Curriculum

The Department of Psychology has two sets of goals for its undergraduate curriculum:

• understand basic principles in psychology
• understand methods of inquiry in psychology
• appreciate the relevance of psychology to human affairs
• can think critically and analytically about psychological matters

• are prepared to pursue graduate study in psychology and related disciplines
• have adequate oral, writing, analytical and computational skills to achieve that goal
• have a thorough appreciation of methods of scientific inquiry in psychology
• can read primary literature in psychology with understanding and appreciation
• have a broad appreciation of various psychological fields and their applications
• are able to integrate different domains of knowledge within the discipline
• To achieve these goals, and to satisfy the differing educational needs of psychology majors, the department has developed two tracks in the undergraduate curriculum: the liberal arts track and the graduate school preparation track.

Majoring in Psychology

The Department of Psychology offers 2 main "tracks" for the undergraduate curriculum. In addition to meeting the University Core Curriculum and College of Liberal Arts requirements, to earn a Bachelor's degree in psychology you must complete the required courses for your selected track.

• Liberal Arts Track - offers the traditional psychology major, designed for the student who does not plan to apply to graduate school in psychology or closely related fields. It requires 33 credits of psychology courses.
• Graduate School Prep Track - requires 40 credits, and is designed to insure that students who plan to go to graduate school in psychology are particularly ready to do so. Students must take a wider variety of courses that are typically either required or greatly desired by graduate school admission committees. This track also requires that a good GPA (3.0 in psychology classes and 2.75 overall) be maintained since it is unrealistic to expect to get into graduate school with average grades.
• In addition to the two Psychology tracks listed above, the University also offers an interdisciplinary Neuroscience Major

Minoring in Psychology

Requirements and instructions for completing a minor in Psychology.

Also see the Full List of Psychology Courses
or the Course Catalog