Application to the Psychology Major

Declaration of the Psychology Major requires that students complete the Certification of Acceptance for Major/Minor Program of Study. This form is available through the College of Arts & Sciences (200 Clark Hall) and in the Psychology department office (GP 348). You should fill out the top portion of the form and submit it to the department office for approval. It is generally a good idea to declare your major as soon as you are eligible to do so. Declared majors are given priority for enrolling in certain upper level courses (e.g., PY 491).

Requirements for the Major

For students following requirements in the 2006-2008 Catalog

The psychology major requires 32 hours, including Introduction to Psychology (PY 101), Elementary Statistical Methods (PY 211), General Experimental Psychology (PY 355), Research Laboratory (PY 356), History and Systems of Psychology (PY 471), two semesters of seminar (PY 491)*, and 12 additional hours of advanced work (300 or 400 level) distributed as follows:

1.  Students select one course from three of four major content areas, with at least one course taken at the 400 level (9 hours).

Lifespan Developmental (PY 352, PY 365, or PY 461)
Learning and Cognition (PY 361 or PY 470)
Biological Bases (PY 313 or PY 413)
Socio-Cultural (PY 358, PY 372, PY 462, or PY 468)

2.  Students select 3 additional hours of advanced PY coursework.

For all other students

The psychology major requires 32 hours, including Introduction to Psychology (PY 101), Elementary Statistical Methods (PY 211), General Experimental Psychology (PY 355), Research Laboratory (PY 356), History and Systems of Psychology (PY 471), two semesters of seminar (PY 491)*, and 12 additional hours of advanced work (300 or 400 level) distributed as follows:

1.  6 hours chosen from Developmental Psychology (PY 352), Abnormal Psychology (PY 358), and Social Psychology (PY 372)

2.  3 hours chosen from Physiological Psychology (PY 413), Child Psychology (PY 461), and Cognitive Psychology (PY 470)

3.  3 additional hours from first two groups above, or 3 hours in other advanced courses in the department.

*PY 491 represents a variety of seminar courses on special topics in psychology.  Topics covered for the following semester are available in the Psychology Office during the pre-registration advising period.  Topics and faculty vary from semester to semester. These courses satisfy the University core “W” requirement.

Course Sequencing

PY 101 is a prerequisite for all additional courses in psychology
PY 211 or equivalent (with a C- or better) is a prerequisite for PY 355 and PY 356.
PY 355 is a corequisite/prerequisite for PY 356
PY 355 and PY 356 are prerequisites for most 400-level psychology courses. A full listing of prerequisites can be found in the Course Descriptions.

Ancillary Requirements

Psychology majors must satisfy the Natural Science core requirement (8 hours) with courses in biological sciences, chemistry, or physics.  The two courses do not have to be in the same department or sequence. (See your Schedule of Classes for courses that apply.)

A minimum of 12 hours in psychology at the 300 or 400 level must be earned on this campus.