Formal Report Proposal

To: Dr. Erika Paterson, ENGL 301 Instructor

From: Jenny Li, ENGL 301 Student

Date: October 20, 2021

Subject: Proposal for Introducing Hands-On Workshop Courses for Psychology Undergraduate Students at UBC

Audiences

The intended audience of this proposal is the head of UBC’s psychology department, Dr. Geoffrey Hall, and the administrative team of the department

Introduction

With nearly 2,000 students, psychology is the most popular major for undergraduate students at UBC. Psychology is an increasingly valuable discipline and many students are drawn to the engaging courses offered at UBC. Additionally, declaring a major in psychology is simple, with no high GPA requirement and no limit to the number of intakes. However, unlike other more traditional disciplines like biology, computer science, or English, many psychology majors do not have a solid career plan. The extensive variety of career options available for psychology graduates can be confusing and psychology majors can feel very lost as to which career path is the right one for them. Despite the prestige of UBC’s psychology program, psychology undergraduate students often feel unprepared and insecure about their future.

Statement of Problem

There are many psychology subfield courses offered at UBC, from social psychology, clinical psychology, to cognitive psychology. These are introductory courses, based on technical learning that takes place mainly in a classroom. Most psychology courses only consist of lectures, with no accompanying lab or seminar time like many other disciplines at UBC. While course content may be interesting and professors may facilitate enthusiasm in the subject, there are few opportunities for students to physically demonstrate what they have learned. Therefore, after the conclusion of a very short introductory course in a psychology subdiscipline, students have only scraped the top layer of knowledge of that subject and lack the ability to apply the material outside the classroom.

It is not hard to imagine how this may lead individuals to feel unprepared in seeking employment after graduation due to confusion as to which psychology-related career better suits them. Although interships and co-op programs are available, spaces are limited and is gated by cumulative GPA. These programs also require a significant amount of availability outside of class time, which not every student is able to spare. Due to the exclusive nature of internships and co-op programs, they do not benefit the general population of psychology undergraduates. Many psychology majors may graduate feeling very clueless because they lack of relevant work experience.

Proposed Solution

Establishing hands-on workshops may be a solution to this problem. BCIT often receives high praise for the hands-on nature of its programs and how graduates from this school are able to easily transition into the workforce. UBC’s psychology program may benefit from incorporating more applicable methods of learning as well. These hands-on workshops can be credit-granting psychology courses that students have the option to take, but that is accessible to all students. In the workshops, students are shown the typical duties of common psychology-related careers, such as researcher, clinician, and human resources management. Students can have practicums too.

Scope

To assess the feasibility of establishing workshop courses as apart of UBC’s undergraduate psychology program, I plan to pursue five areas of inquiry:

1. How many psychology students will be willing to take hands-on workshop courses?
2. Will hands-on workshops improve psychology students’ learning experience? If so, in what ways?
3. What kind of workshops would students be most interested in?
4. What are some limitations of these workshops in UBC’s undergraduate psychology program?
5. What are some barriers preventing the establishment of these workshops?

Methods

My primary data sources will be surveying UBC psychology students to determine interest and student perspectives on hands-on workshops. Surveys will be distributed virtually and data will be collected annonymously. Secondary sources will include academic papers and articles, which will help me better understand the pros and cons of hands-on workshops, as well their practicality in highly populated universities like UBC.

My Qualifications

I am a fourth year psychology major at UBC. I am someone who struggled a lot in determining what I want to do with my degree after I graduate. I have taken a wide range of psychology courses, including cultural, clinical, neuro, and environmental psychology. Despite being fond of my studies, it is very tough to decide which stream to pursue because of limited experience and knowledge on the work involved in these subfields. I have friends who graduated with a psychology major or minor and still do not know what to do with their degree.

Conclusion

Despite the popularity and prestige of UBC psychology, the program lacks career support for its students. Action is required to better prepare psychology students for their future. By researching the previously stated five areas of inquiry, I can determine the feasibility of hands-on psychology workshops in increasing degree and career confidence of psychology students. With your approval, I will begin the research and data collection proccess immediately.