Course Directory

:: Course Offerings

The course offerings at Clarion University of PA go through an extensive review process by the Committee on Courses and Programs of Study (CCPS). This course offerings list is a comprehensive list of courses that could be offered; it does not mean they are currently being offered.

For a complete list of courses offered on the current or upcoming schedules, see the Registrar's page Schedule of Classes.

To start a new search enter the course number of the subject or title you are searching in the box below.

Course Id (currently sorted in Ascending order)	Course Title	Course Description
PS 354	Const Law Of U S	A study of the development of the Constitution through the interpretations of the Supreme Court. Includes a study of the separation of governmental powers, political and judicial processes, federalism as a legal device, and the relationship of liberty and authority to the individual living under government. Prerequisite: PS 211. Spring, annually.
PS 355	Media, Elec & Party Politics	A survey course emphasizing the electorate, pressure groups, and public opinion, nature and history of political parties, party organization, methods of nominations, and elections. Examines the place of political parties and elections as instrumentsof democracy and their place in the framework of Pennsylvania's government. Fall, alternating years.
PS 356	Congress & Legis Process	Examines the legislative process in American representative government with primary concern given to the structure, operation, and development of the U.S. Congress.
PS 357	The American Presidency	Examines the history, practice, and political ideas related to the institution of the American presidency. Emphasizes the presidency's place within the constitutional system of separated powers and how that institution has evolved into the office wesee today. Alternate Fall Semesters.
PS 363	Criminal Procedure	A study of the law as it relates to arrest, search, and seizure with emphasis on present controlling legal decisions and historical development, philosophy, and public policy issues underlying these decisions. Prerequisite: PS 211, CRJT 110 or permission of instructor. Annually
PS 364	Cons Law-Civil Rghts/Lib	A study of the development of the Constitution of the United States through an examination of the decisions of the Supreme Court in the area of civil rights and liberties. Introduces some legal terminology and the case method. Prerequisite: PS 211. S,"pring, odd-numbered years.
PS 365	Anc-Med Pol Thgt	Explores the development of political theory from Plato to Machiavelli. Every year.
PS 366	Political Ideologies	Explores the development of political thinking in the modern period, emphasizing the development of ideologies. Particular attention given to liberalism, conservatism, Marxist and non-Marxist socialism, fascism, libertarianism, environmentalism, andcontemporary liberation ideologies. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing
PS 375	Public Policy And Admin	Introduces public administration emphasizing its function in the American political process. Applied public administration theory and practice to enduring and contemporary public policy challenges and achievements. Every other year.
PS 395	Amer Political Thought	Examines major political thinkers and ideas which have shaped the American political tradition. Emphasizes the competing ideas of government which were influential at the time of the American founding. Considers contemporary competing paradigms in Am,erican political thought.
PS 398	Empirical Political Analysis	Introduces students to the fundamental concepts and research methods used in political science. Provides students with an understanding of how and why political scientists conduct political research. Because the use of statistical/ empirical analysis," is an important part of the research process, students will be introduced to statistical applications used in political science. Prerequisites: MATH 221 or 222, CIS 110 and 217, or consent of instructor. Every other year.
PSY 111	Psych Of Personal Growth	Emphasizes personal growth, enabling each student to explore self-identity, social relationships, and environmental influences. Explores problems of personality, resolution of conflicts and stress, and the role of emotions in behavior, relationships, and health. No prerequisite. Each semester at Clarion. Annually at Venango.
PSY 122	Drugs, Society & Behavior	Reviews common legal and illegal drugs, modes of action, causes of abuse, and available treatments. The focus of this class is to raise students' awareness of these issues, not to provide treatment or training in drug abuse rehabilitation. No prerequisite. Annually.
PSY 211	General Psychology	Introduces the general subject matter of psychology as a science and its major findings. Emphasizes genetics, development, learning and motivation, emotions, sensation and perception, personality and abnormal adjustment, and other social behavior. No prerequisite. Each semester at both Clarion and Venango Campuses.
PSY 212	Brain And Behavior	Introduces the relationships between brain and behavior.
PSY 220	Human Sexuality	Provides students with an overview of the area of human sexuality. Begins with an explanation of how human sexuality is studied. Includes a discussion of sex roles; the biological division of males and females; the physiology of the human sexual resp,"onse cycle; and sexual behavior such as homosexuality, sexual coercion, and sexual dysfunctions. Covers health issues such as sexually transmitted diseases, birth control, pregnancy, and childbirth. No prerequisite. Each semester.
