Senior Seminar

PSYC 4900

Course Description

A capstone course integrating the undergraduate psychology degree program. Should be taken during your last semester before graduation.

Prerequisites

PSYC 3080K with a grade of C or higher 

Learning Outcomes

Required Materials

Assignments & Grades

Content Exams  (20% of overall grade)

By now in your undergraduate career, you have learned about all the major subfields of psychology. In this class we will test your knowledge of the major topics within the field in a variety of ways. One of those ways will be through in-class content exams. Each week (from Weeks 2-12) we will cover a major topic. Those topics include history & systems, research methods & statistics, neuroscience, motivation & emotion, sensation & perception, learning & memory, executive function, development, social psychology, personality, and clinical & counseling psychology. We will have five in-person exams that cover these topics. Each exam will cover 3-4 chapters of our textbook (~2-3 of our main topics). Exams will consist of 40 multiple choice questions. You will need to bring a green scantron and a pencil. Exams cannot be made up. If you miss an exam, your MFT grade will replace it. If you miss more than one exam, documentation and approved excuse from Dean of Students will be required. 


 AI is allowed and encouraged to generate study aids, practice questions, and general exam preparation. 

 

Topic Review & Review Game  (15% of overall grade)

At the beginning of the semester, you will join a group. Your group will be assigned two major topics in psychology. One topic will be covered in the first half of the semester and the other in will be covered in the second half. Your group will review the material for each of your topics on your own. Then you will create a review game that you will facilitate during class. The rest of the class will be expected to have studied the material before the review game. You can pick any review activity you want, but it is highly recommended you get the activity you choose approved by Dr. Hale prior to the review day. 



⚠️  AI is allowed with restrictions. You must use your textbook for the review materials. You must create your own presentation and game materials. AI can be used to help you brainstorm. All AI use must be cited. 

 

Career Fair (10% of overall grade)

We will also host a career fair for each content topic. These career fairs will mimic a real career fair in which booths are setup for prospective employees to learn more about the careers.  You will be a representative of one career for two different topics throughout the semester. One of the careers you decide to present at a career fair must require ONLY a bachelor's degree (or less). The other career must require some kind of post-baccalaureate degree, e.g., Masters degree, Doctoral degree. Here's the process:


 

⚠️  AI is allowed with restrictions. AI can help you brainstorm. You must create your own presentation. All AI use must be cited. 


Career Project (20% of overall grade)

The purpose of this project is to help you brainstorm a career path in a psychology or psychology-adjacent field. (Note: all careers are psychology adjacent since they connect in some way to one or more subfields of psychology and/or they require that you work with other people effectively. Change my mind.) This project consists of several parts that will be completed across the semester. 









⚠️  AI is allowed with restrictions. AI can help you brainstorm. You must do your own writing. All AI use must be cited. Since there are multiple parts to this project, note the AI symbol by each part. 



Research @ Work (15% of overall grade)

The purpose of this project is to demonstrate transferrable skills acquired as a psychology student: information literacy, critical thinking, empirical/research skills, and statistical/analytic skills. In the career project above, you are selecting and preparing for a career of your choice. Here, you will be exploring how research and empirical data influence your chosen career. 





⚠️  AI is allowed with restrictions. AI can help you brainstorm. You must do your own writing. All AI use must be cited. 


Psychology Major Fields Test  (20% of overall grade)

The final exam for this class is a standardized test in psychology known as the Major Fields Test (MFT). The purpose of this test is to assess your knowledge and mastery of general psychology. This test consists of 140 multiple choice questions. The test will be completed in class during our final exam period. You will complete TWO scantrons with identical answers; one will be sent to the MFT scoring office and the other will be graded for this course. Review the linked MFT guide for more information. This test will be completed individually and no resources (e.g., notes) can be used during the test. This comprehensive final exam cannot be made up without excused absence documentation and permission from the Dean of Students office.


 AI is allowed and encouraged to generate study aids, practice questions, and general exam preparation. 

Grade Scale

> 90.0% = A

80.0 - 89.9% = B

70.0 - 79.9% = C

60.0 - 69.9% = D

< 60.0 = F

Schedule Overview

KEY

Psychology Content

Career Project

Research @ Work Project

Workshops

~

Week 1: Syllabus & Planning // "What Are Transferable Skills?" Workshop Introduction

Week 2: Psych Topic 0 // Presentation & Public Speaking Workshop // Focus2 Career Assessment

Week 3: Psych Topic 1 // "I Hate Group Work" Support Group: Collaboration Workshop // Career Paper Outline

Week 4: Psych Topic 2 // Career Material First Draft // Exam 1 (Chap. 1-4)

Week 5: Psych Topic 3  // Career & Grad School Workshop

Week 6: Psych Topic 4 // Exam 2 (Chap. 5-7) 

Week 7: Psych Topic 5 // Career Materials Workshop & Peer Review // Introduce Research @ Work Project // Career Services Due

Week 8: Psych Topic 6 // Career Paper & Materials Final Draft // Exam 3 (Chap. 8-10)

Week 9: Psych Topic 7 // Interviewing Workshop

Week 10: Psych Topic 8 // Research @ Work: Literature Review // Exam 4 (Chap. 11-13)

Week 11: Psych Topic 9 // Professionalism & Time Management Workshop // Interviews Due

Week 12: Psych Topic 10 // Research @ Work: Career Connection // Exam 5 (Chap. 14-16)

Week 13: Research @ Work Presentations // MFT Preparation

Week 14: Presentations (continued) // MFT Preparation

Week 15: Presentations (continued) // MFT Preparation

Finals: Major Fields Test