PSYCH 175
Community Psychology
Description: Designed for junior/senior Psychology majors. Application of psychological principles to understanding and solution of community problems. Topics include community development, community mental health problems, drugs, racism, and rehabilitation of prisoners.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
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Most Helpful Review
Summer 2020 - I took Dr. Harrell’s Community Psychology course through the Transfer Summer Program (TSP) when it was online. The course grade consisted of 3-4 page weekly connection papers, an open-note exam, a community organization development project, participation, and a final class study circle reflection. Class meetings were Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for 2 hours, but she did give us breaks at the half. The weekly connection papers are an interesting assignment because they give you an opportunity to tie class concepts to relevant topics like a social justice film or social justice organization. The exam, on the other hand, was a very subjective experience for many of us. Although it was intended for us to take it within a few hours, it took all of us several hours to complete it, some more than others. I highly suggest studying with others and making your own study guide with definitions and examples of the course content in order to do the best you can. The community organization development project is a creative paper where you get to develop a community organization that addresses a mental health or social justice issue. It is time-consuming, but it has the potential to be interesting if you choose a topic you are genuinely interested in. Participation was graded on weekly forum posts, which could be either tedious or fascinating whether you are into current events, and PLF sessions. Aside from clarifying a few concepts and questions I had, I personally did not find the PLF sessions too helpful with grasping the material. The last assignment is a reflection on a discussion you do at the end of class. When I was going through a rough time early in the program, Dr. Harrell was very accommodating to me when that was communicated to her. Overall, she is very experienced and accomplished, so she does hold her students to a high academic standard, especially as UCLA students. Nonetheless, she is very compassionate, knowledgeable, and caring. This was definitely a class where you have to put in the work to earn an A.
Summer 2020 - I took Dr. Harrell’s Community Psychology course through the Transfer Summer Program (TSP) when it was online. The course grade consisted of 3-4 page weekly connection papers, an open-note exam, a community organization development project, participation, and a final class study circle reflection. Class meetings were Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for 2 hours, but she did give us breaks at the half. The weekly connection papers are an interesting assignment because they give you an opportunity to tie class concepts to relevant topics like a social justice film or social justice organization. The exam, on the other hand, was a very subjective experience for many of us. Although it was intended for us to take it within a few hours, it took all of us several hours to complete it, some more than others. I highly suggest studying with others and making your own study guide with definitions and examples of the course content in order to do the best you can. The community organization development project is a creative paper where you get to develop a community organization that addresses a mental health or social justice issue. It is time-consuming, but it has the potential to be interesting if you choose a topic you are genuinely interested in. Participation was graded on weekly forum posts, which could be either tedious or fascinating whether you are into current events, and PLF sessions. Aside from clarifying a few concepts and questions I had, I personally did not find the PLF sessions too helpful with grasping the material. The last assignment is a reflection on a discussion you do at the end of class. When I was going through a rough time early in the program, Dr. Harrell was very accommodating to me when that was communicated to her. Overall, she is very experienced and accomplished, so she does hold her students to a high academic standard, especially as UCLA students. Nonetheless, she is very compassionate, knowledgeable, and caring. This was definitely a class where you have to put in the work to earn an A.
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Most Helpful Review
Summer 2025 - I thought she was okay. I took her during the transfer summer program with AAP, and it was a very easy class. She has you read an open-source textbook and screenshot your answers to the quizzes at the end of the chapter. They were all foolproof quizzes that you could retake an infinite number of times, even without reading the chapters. In reality, you could just do them all in a day and submit them for easy points. Her lectures were not engaging. She would go on long tangents about semi-related topics. She was approachable at first, but then she began to get passive-aggressive when students needed clarity on rubric requirements. My best advice is to read the directions, despite how vague they may seem, and submit the draft. She will then give you feedback if anything is missing, which would replace any low score you had on the first draft once you submit the final. The group project was alright. I would advise following her format on the directions she gives you, as well as incorporating micro-meso-macro levels of analysis to every ecological principle in the slides. I would not take her again and would rather choose a different professor who is engaging and is okay with answering clarifying questions.
Summer 2025 - I thought she was okay. I took her during the transfer summer program with AAP, and it was a very easy class. She has you read an open-source textbook and screenshot your answers to the quizzes at the end of the chapter. They were all foolproof quizzes that you could retake an infinite number of times, even without reading the chapters. In reality, you could just do them all in a day and submit them for easy points. Her lectures were not engaging. She would go on long tangents about semi-related topics. She was approachable at first, but then she began to get passive-aggressive when students needed clarity on rubric requirements. My best advice is to read the directions, despite how vague they may seem, and submit the draft. She will then give you feedback if anything is missing, which would replace any low score you had on the first draft once you submit the final. The group project was alright. I would advise following her format on the directions she gives you, as well as incorporating micro-meso-macro levels of analysis to every ecological principle in the slides. I would not take her again and would rather choose a different professor who is engaging and is okay with answering clarifying questions.
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