the editorial review boards of many scholarly journals including the Journal of Counseling and Development, the Journal of College Counseling, the Journal of Mental Health Counseling, and the Journal of Humanistic Counseling and Development.  Collins has over a dozen scholarly journal publications and has presented over 50 research papers at state, regional, and national conferences in the fields of education, psychology, and counseling.  Currently, he has various contracts in the community providing counseling, assessment, and other mental health services in a variety of settings.  Research interests include eating disorders and psychopathology.

Wilburn Lackey, Ed.D., LPC, RSOTP, lackeyw@wbu.edu,  Professor of Psychology; B.A., Wayland 1970, M.A. University of Northern Colorado, 1979, Ed.D., Texas Tech University, 1984. Lackey has taught at the university level for 26 years and has been in private practice of counseling for 20 years.  His current research interests are blending existential concepts with cognitive/behavioral counseling techniques to form a unique counseling model that is highly successful in treating many psychological disorders.

Psychology Requirements
The major with a B.A./B.S. degree requires a minimum of 33 semester hours, of which 27 must be upper level .

The following courses (33 hours) are required for the Psychology major:
    *PSYC 1301 - General Psychology
    PSYC 2301 - Developmental Psychology
    PSYC 3201 - Introduction to the Profession of Psychology
    PSYC 3309 - History and Systems of Psychology
    PSYC 3411 - Research Methods and Data Analysis
    PSYC 4310 - Social Psychology
Select six hours from the following basic processes courses:
    PSYC 3302 - Motivation and Emotion
    PSYC 4313 - Cognitive Psychology
    PSYC 4320 - Physiological Psychology
    PSYC 4322 - Sensation and Perception
Select nine hours from the following application courses:
    PSYC 3310 - Theories of Personality
    PSYC 3314 - Psychology and the Law
    PSYC 3317 - Rape: Perspectives on Sexual Assault
    PSYC 3318 - Ethics for Behavioral and Social Sciences
    PSYC 3321 - Marriage and the Family
    PSYC 3325 - Forensic Psychology
    PSYC 4308 - Substance Abuse
    PSYC 4309 - Death and Dying
    PSYC 4311 - Abnormal Psychology
    PSYC 4314 - Testing and Assessment
    PSYC 4318 - Introduction to Counseling
    PSYC 4319 - Human Sexuality
    PSYC 4340 - Topics in Psychology
    PSYC 4360 - Practicum

* Three hours may be included in the general education core curriculum.