Psychology AA-T Degree (Program Mapper Test)
Provides students with a common core of lower division courses required to transfer and pursue a bachelor’s degree in Psychology in the CSU System.
Associate in Arts for Transfer | SC Program: AA-T.1006
A psychology major is a good choice for students who want to work with people and are interested in understanding human behavior and mental processes. It prepares students for a variety of careers and is one of the most versatile undergraduate degrees.
This program introduces students to psychology as the scientific study of human behavior and mental processes and the practical application of psychology to personal and social issues. The Associate in Arts in Psychology for Transfer degree is designed to provide students with a common core of lower division courses required to transfer and pursue a baccalaureate (4-year) degree in psychology in the CSU system.
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Choose your path
Map your education by viewing the program map for the degree or certificate you’re interested in earning below. Meet with a counselor to create your official comprehensive education plan.
A program map shows all the required and recommended courses you need to graduate and a suggested order in which you should take them. The suggested sequence of courses is based on enrollment and includes all major and general education courses required for the degree.
Choose A Pathway
Fall Semester, First Year
13 Units TotalThis course develops the reading, critical thinking, and writing skills necessary for academic success, emphasizing expository and argumentative writing as well as research and documentation skills. As a transferable course, it presupposes that students already have a substantial grasp of grammar, syntax, and organization, and that their writing is reasonably free from errors. A research paper is required for successful completion of the course. This course may be offered in a distance education format.
This course provides an introduction to psychology, the study of the mind and behavior, as a science and as an applied field. The course provides an integration of physiological, cognitive, social-behavioral, psychodynamic, humanistic, cultural, and evolutionary perspectives. Topics include research methods, the nervous system, perception, learning, thinking, memory, human development, social behavior, emotions, motivation, personality, abnormal behavior, and psychotherapy. This course may be offered in a distance education format.
Spring Semester, First Year
16 Units TotalThis course is an introduction to the major concepts of modern biology. Topics covered include biochemistry, cell biology, heredity, and nature of genes, evolution, diversity of life, and principles of ecology. Emphasis will be placed on those aspects of biology that are rapidly reshaping our culture. This course may be offered in a distance education format. This course will meet the general education requirement for a laboratory science if taken with BIOL 10L.
This is a laboratory course that offers experiments and demonstrations covering the basic concepts of the lecture course BIOL 10. The laboratory is designed to expose student to biological techniques including microscopy, biochemistry, genetics, evolution, diversity of life, and principles of ecology. This course may be offered in a distance education format.
This course provides an introduction to the discipline of sociology. It examines interactions among social institutions, cultures, groups, and individuals. The focus is on how unequal power relations organize the social world and shape individual lives, and how individuals negotiate their lives in different social, cultural, and economic contexts. The course will examine a broad array of topics using a variety of theoretical perspectives and sociological research methods. The primary goal of this course is to recognize how people's experiences are shaped by social forces and reshaped through human action. This course may be offered in a distance education format.
Fall Semester, Second Year
16 Units TotalThis course surveys various psychological research methods with an emphasis on research design, experimental procedures, descriptive methods, and the collection, analysis, interpretation, and reporting of research data. Research design and methodology will be examined through a review of research in a variety of areas of psychology. This course may be offered in a distance education format.
This course is a comparative survey of the major ancient world civilizations which developed between 3500 B.C.E. and 1500 C.E. It examines political institutions, religious ideologies, the rise and fall of empires, and the major cultural innovations of each of the major world civilizations. This course may be offered in a distance education format.
This overview of human sexuality includes human development from conception to adulthood, the anatomy and physiology of sex, as well as historical perspectives, behavioral and social aspects of human sexuality, and myths and laws governing sexual practices. This course may be offered in a distance education format.
Spring Semester, Second Year
15 Units TotalThis course is an introduction to United States and California government and politics, including their constitutions, political institutions and processes, and political actors. An examination of political behavior, political issues, and public policy, this course satisfies the CSU requirement in U.S. Constitution and California State and local government (US-2 and US-3). This course may be offered in a distance education format.
This course is a survey of the history of the United States from Pre-Columbian Peoples to the end of Reconstruction. Topics include contact and settlement of America, the movement toward independence, the formation of a new nation and Constitution, westward expansion and manifest destiny, the causes and consequences of the Civil War, and Reconstruction. This course satisfies the CSU requirement for US History (US-1). This course may be offered in a distance education format.
This course examines child development with a focus on the effects of cultural and social factors. These factors include the socialization process and cultural influences such as ethnic identity, socioeconomic status, gender roles, family, peers, faith, and community. Significant references highlight the experiences of children and their families from several different historically underrepresented groups. This course may be offered in a distance education format.
