Psychology (BA) | Online
The Bachelor of Arts in Psychology degree prepares students for professional graduate studies in psychology and social service support positions in clinical and institutional settings.
Why Psychology?
A degree in psychology is one of the most sought after undergraduate degrees with a large range of career options. Students choose from a variety of electives to tailor the program to their own professional interests. This degree opens the door for significant, lasting, and meaningful service to Christ through service to humanity.
Curriculum Intro
The BA in Psychology program has been designed with input from our expert faculty in the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, ensuring you graduate with the in-demand skills and knowledge that the ministry and workplace needs. The program requires 66 credits from the University Core, 37 credits from the specialization courses, 18 credits from electives. View a sample curriculum sheet for a snapshot of the courses you will take.
Online BA in Psychology from Cairn
Biblical Integration
Cairn University is committed to the centrality of Christ and the Word of God which is reflected in the curriculum and instruction. At Cairn, faith and truth do matter. We teach our students accordingly, challenge you to think deeply on these things, and strive to make you ready to serve Christ in the church, society, and the world as biblically minded men and women who not only give assent to truth but think and live in light of it.
Experienced Faculty
Our online courses are taught by faculty who not only have successful experience in the field of psychology but are committed to your professional and spiritual growth. Students don’t just have professors, they have mentors who invest in them throughout the program and often remain connected long after graduation.
Character Development
The Cairn mission statement begins with education and ends with character because we believe that education should change not only what you know, but who you are and what you do. Faculty members understand that education involves more than the transfer of ideas, but also the giving of themselves to teach, train, and inspire their students both in and out of class.
Flexibility
Complete coursework anywhere, anytime, through our asynchronous course design, reinforced by substantive faculty engagement. It's the same courses, the same degree, the same faculty as the onsite program.
Affordability
There's quite a bit of talk these days about the cost of higher education and the question of value. Many assume that you can't have both value and affordability, so they settle for lesser options or assume that the costliest options must have the most value. But when Cairn talks about walking a different path, value is no exception. It's possible to get a college education that is both affordable and valuable.
Campus Community
Community is about more than simply taking classes together. It's more than having a similar experience. Community is powerful, instructive, encouraging, and biblical. And at Cairn, community is intentional. It's attended to closely be an outworking of the University’s biblical commitment and understanding that in Christ, we are one.
more Details
Get an inside look at our Psychology Program
Required Credits: 121
University Core Courses:
- BIB 103 – Biblical Foundations Credits: 3
- BIB 203 – Old Testament I: The Pentateuch Credits: 3
- BIB 204 – Old Testament II: Prophets and Writings Credits: 3
- BIB 303 – New Testament I: The Gospels Credits: 3
- BIB 304 – New Testament II: Acts, Letters, and Revelation Credits: 3
- COM 111 – Introduction to Communications Credits: 3
- ENG 101 – English Composition Credits: 3
- HIS 302 – Global History of the Church Credits: 3
- INT 010 – First Year Experience Seminar Credits: 0
- MAT 131 – Introduction to Statistics Credits: 3
- PHI 301 – Philosophy Credits: 3
- POL 101 – US Government and Civics Credits: 3
- PSY 101 – General Psychology Credits: 3
- SOC 203 – Humanity and Culture Credits: 3
- THE 100 – Introduction to Christian Theology Credits: 3
- THE 302 – Biblical Perspectives on Contemporary Issues Credits: 3
- THE 311 – The Triune God Credits: 3
- THE 401 – Apologetics Credits: 3
Program Requirements:
- PSY 121 – Psychology as a Profession and Practice Credits: 3
- PSY 221 – Social Psychology Credits: 3
- PSY 231 – Research Methods Credits: 4
- PSY 321 – Human Development Credits: 3
- PSY 324 – Cognitive Psychology Credits: 3
- PSY 341 – Theories of Personality, Social, and Emotional Development Credits: 3
- or PSY 421 – Abnormal Psychology Credits: 3
- PSY 351 – Biological Foundations of Behavior Credits: 3
- PSY 422 – Theological Integration in Psychology and Psychotherapy Credits: 3
- PSY 491 – Senior Seminar Credits: 3
Behavioral & Mental Health fields
Social Services
Business (e.g. Human Resources)
Administration
Research
Education
Criminal Justice (e.g. Probation Officer)
Private Practice
Residential Treatment
Substance Abuse
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- Interdisciplinary Studies (BA) | Online
- Degree Completion (BS in Bible) | Online
Cairn University is regionally accredited by Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE).
