Curricular Components

Writing Across the Curriculum

Nazareth College's Liberal Studies Core requirements (described in full in the college catalog and in the Degree Programs booklet) include a Writing-Across-the-Curriculum component that requires everyone to take three writing-intensive courses in addition to the traditional two semesters of English Composition.** One must be a course in the student's major field (to be specified by the major department).

**Note: For transfer students with junior status or above, only one writing-intensive course is required.
For psychology majors, Psy 202 (Statistics and Research Methods II) satisfies this requirement.

The major field writing-intensive course is intended to insure that students develop the more specific skills of writing in the styles and accepted formats of their professional discipline. Obviously, this will mean different things in different majors, but in psychology it means learning the APA (American Psychological Association) style of writing research reports. Psych 202 (Experimental Psychology) is required for all psychology majors and satisfies the major writing requirement.

What exactly is a writing-intensive course? These courses differ enough to make it impossible to fully spell out their nature or their requirements here, but for starters a writing-intensive course is a course in which writing occupies a more central place than has been traditional in courses outside the English department. This writing typically falls into two broad and sometimes overlapping categories, which might be thought of as "writing to learn" and "learning to write."

The first, which can also be described as "informal" writing, is sometimes done in class and sometimes out of class; some is and some isn't ever seen by eyes other than the student's, it doesn't need to be polished and it usually isn't graded. The reason for doing such informal writing is that there's a lot of evidence to suggest that it can be of great value in helping to stimulate, clarify, and organize (and thus to improve!) the processes of thinking and learning.

The "learning to write" aspect of a writing-intensive course reflects the belief that any educated person, regardless of his or her major, should be able to communicate effectively with others using the written word, and that effective writing is a skill that is acquired largely through practice.

Feedback from others helps, and so does trying again, so students are asked to produce a number of more "formal" (i.e., 'regular') papers, via a process of scribbling down ideas, writing drafts, getting input from instructors and/or peers, availing themselves of the services of the Writing Lab as needed, and revising when appropriate. Writing-intensive courses are limited in class size to ensure that students can receive individualized help with their writing.

Senior Comprehensive Exam

The senior comprehensive exam is a college requirement. Seniors normally take this exam during their last semester at Nazareth, or perhaps in the semester in which they complete all requirements for the psychology major, if that is not their last semester at the college.

The comprehensive exam in psychology has two components: a multiple-choice exam, and a term paper and oral presentation. The multiple choice exam is given during the Spring semester at a time announced several weeks in advance.

The exam contains questions pertaining to all courses in the Required Core (101, 102, 201, 202) and in the distribution requirement. Since not everyone takes the same courses (or even the same number of courses) each student's examination is evaluated individually on the basis of the particular set of courses that the student has taken. The student must pass all parts of the exam, and may arrange to be re-tested on any section(s) that are not passed on the first attempt.

The second component of the comprehensive - the term paper and oral presentation - is part of the course requirements for whichever Upper-Level Integrator the student takes (Senior Seminar and/or History of Psychology). In either course, this paper assignment calls for a comparison of a variety of perspectives on some topic of the student's choosing. Passing this part of the comprehensive requires that the student earn a grade of C or better for the paper.

back to top

Transfer Students

Students transfering to Nazareth in August 2007 or later are expected to satisfy the major requirements effective at that time. Students who have taken Introduction to Psychology at anogther college or have AP credit for the course may be exempt from taking one of our introductory courses.

Information Technology

The departmental information technology program is designed to achieve both knowledge and skill objectives concerning the use of computers and other information technology resources to assist psychologists' work. Primary objectives include mastery of statistical analysis, word processing and database applications, using discipline-specific programs to conduct research, and utilizing internet and CD ROM resources to access research materials.

Students reach these objectives by enrolling in the college-wide information technology workshop and through course work within the psychology program. The laboratory component of PSY 101 (Introduction to Psychology) includes Macintosh applications that simulate psychological research.

Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (PSY 201) introduces students to database and data analysis applications, while Experimental Psychology (PSY 202) increases students' knowledge through the use of these programs in actual research projects. This course also introduces students to discipline-specific applications, internet use, and, with the assistance of the library staff, instructs participants in computer-based information retrieval (i.e., PSYCHLIT). Upper-level laboratory components of existing courses enable students to apply information technology competencies to specific areas within psychology.