FAQ'S (feel free to send your questions to Dr. Robson  by email: smrobson@radford.edu )

Q.  Where is the Psychology Department main office, and who is the Chair of the department?

A.  The main office for the department is in the newly renovated Russell Hall. Addresses are located in this link: faculty offices Some forms and much useful information can be obtained at this office.  The Director of the Advising Center is Dr. Robson (Russell 423 and 424) and the Chair of the department is Dr. Hilary Lips.

Q.  After I fill general education classes and I complete my psychology requirements, what else do I have to do to finish my degree at RU?

A. You need 120 hours to graduate, so even if all your general education class are done (that's 50 hours) and your psychology is all done (that's 37 hours), and you have completed your B.S. requirements (between 6-8 hours) or your B.A. requirements, you will still have room for  21-27 hours.  If you want to have a minor, that's fine, but you don't have to.  All the courses that fall outside the category of major, gened or bs/ba requirements are called ELECTIVES.

Q.  Why does my advisor keep changing?

A.  Your first advisor in the department is me, Dr. Robson.  I advise everybody when they first start the major.  Depending on several factors, you stay with my office for one or two semesters.  Then, you get assigned a Permanent advisor, who will be your advisor until you graduate OR until your Permanent advisor retires or leaves RU .  In that case, of course, you would get another advisor.  So really, you should only have two psychology advisors, but sometimes things happen that get in the way of that!

Q. When can I get advised for registration?

A.  Usually the schedule for the next semester is released about 4-6 weeks prior to spring break or the middle of the semester.  And Personal Identification Numbers (PIN) are sent to your advisor, along with your advisement time, about two weeks before the actual registration period of Phase I.  So you need to see your advisor shortly after you get an email notice about advising or soon after you hear people talking about next semester's courses.  If you delay seeing your advisor and getting your PIN ticket, you may miss Phase I, and that will seriously limit your choice of courses.

Q. How do I get advisement?

 A.  First, find out who your advisor is.  There is a list posted on the bulletin board outside of the Psychology Department Advising Center and also outside the main office, as soon as the bulletin boards are installed and the list is made. 

    Next, find out your advisor's office hours.  You can then either show up during office hours or email the professor to make an appointment. Sometimes, during the pre-registration period, there will be a sign-up sheet posted on your advisors door.  IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO GET TO YOUR ADVISOR AND BE ADVISED.

    Finally, be sure to SHOW UP for your appointment! And bring any relevant papers, schedules, etc. with you, just in case they are needed.   

Q.  Is it better to have a B.A. or a B.S. for graduate school admission?

A.  It doesn't seem to really matter very much, as the degrees mean different things to each school.  It's really much more important to have good grades!  If you want to take a language, that's what you would do for a B.A. degree.  If you want to take some additional math or science (beyond the Gen. Ed. requirements), go for the B.S.

Q.  Does a "D" grade count if it's in a required course for the major?

A.  Yes, it counts.  You have to have a 2.0 average in your major (psychology) but if you get a D, as long as you have other grades that can pull your overall average up to a 2.0 you can count that course.

Q.  I hate math.  Is there any way I can avoid taking math classes?

A.  For general ed area 6, you need to take at least one course with a math or stat prefix - that is, you have to take a class in either math or statistics. There are two math courses that were created especially for the non-math major, math 114 and 116,  so we recommend you take one or both of those. The other class you can fill that category with can have an ITEC prefix.  So...conceivably, you could take stat 200, which is REQUIRED for the psychology major, and you could take itec 100, and get away with not taking any math for the general ed requirement.    And you could also consider GEOG 130, Physical Geography, to partially fill the BS requirement, in the geography dept. But if you don't want to take extra math, itec, science or physical geography, you could take a language (12 hours or equivalent combination from high school and college courses, see the foreign language dept. chair- Dr. Sweet - in Cook Hall for more information) and get the B.A. degree instead of the B.S. 

Q.  Is it important to have a minor?

A.  It is helpful to have a minor if you are interested in another area.  For example, if you are thinking you would like to get a job as a manager for a retail store, it might be helpful to have a marketing or business minor to combine with your psychology major.  Or, if you are thinking you would like to work as a residential counselor at a group home for adolescents, it might be helpful to have a minor in criminal justice or social work.  A minor makes your experience in college a little more focused and directed, but you should only do it if you really enjoy the other area, because otherwise it can become kind of a burden, rather than a great learning experience.

Q. What can a graduate with a psychology B.S. or B.A. do for employment after graduation?

A.  There are lots of jobs which look for a well-rounded liberal arts graduate (the psychology major is part of that category!).  If you want to be a practicing psychologist, you will have to go to graduate school, but lots of entry level jobs are looking for people who are people-savvy, or who understand the principles of behavior and learning.  Check out some of the newsletters to see what kinds of jobs there are.  Or go to the following website to get some ideas:  www.psywww.com/careers/entry.htm

Q. Are there any clubs or associations which are related to my major?

A.  There is a psychology club, and they have speakers and meetings about topics of interest to psychology majors.  Dr. Jeff Willner is the faculty advisor for that club.  There is also PSI CHI, which is the honor fraternity for psychology majors.  You can find out the exact requirements for membership in PSI CHI from Dr. Pierce who is the faculty advisor. (see any issue of the RU PsyClone for more information)

Q.   Is an internship required for psychology majors?  What are the requirements for an internship (and why would I want to do one if it's not required)?

A.  The internship opportunity is not a required class, and in fact, even if you do get an internship, it only counts as elective hours because internships are pass-fail.  You qualify to do an internship if you have had at least 75 hours of college level work, 18 hours in psychology, and have a 3.2 gpa in psychology.  Only a limited number of people do an internship each semester, and if you are interested in doing one, you will need to be very pro-active in finding a place you would like to intern at and interviewing for a position.  Internships can be anywhere from 1-12 hours, and are usually unpaid, but there is quite a bit of variability in internships.  Besides the regular school year semesters, the summer is a good time to do one.  See Dr. Robson for more information.