Behavioral Sciences, BS

About the Program

The Behavioral Sciences major includes studies in several disciplines to provide multiple perspectives on human behavior, culture, and society. It is designed to provide a strong foundation for employment in a variety of fields including public/social services as well as graduate school.

Degree Requirements

120 Credit Hours

Minimum GPA of 2. 0 required for graduation

PNW General Education Core (30 Credits)

• English Composition (6 Credits): ENGL 10400 English Composition I  and ENGL 10500 English Composition II  
• Speech Communication (3Credits): COM 11400 Fundamentals Of Speech Communication  
• Quantitative Reasoning (3 Credits): select from the Quantitative Reasoning Core list    
• Natural Sciences (3 Credits): select from the Natural Sciences Core list    
• Technology (3 Credits): select from the Technology Core list    
• Humanities (3 Credits): select from the Humanities Core list    
• Social Sciences (3 Credits): select from the Social Sciences Core list    
• General Electives (3 Credits): select from the Gen Ed Core list  if needed to equal a total of 30 credits
• First Year Experience (FYE) (3 Credits): select from the First Year Experience Core list   

CHESS College Core (24 Credits)

• Four (4) College of Humanities, Education, and Social Sciences (CHESS) electives from courses outside of the student’s major. Electives may not be used toward the fulfillment of General Education requirements (*See notes below) (12 Credits)
• Science, Math, & Reasoning (12 Credits)

*Requirements for transfer students are based on the number of transfer credits accepted at PNW as follows:

1. Students who transfer with less than 30 credits need to take 4 CHESS Core Electives (12 credits)
2. Students who transfer with 30 credits or more and with less than 60 credits need to take 3 CHESS Core Electives (9 credits)
3. Students who transfer with 60 credits or more and with less than 90 credits need to take 2 CHESS Core Electives (6 credits)
4. Students who transfer with 90 credits or more need to take 1 CHESS Core Elective (3 credits)

Major Core (36 Credits)

• SOC 10000 - Introductory Sociology
• SOC 38200 - Introduction To Statistics In Sociology or PSY 20100 Introduction To Statistics In Psychology  
• SOC 38300 - Introduction To Research Methods In Sociology or PSY 20300 Introduction To Research Methods In Psychology  
• Two Additional Introductory Courses in Behavioral Sciences: ANTH 10000 , ECON 10100 , HDFS 21000 , POL 13000 , POL 14100 , PSY 12000 , or SWRK 20100  
•  Area A - 30000-level or higher of ONE of the following disciplines: ANTH, ECON, HDFS, POL, PSY, or SWRK (6 Credits)
• Area B - 30000-level or higher of ONE of the following disciplines, but not the discipline from Area A: ANTH, ECON, HDFS, POL, PSY, or SWRK (6 Credits)
• Behavioral Science Elective - 30000-level or higher from a course in ANTH, ECON, HDFS, POL, PSY, SOC, or SWRK (3 Credits)                             
• SOC Electives - 3000-level or higher (6 Credits)                  

Other Required Courses (30 Credits)

• Free Electives (30 Credits) - Six (6) credits must be taken at the 30000-level or above

Civics Literacy Proficiency

The Civics Literacy Proficiency activities are designed to develop civic knowledge of Purdue Northwest students in an effort to graduate a more informed citizenry.

Students will complete the Proficiency by passing a test of civic knowledge, and completing one of three paths:

• Attending six approved civics-related events and completing an assessment for each; or
• Completing 12 podcasts created by the Purdue Center for C-SPAN Scholarship and Engagement that use C-SPAN material and completing an assessment for each; or
• Earning a passing grade for one of the approved courses (or transferring in approved AP or departmental credit in lieu of taking a course)

For more information visit the Civics Literacy Proficiency website.

Total 120 Credits Required

Degree Map

Requirements

Minimum Grade and Grade Point Average (GPA):  2.0 GPA

Experiential Learning (EL):  One EL course required, select from the Experiential Learning course list  

General Education Core:  General Education notations can be found within the course description.  Please click on a course to see if it meets a Gen Ed requirement.

Milestone Courses noted by (m) next to the course title have been identified as being critical to your success in this field of study. 

Please see the Additional Information and Guidelines section below for more information.

Additional Information and Guidelines

Note 1: Requirements for transfer students are based on the number of transfer credits accepted at PNW as follows:

• Students who transfer with less than 30 credits need to take 4 CHESS Core Electives (12 credits)
• Students who transfer with 30 credits or more and with less than 60 credits need to take 3 CHESS Core Electives (9 credits)
• Students who transfer with 60 credits or more and with less than 90 credits need to take 2 CHESS Core Electives (6 credits)
• Students who transfer with 90 credits or more need to take 1 CHESS Core Elective (3 credits)

Note 2: Choice of ANTH 10000 , ECON 10100 , HDFS 21000 , POL 13000 , POL 14100 , PSY 12000 , or SWRK 20100  

Note 3: Area A: 2 courses (6 credits) at 30000 level or higher in ONE of the following disciplines:  ANTH, ECON, HDFS, POL, PSY or SWRK.

Note 4: Area B: 2 courses (6 credits) at 30000 level or higher in ONE of the following disciplines (but not discipline from Area A): ANTH, ECON, HDFS, POL, PSY, or SWRK.

College Scorecard

The U.S. Department of Education has created a scorecard for each university and its programs.  The scorecard shows data for the university such as graduation rate, average annual cost, and median earnings.  Then, when certain minimum standards have been met, data are available for a specific program.  That data could include median earnings, median total debt, and number of graduates. The link below will help you learn more:

https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?490805-Purdue-University-Northwest&fos_code=3017&fos_credential=3