This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of race and ethnicity in the United States. It examines social justice movements in relation to ethnic and racial groups in the United States to provide a basis for a better understanding of the socioeconomic, cultural, and political conditions among key social groups including, but not limited to, Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latina/o Americans. This course examines the systemic nature of racial/ethnic oppression through an examination of key concepts including racialization and ethnocentrism, with a specific focus on the persistence of white supremacy. Using an anti-racist framework, the course will examine historical and contemporary social movements dedicated to the decolonization of social institutions, resistance, and social justice. This course may be offered in a distance education format.
Fall Semester, First Year
6 Units TotalThis course explores the theoretical perspectives and professional standards involved in Human Services-with particular emphasis on Social Work Practices. Students will be introduced to the practices of engagement, assessment, intervention, documentation, and conflict resolution while consistently integrating these with the systems framework and strengths perspective. Professional and personal ethics will be stressed throughout the course. Multicultural competence and policy development will also be covered. This course may be offered in a distance education format.
Spring Semester, First Year
15 Units TotalThis course examines the social, economic, political, and cultural dynamics of race and ethnicity in the United States. It utilizes theory to assess the comparative histories, cultures, and intellectual traditions of Native Americans, African Americans, Latino/as, and Asian Americans. It introduces major concepts used to understand the lived experiences of historically racialized groups such as social construction of race, racial formation, critical race theory, internal colonialism, and intersectionality. The course emphasizes the role of resistance and agency in advancing the goals of self-determination, decolonization, and equity. This course may be offered in a distance education format.
This course provides an introduction to psychology, the study of the mind and behavior, as a science and as an applied field. The course provides an integration of physiological, cognitive, social-behavioral, psychodynamic, humanistic, cultural, and evolutionary perspectives. Topics include research methods, the nervous system, perception, learning, thinking, memory, human development, social behavior, emotions, motivation, personality, abnormal behavior, and psychotherapy. This course may be offered in a distance education format.
Summer, First Year
3 Units TotalFall Semester, Second Year
10 Units TotalThis course is a comparative survey of the major ancient world civilizations which developed between 3500 B.C.E. and 1500 C.E. It examines political institutions, religious ideologies, the rise and fall of empires, and the major cultural innovations of each of the major world civilizations. This course may be offered in a distance education format.
Spring Semester, Second Year
10 Units TotalThis course is an introduction to the major concepts of chemistry, involving minimal, student-friendly math, with attention to their relevance to practical and societal problems. This course is intended for non-science majors who wish to gain an appreciation for the application of chemistry to everyday living. The course includes such topics as nuclear energy and energy alternatives, health issues of drugs, food additives, nutrition, hormones, chemicals for household use, chemicals in the environment, and synthetics. This course may be offered in a distance education format. This course will meet the general education requirement for a laboratory science if it is taken with CHEM 11.
Laboratory experiments and activities covering the basic concepts of the lecture course, CHEM 10. The activities are designed to help students see chemistry in action and learn how to use various chemicals around us, safely and effectively. This course may be offered in a distance education format.
Gender is arguably the most salient characteristic determining one's place in any society. Gender is the first thing you notice about another person and your assessment of a person's gender shapes your expectations of that person. These expectations (which are often requirements) place very real constraints and limitations on individuals. The sociology of gender focuses on the social construction of gender. Other theories of gender such as biological explanations will be discussed in comparison to the social constructionist approach. The course will begin with an examination of key theoretical approaches to the study of gender. Special attention will be paid to how gender is constructed at the level of society as well as how we engage in the re-creation and construction of gender in our everyday lives. Gender will be explored as an institution and a system as well as how it influences individuals. Because gender does not exist in a vacuum, gender will be discussed in relation to its intersection with other social locations such as race, class, sexuality, age, and ethnicity. The differential effects of gender along these lines will be discussed and highlighted through all of the applied topics. This course may be offered in a distance education format.
Summer, Second Year
3 Units TotalPlease see a counselor to discuss options for meeting general education requirements for transfer to California State Universities (CSU) and/or University of California (UC) campuses, as well as any specific additional courses that may be required by your chosen institution of transfer.
*Alternative Courses: Please see a Shasta College counselor for alternative course options. You can also view the following to find other courses to meet degree/certificate requirements:
- California State Universities – General Education
- IGETC – Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum
Need a print out? Feel free to download and/or print out a copy of the sample program map(s).
Psychology Interest Area Counselors
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