Cairn University participates in the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements.
Additional Accreditation Information is available from this page.
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An Affordable Education
The tuition rates are posted on this page.
Cairn University also partners with many organizations and offers tuition discounts. Please contact us to find out if your organization has a partnership with Cairn University.
Additional information on scholarships, grants, and loans is available from this page.
Featured Faculty
Ruth Kuchinsky-Smith
Co-Chair, Sciences Department; Professor, School of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Dr. Kuchinsky-Smith teaches on a variety of topics across psychology and research, including probability and statistics. Dr. Kuchinsky-Smith has taught at the university level for more than 30 years across the disciplines of education, special education, music, and psychology. In addition, her professional experience has taken her from the Pennsylvania Department of Education in Harrisburg to the Philadelphia Prison Systems to the School District of Philadelphia to the Milton Hershey School to freelance writing at Patch.com to Lehman Memorial United Methodist Church in Hatboro, PA, where she currently serves as music director.
In addition to significant work in the field of school psychology, Dr. Kuchinsky-Smith published “Effectiveness of the MMPI-A to Differentiate between Counseled and Non-Counseled Students” at Temple University under the supervision of Leslie Skinner, PhD She also worked in child advocacy and psychological abuse in children at Temple University under the supervision of Irwin Hyman, EdD Before her academic work in psychology, she worked on deaf history and advocacy in education at Albert Einstein College of Medicine with Oliver Sacks, MD and infant development and vocalization at Child Development Research Center, Sands Point, New York with Judith S. Kestenberg, MD.
Bryan Maier
Faculty, School of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Dr. Bryan Maier has been working in the mental health field for 30 years and teaching counseling at the graduate level for 19 years. He is a licensed professional counselor in Pennsylvania and teaches graduate-level counseling courses at Cairn. Dr. Maier’s mental health counseling experience includes but is not limited to marital issues, addiction, trauma, and pastoral counseling.
Cairn Online Frequently Asked Questions
Cairn Online courses based on Cairn’s 100+ years tradition of excellence in biblical education. Our on faculty has carefully designed them taking into consideration what works best for the online learner. The modular design and asynchronous delivery enable you to complete your studies while you pursue your career, ministry and spend time with your family.
Courses typically contain seven units and are delivered in 7-week terms*. Each unit contains 5-7 modular activities. Each learning activity includes instructional videos accompanied by reflections, quizzes, discussion forums and other assessments. Courses also utilize adaptive learning technologies such as Cerego for long-term retention of concepts and VoiceThread for enhanced collaboration.
The asynchronous delivery provides flexibility around your daily busy schedule. In most courses, interactive activities are typically due by Wednesday while the rest of the unit’s work is due by Sunday night. The MBA, M.A. in Music and Criminal Justice programs use the 7RD2 process and require the completion of certain activities daily to optimize learning.
Our own Cairn faculty intentionally participate in the course throughout the week to provide you with an incarnational experience.
*Few capstone courses are intentionally offered in 14 weeks to optimize student learning.
All courses are developed by one or more course developers and taught by our own faculty. The instructors are also intentionally involved in the course throughout the week by providing direction in the course activities, participating in the forum discussions, grading the student work and providing substantive feedback. Most courses also offer optional office hours weekly via Zoom or similar video conferencing tools.
The course transfer depends on where you are transferring from, and what program you are transferring to. If you are coming to Cairn Online from another institution, it is very likely you will have some credits that will transfer. Because there are so many options, we encourage you to talk to an enrollment counselor. If you are transferring out, Cairn is a regionally accredited school and some credits should transfer with relative ease. Each college sets their own transfer criteria, so be sure to check their policies for specifics.
Cairn is approved to offer financial aid because of its regional accreditation. There are many options available and typically students qualify for at least one type of federal aid. Many students receive scholarships and grants that make earning their degree even more affordable. Cairn offers a variety of scholarships and discounts in addition to options for loans and grants. Please refer to this page for details.