Program of Study (CAS Bulletin)

Psychology (2022 - 2024)

Advanced Placement in Psychology and Statistics

Entering students with a score of 4 or 5 on the AP exam in psychology receive credit for Introduction to Psychology (PSYCH-UA 1) and may count it as one of the ten courses required for the major. The same policy applies to students with International Baccalaureate credit (a score of 6 or 7, HL only) or A-Level credit (a grade of B or higher) in psychology.

Entering students with a score of 4 or 5 on the AP exam in statistics receive credit for Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (PSYCH-UA 10) and may count this as one of the ten courses required for the major.

Major in Psychology

Ten 4-point courses (40 points), completed with a grade of C or higher, are required:

  • Introduction to Psychology (PSYCH-UA 1)
  • Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (PSYCH-UA 10)
  • Advanced Psychological Statistics (PSYCH-UA 11)
  • Two courses in Core A (psychology as a natural science), chosen from:
    • Perception (PSYCH-UA 22)
    • Cognitive Neuroscience (PSYCH-UA 25)
    • Cognition (PSYCH-UA 29)
    • Developmental Psychology (PSYCH-UA 34)
    • Social Neuroscience (PSYCH-UA 35)
  • Two courses in Core B (psychology as a social science), chosen from:
    • Personality (PSYCH-UA 30)
    • Social Psychology (PSYCH-UA 32)
    • Developmental Psychology (PSYCH-UA 34)
    • Social Neuroscience (PSYCH-UA 35)
  • One course in Core C (laboratory), chosen from:
    • Laboratory in Social and Organizational Psychology (PSYCH-UA 38)
    • Laboratory in Personality and Social Psychology (PSYCH-UA 39)
    • Laboratory in Developmental Psychology (PSYCH-UA 40)
    • Laboratory in Infancy Research (PSYCH-UA 42)
    • Laboratory in Cognition and Perception (PSYCH-UA 46)
    • Psychological Science and Society (PSYCH-UA 53)
  • Two advanced electives, chosen from:
    • Teaching in Psychology (PSYCH-UA 2)
    • Language and Mind (PSYCH-UA 27)
    • Practicum in Clinical Psychology Research (PSYCH-UA 43)
    • Linguistics as Cognitive Science (PSYCH-UA 48)
    • Abnormal Psychology (PSYCH-UA 51)
    • Introduction to Psycholinguistics (PSYCH-UA 56)
    • First Language Acquisition (PSYCH-UA 59)
    • From Illusions to Inference (PSYCH-UA 60)
    • Industrial and Organizational Psychology (PSYCH-UA 62)
    • Motivation and Volition (PSYCH-UA 74)
    • Political Psychology (PSYCH-UA 75)
    • Experiments in Beauty (PSYCH-UA 79)
    • Clinical Psychology (PSYCH-UA 81)
    • Special Topics in Psychology (PSYCH-UA 300)

General Policies Applying to the Major

To declare a major in psychology, students must first earn a grade of C or better in Introduction to Psychology (PSYCH-UA 1).

Developmental Psychology (PSYCH-UA 34) and Social Neuroscience (PSYCH-UA 35) can be selected by a student to count as either a Core A or Core B requirement (but not both).

Credit toward the major is not granted for courses completed with a grade of less than C, or for courses taken on a Pass/Fail basis.

General Recommendations

Introduction to Psychology (PSYCH-UA 1) is taken first, preferably in the freshman year. Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (PSYCH-UA 10) should be taken next, as it lays the methodological groundwork for the research discussed in core courses; it must be among the first four psychology courses taken. The department advises students to take the required course Advanced Psychological Statistics (PSYCH-UA 11) directly after Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (PSYCH-UA 10). Core A and B courses of greatest interest to the student should be taken as soon as possible as preparation for the related Core C laboratory course. Advanced electives would typically be taken last. It is advised that students complete Core C before taking advanced courses, preferably by the spring of the junior year.

Students interested in graduate training in psychology should become involved in research. Research Experience in Psychology (PSYCH-UA 996) offers the opportunity to participate in faculty research, providing a supervised research experience as well as training in research presentation and criticism. This course can help students in deciding about career directions and can result in a faculty letter of recommendation for graduate school applications.

Pursuing an interest in clinical psychology: Students interested in graduate work in clinical psychology should consider some combination of Personality (PSYCH-UA 30), Practicum in Clinical Psychology Research (PSYCH-UA 43), Abnormal Psychology (PSYCH-UA 51), and Clinical Psychology (PSYCH-UA 81) among their course selections. Developmental Psychology (PSYCH-UA 34) is also an appropriate choice. The department provides special advisement for these students; contact the undergraduate program office for details.

Pursuing an interest in experimental psychology or industrial and organizational psychology: If a student plans to pursue a research career (particularly in Core A areas), then in addition to the relevant courses in the major, courses in mathematics, chemistry, biology, physics, and computer science may be beneficial. If a career in business or organizational psychology is the goal, then in addition to Social Psychology (PSYCH-UA 32), Laboratory in Social and Organizational Psychology (PSYCH-UA 38), and Industrial and Organizational Psychology (PSYCH-UA 62) courses in economics, sociology, and mathematics may be useful.

