Overview of the Major
Applied Psychology is an important and rapidly developing branch of applied disciplines in contemporary human society. It applies the basic knowledge, principles, and methods obtained from scientific research in psychology to various practical fields in human society, including education, industry, engineering, organizational management, market consumption, social life, healthcare, sports, military, judicial, environmental, and other areas. With the rapid development of economy, technology, society, and culture, Applied Psychology enjoys increasingly broad prospects. Graduates of this major possess strong professional literacy and are employed in the Pearl River Delta and Guangdong Province, serving local economic and social development. They primarily engage in psychological education in schools at all levels, psychological counseling and social work in community and other public service institutions, psychological counseling and crisis intervention in various professional psychological counseling institutions, consulting and related fields in various social research or management consulting institutions, and human resource evaluation, management, and development in enterprises and institutions, among other psychological applications.
Training Objectives
This major primarily targets Guangdong Province and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, aiming to cultivate individuals who are comprehensively developed in moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and labor aspects. These individuals should possess homeland emotions, a healthy personality, an international perspective, craftsmanship spirit, and innovation ability. They should master the basic theories and professional skills of Applied Psychology, possess certain professional abilities and comprehensive qualities, proficiently grasp scientific research methods, application techniques, and assessment tools in Applied Psychology. They should possess strong professional abilities in areas such as mental health education, psychological counseling and guidance, special children's psychological rehabilitation, and personnel assessment. They are expected to engage in positions such as mental health education, psychological counseling and treatment, special children's psychological rehabilitation, human resource evaluation, management, and development, or other psychological applications in primary and secondary schools, communities, professional counseling institutions, special education schools (institutions), and industrial and commercial enterprises.
Within five years of graduation, these individuals are expected to become outstanding professionals in mental health education, psychological counseling and treatment, special children's psychological rehabilitation counseling, human resource evaluation and management, or other psychological applications.
Knowledge and Abilities
1. Ideological and moral abilities: Possess a firm and correct political orientation, good ideological and moral character, a sound personality, and a healthy physique. Love the country and the people, support the leadership of the Communist Party of China. Possess a scientific spirit, humanistic cultivation, professional ethics, social responsibility, and a positive life attitude. Understand national conditions, social conditions, and people's lives, and practice socialist core values.
2. Subject knowledge abilities: Master systematic basic knowledge in psychology and related disciplines, as well as professional knowledge in Applied Psychology. Possess various methods and techniques for conducting psychological research and the basic ability to engage in scientific research in Applied Psychology. Understand the latest developments and trends in international psychology.
3. Application abilities: Possess experimental and practical abilities in psychology. Able to use modern scientific technology and experimental equipment to observe, test, and analyze various psychological phenomena. Proficiently grasp knowledge and skills in the application fields of psychology, forming certain professional characteristics in these fields. Have the ability to comprehensively apply professional knowledge to solve complex problems in areas such as mental health education, psychological counseling and treatment, special children's psychological rehabilitation, and human resource evaluation and management. Have the ability to solve problems in practical fields of Applied Psychology in real-world environments.
4. Analytical abilities: Possess logical thinking abilities and a critical thinking spirit. Able to discover, analyze, question, and evaluate phenomena and issues in psychology and related fields. Good at expressing personal opinions based on scientific psychological theories, striving for comprehensiveness and objectivity, and avoiding rigid, dogmatic, and formalized theories.
5. Innovation abilities: Possess comprehensive professional abilities and innovation abilities in psychology, especially Applied Psychology. Able to conduct comprehensive analysis and research on issues in psychology and cross-disciplinary fields, construct and express scientific solutions, and creatively solve problems in practical fields of Applied Psychology.
6. Information abilities: Proficient in using various software and online office systems. Have the ability to acquire information and analyze data, use modern information technology to obtain professional knowledge in Applied Psychology, conduct related application businesses in Applied Psychology, and solve practical problems in the field of psychology.
7. Communication and expression abilities: Possess good communication and expression abilities. Able to effectively communicate with peers and the general public through oral and written expressions, possess a certain level of publicity and dissemination abilities. Have cross-cultural communication abilities, master a foreign language, and possess listening, speaking, reading, writing, and translation abilities.
8. Teamwork abilities: Possess strong organizational, coordination, and management abilities. Able to harmoniously coexist with team members, collaborate, and play an active role in team activities as a member or leader.
9. International perspective: Possess an international perspective and international communication abilities. Respect the differences and diversity of different cultures around the world, able to disseminate Chinese excellent culture and spirit. Understand international developments, pay attention to global major issues in the field of psychology, and possess the ability to conduct international exchanges and cooperation in their professional fields.
10. Learning and development abilities: Possess a lifelong learning consciousness, self-management, and self-learning abilities. Able to actively adapt to society, respond to various challenges, and maintain sustainable personal development through continuous learning and self-transcendence.
Characteristics of the Applied Psychology Major
This major aligns with the industries in the Greater Bay Area, following the OBE (Outcome-Based Education) philosophy of "student-centeredness, output orientation, and continuous improvement." It constructs talent cultivation programs and curricula closely aligned with industrial demands, featuring collaborative training between government, schools, and enterprises.
