Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Psychology
Did You Know?
Preparation for a particular career comes with the courses you choose to take, not the degree that you earn. For example, students routinely enter medical school having earned a B.A. degree and having taken courses in physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics. Similarly, students frequently earn a B.S. degree having also taken a large number of courses in the social sciences or humanities.
The Department of Psychology offers both a Bachelors of Arts (B.A.) degree and a Bachelors of Science (B.S.) degree. Which degree you should pursue depends on your specific interests and whether you are more comfortable with arts, humanities, social sciences, and languages or with physical sciences and mathematics.
Note that you MUST fulfill both the degree requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences, and the specific requirements of the B.S. in Psychology. Students opting for a B.S. degree in Psychology MAY NOT use psychology courses to fulfill the College of Arts and Sciences social sciences distribution requirement.
Use the Sample Course Plan to Complete a Psychology B.S. to help guide your course selection over all four undergraduate years.
Requirements for the B.S. in Psychology (minimum 63 credits)
All of these
- PSYC 001 General Psychology (3 credits)
- PSYC 104 Learning, Cognition and Behavior (3 credits)
- PSYC 109 Principles of Psychological Methodology and Research (Fall only, 3 credits)
- PSYC 110 Principles of Psychological Methodology and Research (Spring only, 4 credits)
- PSYC 121 Biopsychology (3 credits)
- PSYC 130 Social Psychology (3 credits)
- PSYC 152 Abnormal Psychology (3 credits)
- PSYC 161 Developmental Psychology: Childhood (3 credits)
Three Courses TOTAL from at least two of the following categories
Category A
- PSYC 205 Learning (3 credits)
- PSYC 206 Motivation (3 credits)
- PSYC 207 Thinking (3 credits)
- PSYC 215 Cognition and Aging (3 credits)
- PSYC 220 Animal Behavior (3 credits)
- PSYC 221 Physiological Psychology I (4 credits)
- PSYC 222 Selected Topics in Behavioral Neuroscience (3 credits)
- PSYC 223 Psychopharmacology (3 credits)
- PSYC 224 Hormones and Behavior (3 credits)
Category B
- PSYC 224 Hormones and Behavior (3 credits)
- PSYC 230 Advanced Social Psychology (3 credits)
- PSYC 233 Experience & Creativity (3 credits)
- PSYC 236 Theories of Human Communication (3 credits)
- PSYC 237 Cross-Cultural Communication (3 credits)
- PSYC 240 Organizational Psychology (3 credits)
- PSYC 241 Organizational Psychology: Global, Cultural, and Local Forces (3 credits)
- PSYC 261 Cognitive Development (3 credits)
- PSYC 262 Social Development (3 credits)
- PSYC 265 Infant Development (3 credits)
- PSYC 266 Communication & Children (3 credits)
- PSYC 267 Adolescence (3 credits)
- PSYC 268 Psychology of Adult Development & Aging (3 credits)
Category C
- PSYC 250 Introduction to Clinical Psychology (3 credits)
- PSYC 251 Behavior Disorders of Childhood (3 credits)
- PSYC 255 Introduction to Health Psychology (3 credits)
- PSYC 269 Cross-Cultural Psychology: A Clinical Perspective (3 credits)
Additional Credits
Twelve (12) additional psychology credits at or above the 100 level (can include Independent Study 197 and 198)
Either of these
- BIOL 001 Principles of Biology (4 credits) & BIOL 002 Principles of Biology (4 credits)
or
- BCOR 011 Exploring Biology (4 credits) & BCOR 012 Exploring Biology (4 credits)
Either of these
- MATH 019 Fundamentals of Calculus I (3 credits) & MATH 020 Fundamentals of Calculus II (3 credits)
or
- MATH 021 Calculus I (3 credits) & MATH 022 Calculus II (3 credits)
One of these (each is 3 or 4 credits)
- Biology (any except BIOL 001 and BIOL 002)
- Chemistry (any)
- Geology (any)
- Physics (any)
- Statistics (STAT 141 or any at the 200 level)
- Anatomy & Neurobiology (any)
- Animal Science (043,104,122,141,142,151,152)
- Computer Science (any except 002,003,005,014,015)