PSY 228	Human Behav/Orgs	Explores how basic psychological principles can be used to describe, explain, and predict individuals' on-the-job thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Includes personality, motivation, perception, attitudes, stress, communication, learning, leadership, group behavior, cooperation, decision-making, and research methods. B.S. business administration majors can apply this course to free electives only. No prerequisite. On demand at both the Clarion and Venango Campuses.
PSY 230	Stat Methods	Covers basic descriptive and inferential statistical techniques (frequency distributions, measures of variability and central tendency, correlation, regression, z, t). Gives special attention during class and a required laboratory meeting to the useof those techniques in dealing with data in the behavioral sciences and their importance in the research endeavor. Prerequisite: PSY 211. Each semester.
PSY 240	Crit Think & Writing In Psych	Develops cognitive and writing skills linked with success in psychology, a field in which thinking and writing critically enable effective writing and work. Prerequisites: PSY 211; limited to psychology and sociology/psychology majors. Annually.
PSY 251	Research Methds Beh Sci	Familiarizes students with methods used by psychologists to systematically collect information about the behavior of people and other animals. Experiments are conducted during laboratory meetings, and the appropriate style of writing research reports is emphasized. PSY 211 and 230, with at least a C in PSY 230, are prerequisites; concurrent registration with PSY 230 permitted only with consent of the instructor. Each semester.
PSY 252	Research Meth Lab	Experiments are conducted during laboratory meetings and particular attention is given to the appropriate A.P.A. style of writing research reports. Concurrent registration or previous credit for PSY 251 is required. Prerequisites: PSY 211 and at leas,t a C grade in PSY 230. Each semester.
PSY 253	Intro To Gerontology	Provide a general introduction to social gerontology. Emphasizes the typical aspects of aging. Reviews current hypotheses and findings concerning aging processes. No prerequisite. Annually.
PSY 260	Developmental Psych	Surveys research and theory on human life-span development. Students study social, cognitive, emotional, and physical aspects of development from conception to death. Prerequisite: PSY 211. Each semester at Clarion. Annually at Venango.
PSY 300	Cross-Cultural Psychology	Introduces students to research on the similarities and differences among different racial and ethnic groups in the United States and around the world. Examines research in several areas of psychology, such as developmental, social, cognitive, etc. Encourages students to apply the research to daily life in discussions of stereotyping, aggression, intelligence, motivation, etc. Prerequisite: PSY 211\|
PSY 321	Psy Of Adolescence	Focuses on the cognitive, emotional, social, and physical changes of adolescence. Through such topics as emerging sexuality, intimacy, identity formation, moral development, and vocational development, students will gain an appreciation for the unique developmental challenges of adolescence. Prerequisites: PSY 211 and 260. Annually.
PSY 325	Community Psychology	Community psychology focuses on the connections between the individual and the community in order to develop interventions which will prevent social problems and promote psychological health. Students will learn how to apply the community psychology, approach to specific social issues. They will become familiar with local and national community based intervention programs and will learn how to conduct assessment and evaluation research on such programs. Prerequisite: PSY 211.
PSY 330	Psychology Of Happiness	What is happiness? How can we achieve happiness? This course is an exploration of the new area of positive psychology which is concerned with using science to discover the factors which make like meaningful, create happiness, and enable individuals and communities to thrive. Positive psychologists see happiness as a skill which can be studied, taught and learned. This course will look at evidence from the biological, cognitive, social, and clinical areas of psychology in order to understand happiness, with the aim of using what we learn to improve our own lives. Prerequisite: PSY 211 or by permission of instructor. Spring or summer, once every two years\|
PSY 331	Child Psychology	Focuses on cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development from conception through childhood. Prerequisites: PSY 211 and 260. Annually at both Clarion and Venango.
PSY 340	Psych Of Women	Introduces students to the roles involved with being men and women, to the ideologies in various feminist theories, and to past and present research in the area of psychology of women. One of the purposes of the course is to demonstrate how bias (especially sexism) can creep into the research process, work situations, and personal lives, and the importance of both male and female perspectives in each of these areas. Prerequisite: PSY 211. Annually.
PSY 350	Industrial Psychology	Focuses on applying theories and methods of scientific psychology to improve the way organizations select, train, motivate, retain, and evaluate employees. No prerequisite, but PSY 211 and 230 are recommended. Annually.

