COMING SOON!
New Major Requirements Effective Fall 2023! Click here: New Major Requirements. These requirements must be met by students declaring a psychology major during or after the Fall 2023 semester or by students who declared earlier than the Fall 2023 semester, but who chose to switch to the new major requirements.
Students who declared the psychology major prior to Fall 2023 and who chose not to switch to the new requirements must meet the requirements listed below. However, we will no longer be offering PSYC 362 – Research Methods in Psychology as a 4-credit class after Spring 2023 (including and after Fall 2023, it will be offered as a 3-credit class) so, if you have not taken PSYC 362 – Research Methods in Psychology prior to Fall 2023, it is strongly recommended that you switch to the new major requirements. If not, you will need to do an independent study to earn a 4th credit, the credit you are missing because you took PSYC 362 – Research Methods in Psychology as a 3-credit course. Last, note that if you have taken PSYC 261 – Introductory Statistics for Psychology as a 3-credit class, you must take PSYC 360 – Advanced Statistics for Psychology even if you are switching to the new major requirements.
Stay tuned for more information from Dr. Miriam Liss, Department Chair (mliss@umw.edu), about how to switch into the new major requirements.
MAJOR REQUIREMENTS (Pre-Fall 2023)
The major program in psychology (a B.S. degree) requires 37 hours in psychology, including PSYC 100, which is a prerequisite to all other psychology courses. These requirements were put in place Fall 2012.
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Psychology Course Requirements
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Hours
|
|
I. All of the following:
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|
| 100 – General Psychology | 3 |
| 261 – Introductory Statistics for Psychology | 3 |
| 360 – Advanced Statistics for Psychology | 3 |
| 362 – Research Methods for Psychology | 4 |
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(Subtotal = 13 hours)
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|
|
II. One from the following: Abnormal, Personality, and Social Psychology
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3 |
| 201 – Social Psychology | |
| 211 – Abnormal Psychology | |
| 242 – Psychology of Personality | |
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III. One from the following: Biological Psychology
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3 |
| 274 – Biological Psychology | |
| *305 – Cognitive Neuroscience | |
| *372 – Sensation and Perception | |
| 394 – Psychopharmacology | |
| *If this course taken to fulfill III, then it cannot count toward IV | |
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IV. One from the following: Cognition and Learning
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3 |
| 253 – Fundamentals of Learning and Motivation | |
| 273 – Cognitive Psychology | |
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*305 – Cognitive Neuroscience
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|
| *372 – Sensation and Perception | |
| *If this course taken to fulfill IV, then it cannot count toward III | |
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V. One from the following: Developmental Psychology
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3 |
| 231 – Developmental Psychology: The Infant and Child | |
| 232 – Developmental Psychology: The Adolescent and Adult | |
| 233 – Psychology of Aging | |
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VI. One of the following: Research in Psychology
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3 |
| 411 – Research Seminar in Abnormal, Personality, or Social Psychology | |
| 412 – Research Seminar in Biological Psychology | |
| 413 – Research Seminar in Cognition or Learning | |
| 414 – Research Seminar in Developmental Psychology | |
| *492 – Individual Research | |
| *Completion of PSYC 492 satisfies both Category VI and Category VII | |
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(Subtotal = 28 hours)
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|
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VII. One of the following Out-of-Class Experiences:
|
Variable |
| 000 – 40 Hours of Community Service Learning | |
| 322 – Mentoring Children at Risk (3 credits) | |
| 491 and *492 (SI) – Individual Research (3 credits each for 2 successive semesters) | |
| 499 – Internship (1-6 credits) | |
| *Completion of PSYC 492 satisfies both Category VI and Category VII. | |
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VIII. Choose Additional Electives needed to total 37 credits in the major
|
Variable |
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TOTAL HOURS IN PSYCHOLOGY:
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37 |
BLS Students:
BLS students have two options for completing a major program. One is to complete the requirements for the B.S. in Psychology as specified in the university catalog. The other option is to create a special major consisting of courses from at least two disciplines. The special major must represent a coherent field of concentration. For example, a student might create a major in “Social Development” that includes relevant courses in psychology along with courses in sociology and anthropology such as SOCG 351 – Juvenile Delinquency and ANTH 212 – Anthropology of Gender. The BLS student must construct this major with their mentor, and the special major must be approved by the BLS office. A proposal for a special major must be submitted to the BLS office before the student completes 15 credits toward this major.