Degree Spotlight: Online BA in Psychology
October 30, 2024 - Rick Robb
Degree Spotlight Accelerated Online Programs
Among the many online degree-completion programs offered by The University of New Mexico, the accelerated online BA in Psychology is one of the most popular with our students. There are many reasons they find this major appealing. People who study psychology are curious about how people think, feel, act, and what makes them tick. They might want to work in a variety of settings, places like hospitals, schools, or private offices, helping people with mental health problems. Many are looking at occupations in businesses, the government, or non-profit groups. Some may be planning to work at universities and colleges, teaching and doing research, trying to find ways to make life better for others.
As Dr. Kirsten Thomson, a lecturer and instructor in the Accelerated Online Program for the BA in Psychology observes,
“there are different reasons people choose this degree. While some students know even before taking their first class that this is the field for them, and want to go on to get a graduate degree in the field,” she says, “others might fall into it after taking a couple classes. And still others just really like the topic even though they are going on to areas outside the field of Psychology. Regardless, the degree is designed to give students an overall breadth of education in the field.” While Dr. Thomson’s Ph.D. and postdoctoral in Experimental Psychology involved interesting research focused on the effects of hallucinogens in rodent models of locomotor activity and the roles different serotonin receptors played in these effects, after taking a break from research for a time she began teaching classes at UNM and realized that she, “really enjoys teaching and learning the best ways to educate and engage students.” Instructors like her, who bring a passion for both the subject and for helping students really understand the subject are what makes this degree program so popular.
What is the Psychology AOP?
The Accelerated Online Program (AOP) in Psychology is one of UNM’s more popular degree completion programs. With the degree-completion model, students enter the program with an associate degree or, roughly, 60 college credits 1 either earned at UNM or transferred from another institution. Those credits will have included the General Education courses needed to be admitted to this program. The idea is that those credits were the start of your bachelor’s degree and, with this program you can then complete that degree!
It’s should be noted that, unlike an in-person psychology degree program such as the Bachelor of Science or Basics in Addiction Counseling tracks, the Accelerated Online Program (AOP) in Psychology has a specific slate of 16 regularly offered courses from which students will choose 12 classes (36 credit hours. The program also requires students to choose from one of six fully online AOP minors available which run between 18 and 24 credit hours. (For students in other AOP programs that require a minor, there is a fully-online minor in Psychology as well.)
AOPs are ideal for people who work, take care of family members, or live too far from campus to be able to do classes in-person.
How Long is the Program?
Prospective students often want to know how quickly they can complete the program. The answer is that it depends on how many college credits you started with and how much time you have to devote to your studies. AOP Students commonly take two classes each 8-week semester. With five of the 8-week semesters in a calendar year (two in the fall, two in spring, and one in the summer) they can complete the main requirements of the degree and minor in about a year-and-a-half.
It’s worth noting that many of the classes offered by the Psychology degree are also available online for non-AOP students. You can see a listing on our Schedule of Online Courses.
What Can I Do with a Psychology Degree?
You can do a lot! As mentioned earlier, graduates often end up in fields like social work, research, PR, advertising, market research, teaching, retail management, or sales. And many of these careers are considered Bright Outlook jobs on the U.S. Department of Labor’s O*Net website, meaning they are expected to grow rapidly in the next several years or will have large numbers of job openings.
And, of course, as mentioned earlier, quite a lot of people see the bachelor’s degree as a stepping stone to graduate school where they can pursue a Ph.D. that will allow them to engage in a variety of activities including research, teaching college-level classes, providing psychological services to individuals and groups, consulting, and administration.
Classes Offered
What sort of coursework would you need to do to get a BA in Psychology? UNM offers a great range of courses from Introduction to Psychology to classes in Social, Developmental, and Cognitive Psychology 2 , and more. For a complete list of psychology courses needed to complete this degree, you can look at the Degree Requirements tab on our AOP Psychology page. The classes are not just theory, either. They also include some entertaining practical work. Dr. Thomson says that, “one of my (and my students’) favorite assignments in my Abnormal Behavior class are Case Studies. Students really enjoy applying what they have learned to hypothetical, real-world examples.
Dr. Thomson understands the importance of having instructors who are subject matter experts teaching these classes. “I think AOP students can expect the highest level of education from their Psychology courses at UNM,” she says. “Our Department has made a commitment that only faculty members will be teaching these AOP classes so the level of expertise and teaching experience will be high.” Psychology students will learn not just the content of each course, but also learn about how to learn that content. This happens by being guided through the learning process with communication from the instructor and the different assignments given. Dr. Thomson brings her expertise to thought-provoking courses such as Abnormal Behavior, Brain & Behavior, and Psychology Research Techniques 3.
Bruce Smith’s Positive Psychology Course
Another perennial favorite course is Dr. Bruce Smith’s Positive Psychology 4 course. Dr. Smith defines positive psychology as “the science of happiness and well-being and what makes life worth living.” He elaborates, saying that “rather than only focusing on reducing mental illness and treating what can go wrong with us, it focuses on how we can live at our best and live our lives to the fullest.”
The face-to-face version of the course was twice voted as the most popular class at UNM. Since the class has moved online in 2018 it has been taught eight times reaching an audience of 1,020 students.
If earning a bachelor’s degree in Psychology sounds interesting to you, you might be wondering where to start. Find out more about this fascinating, fully-online, accelerated degree program? Contact the UNM Online student support team at 505-277-9000 or online@unm.edu. We also have virtual drop-in advisement hours via Zoom on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 to noon, mountain time. This is a great way to connect and we are able to share our screens. Join us via Zoom. The meeting code is 967 7118 3893. We look forward to chatting with you.
1 Students with less than 60 transferable credit hours may still be able to complete the program, though it’s not quite as easy. Talk to our online student support team for more information.
2PSYC 1110, 2110, 2120, and 2220 respectively.
3PSYC 332, 2250, and 302 respectively.
4PSYC 454
