Psychology Major Advising Information

B.A. in Psychology Standard Plan of Study

B.A. in Psychology Research Plan of Study

B.S in Psychology Standard Plan of Study

B.S. in Psychology Research Plan of Study

General Education Requirements for College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Psyc Chart of Courses by Content Area

Beginning Fall 06, the UConn Psychology majors will be divided up into concentrations – Standard and Research for both the B.A. and B.S. Typically, Freshmen will begin on the Standard Concentration as the first year is focused on introductory courses anyway. After progressing in the psychology major and upon completion of Psyc202WQ, Research Methods, in the Sophomore or Junior year, students wishing to focus on additional research courses may choose to switch to the Research Concentration.

Print a copy of the Psychology Plan of Study for your intended degree and  the general education requirements for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS ).  Follow the plan of study from the year you declare psychology as a major and keep a record of each semester's course work. Together with your advisor, you will follow these documents as a guide all the way to graduation.

The Psyc Chart of Courses is a useful document to use together with a plan of study. It outlines the names of all the psyc courses and the content categories those courses fulfill.

All UCONN students have access through Peoplesoft to an on-line transcript. Use the Degree ProgressReport option to get a full accounting of how the courses you have taken fulfill the requirements for the major.

Each semester at Tri-Campus you will have the option to meet individually with your academic or faculty advisor. Prior to meeting with an advisor for course selection guidance, you should always have an updated copy of your Plan of Study and a copy of your Degree Progress Report. Faculty advisors request that students research courses offered for the upcoming semester and to choose in advance courses you would like to take. It is important to be well prepared and organized for your advising session.

Academic Program

Psychology majors follow the plan of study for either the B.A. or the B.S. in Psychology. Most Freshmen will begin study with the STANDARD Plan of Study for both the BA and the BS. Students who A brief overview below provides an idea of the major; however, for complete information about requirements, all psyc majors need to consult the Psychology Guide, a comprehensive guide to requirements and courses. (See the home page for a link)

Psychology majors begin the program by taking Foundational Courses:

General Psychology I, Psyc132

General Psychology II, Psyc 133

Elementary Concepts of Statistics Stat 100 or 110

Recommended courses to fulfill the General Education Requirements:

One Biology course  (102 or 107), one Sociology course (107), and one Anthropology course (100).

All psychology majors in the sophomore through senior year must take

Principles of Research Psyc 202QW (suggested in 5 th or 6 th semester)

History and Systems of Psychology Psyc 291 is required for Research Concentrations and optional for Standard Concentrations.

Students choose elective psychology courses in the Social Science perspective, and the Natural Science perspective, and must also take four “related” courses (defined as “related” in consultation with your major advisor).

Beginning the Psychology Major

PSYC 132 and PSYC133

First year psychology majors and ACES Exploratory students who think they might be interested in psychology should take PSYC 132, General Psychology I in the first semester and PSYC 133, General Psychology II in the second semester. These foundational courses are pre-requisites for all other psychology courses.

In the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS), PSYC 132 fulfills a non-laboratory Science and Technology requirement in the General Education Requirement, Content Area 3. PSYC 133 fulfills a Social Science requirement in Content Area 2. So, whether you choose to declare psychology as a major or choose another major within CLAS, you can use these two foundational psychology courses to explore psychology as a possible major while fulfilling two General Education requirements.

Psychology Courses for the Major

All other psychology courses can be taken at any time after completing PSYC132, 133. Majors are required to take two courses in the Social Science Perspective from two content areas, and two courses in the Natural Science perspective from two content areas. In addition, all psychology majors need at least 6 additional credits of upper division (200 level) psychology courses.

Tri-Campus Courses in the Social Science Perspective include :

Developmental Psychology, Social Psychology, Personality , Abnormal Psychology, and Industrial Psychology, which are all offered on a regular basis. Additional courses are offered periodically.

Tri-Campus courses in the Natural Science Perspective include :

Learning, Psychology of Language, Animal Behavior, Sensation and Perception, Cognitive Psychology, Consciousness, and Physiological Psychology which are all offered on a regular basis. Additional courses may be offered periodically.

General Elective Credits

Most psychology B.A. majors need about 40 credits in the general elective category in order to reach the 120 credits needed to graduate. ( B.S. majors need more credits in the sciences and in psyc lab courses, and thus, have very few general elective credits.) Psychology majors generally should use general elective credits to explore courses which may not fulfill a particular requirement but are of interest and by taking additional 200 level psychology or related area courses.

To calculate the number of elective credits you will need, add the total number of credits needed for completing the gen ed requirements. This number varies by individual student. For example, students who do not have 3 years of a single foreign language in high school will need to take more courses than someone who has the requirement completed. Therefore, add the total number of credits YOU need to complete the General Education Requirements to 37 , the minimum number of credits needed for the B.A. in psychology major or to 43 for the B.S. . Subtract the sum of these credits from the 120 credits needed to graduate . The resulting credits will be a good guide as to the number of elective credits you will be able to use.

(Gen. Ed. credits + 37 B.A. psychology credits) – 120 = Number of Elective Credits

(Gen Ed. credits + 43 B.S. psychology credits) – 120 = Number of Elective Credits

200 (or upper) Level Credits

B. A. Psychology majors need 37 (or B.S. needs 43) credits at the 200 level in the Plan of Study. However, UConn requires students to have a minimum of 45 200 level credits to graduate. Therefore, B.A, students generally need a minimum of 9 (or B.S., 3) additional credits at the 200 level. Students fulfill this requirement by taking some General Education requirement courses at the 200 level, by taking upper level General Elective courses, or preferably, by taking additional 200 level psychology or related area courses.

Taking Courses Out-of-Sequence

You will be unable to register for a course out of sequence unless you first obtain a Permission Number. PeopleSoft ( UConn's student software) requires a permission number in order to override the prerequisite sequence. To obtain a permission number, you need to contact (email is usually best) the professor who will teach the course and request a permission number. Explain the situation as to why you are taking the course out of sequence. Professor contact information is available at http://web.uconn.edu/phonebook/

Back to UConn Tri-Campus Psychology Major