Course Id (currently sorted in Ascending order)

Course Title

Course Description

PS 354

Const Law Of U S

A study of the development of the Constitution through the interpretations of the Supreme Court. Includes a study of the separation of governmental powers, political and judicial processes, federalism as a legal device, and the relationship of liberty and authority to the individual living under government. Prerequisite: PS 211. Spring, annually.

PS 355

Media, Elec & Party Politics

A survey course emphasizing the electorate, pressure groups, and public opinion, nature and history of political parties, party organization, methods of nominations, and elections. Examines the place of political parties and elections as instrumentsof democracy and their place in the framework of Pennsylvania's government. Fall, alternating years.

PS 356

Congress & Legis Process

Examines the legislative process in American representative government with primary concern given to the structure, operation, and development of the U.S. Congress.

PS 357

The American Presidency

Examines the history, practice, and political ideas related to the institution of the American presidency. Emphasizes the presidency's place within the constitutional system of separated powers and how that institution has evolved into the office wesee today. Alternate Fall Semesters.

PS 363

Criminal Procedure

A study of the law as it relates to arrest, search, and seizure with emphasis on present controlling legal decisions and historical development, philosophy, and public policy issues underlying these decisions. Prerequisite: PS 211, CRJT 110 or permission of instructor. Annually

PS 364

Cons Law-Civil Rghts/Lib

A study of the development of the Constitution of the United States through an examination of the decisions of the Supreme Court in the area of civil rights and liberties. Introduces some legal terminology and the case method. Prerequisite: PS 211. S,"pring, odd-numbered years.

PS 365

Anc-Med Pol Thgt

Explores the development of political theory from Plato to Machiavelli. Every year.

PS 366

Political Ideologies

Explores the development of political thinking in the modern period, emphasizing the development of ideologies. Particular attention given to liberalism, conservatism, Marxist and non-Marxist socialism, fascism, libertarianism, environmentalism, andcontemporary liberation ideologies. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing

PS 375

Public Policy And Admin

Introduces public administration emphasizing its function in the American political process. Applied public administration theory and practice to enduring and contemporary public policy challenges and achievements. Every other year.

PS 395

Amer Political Thought

Examines major political thinkers and ideas which have shaped the American political tradition. Emphasizes the competing ideas of government which were influential at the time of the American founding. Considers contemporary competing paradigms in Am,erican political thought.

PS 398

Empirical Political Analysis

Introduces students to the fundamental concepts and research methods used in political science. Provides students with an understanding of how and why political scientists conduct political research. Because the use of statistical/ empirical analysis," is an important part of the research process, students will be introduced to statistical applications used in political science. Prerequisites: MATH 221 or 222, CIS 110 and 217, or consent of instructor. Every other year.

PSY 111

Psych Of Personal Growth

Emphasizes personal growth, enabling each student to explore self-identity, social relationships, and environmental influences. Explores problems of personality, resolution of conflicts and stress, and the role of emotions in behavior, relationships, and health. No prerequisite. Each semester at Clarion. Annually at Venango.

PSY 122

Drugs, Society & Behavior

Reviews common legal and illegal drugs, modes of action, causes of abuse, and available treatments. The focus of this class is to raise students' awareness of these issues, not to provide treatment or training in drug abuse rehabilitation. No prerequisite. Annually.

PSY 211

General Psychology

Introduces the general subject matter of psychology as a science and its major findings. Emphasizes genetics, development, learning and motivation, emotions, sensation and perception, personality and abnormal adjustment, and other social behavior. No prerequisite. Each semester at both Clarion and Venango Campuses.

PSY 212

Brain And Behavior

Introduces the relationships between brain and behavior.

PSY 220

Human Sexuality

Provides students with an overview of the area of human sexuality. Begins with an explanation of how human sexuality is studied. Includes a discussion of sex roles; the biological division of males and females; the physiology of the human sexual resp,"onse cycle; and sexual behavior such as homosexuality, sexual coercion, and sexual dysfunctions. Covers health issues such as sexually transmitted diseases, birth control, pregnancy, and childbirth. No prerequisite. Each semester.

