Psychology

The mission of the Psychology program at Houston City College is to provide high-quality instruction psychology courses. Our goal is to support student success by striving to ensure that all students who need to take a psychology course for transfer, to meet a degree requirement, or for personal enrichment will find a class at a time and location convenient for them. In addition, we are committed to maintaining curriculum and student performance standards for each course that are consonant with its purpose and the segment of the student population it serves.

Psi Kappa

All students are invited to join Psi Kappa, an organization that can help students learn about psychology outside the classroom, serve the community, meet students in other PSYC classes, interact with PSYC faculty, and learn leadership skills.

Psi Beta

HCC has an active chapter of Psi Beta: National Honor Society in Psychology for Community and Junior Colleges. To learn more about this organization visit the Psi Beta website. For information about the HCC chapter, visit the Psi Beta page on the HCC Learning Web.

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) has designated the block of courses that comprise the Psychology Field of Study as fully transferable to other public colleges and universities in Texas. However, students should refer all questions about the transferability of PSYC courses and the Psychology Field of Study to advisors at the public or private institutions to which they plan to transfer. 

• PSYC 2301 - General Psychology
• PSYC 2314 - Lifespan Growth & Development
• PSYC 2317 - Statistical Methods in Psychology
• PSYC 2319 - Social Psychology

To be eligible for an Associate in Science (AS) degree from HCC, a student must complete at least 60 semester credit hours as follows:

• 43 hours of required core courses
• 6 additional hours of mathematics
• 4 additional hours of natural science
• 7 hours of transferable electives, usually focusing on the student's transfer major

To learn more about the specific courses that students may take to fulfill each degree requirement and the specific requirements for the Associate in Science in Psychology, visit the HCC Catalog.

There are two pathways to the Associate in Science in Psychology. Students may fulfill all degree requirements by (a) enrolling exclusively in online courses, or (b) enrolling in a combination of in-person, hybrid, and fully online courses.

• In-person courses include mandatory on-campus meetings supplemented with online coursework.
• Hybrid courses include mandatory on-campus sessions that meet for 50% fewer hours than those of in-person courses; most coursework is completed online.
• Online-on-a-Schedule courses include virtual meetings with mandatory attendance requirements; all coursework is completed online.
• Online-Anytime courses have no virtual or on-campus meetings; all coursework is completed online.

To enroll in any PSYC course, students must have satisfied the requirement for college-level reading and writing skills or take INRW 0420 or ESOL 0360 as a corequisite. For detailed information about prerequisites and complete course descriptions, consult the HCC Catalog.

There are many career paths in psychology. Graduates of four-year psychology programs pursue careers in education, communications, human resources, marketing, sales, and a variety of other fields. Many continue their studies in graduate programs in psychology, counseling, family therapy, or social work. Others find that an undergraduate degree in psychology prepares them well for graduate work in law, medicine, or allied health. To learn more about careers in psychology, visit the American Psychological Association’s Careers in Psychology page.

Learn more about the marketable skills—skills valued by employers that can be applied in variety of work settings—so you can communicate these to potential employers. Select the relevant award title below to see descriptions of marketable skills for that area.

Psychology - Field of Study, A.S.

Psychology Achievers Scholarship

To be eligible for the $125 per semester Psychology Achievers Scholarship, a student must (1) meet all HCC Foundation criteria for scholarship eligibility, and (2) make an A in either PSYC 2301 or PSYC 2314.

Psychology Fund of Excellence

The HCC Psychology Department has established a Fund of Excellence with the HCC Foundation.  The purpose of this fund is to support the mission of the Psychology Department and HCC Psychology students.  The funds supports a range of initiatives to improve the academic success of our Psychology students during their time at HCC, such as assisting students with partial support for the national membership fee for Psi Beta (see above) and other program expenses.  Students may request support from the Psychology Fund of Excellence by contacting the psychology department.