The major offers four internationally distinctive courses. The professional courses are modularized, emphasizing a solid foundation and practicality, forming a practical teaching link combining "modular courses + practical activities." It boasts an 850-square-meter psychology laboratory equipped with basic psychology laboratories, psychological statistics and assessment laboratories, psychological counseling training rooms, group counseling training rooms, sand table training rooms, human anatomy model laboratories, and applied clinical laboratories. Simultaneously, based on the school-enterprise cooperation education model, it conducts practical teaching with institutions such as Peili Education Consulting Co., Ltd. and Guangzhou Ruibao Special Children's Psychological Development Center to cultivate students' professional abilities and professional qualities.
Curriculum System Topology
Core Courses
Based on the "National Standards for the Quality of Psychology Teaching" formulated and promulgated by the Psychology Teaching Steering Committee of the Ministry of Education, referring to the core curriculum schemes for Applied Psychology majors determined by other institutions in the province, 12 core courses have been identified to meet the requirements of the "National Standards for the Quality of Undergraduate Teaching in General Higher Education Institutions" and the catalog and introductions of undergraduate majors in general higher education institutions. They also reflect and achieve the cultivation of core competencies required for the Applied Psychology major.
Core courses: General Psychology, Experimental Psychology, Psychological Statistics, Psychometrics, Personality Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Social Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Psychological Counseling and Therapy, Introduction to Special Education, Organizational Psychology, and Human Resource Management.
Practical Teaching Links
On-campus concentrated practical teaching: The purpose of practical teaching in the Applied Psychology major is to integrate students' psychological theories and knowledge with practice, cultivate their spirit of exploration and innovation, enhance their hands-on abilities, focus on their ability to participate in social activities, and cultivate their serious and diligent learning and work attitudes. This lays a solid foundation for students to smoothly enter the workplace, adapt to fierce career competition, and social life in the future. The internship links and content of this major are an essential part of the teaching plan, crucial for cultivating students' proficiency in relevant applied skills of the major and their ability to solve practical problems.
Additionally, practical teaching is also a classroom, the cradle for cultivating students' professional knowledge and skills. Through this classroom, students can gain direct understanding of the practicality and application value of contemporary Applied Psychology, broaden their horizons, and cultivate their abilities to observe, analyze, research, and solve problems in psychological application practices. Practical teaching enhances students' ability to digitally transform to adapt to the ever-changing digital era.
The main practical teaching links of the Applied Psychology major include: (1) Practical teaching; (2) On-campus concentrated weekly training; (3) Enterprise practical teaching.
On-campus concentrated weekly training: Includes practical courses such as General Psychology experiments, communication skills training, family education guidance practice, ethical application of psychological counseling and treatment, school mental health education practice, special children's psychological rehabilitation practice, human resource assessment and management practice, and comprehensive ability training in Applied Psychology.
Enterprise practical teaching: Based on students' needs for practical application of Applied Psychology, six enterprise practical teaching projects are set up, including online self-study extension module courses, professional ethics education, field research (choose one of three options), professional (production) internships, graduation internships, and graduation theses. During the enterprise practical teaching process, the collaborative roles of professional mentors, thesis mentors, enterprise mentors, career mentors, and ideological and political mentors are fully utilized to jointly help students expand their professional abilities and enhance their professional qualities.
Teaching Conditions
The teaching facilities of this major are well-equipped, meeting the needs of talent cultivation and ensuring the effective implementation of various professional teaching activities. The professional teaching laboratory is relatively complete, currently boasting an 850-square-meter professional laboratory equipped with two basic psychology laboratories, one psychological statistics and assessment laboratory, one psychological counseling training room, two group counseling training rooms, two sand table training rooms , one human anatomy model laboratory, and one applied clinical laboratory. Meanwhile, the major coordinates with institutions such as Peili Education Consulting Co., Ltd. and Guangzhou Ruibao Special Children's Psychological Development Center to cultivate talents through school-enterprise cooperation. The number and variety of professional books and materials are sufficient to meet the needs of professional teaching.
Employment Prospects
Graduates are employed in the Pearl River Delta and Guangdong Province, serving local economic and social development. They primarily engage in psychological education in schools at all levels, psychological counseling and social work in community and other public service institutions, psychological counseling and crisis intervention in various professional psychological counseling institutions, consulting and related fields in various social research or management consulting institutions, and human resource evaluation, management, and development in enterprises and institutions, among other psychological applications.
Faculty Team
Currently, there are 26 full-time teachers. In terms of titles, there are 3 professors, 3 associate professors, 13 lecturers, and 7 teaching assistants. Among the full-time teachers, 6 hold doctorates. All teachers have master's degrees or above, and 11 teachers possess "dual-teacher" qualifications. The proportion of teachers with "dual-teacher" qualifications is 39.3%. In terms of academic backgrounds, the full-time faculty team comes from renowned institutions at home and abroad, including the University of York (UK), Russian National Pedagogical University, City University of Macau, Hua Fan University (Taiwan), The Education University of Hong Kong, Beijing Normal University, South China Normal University, Sun Yat-sen University, Nankai University, Central China Normal University, Nanjing Normal University, Hunan Normal University, Shaanxi Normal University, Tianjin Normal University, Henan University, Guangzhou University, Shenzhen University, Capital University of Physical Education and Sports, among others. In the past five years, the faculty team has led 13 provincial and municipal projects, 12 school-level projects, with research funding exceeding 500,000 yuan. They have published over 60 papers, including 18 core papers in Peking University's journals and 14 papers in SSCI and CSSCI. The major has formed a stable, united, and efficient professional teaching team.
