Department of Psychology

135 Biological Sciences Building,
(307) 766-6303
FAX: (307) 766-2926
Web site: www.uwyo.edu/psychology
Department Chair: Sean McCrea

Professors:

KAREN BARTSCH ESTES, B.S. Colorado State University 1981; M.A. Oxford University 1983; Ph.D. University of Michigan 1988; Professor of Psychology 2007, 1992.

MATTHEW J. GRAY, B.A. Creighton University 1993; M.S. Drake University 1995; Ph.D. University of Mississippi 2000; Professor of Psychology 2014, 2002.

CYNTHIA M. HARTUNG, B.S. University of Wisconsin-Madison 1990; M.A. University of Kentucky 1993; Ph.D. 1998; Professor of Psychology 2019, 2007.

SEAN M. McCREA, B.A. Bucknell University 1996; Ph.D. Indiana University 2002; Professor of Psychology 2019, 2009.

CHRISTINE L. McKIBBIN, B.S. Michigan State University 1991; M.S. University of North Texas 1994; Ph.D. 1997; Professor of Psychology 2019, 2007.

NARINA NUÑEZ, B.A. State University of New York at Cortland 1980; M.S. 1984; Ph.D. Cornell University 1987; Professor of Psychology 2000, 1987.

CAROLYN M. PEPPER, B.S. Western Michigan University 1989; M.A. State University of New York at Stony Brook 1992; Ph.D. 1995; Professor of Psychology 2011, 2002.

BENJAMIN M. WILKOWSKI, B.A. Ohio University 2002; M.S. North Dakota State University 2005; Ph.D. 2008; Professor of Psychology 2020, 2008.

Associate Professors:

JOSHUA D. CLAPP, B.A. University of Wyoming 2003; M.A. State University of New York at Buffalo 2008; Ph.D. 2012; Associate Professor of Psychology 2018, 2012.

KYLE P. De YOUNG, B.S. University of Iowa 2004; M.A. State University of New York at Albany 2008; Ph.D. 2011; Associate Professor of Psychology 2020, 2016.

ALISON R. LOOBY, B.A. University of California-San Diego 2002; M.A. State University of New York at Albany 2007; Ph.D. 2011; Associate Professor of Psychology 2020, 2016.

MEREDITH E. MINEAR, B.S. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 1994; Ph.D. University of Michigan 2004; Associate Professor of Psychology 2019, 2013.

Assistant Professor:

KAYLA A. BURD, B.A. Hofstra University 2010; M.A. Cornell University 2016; Ph.D. 2018; Assistant Professor of Psychology 2020.

CHRISTINA MCDONNELL, B.A. University of Notre Dame 2018; M.A. University of Notre Dame 2014; Ph.D. University of Notre Dame 2018; Assistant Professor of Psychology 2021.

KASEY STANTON, B.S. Montana State University 2012; M.A. University of Notre Dame 2014; Ph.D. University of Notre Dame 2018; Assistant Professor of Psychology 2021.

ANNE STEVENS, B.A. Davidson College 2007, M.A. Appalachian State University 2014; Ph.D. University of Wyoming 2020; Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychology 2021.

Academic Professional Lecturer:

CATHERINE P. CARRICO, B.A. Austin College; Ph.D. University of Northern Colorado; Clinical Associate Professor 2020.

TARA K. CLAPP, B.A. State University of New York at Buffalo 2005; M.S. Niagara University 2010; Associate Academic Professional Lecturer in Psychology 2018, 2012.

SCOTT FRENG, B.S. Black Hills State University 1995; M.A. University of South Dakota 1998; Ph.D. University of Nebraska - Lincoln 2001; Senior Lecturer in Psychology 2013, 2003.

MARIA I. KUZNETSOVA, B.A. Syktyvkar State University-Russia 2000; M.S. University of South Carolina-Aiken 2005; Ph.D. Virginia Commonwealth University 2011; Associate Academic Professional Lecturer in Psychology 2017, 2011.

Professor Emeritus

George Blau, David Estes, Charles J. Ksir, Karen B. Nicholas

The Department of Psychology offers coursework at several levels:

Introductory courses for students in other programs who wish an elementary knowledge of psychology.
Courses supportive of work in other majors.
An undergraduate major that is sufficiently flexible to allow students to prepare for graduate programs in psychology, professional schools (e.g. law, medicine) or for employment after graduation.
Graduate course work leading to the Ph.D. in clinical psychology, social psychology, cognition/cognitive development, or psychology and law.

Facilities are available for course work and laboratory experiences in areas of psychology such as cognition, personality, social, biological psychology, cognitive development, and psychology and law.

Students who wish to increase chances of employment related to their undergraduate majors should consult an adviser concerning areas of specialization within psychology.

Students planning graduate work in psychology should consult with their faculty adviser concerning career choices and development.

Learning Outcomes

We expect that our Psychology graduating students will have:

a basic knowledge of psychology and related fields.
the ability to evaluate the assumptions, purposes, methods, and results of psychological research and scholarship.
skills in teamwork, leadership, writing, speaking and listening, especially concerning psychology-related topics.

Credit by Examination

Credit by examination will be allowed only for PSYC 1000 . The examination accepted is the College Level Examination Program (CLEP); the passing score is 50.

Advanced Placement

The psychology department will accept a score of 4 on the AP exam for credit in PSYC 1000 , effective Fall 2015.

