Advisement

Students are encouraged to stop by at least once a year to check in with their advisor to make sure they are on track for graduation and to ask questions about courses, their major, and career planning.

We recommend that Freshmen and Sophomores should take mostly core classes. This conservative approach will help ease the transition for students who decide to change to another major or transfer to another university.

Freshmen and Sophomores should take the introductory courses offered in the major, such as Introductory Psychology (PSYC 1101) or Introductory Sociology (SOCI 1101). During the sophomore year, 2000-level courses from Area F should be taken. For Psychology, these courses are Human Growth and Development (PSYC 2103) and a social science course (SOCI 1101, 1160, or 2293; SOSC 1101, or WGSS 2001). For Sociology, this would include Contemporary Social Problems (SOCI 1160) and Sociology of the Family (SOCI 2293). Area F also includes thee elective classes chosen from lower level courses (1000 or 2000 level) from the traditional core class areas (Psychology, Sociology, History, English, science courses, etc.).

Juniors and Seniors should focus on completing the major requirements with an eye toward long-term career development. Psychology majors should note that the statistics course (either PSYC 3301 or SOCI 3331) is required before taking Experimental Psychology (PSYC 4431). Sociology majors should note that the Methods of Social Research course (SOCI 4440) is only offered in the spring semester and the Development of Social Theory (SOCI 4420) is only offered in the fall. The Seminar courses should be taken during the final semester of your coursework.

A minor or certificate is a secondary group of courses that can be chosen to aim for occupational or career goals. A minor/certificate can also be used to explore areas of personal interests. Popular minor or certificate programs for Psychology and Sociology majors include Psychology (for Sociology majors), Sociology (for Psychology majors), the Criminal Justice Certificate, the Caregiving Certificate, and the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Certificate. Any minor/certificate offered by GSW can be used for this requirement, such as business minors. Sociology majors may opt to take free electives (mostly upper level) in place of a minor or certificate.

Junior and Seniors should also consider gaining valuable career-enhancing experiences. These might include participation in the Psychology/Sociology Club and internship experiences. Research projects with faculty members are another educational opportunity with hands-on experience.

Criminal Justice emajor students can find more guidance at the eMajor Criminal Justice web site.

Important Deadlines and Policies

Early registration is highly recommended. Registering early will increase the likelihood that you will get the courses that you want and the times that you prefer.
The minimum credits for full time status is 12 hours/semester. We recommend 15 hours/semester to graduate in four years.
Taking more than 18 credits in a semester is an overload. This will only be given to students with good academic records (e.g., GPA of 3.0 or better). There is a form called Request for Overload Hours that must be filled out to get approval for an overload.
The first few days of each semester are the Drop/Add period. Courses and course sections may be changed during this time without being recorded on your grade transcript.
Once the Drop/Add Period is finished, students can withdraw from courses up to midterm. This will result in a grade of "W" on your transcript for the course. Payment is also required for W courses in most cases.
After the withdrawal date, a withdrawal can only be done for serious medical reasons or a family emergency.
Internships must be arranged during the early registration period. Registration for internships is not allowed during late registration or the Drop/Add Period.
Graduating Seniors must submit the Application for Graduation approximately one year before the anticipated graduation date.

Advisement Resources

Curriculum Sheets
Student resources from the American Sociological Association
Career resources from the American Psychological Association
Psychologycareercenter.org: Job descriptions, school information, job listing services
Career possibilities from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles
GSW's Career Services Center
Psychologydegree.com has descriptions of psychology programs throughout the U.S.
Psychologydegrees.org's top 25 psychology careers
Counselingdegreesonline.org's careers in counseling
Socialworkdegrees.org's social work career guide
Career Shift: A job search resource available to GSW students and alumni. You may need to contact the Career Services Center for the GSW password to this site.
Hurricane career path by Purple Briefcase: Another service from the Career Services Center
Psychology Job and Internship Opportunities

Graduate Programs in Psychology and Social/Behavioral Sciences

The following universities in our area offer masters degrees in counseling, social work, or clinical psychology. Peterson's Guide to graduate school programs has additional possibilities located outside of southwest Georgia.

Albany State University Social Work, Criminal Justice (specialties: Corrections, Forensic Science, Law Enforcement, Public Administration), Counselor Education (Mental Health Counseling, Clinical Rehabilitation)

Augusta University Clinical/counseling, General Experimental, Applied Experimental

Columbus State University Community Counseling & School Counseling

Fort Valley State University Mental Health Counseling, Rehabilitation Counseling and Case Management, School Counseling Education

Mercer University (Macon and Atlanta) School Counseling, Rehabilitation counseling, Clinical Mental Health Counseling

Valdosta State University School Counseling, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy

University of West Georgia Criminology, Counseling, Psychology