Joint Major in Language and Mind

This major, intended as an introduction to cognitive science, is administered by the Departments of Linguistics, Philosophy, and Psychology. Ten courses (40 points) are required (four in linguistics, one in philosophy, four in psychology, and one additional course). All must be completed with a grade of C or better. Joint majors must consult with the directors of undergraduate studies of the three participating departments for advisement.

The linguistics component consists of these four courses:

  • Language and Mind (LING-UA 3; identical to PSYCH-UA 27) or Language (LING-UA 1)
  • Two courses chosen from the following:
    • Introduction to Semantics (LING-UA 4)
    • Phonological Analysis (LING-UA 12)
    • Grammatical Analysis (LING-UA 13)
  • One course, chosen from the following:
    • Introduction to Semantics (LING-UA 4)
    • Psycholinguistics (LING-UA 5; identical to PSYCH-UA 56)
    • Patterns in Language (LING-UA 6)
    • Formal Languages (LING-UA 7)
    • Sound and Language (LING-UA 11)
    • Phonological Analysis (LING-UA 12)
    • Grammatical Analysis (LING-UA 13)
    • Advanced Semantics (LING-UA 19)
    • Propositional Attitudes (LING-UA 35)
    • The Syntax/Semantics Interface Cross-linguistically (LING-UA 37)
    • Neural Bases of Language (LING-UA 43; identical to PSYCH-UA 300)
    • Linguistics as Cognitive Science (LING-UA 48; identical to PSYCH-UA 48)
    • Machine Learning for Language Understanding (LING-UA 52; identical to DS-UA 203)
    • Learning to Speak (LING-UA 54)
    • Introduction to Morphology at an Advanced Level (LING-UA 55)
    • First Language Acquisition (LING-UA 59; identical to PSYCH-UA 59)

The philosophy component is a choice of one of the following three courses:

  • Minds and Machines (PHIL-UA 5)
  • Logic (PHIL-UA 70)
  • Philosophy of Language (PHIL-UA 85)

The psychology component consists of four courses:

  • Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (PSYCH-UA 10) or Advanced Psychological Statistics (PSYCH-UA 11)
  • Cognition (PSYCH-UA 29)
  • One course chosen from among the following:
    • Psycholinguistics(PSYCH-UA 56; identical to LING-UA 5)
    • Language Acquisition and Cognitive Development (PSYCH-UA 300)
    • Neural Bases of Language (PSYCH-UA 300; identical to LING-UA 43)
    • Speech: A Window into the Developing Mind (PSYCH-UA 300)
  • One course chosen from among the following:
    • Perception (PSYCH-UA 22)
    • Cognitive Neuroscience (PSYCH-UA 25)
    • Laboratory in Cognition and Perception (PSYCH-UA 46)
    • Psycholinguistics (PSYCH-UA 56; identical to LING-UA 5)
    • Language Acquisition and Cognitive Development (PSYCH-UA 300)
    • Neural Bases of Language (PSYCH-UA 300; identical to LING-UA 43)

The tenth course will be an additional course from the lists above that has not already been taken to satisfy the departmental components.

Minor in Psychology

A minor in psychology comprises four 4-point courses (16 points), with a grade of C or better:

  • Introduction to Psychology (PSYCH-UA 1)
  • One course from the Core A group
  • One course from the Core B group
  • One advanced elective

General Policies Applying to the Minor

To declare a minor in psychology, students must first earn a grade of C or better in Introduction to Psychology (PSYCH-UA 1).

Credit toward the minor is not granted for courses completed with a grade of less than C, or for courses taken on a Pass/Fail basis.

Students may choose one course from Data Literacy for Psychology (PSYCH-UA 8), Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (PSYCH-UA 10), and Advanced Psychological Statistics (PSYCH-UA 11) and count it as the one advanced elective required for the minor.  

Developmental Psychology (PSYCH-UA 34) and Social Neuroscience (PSYCH-UA 35) can be selected by a student to count as either a Core A or Core B requirement (but not both).

Honors Program

The honors program provides students majoring in psychology an opportunity to engage in closely supervised yet independent research and scholarship. Honors prepares students for graduate-level work in psychology or such related professional fields as business, law, or medicine. The year-long program provides students with experiences and skills that may help them attain their career objectives. Students apply for admission to the honors program in their sophomore or junior year, with occasional exceptions for late transfer students. Admission is based on a minimum overall and major GPA of 3.65 and the ability to benefit from a program that emphasizes independent research projects and research seminars.

Honors students take the Honors Seminar sequence in either their junior or senior year: Honors Seminar I (PSYCH-UA 200) in the fall and Honors Seminar II (PSYCH-UA 201) in the spring. An honors research thesis, usually an expansion of an ongoing research project in a faculty laboratory, is submitted for faculty approval near the end of the junior or senior year. Details and application forms are available from the department.