Psychology Major

4 Introduction and Methods

• PSYC 101 - General Psychology
• PSYC 105 - Statistics
• PSYC 108 - Experimental Methods in Psychology
• PSYC 109 - Qualitative Methods in Psychology

1 Basic Processes (BP):

Courses in learning, human sexuality, health psychology, interpersonal psychology, and cognition. Choose from:

• BIOL 143 - Neuroscience
• PSYC 120 - Introduction to Cognition
• PSYC 130 - Psychology of Learning
• PSYC 138 - Health Psychology
• PSYC 143 - Human Sexuality
• PSYC 144 - Interpersonal Psychology

1 Developmental/Cultural (DEV/CULT):

Courses in human development and cultural psychology. Choose from:

• PSYC 150 - Developmental Psychology
• PSYC 152 - Adolescent Development
• PSYC 153 - Human Development Across the Lifespan
• PSYC 156 - Cultural Psychology

1 Social/Clinical (S/C):

Courses in social, clinical, personality and abnormal psychology. Choose from:

• PSYC 170 - Social Psychology
• PSYC 171 - Social Psychology of Intergroup Violence, Oppression, and Liberation
• PSYC 173 - Introduction to Abnormal Psychology
• PSYC 175 - Introduction to Clinical Psychology

First Seminars (PSYC 236-259)

The mid-level First Seminars focus on the attentive analysis of psychological texts, the articulation of opinions concerning psychological issues, and the use of library and reference skills in psychological writing. (Permission to take a capstone seminar as a first seminar will not ordinarily be given and must, in any case, be obtained in writing in advance from the faculty member involved.)

Labs (PSYC 200-235)

The mid-level one-semester Lab Courses focus on doing psychological research including planning, data collection, analysis, interpretation and presentation. The laboratory requirement may also be fulfilled by taking a research course in one of the faculty labs.

Research courses (PSYC 200-235)

Research Courses are opportunities to participate in faculty and/or graduate student research projects, in all stages of the research process from conceptualization to presentation. The work normally terminates in an Academic Spree Day presentation and in some cases may result in co-authorship of a scholarly paper or a conference presentation. Students desiring to join a research course should make arrangements with a faculty sponsor well in advance. In approaching faculty members to make these arrangements, students should bear in mind that research courses are taken on as an addition to a faculty member’s normal teaching load and space is limited. Many of the faculty research labs require a two-semester commitment. In such cases, if taken as a full unit of credit, the first semester fulfills the mid-level research credit. The second semester may count as either an additional general unit of credit or, upon completion of an independent project, may count in fulfillment of the capstone research requirement, at the discretion of the faculty.

Capstone Seminars (PSYC 260-297)

Capstone Seminars are open to undergraduates, and in many cases, to graduate students, and are taught at or near the graduate level.

Capstone Research (PSYC 292)

These courses are by faculty permission only. Capstone research students should expect to write a substantial research report describing the theory, methods, statistical method, results and conclusions of the project they conducted. The second semester of research in a faculty lab may be counted for capstone research credit at the discretion of the faculty.

Psychology Honors (PSYC 297)

The Psychology Honors sequence is a two-semester experience designed to guide selected honors students through the design and execution of an independent honors research project. The Psychology Honors sequence is designed to be especially, but not uniquely, attractive to students interested in pursuing graduate study in Psychology or another related discipline such as medicine, teaching, and the law. The major focus of the experience is the completion of an individual research project conducted in close collaboration with a faculty mentor. These collaborations typically occur in individual meetings, as well as group meetings as part of the faculty member’s research team. In the fall of senior year, the student will develop the research project, submit a proposal to the IRB, and begin the project. In the spring semester students will complete their individual research projects and prepare written and oral presentations. Honors students are encouraged to present their projects at Academic Spree Day.

Students interested in pursuing an Honors project must apply to the department during the spring semester of their junior year. In addition, students are strongly encouraged to have identified a possible faculty supervisor as early as the end of the sophomore year, as some faculty members may require that Honors students enroll in their research course and/or take a Directed Study with them during junior year, in order to start developing their Honors thesis prior to senior year.

Applications will be sent to all Psychology majors in the fall semester via email.