Course Syllabus

PSY 499: Psychology Capstone  

Spring 2025 – 15 weeks 

Hyflex | 3 Credits 

Course Syllabus 

Instructor: Kenneth Texeira, Ph.D. 

Office Location: Liberal Arts Department, Quincy Campus, Room 453 

Office Hours: by appointment 

Instructor Email: kTexeira@quincycollege.edu  

Dean’s Office Phone: Liberal Arts & Professional Programs: 617-405-5920 

Course Description 

This psychology capstone course integrates and synthesizes the knowledge and skills of the undergraduate curriculum through the completion of the capstone project. This course also provides students with an opportunity to demonstrate professional skills developed in this program individually and in groups.   

Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) 

At the completion of this course, the students should be able to: 

1. Incorporate the five content pillars through the completion of the capstone project.
2. Refine professional aspirations for life after graduation in relation to skills developed in this program. 
3. Demonstrate critical thinking and sociocultural considerations in scientific inquiry through written and oral presentations. 
4. Design tools utilizing ethical and socially responsible standards to evaluate psychological science and practice. 

 

Course Materials and Resources

 

Textbooks: 

Burke, L., & Dempsey, R. (2023). Undertaking capstone and final year projects in psychology. Routledge. 

 

Course Delivery Format 

 

On Campus (C): This course meets on campus according to the weekly schedule. Most
of the course content will be delivered through lectures and other activities conducted during class
meetings. Additional course resources are available via the Canvas Learning Management System to
supplement the textbook or provide interaction with the content and/or assessment.  

All course materials, including instructional videos, assignments, quizzes, and other activities, are managed through the Canvas Learning Management System. Canvas also serves as the platform for submitting work and accessing additional resources to support learning. Please refer to the course schedule for the dates and times of mandatory class meetings. 

Communication and Feedback 

Email: The best means of communication regarding an individual concern is by email. All emails will be returned within 48 hours. Please use your college-issued email. Please refer to the 2024-2025 Student Handbook for information about using your QC email. 

Canvas Announcements: The instructor will communicate with the class throughout the course with announcements on Canvas. Items of an individual concern should be communicated to the instructor using your college email. 

Canvas Messaging: Within Canvas, there is a message feature (Inbox) that will prove the fastest and easiest way to communicate on course specific items such as questions about the assignment, homework, or course. 

Feedback: I will check and respond to emails and messages and the “Questions about the course” thread within 48 hours. Assignments completed on Canvas will be graded and returned within 7 days after the due date. 

Attendance/Participation 

Attendance is not be graded; however attendance will affect academic performance.  Because we are online checking in every week and keeping up with assignments is really important for you to get an A.   

Class Cancellation Policy 

In the event of college-wide cancellations, announcements are made through the emergency notification system on the campus portal, on local television, and radio stations. 

 

In the event of class cancellation by Dr. Texeira students will be notified by an announcement in Canvas and/or an email to your QC email address. I will let you know via Canvas Announcements or through QC email that the class has been cancelled. Posting or submission deadlines may be extended if there are weather or technology disruptions beyond the student’s control. 

 

Grading Policy 

 

Summative Assessment(s): 

• 30% Final paper 

• 20% Peer review/ Discussions

• 20% Assignments

• 30% Final presentation 

• Note: A grade of C or higher is required for graduation with a BS in Psychology 

 

 

You MUST have access to a computer each week. Experiencing computer issues is NOT an excuse not to fulfill the requirements.  

 

The college grading scale will be used: 

Letter Grade	Percentage (%)	Grade Point Average (GPA)
A	93 and above	4.0
A-	90-92	3.7
B+	87-89	3.3
B	83-86	3.0
B-	80-82	2.7
C+	77-79	2.3
C	73-76	2.0
C-	70-72	1.7
D	60-69	1.0
F	59 and below	0.0
I	Incomplete	0.0
W	Withdrawal	0.0
AUD	Audit	0.0

Make-Up Policy 

Tests can only be made up if arrangements were made one week in advance to the missed assignment.  Homework can only be passed in late with a doctors note and at my discretion. Specifically if you miss a lot of classes or come in late I will not allow you to make up assignments. Any late assignments will receive 2 points off and discussions without comments will also receive one point off.   

Additional Information 

Canvas Learning Management System (LMS): 

If you have any questions about Canvas, please submit a Help Ticket. 

Quincy College strongly recommends you use the Firefox or Google Chrome web browser to access and participate in its online and hybrid courses. Internet Explorer is NOT recommended. 

Academic Integrity: 

Quincy College fosters a high standard of academic honesty for students, faculty and staff, and expects all to adhere to the basic values of mutual respect and responsibility as well as individual and institutional integrity. 

To promote the best environment for learning, courses utilize test proctoring and Turnitin, similarity/plagiarism software to maintain integrity of tests and coursework. Please contact your instructors for specific information about the academic integrity software used in your courses. 

Our test proctoring software, Respondus Lockdown Browser, does require a working microphone and webcam. A student guide to Respondus Monitor will be made available during the course. 

