Graduating seniors will complete a final examination covering the breadth of psychology coursework completed while pursuing their degree. Students will be notified regarding the exam after filing for graduation.
The information below should answer most questions regarding the exam. If you have additional questions, please contact your academic adviser.
What is the Undergraduate Comprehensive Exam in Psychology?
What scholarships are available for exam performance?
How do I register for the exam?
How can I prepare for the exam?
What will I need to bring on exam day?
When will I find out how I did on the exam?
The Undergraduate Comprehensive Exam in Psychology (UCEP) is a multiple choice exam taken by all prospective graduates with a psychology major. The Undergraduate Comprehensive Examination in Psychology is in two parts: a multiple-choice test of General Knowledge and a multiple-choice test of Psychological Research. The General Knowledge section of the exam is comprised of seven questions chosen from each of the 17 chapters covered in General Psychology I and General Psychology II:
- What is Psychology
- Psychology’s Scientific Method
- Biological Foundations of Behavior
- Sensation and Perception
- States of Consciousness
- Learning
- Memory
- Thinking, Intelligence, and Language
- Human Development
- Motivation and Emotion
- Gender, Sex, and Sexuality
- Personality
- Social Psychology
- Industrial Organizational Psychology
- Psychological Disorders
- Therapies
- Health Psychology
The scores are used in several ways:
- To identify Psychology Top Performers – The top 10% performers are recognized on the Psychology’s Best and Brightest webpage on the departmental site.
- To identify Alumni Scholarship recipients – Two scholarships are available to strong performers on the UCEP.
- To evaluate program effectiveness – Student performance on various sections of the exam are used as indicators of the program’s overall effectiveness.
Two Alumni Scholarships are available for strong exam performers.
- Top UCEP Scholarship – The top three performers will receive a scholarship for their performance and recognition on the Psychology Top Performers webpage.
- High UCEP Performer Scholarship – Three students performing in the top 50% on the exam will be drawn randomly for receipt of these scholarships.
The value of each scholarship will be dependent upon market performance and available scholarship funding. If students are up-to-date on their financial commitments to the Business Office, scholarship funds will be received as a refund and may be used at the recipient’s discretion.
You will receive a letter from the Psychology Department Secretary. This letter will detail the day and time of the exam. Typically, the exam is offered on a Friday late in the fall and spring semesters. The exam room will be open from 8:00am to 12:00pm and 1:00 to 5:00pm. You should allow about 90 minutes to complete the tests. Therefore, no tests may be begun after 10:30 a.m. or after 3:30 p.m.
Initially, you don’t need to do anything to register for the exam except file for graduation. Towards the end of the semester, we will receive the list of all graduates/exam takers from the Registrar’s Office. At that point, Ms. Waddell will send a letter and email with the specific day the exam will be offered and with instructions for completing the exam.
There are two ways to prepare for the exam. First, I would register for the Comprehensive Exam Prep Course. This “course” is a repository of practice tests by chapter based upon your General Psychology textbook. Taking the practice tests will help you identify areas of strength and weakness. Second, I would recommend looking over your General Psychology textbook. If you have sold yours back, then you can use a copy of the textbook that is kept at the Reserve Desk in Moffett Library. I would especially spend time on those areas you scored mediocre or poorly on in the course.
On exam day, you will need to bring a couple of #2 pencils (love those guys!) and three of the long Scantron forms. You may also want to dress a little warmly, as the computer lab can be cool sometimes.
Top UCEP Scholarship winners and High UCEP Performer Scholarship winners will be announced in conjunction with the Senior Walk event just prior to graduation. If you are not a scholarship winner and would like to know how you did on the examination, please contact Dr. Carlston (david.carlston@msutexas.edu) after the conclusion of the semester.