Undergraduate Major

A major requires a minimum of 33 semester hours and may not exceed 60 hours in psychology. Of these, 18 hours must be at the 3000 level or above. These upper-division courses must also be taken from at least two different members of the psychology department faculty listed in this Catalog.

Students must complete the following courses:

PSYC 1000 General Psychology

PSYC 2000 Research Psychological Methods

Four of five cores:

Biological,

PSYC 2210 Drugs and Behavior or PSYC 2080 Biological Psychology

Developmental,

PSYC 2300 Developmental Psychology

Clinical,

PSYC 2340 Abnormal Psychology

Social,

PSYC 2380 Social Psychology

Cognitive,

PSYC 3120 Cognitive Psychology

Additionally one of the following restricted enrollment (seminar or writing intensive) courses is required: PSYC 4040, 4150, 4250, 4320, 4350, 4380, 4390, 4400, 4740, 4860.

Also required are 6 hours of anthropology, communication/journalism, criminal justice, economics, political science, or sociology; LIFE 1003 or 1010; and STAT 2050 or 2070.

One approved 3-4 credit hour STEM course: CHEM 1000, CHEM 1020, COSC 1010, COSC 1100, KIN/ZOO 2040, KIN/ ZOO 2041, LIFE 2002, LIFE 2022, LIFE 2023, LIFE 2050, MATH 1050, MATH 1405, MATH 2200, MICR/MOLB 2021, PHYS 1050, PHYS 1110, STAT 2000, STAT 3050, or ZOO 3600.

Students who have an established UW GPA and who wish to change their major to Psychology, or to add Psychology as a major, will be required to have a UW GPA of at least 2.500.

For graduation, students must receive a C or better grade in all courses taken to satisfy department requirements.

Psychology courses taken 15 or more years ago will not be used to satisfy degree requirements.

Undergraduate Minors

The Department of Psychology offer two undergraduate minors: psychology and aging studies.

Psychology

A minor in psychology requires 18 semester hours in psychology. These must include PSYC 1000 or equivalent and 9 hours at the 3000- level or above. A grade of C or better is required in all minor courses.

Students seeking a minor must have 12 hours exclusive to the minor and not used in the major.

Aging Studies

A minor in aging studies requires 18 credit hours. These must include the following:

Core Courses

NURS 2240, FCSC 2110, HLSC 4985

Elective Courses - 9 credits

6 credits must be outside student major

Academic Standards

At least 12 credit hours in a minor must be from courses that are not being counted toward the student’s major. No grade below a C is acceptable for courses applied to the minor.

Background Check

Students seeking the minor in Aging Studies will be required to obtain a background check as specified by College of Health Sciences policy. Please contact us for specific information.

Program Plan

Complete the Program Plan of Study with both your major academic advisor and your minor advisor.

Graduate Study

The Department of Psychology offers the doctor of philosophy in psychology with programs in clinical (APA accredited) psychology, social psychology, cognition/ cognitive development, and psychology and law.

Program Specific Admission Requirements

The deadline for receipt of all application materials is December 1.

We only admit students one time per year. Our graduate students begin their programs of study in the fall semester.

Although our graduate programs technically consist of separate master’s and doctoral degree components, only students who are applying for, and who expect to complete, the doctoral program are considered for admission. That is, we do not offer a terminal master’s degree.

Application materials include the application, one to two page statement of purpose, undergraduate and graduate (if applicable) transcripts, curriculum vitae, and three letters of recommendation. An application fee of $50 is required.

Applications are evaluated based on the applicants’ academic qualifications (e.g., undergraduate GPA, graduate GPA if applicable, course specific grades) and stated research and (if applicable) clinical interests. Particular attention is paid to the goodness of fit between the applicant’s expressed research/clinical interests and the particular strengths and offerings of our program.

Our program does not employ a set of formal “cut-offs” with regard to any of the quantitative application elements (e.g., undergraduate/graduate GPA). Often a strong record in one area may make up for a weakness in another area. Applicants interested in information on the qualifications of admitted students should consult the student summary data (www.uwyo.edu/psychology).

Program Specific Graduate Assistantships

Applicants are considered for graduate assistantships at the time of admission. Graduate students typically receive some departmental financial support for the first four years.

Program Specific Degree Requirements

Master’s Programs Plan A (thesis)

In addition to the general requirements specified in this Catalog, the following are required: (1) successful completion and oral defense of a thesis; (2) PSYC 5060. Statistical Methods in Psychology - 3 hours or STAT 5050. Statistical Methods in Biological Science - 3 hours; PSYC 5300. Applied Multivariate Analysis - 3 hours or STAT 5055. Statistical Methods for Biologists II - 3 hours; PSYC 5520. Research Design in Psychology - 3 hours; (3) at least 9 hours in 5000-level courses exclusive of those listed above and exclusive of research and thesis research credit.

A minimum of 30 semester hours is required (26 coursework hours and 4 thesis hours).

Doctoral Programs

Clinical Psychology

Students complete a four-year, on-campus sequence of required courses covering core areas of psychology and clinical competency. In addition, the following are required: successful completion of a thesis, a preliminary comprehensive examination, a dissertation, two summer clerkships, and a full year APA accredited internship.

Social Psychology, Cognition/Cognitive Development, or Psychology and Law

Students complete course requirements in topics designated as core areas of psychology, a preliminary comprehensive examination, and a research-based dissertation.

Programs

Major

Psychology, B.S.

Minor

Graduate

Psychology, Ph.D.