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The Bachelor of Arts in Psychology

Total Course Requirements for the Bachelor's Degree: 120 units

See Bachelor's Degree Requirements in the University Catalog for complete details on general degree requirements. A minimum of 39 units, including those required for the major, must be upper division.

A suggested Major Academic Plan (MAP) has been prepared to help students meet all graduation requirements within four years. You can view MAPs on the Major Academic Plans page or you can request a plan from your major advisor.

Courses in this program may complete more than one graduation requirement.

General Education Pathway Requirements: 48 units

See General Education in the University Catalog and the Class Schedule for the most current information on General Education Pathway Requirements and course offerings.

Diversity Course Requirements: 6 units

See Diversity Requirements in the University Catalog. Most courses taken to satisfy these requirements may also apply to General Education .

Upper-Division Writing Requirement:

Writing Across the Curriculum (Executive Memorandum 17-009) is a graduation requirement and may be demonstrated through satisfactory completion of four Writing (W) courses, two of which are designated by the major department. See Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning and Writing Requirements in the University Catalog for more details on the four courses.  The first of the major designated Writing (W) courses is listed below.

  • Any upper-division Writing (W) course.

The second major-designated Writing course is the Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (GW) (Executive Order 665). Students must earn a C- or higher to receive GW credit. The GE Written Communication (A2) requirement must be completed before a student is permitted to register for a GW course.

Grading Requirement:

All courses taken to fulfill major course requirements must be taken for a letter grade except those courses specified by the department as Credit/No Credit grading only.

Course Requirements for the Major: 42-44 units

Completion of the following courses, or their approved transfer equivalents, is required of all candidates for this degree.

Psychology Core Courses: 26 units

7 courses required:

SUBJ NUM Title Sustainable Units Semester Offered Course Flags
Prerequisites: ENGL 130W or JOUR 130W (or equivalent) with a grade of C- or higher. Prerequisite or corequisite: PSYC 101.
Prerequisites: ENGL 130W or JOUR 130W (or equivalent) with a grade of C- or higher, PSYC 101, PSYC 261.
Prerequisites: ENGL 130W or JOUR 130W (or equivalent) with a grade of C- or higher, PSYC 101, PSYC 261, or faculty permission.
Prerequisites: ENGL 130W or JOUR 130W (or equivalent) with a grade of C- or higher, PSYC 101, PSYC 261.
Prerequisites: GE Written Communication (A2) requirement, PSYC 101, PSYC 261.

1 course selected from:

SUBJ NUM Title Sustainable Units Semester Offered Course Flags
Prerequisites: Completion of GE Written Communication (A2) requirement, PSYC 101, PSYC 261, PSYC 364, and four additional courses in the major.
Prerequisites: Completion of PSYC 399HW with a B or higher, faculty permission.

Psychology Breadth Selection Areas: 12 units

Select four of the following areas and take one course from each area selected.

4 courses selected from:

Development:

SUBJ NUM Title Sustainable Units Semester Offered Course Flags

Individual Processes/Wellness:

SUBJ NUM Title Sustainable Units Semester Offered Course Flags

Social Processes:

SUBJ NUM Title Sustainable Units Semester Offered Course Flags

Diversity:

SUBJ NUM Title Sustainable Units Semester Offered Course Flags
This course is also offered as MCGS 341.

Brain/Mind/History:

SUBJ NUM Title Sustainable Units Semester Offered Course Flags
Prerequisites: PSYC 321 or PSYC 324 or any course which has covered basic brain anatomy, or faculty permission.

Psychology Free Elective Courses: 4-6 units

2 courses selected from:

Any 2 psychology (PSYC) courses or approved substitutions. One course must be a letter graded 3-unit (or more) course. The other course may be a letter graded or credit/no credit 1-unit (or more) internship, independent study, special topic, or traditional course.

Electives Requirement:

To complete the total units required for the bachelor's degree, select additional elective courses from the total University offerings. You should consult with an advisor regarding the selection of courses which will provide breadth to your University experience and possibly apply to a supportive second major or minor.

Advising Requirement:

Advising is mandatory for all majors in this degree program. Consult your undergraduate advisor for specific information.

Honors in the Major:

Honors in the Major is a program of independent work in your major. It requires 6 units of honors course work completed over two semesters.

The Honors in the Major program allows you to work closely with a faculty mentor in your area of interest on an original performance or research project. This year-long collaboration allows you to work in your field at a professional level and culminates in a public presentation of your work. Students sometimes take their projects beyond the University for submission in professional journals, presentation at conferences, or academic competition. Such experience is valuable for graduate school and professional life. Your honors work will be recognized at your graduation, on your permanent transcripts, and on your diploma. It is often accompanied by letters of commendation from your mentor in the department or the department chair.

Some common features of Honors in the Major program are:

  • You must take 6 units of Honors in the Major course work. All 6 units are honors classes (marked by a suffix of H), and at least 3 of these units are independent study (399H, 499H, 599H) as specified by your department. You must complete each class with a minimum grade of B.
  • You must have completed 9 units of upper-division course work or 21 overall units in your major before you can be admitted to Honors in the Major. Check the requirements for your major carefully, as there may be specific courses that must be included in these units.
  • Your cumulative GPA should be at least 3.5 or within the top 5% of majors in your department.
  • Your GPA in your major should be at least 3.5 or within the top 5% of majors in your department.
  • Most students apply for or are invited to participate in Honors in the Major during the second semester of their junior year. Then they complete the 6 units of course work over the two semesters of their senior year.
  • Your honors work culminates with a public presentation of your honors project.

While Honors in the Major is part of the Honors Program, each department administers its own program. Please contact your major department or major advisor to apply.

Honors in Psychology

In addition to the requirements above, specific requirements in the Honors in Psychology program include:

1. You must complete PSYC 101, PSYC 261, PSYC 364, and 9 units of other upper-division psychology courses before being considered for admission to the Honors in Psychology program.

2. You must apply in the spring semester preceding your two-semester participation in the program.

3. To complete the Honors in Psychology program, you must complete PSYC 399H in the fall semester and PSYC 499H in the spring semester with minimum grades of B. You must maintain an overall GPA of at least 3.0 and must make a public presentation of the results of your Honors project.

Catalog Cycle:20