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Immerse yourself in a rigorous, challenging and fully online psychology degree program combining the resources and faculty of the University of Missouri-Columbia (Mizzou) and the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL). This research-focused bachelor of arts introduces you to the theories and principles behind human behavior while preparing you to gather data and make evidence-based decisions.
This format introduces you to multiple psychology subdisciplines, trains you to go beyond opinion and speculation, and rests on a complex liberal arts foundation. Get ready to pursue several paths post graduation — from entering a behavior-centric field to applying to an applied psychology or human services graduate program.
About the collaborative online bachelor’s in psychology
Research influences the field of psychology, from treating patients and clients to understanding the factors shaping human behavior. This joint online bachelor’s in psychology centers around critical thinking, applied statistics, and quantitative and qualitative methods and exposes students to diverse related career paths. Learn to observe people, conduct patient evaluations and assess mental health disorders.
Those taking this track prepare to design research, analyze data and interpret their findings while structuring their degree around offerings from Mizzou’s and UMSL’s accredited and highly regarded psychology departments.
Challenge yourself, and explore psychology’s applications to ignite your career:
- Transform what you know about the human mind, behavior and mental health
- Strengthen your foundation in research, critical thinking and the scientific method
- Familiarize yourself with psychological theories and trends to write and speak about complex behavioral concerns
- Prepare to use data analysis and research to evaluate human behavior
- Get introduced to psychology’s many applications and subfields, including child and lifespan development, workplace psychology, counseling and mental health
- Gain a more nuanced understanding of human relationships and development
- Deepen your commitment to supporting diverse clients and groups
- Start to develop an understanding of the field’s professional ethics, including how power and privilege may influence research, community relationships and client interactions
Quick facts
Official name
Bachelor of arts in psychologyCampus
Program type
Bachelor's degreeAcademic home
Delivery mode
100% onlineAccreditation
Higher Learning CommissionMU | Credit hours
120MU | Estimated cost
$74,040.00UMSL | Credit hours
120UMSL | Estimated cost
$57,600.00*This cost is for illustrative purposes only. Your hours and costs will differ, depending on your transfer hours, your course choices and your academic progress. See more about tuition and financial aid.
Career prospects
Psychology majors acquire a range of broadly applicable skills, including critical thinking, statistical analysis, scientific methodology and written communication. Based on the credential they seek to attain, students often start their careers in social services, management, business, communications, human resources, education, law enforcement or research, or pursue graduate studies in applied psychology, social work, counseling or a related area.
For those holding a bachelor’s, potential job titles include:
- Activities director
- Alumni relations specialist
- Career counselor
- Child development specialist
- Corrections/probation/parole officer
- Public relations representative
Program structure
The collaborative online bachelor’s in psychology involves 33 credit hours, including three credit hours of statistics. Students learn entirely online, selecting subjects from both Mizzou and UMSL, and complete a capstone project. Students must take both parts of the research sequence at the same campus.
For the 30 credit hours of psychology requirements, distribution courses split across two areas make up 12 credit hours. These areas include:
Clinical/social/development: Delve into the processes and outside factors behind individual thoughts, feelings and behaviors, including cultural, biological and lifespan influences. Understand how these aspects shape mental health evaluations and diagnostic procedures.
Cognitive/neuroscience: Envision the mechanisms of the mind in more detail and the role experiences play in behavior patterns.
Mizzou and UMSL both use a semester schedule, and neither campus will require students to attend physically. Degree completion time varies based on credits earned so far or transferred and the number of classes taken at a time.
To enter the program, apply to one campus and pursue your degree through both. From here, you structure your degree according to your needs and interests and have access to a larger, more diverse group of world-renowned faculty than what other online programs offer.
No matter their home campus, all students receive the same credential. Both campus names appear on the diploma, an honor that reflects the value of the collaborative psychology program’s rigorous education. Outside of their major, students complete their degree based on the general education requirements of their home campus.
Core courses
The core for the online bachelor’s in psychology goes over:
- Human behavior theories, principles and methods
- Careers available in the psychology field
- The statistical foundation of quantitative analysis
- Research methods and scientific reasoning in psychology
Review all requirements for the online bachelor of arts in psychology.
Delivery
100% onlineCalendar system
Semester-basedTypical program length
VariesTypical course load
Varies if full time or part timeAccreditation
The University of Missouri-Columbia and the University of Missouri-St. Louis are accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, one of six regional institutional accreditors in the United States.
Faculty spotlight
Debora Bell's primary professional interest is doctoral education in psychology. She has served for more than 20 years as director of clinical training for the MU clinical psychology doctoral program and executive director of the MU Psychological Services Clinic, which serves as the training program for the doctoral program and clinical psychology and the umbrella organization for the Center for Evidence-Based Youth Mental Health. In these roles, she is proud to be part of the outstanding education of graduate students in clinical science research and evidence-based clinical practice, as well as part of the program’s strong contributions to the scientific literature and evidence-based services delivery in the community.
Dr. Michael Griffin's research interests lie in the interconnection between psychology and biology (psychobiology), in particular, the connection between psychological events and biological alterations. His specific research interests are primarily in the area of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the biological alterations associated with this disorder. He is also interested in studying psychophysiological and psychoendocrine changes that occur following exposure to highly traumatic events like sexual and physical assault.
Lisa Bauer teaches online sections of Research Methods in Psychology I and Forensic Psychology. Dr. Bauer loves getting to know her students and creating a positive online learning environment in which course information is presented in ways that enhance understanding, promote critical thinking and encourage real-world application. She has received several teaching awards with nominations from graduate and undergraduate students, including the MU Psi Chi Outstanding Professor of the Year Award and a 2022 William T. Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence Award.
Ines Segert is fascinated by exploring the connection between the brain and behaviors including drug addiction, consciousness, emotions, stress and the impacts of technology. Dr. Segert hopes to communicate her passion to students who take her online courses: Mind, Brain and Behavior; Drugs and Behavior; and Health Psychology. She has received numerous teaching awards, including The William T. Kemper Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Purple Chalk Award for Undergraduate Teaching, the David G. McDonald Award for Contributions to Undergraduate Education, University of Missouri (Mizzou) Psi Chi Outstanding Psychology Professor and Mizzou '39 Mentor.
Amanda Bequette offers course work in applied psychology of child advocacy studies focusing on child advocacy, childhood traumatic stress and communication in child advocacy. Dr. Bequette also assists students with career and graduate school planning in the Advising Office.
During her doctoral study, she supported research projects focused on defining infidelity and assessing the function of self-esteem and its relationship to health behaviors. She provided support for CDC-funded projects in community preparedness and health communication. As a research faculty at the Missouri Institute of Mental Health (MIMH), she wrote and evaluated federal and local grant-funded projects supporting mental health programming, early childhood social and emotional health programming, child advocacy and training in child-traumatic stress and trauma-informed programming.
She has served as a trainer at MIMH, is a member of the St. Louis Regional Suicide Prevention Coalition and is an equity advisor supported by the University of Missouri-St. Louis Advance Project.
Learn more about this program
For MU, this program is administered by the College of Arts & Science
For UMSL, this program is administered by the College of Arts & Sciences