Psychology (BS)

This program was approved for students entering the university in the Summer 2024–Spring 2025 catalog year. For more information about catalog year, go to Catalog Year Information.

Bachelor of Science in Psychology
Unit: College of Arts and Sciences (AS)
Department: Psychological and Brain Sciences
Academic Plan Code(s): PSYCBS, PSYCBS_O

Program Information

The Bachelor of Science in Psychology prepares students for most bachelor's-level careers as well as graduate school in psychology, training in health or science fields (including medical school), and careers in other professional domains. Students develop the critical thinking and communication skills necessary to gather, interpret, and present data. Psychology students can become intelligent consumers of information and active investigators of the fields of cognition, behavior, and brain science and understand how each facet of psychology impacts everyday decision-making. Students can also choose to complete some of the required course work for a pre-med curriculum by taking supporting classes in natural sciences.

Completion of this degree requires work to be submitted for the department’s Learning Outcomes Measurement. For details, contact the department.

Degree Summary

¹

Students earning the BS in Psychology will satisfy at least 10 hours of General Education Requirements by courses defined by the program. Students who take MATH 205 and also apply it to satisfy the Quantitative Reasoning requirement will satisfy 14 hours. In either case, students who satisfy General Education Requirements by courses defined by the program will require additional electives to complete the minimum hours for the degree.

²

Four (4) courses from any other social science or natural science department, or from Communicative Disorders (CMDS). Social science courses must be at the 300+ level and natural science courses must be at the 200+ level.

Specific coursework information can be found on the Degree Requirements tab.

Accelerated BS Psychology/MS Experimental Psychology

Psychology majors who are considering pursuing a master's degree (MS) in Experimental Psychology can speed up the process by applying some of their undergraduate credit hours toward a master's degree. Students accepted into the accelerated BS/MS take three graduate courses (9 credit hours) as an undergraduate that apply toward both the bachelor's degree and the eventual master's degree.

Interested students must apply to the program by December 1 of their Junior year. Applicants must have completed PSYC 201, PSYC 301, PSYC 302*, and PSYC 491 prior to application. Applicants must have a minimum overall GPA of 3.0 and a 'C' grade or better in courses required for their BS.  Students must maintain a GPA of greater than 2.5 during their enrollment in the BS/MS program. Students must enter the BS/MS program with no more than 24 hours remaining to complete their BS degree, and they must enter the program with 9 hours of elective credit remaining in their BS degree.

* Students may be currently enrolled in PSYC 302 when applying to the BS/MS program.

Departmental Admission Requirements

Admission to the major in Psychology requires:²

1. Completion of PSYC 201 with a minimum grade of C;¹
2. Completion of General Education QR course with a minimum grade of C;^{1, 2}
3. Completion of PSYC 301 with a minimum grade of C;¹
4. Completion of PSYC 302 with a minimum grade of C;¹
5. Completion of 30 hours of degree-applicable credit with a minimum grade point average of 2.0; and
6.  A minimum grade point average of 2.0 in Psychology. 

The Change Major Request form can be found under the Academic Progress tile on ULink.

¹

Grades of C- are not accepted. 

²

PSYC 205 does not count towards credit hours required for the Psychology major. 

General Education Requirements

*All degrees require the completion of the University-wide General Education Program (link provided above).  Some General Education requirements may be met in the requirements for the major or supporting coursework, in which case additional electives may be required to complete the minimum hours for the degree.

College/School Requirements

Program/Major Requirements

Requirements for graduation include:

• Admission to the major
• A minimum grade of C minus in courses used to meet departmental requirements in the Psychology major (minimum grade of C required in PSYC 201, PSYC 301 and PSYC 302)
• A minimum GPA of 2.0 in Psychology (PSYC) coursework

At least 50 of the total minimum hours required must be at the 300 level or above.
Students who wish to double major in the BS in Psychology and the BS in Neuroscience degrees must complete 18 credit hours toward the Psychology (PSYC) degree that do not count towards meeting the Neuroscience (NS) degree requirements. These 18 credit hours must include the following courses: PSYC 306, PSYC 307 and PSYC 308. If these courses are taken as electives for the NS degree, additional PSYC courses must be taken in their place. Students must also complete one PSYC CUE course and one NS CUE course. For elective courses that can count toward either degree, the student must specify whether each course will count for NS or PSYC.

¹

Completion of the second semester of a single foreign language; hours will vary depending on the language taken

²

In addition to courses counted toward Cardinal Core

³

May be incorporated into other degree requirements

⁴

Fulfills a Cardinal Core Requirement.

⁵

Students should confirm any substitute class with the department prior to enrollment. Students who substitute a statistics course from another department will need to take an additional Psychology elective to complete the required number of Psychology hours for the program.

⁶

At least 50 of the total minimum hours required for the degree must be at the 300 level or above.

⁷

Students who satisfy Cardinal Core Requirements by courses defined by the program will require additional electives to complete the minimum hours for the degree.

⁸

Grades of C minus or below are not accepted

Flight Plan

Degree Audit Report
Degree Audit reports illustrate how your completed courses fulfill the requirements of your academic plan.  What-if reports allow you to compare the courses you have completed in your current academic plan to the courses required in another academic plan.  Should you have questions about either report, please consult with your academic advisor.

Flight Planner
The Flight Planner tool is available for you to create a personalized Flight Plan to graduation.  Advisors have access to review your Flight Planner and can help you adjust it to ensure you remain on track to graduate in a timely manner.

To create these reports:

1. Log into your ULink account.
2. Click on the Academic Progress tile.
3. Select the appropriate report.
   1. To run a Degree Audit report, click on "View my Degree Audit."
   2. To create a What-if report, click on "Create a What-if Advisement Report."
   3. To run a Flight Planner report, click on "Use My Flight Planner."

Click here to run a Degree Audit report, create a What-if report, or run a Flight Planner report.