PSY 228

Human Behav/Orgs

Explores how basic psychological principles can be used to describe, explain, and predict individuals' on-the-job thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Includes personality, motivation, perception, attitudes, stress, communication, learning, leadership, group behavior, cooperation, decision-making, and research methods. B.S. business administration majors can apply this course to free electives only. No prerequisite. On demand at both the Clarion and Venango Campuses.

PSY 230

Stat Methods

Covers basic descriptive and inferential statistical techniques (frequency distributions, measures of variability and central tendency, correlation, regression, z, t). Gives special attention during class and a required laboratory meeting to the useof those techniques in dealing with data in the behavioral sciences and their importance in the research endeavor. Prerequisite: PSY 211. Each semester.

PSY 240

Crit Think & Writing In Psych

Develops cognitive and writing skills linked with success in psychology, a field in which thinking and writing critically enable effective writing and work. Prerequisites: PSY 211; limited to psychology and sociology/psychology majors. Annually.

PSY 251

Research Methds Beh Sci

Familiarizes students with methods used by psychologists to systematically collect information about the behavior of people and other animals. Experiments are conducted during laboratory meetings, and the appropriate style of writing research reports is emphasized. PSY 211 and 230, with at least a C in PSY 230, are prerequisites; concurrent registration with PSY 230 permitted only with consent of the instructor. Each semester.

PSY 252

Research Meth Lab

Experiments are conducted during laboratory meetings and particular attention is given to the appropriate A.P.A. style of writing research reports. Concurrent registration or previous credit for PSY 251 is required. Prerequisites: PSY 211 and at leas,t a C grade in PSY 230. Each semester.

PSY 253

Intro To Gerontology

Provide a general introduction to social gerontology. Emphasizes the typical aspects of aging. Reviews current hypotheses and findings concerning aging processes. No prerequisite. Annually.

PSY 260

Developmental Psych

Surveys research and theory on human life-span development. Students study social, cognitive, emotional, and physical aspects of development from conception to death. Prerequisite: PSY 211. Each semester at Clarion. Annually at Venango.

PSY 300

Cross-Cultural Psychology

Introduces students to research on the similarities and differences among different racial and ethnic groups in the United States and around the world. Examines research in several areas of psychology, such as developmental, social, cognitive, etc. Encourages students to apply the research to daily life in discussions of stereotyping, aggression, intelligence, motivation, etc. Prerequisite: PSY 211|

PSY 321

Psy Of Adolescence

Focuses on the cognitive, emotional, social, and physical changes of adolescence. Through such topics as emerging sexuality, intimacy, identity formation, moral development, and vocational development, students will gain an appreciation for the unique developmental challenges of adolescence. Prerequisites: PSY 211 and 260. Annually.

PSY 325

Community Psychology

Community psychology focuses on the connections between the individual and the community in order to develop interventions which will prevent social problems and promote psychological health. Students will learn how to apply the community psychology, approach to specific social issues. They will become familiar with local and national community based intervention programs and will learn how to conduct assessment and evaluation research on such programs. Prerequisite: PSY 211.

PSY 330

Psychology Of Happiness

What is happiness? How can we achieve happiness? This course is an exploration of the new area of positive psychology which is concerned with using science to discover the factors which make like meaningful, create happiness, and enable individuals and communities to thrive. Positive psychologists see happiness as a skill which can be studied, taught and learned. This course will look at evidence from the biological, cognitive, social, and clinical areas of psychology in order to understand happiness, with the aim of using what we learn to improve our own lives. Prerequisite: PSY 211 or by permission of instructor. Spring or summer, once every two years|

PSY 331

Child Psychology

Focuses on cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development from conception through childhood. Prerequisites: PSY 211 and 260. Annually at both Clarion and Venango.

PSY 340

Psych Of Women

Introduces students to the roles involved with being men and women, to the ideologies in various feminist theories, and to past and present research in the area of psychology of women. One of the purposes of the course is to demonstrate how bias (especially sexism) can creep into the research process, work situations, and personal lives, and the importance of both male and female perspectives in each of these areas. Prerequisite: PSY 211. Annually.

PSY 350

Industrial Psychology

Focuses on applying theories and methods of scientific psychology to improve the way organizations select, train, motivate, retain, and evaluate employees. No prerequisite, but PSY 211 and 230 are recommended. Annually.