Psychology Major

Students have the option of earning a Bachelor of Arts (BA) or a Bachelor of Science (BS) in psychology. The BS is preferred if you plan a specialty that will focus on computational skills (e.g., cognitive science). For most, a BA is sufficient.

To become a psychology major, students should go through myBama (found under Student tab and New Student Record Features).

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).

Coursework

The psychology major requires 31 credit hours, including

  • Introduction to Psychology (PY 101 or 105)
  • Elementary Statistical Methods (PY 211)
  • Professional Issues in Psychology (PY 321)
  • General Experimental Psychology (PY 355)
  • History and Systems of Psychology (PY 370)
  • two semesters of psychology seminars (PY 391/PY 379 and PY 491)

Additionally, students must complete 12 hours of advanced coursework at the 300- or 400-level, including

  • One course from three of the 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. PY 381, or PY 470)
    • Biological Bases (PY 313, PY 353, or PY 413)
    • Socio-Cultural (PY 358, PY 368, or PY 372)
  • Three (3) additional hours of advanced PY coursework

For a list of current seminar topics, see Resources for Undergrads.

Additional requirements for the BS

In addition to the general math requirements, students on the BS path must take MATH 125. BA students take either MATH 110 or MATH 112.

Learn More

For questions about the psychology major, contact Dr. Theodore Tomeny, Director of Undergraduate Studies, at theodore.s.tomeny@ua.edu.