The Speaker Series (PSYC 2020)  is a zero-credit-hour course graded on a pass/fail basis, where students attend talks by various people who are in the field of psychology or talks on topics related to psychology.  These talks must be approved by the department in order to satisfy the requirement of the course. This helps ensure that students get exposure to psychology from many different vantage points. 

For each Speaker Series unit in which you are enrolled, you simply attend two talks, and document your presence by signing the attendance sheet at the talks sponsored within the department or by printing out relevant notices of talks and having officials at the talk sign to attest to your presence (which must be turned in at the main office). 

All majors taking the Speaker Series should make sure they are enrolled in the first section: PSYC-2020-001.  The only people who should be in PSYC-2020-002 or PSYC-2020-003 are those taking multiple sections within the same semester.  Whether you are taking a single or multiple sections, make sure to enroll in Section 001, as it is the only one where the Calendar is maintained (that is where you find opportunities to attend talks). 

You should be on the Psych Talk listserv, so you will be aware of speaking opportunities as they arise during the semester. You can be added to, or removed from, Psych Talk at any time simply by emailing your request to the Department Chair (Wallace Dixon, dixonw@etsu.edu) or our Executive Aide (Jan Brown, royston@etsu.edu).

In the schedule of classes, three talk times and dates are listed so you can plan in advance to make at least two, but usually there are around ten or so opportunities per semester that are announced during the semester.  Speaker series talks are also listed on your D2L site.

Anyone who has less than 31 hours when they declare Psychology as their major needs a total of six (6) Speaker Series courses (PSYC 2020) before they graduate;

-Those with 31 to 60 hours when they declare must do five (5) Speaker Series courses by graduation;

-Those with 61 to 75 hours when they declare must do four (4) Speaker Series courses by graduation;

-Those with 76 to 90 hours when they declare must do three (3) Speaker Series courses by graduation;

-Those with 91 or more hours when they declare must do two (2) Speaker Series courses by graduation.

Regardless of whether you need a talk for credit or not, you are always encouraged and welcome to attend any talk.

You may also take multiple sections, if you need to get them in short order, where you attend two documented talks for each Speaker Series (PSYC 2020) unit you take.  Of course, we would encourage you to go to as many as you can or would like to attend, as it just deepens your knowledge of the field and helps you to see potential career options down the road.