Department Chair’s Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I begin?
Check out the Pink Flamingo (our department newsletter) for answers to questions on registration, classes, and much more.
Should You double major in Hum Dev and Psych?
There are a number of different opinions on this question. Research shows that in this day and age having a double major in itself does NOT make you a better job/graduate school candidate (Landrum, 2008).
It is better to take a variety of courses that best fit your career interests giving you a broad, multidisciplinary foundation of knowledge. Often double majoring forces one to take some courses that are tangential to your career plans. Having one major gives you the flexibility to take courses from different disciplines or even add different minors. TO strengthen your post-graduation prospects and make your transcript impressive, consult the lists developed by the Human Development faculty (follow this link for great course options to complement the Human Development major organized by different areas of interest. Note: Courses on the list count towards your 120 credits for graduation but not all count for the major.
Good reasons to Double Major: It fits your career goals
Bad reasons to Double Major: It is easy to do, everyone is doing it, you have extra credits and need classes anyway.
What’s the Difference Between majoring in Psychology and Human Development?
First, Human Development is an interdisciplinary major. You do not need any other majors or Minors to graduate from UWGB. Psychology is a disciplinary major. You do need another major or minor in an interdisciplinary department to graduate. Some career options may benefit more from one of these then the other. Talk to an advisor to see what Major/Minor Combination is best for your interests and career plans. A double Hum Dev/Psych Major without a good rationale is not recommended.
What is the difference between social work and counseling?
Students can obtain a master’s degree in Counseling or Social Work, and either of those degrees, as long as appropriate specialty tracks and practical training are successfully pursued, can ultimately lead to work as a therapist. In both cases, after finishing a master’s degree, the individual would have to complete a variety of requirements, such as passing relevant exams and completing about two years of post-degree supervised experience, to become credentialed in Wisconsin as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) or a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). Although both Counseling and Social Work degrees can ultimately lead to doing clinical work, there are differences in the specialty tracks, training philosophies, and job options with these degrees.
Have another question you would like to see an answer to? Email the Chair, Dr. Gurung gurungr@uwgb.edu