Please refer to the Student Handbook for more information on our Academic Integrity Policy, Policy 5.15. 

Turnitin: 

Written assignments in the course may be submitted to Turnitin for a similarity/plagiarism review. This can be done by you or your instructor. 

Turnitin generates a similarity report of your writing by comparing it with a database of journals, books, websites, student papers and other work. This report can help determine when the sources are used fairly, cited properly, and paraphrased effectively. Detection of similarities does not necessarily mean plagiarism has occurred, as the copied text might be properly referenced. 

Turnitin helps to foster academic integrity and encourages you to produce original academic work. 

The Use of AI Tools: 

This class may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in various ways. You are permitted to use
AI only in the manner and means described in the assignments. Any attempt to represent AI output
inappropriately as your own work will be treated as plagiarism – please cite the sources properly. 

Course Accessibility Statement: 

Quincy College is committed to providing access and inclusion for all persons with disabilities. Students with disabilities who need access to course content due to course design limitations should contact Student Accessibility Services (SAS) sas@quincycollege.edu or by phone (617) 984-1682. Please refer to our 2024-2025 Student Handbook for more information about Student Accessibility Services. 

Title IX Policy: 

Title IX prohibits sex discrimination, including sexual misconduct, sexual violence, sexual harassment, and retaliation. If you or someone you know has been harassed or assaulted, click here for more information about QC’s Title IX Policies and Procedures. 

 

Course Schedule PSY 216: Growth and Development (15 weeks)
 

Week/Module	Read/Watch	Assignment(s)	Due Date
Week #0  01.15 - 01.19	Welcome to Course www.apa.org/about/division	Complete Start Here and Course Resources Modules View videos and become familiar with Canvas and course navigation.	01.19
Week #1  01.20 - 01.26	Module 1                              Ch 1 The Foundation	Complete Module 1 Assignments: Readings in Textbooks, discussion post, and any additional HW assigned and listed in module.	01.26
Week #2  01.27 - 02.02	Module 2                              Ch 2 Developing Skills	Complete Module 2 Assignments: Readings in Textbooks, discussion post, and any additional HW assigned and listed in module.	02.02
Week #3 02.03 - 02.09	Module 3 Ch  3 Getting Ready, Set, Go Grad school?  https://www.apa.org/education-career/grad/applying Or just Get a job?  Take a break? https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/bachelors-in-psychology-jobs	Complete Module 3 Assignments: Readings in Textbooks, discussion post, and any additional HW assigned and listed in module.	02.09
Week #4 02.10 – 02.16	Module 4 Ch 4 The Interest   Forgot everything from research methods?  Here is a refresher: https://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/topss/lessons/research-methods-statistics.pdf	Complete Module 4 Assignments: Readings in Textbooks, discussion post, and any additional HW assigned and listed in module.	02.16
Week #5 02.17 – 02.23	Module 5 Ch 5	Complete Module 5 Assignments: Readings in Textbooks, discussion post, and any additional HW assigned and listed in module.	02.23
Week #6 02.24 – 03.02	Module 6 Ch	Complete Module 6 Assignments: Readings in Textbooks, discussion post, and any additional HW assigned and listed in module.	03.02
Week #7 03.03 – 03.09	Module 7 Ch	Complete Module 7 Assignments: Readings in Textbooks, discussion post, and any additional HW assigned and listed in module.	03.09
Week #8 and #9 03.10 – 03.23*    *Includes Spring break	Module 8 Ch	Complete Module 8 Assignments: Readings in Textbooks, discussion post, and any additional HW assigned and listed in module.	03.23
Week #10 03.24 – 03.30	Module 9 Ch	Complete Module 9 Assignments: Readings in Textbooks, discussion post, and any additional HW assigned and listed in module.	03.30
Week #11 03.31 – 04.06	Module 10 Ch	Complete Module 10 Assignments: Readings in Textbooks, discussion post, and any additional HW assigned and listed in module.	04.06
Week #12 04.07 – 04.13	Module 11 Ch	Complete Module 11 Assignments: Readings in Textbooks, discussion post, and any additional HW assigned and listed in module.	04.13
Week #13 04.14 – 04.20	Module 12 Ch	Complete Module 12 Assignments: Readings in Textbooks, discussion post, and any additional HW assigned and listed in module.	04.20
Week #14 04.21 – 04.27	Module 13 Ch	Complete Module 13 Assignments: Readings in Textbooks, discussion post, and any additional HW assigned and listed in module.	04.27
Week #15 04.28 – 05.04	Module 14 Ch	Complete Module 14 Assignments: Readings in Textbooks, discussion post, and any additional HW assigned and listed in module.	05.04
Week #16 05.05 – 05.11	Module 15 Ch	Complete Module 15 Assignments: Readings in Textbooks, discussion post, and any additional HW assigned and listed in module.	05.11

 

This syllabus is subject to change at the instructor’s discretion. Students will be notified of any change to the syllabus via an announcement on Canvas.