College of Community Studies and Public Affairs
Undergraduate minor
The psychology minor is designed for students who want to document a significant learning in the science of psychology without completing the full major program.
To complete a psychology minor, students are required to take a minimum of 20 credits of psychology. At least 12 of these 20 credits must be taken at Metropolitan State, and at least 12 credits must be upper division.
Once you’re admitted as an undergraduate student and have met any further requirements your chosen program may have, you declare your major or declare a minor.
Apply to Metropolitan State: Start the journey toward your Psychology Minor now. Learn about the steps to enroll or, if you have questions about what Metropolitan State can offer you, request information, visit campus or chat with an admissions counselor.
Get started on your Psychology Minor
PSYC 100 is required, plus choose one of the four courses listed below.
4 credits
This course introduces students to scientific and applied psychology, and suggests its application to everyday life. The course familiarizes students with concepts, principles, research methods and theories of psychology.
Choose one
4 credits
This course covers the basic principles and methods of statistics. It emphasizes techniques and applications in real-world problem solving and decision making. Topics include frequency distributions, measures of location and variation, probability, sampling, design of experiments, sampling distributions, interval estimation, hypothesis testing, correlation and regression.
4 credits
Students learn the basic procedures used in the collection and analysis of data in the behavioral sciences. Statistical software is used to conduct descriptive and inferential analyses of both small and large data sets. Students learn to write conceptual conclusions supported by statistical analyses. Prerequisite: Completion of math general education requirements.
Full course description for Data/Statistical Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences
5 credits
This course introduces students to scientific research methods in psychology, emphasizing the experimental method. Topics include developing research questions, reviewing background information, deciding on appropriate methodology, and collecting and interpreting data. This course prepares students to think critically about psychological claims and is generally required preparation for graduate study. This course includes assignments in the Psychology Laboratory.
4 credits
Human factors psychology (ergonomics) is the study of human capacities and limitations affecting people's interaction with machines. Topics include perception, cognition, memory, psychomotor learning, display and control design, vehicular and roadway design, the human-computer interface, airplane crashes, and product liability. The course includes psychology laboratory experiments and research reports, exercises in human factors design, and a field trip in which students fly a flight simulator. Experimental methodology underlies the content of this course.
Choose one course from at least two different areas.
4 credits
In this course, students learn social psychological theories and concepts. They also learn how to understand the research methods on which these theories are based. This knowledge includes an awareness and respect for the diversity of human experience, the importance of social influence on individual behavior, the social significance of groups, and the nature of social change.
4 credits
This course surveys the principles and applications of community psychology, emphasizing person-environment interactions and societal/cultural impacts upon individual and community functioning. Attention is given to community-based interventions that facilitate individual and community competence and empowerment, prevent disorder, and promote health and social change. Students select and research an issue of their choice (such as, mental illness, violence, alcohol or substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, discrimination) utilizing a community psychology lens.
4 credits
This course covers topics that span the full range of specializations within the field of cognitive psychology; such as attention, learning, memory, thinking and problem solving, decision making, language, intelligence and creativity. Applications of this information to education, business and mental health are provided. This course is well-suited to students interested in education, as well as psychology, and is often preparation for graduate study in psychology or education.
4 credits
Human factors psychology (ergonomics) is the study of human capacities and limitations affecting people's interaction with machines. Topics include perception, cognition, memory, psychomotor learning, display and control design, vehicular and roadway design, the human-computer interface, airplane crashes, and product liability. The course includes psychology laboratory experiments and research reports, exercises in human factors design, and a field trip in which students fly a flight simulator. Experimental methodology underlies the content of this course.
4 credits
This course introduces students to the history of learning theories, and the development of current theories of learning such as classical conditioning, operant conditioning and observational learning. An emphasis is on the basic methods of inquiry, as well as on applications of learning theories to areas such as education, business and behavioral change. This course is well-suited to students interested in education, as well as psychology, and is often preparation for graduate study in psychology and education.
Full course description for Psychology of Learning: Contemporary Theories and Applications
5 credits
This course examines the biological basis of behavior. Topics include structure and function of the nervous system, psychopharmacology, electrophysiology, and higher order function of the nervous system. Laboratories include brain dissection, nerve histology, electrophysiology and behavioral experiments.
4 credits
This course introduces students to the major concepts and methods used in the study of perception. Topics include the eye and seeing, spatial vision and pattern perception, depth perception, auditory perception, touch, smell, taste, and knowledge and perception. Applications of research findings to everyday life are also explored.
4 credits
This course explores the nature and causes of abnormal behavior and the terminology used in describing and discussing abnormal behavior. Students study the major categories used to classify abnormal behavior and the diagnostic criteria involved.
4 credits
This course covers similarities and differences in major personality theories and the "real life" implications for holding different theoretical views. Students take an active part in class discussions and give a class presentation on an in-depth study of a major theory.
4 credits
This course covers the theory and developmental processes of adolescence, including viewpoints of adolescence, self and adolescent identity, biological influences, thinking and intelligence, and development of moral values and adolescent pathologies. Students learn to identify and describe these variables as interactive in the developmental process.
4 credits
This course examines adults in transition in the broad context of "the learning society" and explores practical applications of individual differences in learning styles and research on adult learners. Students complete individual study projects which may relate to their personal development or to their professional development particularly as it applies to the workplace. Periodically, focus or topic courses are offered for students with specific interests. See PSYC 319 The Impact of Technology on Human and Organizational Behavior and PSYC 342 Adult Development and Lifelong Learning II: Continuing Education and Training.
Full course description for Adult Development and Lifelong Learning
4 credits
This course provides an overview of the science of child psychology. Major theories and research related to a child's perceptual, motor, emotional, social and cognitive development are reviewed, and their practical applications are explored. Overlap: PSYC 308T Child Psychology Theory Seminar.
4 credits
Life Span Developmental psychology reviews concepts, theories and principles of human development from conception and prenatal development through late adulthood. This course will emphasize cognitive and social development topics that will explore maturation, human growth experiences and the various stages of physical development as key components influencing human behaviors.
Full course description for Life Span Developmental Psychology
Any course in Psychology (any course outside PSYC should NOT be included).
