6 Requirements for the Psychology Major
Prior to Moderation, students in the College are required to complete the following:
- Introduction to Psychological Science (PSY 141; a score of 5 on the AP Psychology exam may fulfill the requirement);
- a two-semester consecutive sequence, beginning in the sophomore year, of PSY 201 and PSY 202 (PSY 201 must be completed or in-progress by moderation; PSY 202 needn’t be taken prior to Moderation but is taken the semester directly following PSY 201);
- and at least two additional 200-level courses in psychology.
PSY 201 and (a) 200-level course(s) may be in-progress during the semester of Moderation.
A table of these requirements is below.
In order to graduate in Psychology, students must complete:
- a total of four 200-level courses in psychology (excluding PSY 201 and 202);
- one four-credit course in biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, or physics (this excludes AP or IB classes, as well as Biostatistics, and courses listed primarily in Mind, Brain and Behavior);
- two 300-level junior seminars following Moderation (to be completed before beginning the Senior Project)2;
- the Psychology Senior Conference (PSY 405), a required colloquium in the first semester of the Senior Project to support student work;
- and the Senior Project.
No more than a single 300-level course may be taken per semester, and taking these 300-levels with two different faculty members is strongly encouraged. Additionally, there is both a cluster requirement and a core course requirement.
- Cluster: At least one 200-level course must be completed from each of the following course clusters (a list of courses in each cluster is below):
- Cluster A: Abnormal or Developmental Psychology
- Cluster B: Social Psychology
- Cluster C: Cognitive Psychology and Neuroscience
- Core courses: Students must complete at least two of the following “core” courses: social psychology (PSY 220), cognitive psychology (PSY 230), neuroscience (PSY 231), child development (PSY 224), or abnormal psychology (PSY 210, PSY 211, or PSY 216).
The Psychology Program is housed in the Division of Science, Mathematics, and Computing (SM&C), and most Psychology majors complete the major in this Division. If at the time of Moderation students would like to Moderate into the Division of Social Studies (SSt), they may choose to do so instead. These divisional degrees are distinguished by two features:
- an SSt degree entails at least two courses in one or more related disciplines in the Social Studies Division, and
- the Senior Project for an SM&C degree must have an empirical focus, in which the student analyzes data, or presents a detailed plan for doing so. The SSt Senior Project does not carry this requirement.
If students wish to change their major division after moderation, they will submit a petition to the Program. This petition may be submitted at any time before the Add/Drop deadline of the Senior I semester to the Senior Project advisor, who will convene and chair the Board. Students may not change divisions after the Add/Drop date of the Senior I semester. Failure to meet the requirements of the major Division project requirements will result in a substantial reduction in the Senior Project grade.
Students may submit written petitions to the Program faculty to request deviations from the requirements. Enrolling in a 300-level prior to moderation counts as such a deviation, and students who wish to do so should petition the Program.
Students who wish to count classes completed at other institutions toward the major must get approval from the Program. In this situation, students should send a course syllabus (not just a description) with a note about what requirement they hope to fulfill to the Program Director. We strongly urge students to do this before enrolling in courses elsewhere. Not all courses will be granted credit.
All courses required for the major (including the non-Psychology SM&C course) must be taken for a letter grade (i.e., not P/D/F).
6.1 Recent cluster courses
6.2 Table of major requirements
| Course | |
|---|---|
| Required for Moderation | Intro Psych (PSY 141/128) |
| 200-level #1 | |
| 200-level #2 | |
| Design & Analysis I (201) | |
| Required to begin Senior Project | Design & Analysis II (202) |
| 200-level #3 | |
| 300-level #1 | |
| 300-level #2 | |
| Required to graduate in Psychology | 200-level #4 |
| One 4-credit course in Physics, Math, CS, Biology or Chemistry | |
| Senior Project I + Senior Conference | |
| Senior Project II |
In cases where study abroad or similar conflict presents a challenge, the Program will consider petitions for alternate timelines.↩︎