Advising

Navigating one’s college years can be difficult without the help of academic advisors. An academic advisor can help you to sort through graduation requirements, decide on which courses to take and when, identify potential career paths and routes to getting there, and generally help you throughout your journey.

NEW in Fall 2024! Our faculty have put together a new Advising Guide for Psychological Science Majors, which you can access here. The Advising Guide has detailed information about how advising works in our department, how to register for courses, navigating the PSYS major, guidance about careers and graduate school, and more. If you have an advising question, we strongly recommend checking the Advising Guide for the answer first before contacting your advisor!

Advising Handbook for UVM Psychological Science Majors (PDF)

Advising FAQ

Advising for first-years and sophomores
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Schedule an appointment with a Psychological Science Academic Advisor in Navigate:

What can one-on-one advising appointments offer me?
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Faculty advisors can help you with any number of issues pertaining to your college experience.  These include:

  • Navigating the requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Psychological Science.
  • Identifying opportunities for undergraduate honors, research, and internships.
  • Developing strategies for navigating challenges in the classroom.
  • Determining how to reach your academic goals.
  • Developing strategies to improve your grade point average.
  • Identifying student services on campus that may be particularly appropriate for your needs and interests.

Other advising resources
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Academic advisors in the Department of Psychological Science have expertise in scholarly issues, especially as they pertain to psychological science. If you seek advice and support for other issues, such as health, legal matters, writing and learning skills, general career planning, lifestyle/residential issues, or academic accommodations, you may want to check out some of the other free professional advising that UVM offers. The College of Arts ans Sciences Student Services can help you to identify the resources most likely to meet your needs.

What courses are offered every semester versus only fall or spring?
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Most of our foundational courses, including PSYS 1400 (Introduction to Psychological Science), PSYS 2200 (Biopsychology), PSYS 2300 (Social Psychology), PSYS 2400 (Developmental Psychology: Childhood), and PSYS 2500 (Psychopathology), are offered every semester.

We offer two versions of our Psych Research Methods course, one in the fall and the other in the spring.  In the fall, we offer Psych Research Methods w/lab (PSYS 2000) and this is recommended for majors.  In the spring, we offer Psych Research Methods (no lab; PSYS 2002) and this is recommended for minors.

A few of our foundational courses are offered only in the fall or spring semester - fall semesters: PSYS 2100 (Learning, Cognition and Behavior) spring semesters: PSYS 2010 (Statistics for Psychological Science)

Finally, we offer approximately 18 3000-level PSYS courses every semester.

Course substitutions for Psychology Research Methods and Statistics in Psychological Science
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  • Psychology Research Methods with lab (PSYS 2000; 4 credits) and Statistics for Psychological Science (PSYS 2010) are required courses for all Psychological Science majors.
  • Psychology Research Methods (PSYS 2002; 3 credits) is a required course for all Psychological Science minors.
  • Psychology Research Methods prepares students to understand and evaluate psychological research in a variety of areas of psychology. Statistics in Psychological Science teaches the analysis of quantitative data in psychology.
  • There are other courses at UVM that have “research”, “research methods”, and/or “statistics” in their title. However, only Psychology Research Methods and Statistics for Psychological Science are designed to teach students about research and data analysis in psychology.

Example UVM courses that do not substitute:

  • GEOG 2550 (Qualitative Research Methods)
  • POLS 2800 (Social Research Methods)
  • SOC 2500 (Social Research Methods)
  • SOC 3500 (Qualitative Research Methods)
  • STAT 1110 (Elements of Statistics)
  • STAT 1410 (Basic Statistical Methods 1)
  • STAT 2830 (Basic Statistical Methods 2)
  • STAT 3000 (Medical Biostatistics & Epidemiology)
  • STAT 3210 (Statistical Methods II)
  • SWSS 2640 (Intro Social Work Research)

Student Services Advising in the College of Arts and Sciences