Undergraduate: Requirements

Requirements of the Major for students entering KU, Fall, 2000 through Summer 2006

Important note: Students may not enroll in more than three core psychology courses before becoming a psychology major. Core psychology courses are PSYC 318/319, 333/334, 350/351, 360/361, 370/371, and 380/381(honors courses are to the right of the slash). Pre-psychology and other non-major students will be administratively dropped from enrollment in core courses beyond three.

A minimum of 33 hours in psychology is required. At least 24 of these hours must be upper division hours (courses numbered 300 and higher).
No more than three hours of PSYC 480 Independent Study may be counted toward the 33 hours required for the psychology major. More than three hours is permitted providing at least 30 other hours of regular course work in psychology are presented for graduation.
A GPA of at least 2.0 must be attained in upper division psychology courses.
Required psychology courses, with honors sections noted after the slash:
PSYC 104/105 General Psychology. PSYC 104 is a prerequisite for all the psychology courses below.
PSYC 300/301 Statistics for Psychological Research. MATH 101 is a prerequisite.
PSYC 310 Methodology for Psychological Research. A six hour research methods course (PSYC 618, 620, 622, or 624) may substitute for PSYC 310 with the consent of the instructor.

Psychology majors must also complete the core courses specified for at least four of the following five content areas:

Content Area	Core Course
Cognitive Psychology:	PSYC 318/319 Cognitive Psychology
Child Psychology:	PSYC 333/334 Child Psychology
Abnormal Psychology:	PSYC 350/351 Abnormal Psychology
Social Psychology:	PSYC 360/361 Social Psychology
Biological Psychology:	PSYC 370/371 Brain and Behavior OR PSYC 380/381 Brain and Pathology

Requirement of the Major for students entering KU, beginning Fall, 2006 and thereafter

A minimum of 37 hours in psychology is required. At least 27 of these hours must be upper division hours (courses numbered 300 and higher).
No more than three hours of PSYC 480 Independent Study may be counted toward the 37 hours required for the psychology major. More than three hours is permitted providing at least 34 other hours of regular course work in psychology are presented for graduation.
A GPA of at least 2.0 must be attained in upper division psychology courses.
Required psychology courses, with honors sections noted after the slash:
PSYC 102 Orientation Seminar in Psychology (1 credit hour, graded satisfactory/unsatisfactory). This course is only offered on line. Students should see the Psychology Scheduling Officer, Jama Lickteig, in 426 Fraser Hall to initiate enrollment.
PSYC 104/105 General Psychology. PSYC 104 is a prerequisite for all the psychology courses below.
PSYC 300/301 Statistics for Psychological Research. MATH 101 is a prerequisite.
PSYC 310 Methodology for Psychological Research. A six hour research methods course (PSYC 618, 620, 622, or 624) may substitute for PSYC 310 with the consent of the instructor.

Psychology majors must also complete the core courses specified for all five of the following content areas:

Content Area	Core Course
Cognitive Psychology:	PSYC 318/319 Cognitive Psychology
Child Psychology:	PSYC 333/334 Child Psychology
Abnormal Psychology:	PSYC 350/351 Abnormal Psychology
Social Psychology:	PSYC 360/361 Social Psychology
Biological Psychology:	PSYC 370/371 Brain and Behavior OR PSYC 380/381 Brain and Pathology

PSYC 102 Orientation Seminar in Psychology (1) Online course
Designed to encourage students to take a goal-oriented approach toward planning their psychology major. Explores the major, careers in psychology, post-graduate options, and opportunities within and outside the department for enhancing their educational experience. This course is taken satisfactory/unsatisfactory. There are no prerequisites. Students should see the Psychology Scheduling Officer, Jama Lickteig, in 426 Fraser Hall to initiate the enrollment process.

PSYC 104 General Psychology (3)

The purpose is to introduce students to the overall area of psychology through an examination of the major content areas. The topics usually surveyed in this course are the biology of the nervous system, sensation and perception, learning and memory, motivation and emotion, developmental psychology, personality, abnormal psychology, and social psychology. This course is offered every semester and is customarily taught in two formats, either as a large lecture course taught by a regular faculty member in the Department or as a smaller class (approximately 50 students) led by a graduate teaching assistant.

Because it is a necessary prerequisite for most of the other undergraduate courses in psychology, you are encouraged to complete PSYC 104 as early as possible in your undergraduate experience. Many students complete PSYC 104 during their freshman year.

PSYC 300 Statistics in psychological research (3)

Statistics and research design are basic tools needed by all psychology majors. PSYC 300 Statistics in Psychological Research provides an introduction to these topics, with an emphasis upon descriptive and inferential statistics as they relate to planning, analyzing, and interpreting research in the behavioral sciences. The prerequisites for this course are PSYC 104 and MATH 101. Students must complete MATH 101 as part of their degree requirements.

We strongly encourage students to complete PSYC 300 early in the course of their undergraduate studies, preferably during their sophomore year. Students often seek opportunties to engage in independent study activities during their junior or senior year, and such opportunities are much improved if some mastery of statistics and research design has been achieved.

PSYC 310 Research Methods in Psychology (3)

An examination of the scientific "ways of knowing" employed by psychologists to discover the laws governing human behavior across a wide domain. The focus of the course is upon these methods and the statistical techniques that support them. This course is strongly recommended for students planning to continue their study of psychology in graduate school. All majors in psychology are required to complete this course. Students should complete this course as early as possible in their undergraduate training. LEC.

Methodology requirement can be met by taking PSYC 310 or with the consent of the instructor PSYC 618,620,622 and 624. We strongly encourage students to complete PSYC 310 early in the course of their undergraduate studies, preferably during their sophomore year. Students often seek opportunties to engage in independent study activities during their junior or senior year, and such opportunities are much improved if some mastery of statistics and research design has been achieved.

CORE COURSES

Five content areas within psychology have been identified as fundamental to the major. As part of their major requirements, students must complete the core courses relating to four or these five content areas. In most instances we recommend students complete all five of the core courses, but one of the five areas may be omitted, depending on your personal interests in psychology. The core courses are all numbered in the 300-399 range; they are usually offered every semester and often during the summer as well. The content areas and associated core courses are as follows:

Content Area: Core Course
Cognitive Psychology: PSYC 318/319 Cognitive Psychology
Child Psychology: PSYC 333/334 Child Psychology
Abnormal Psychology: PSYC 350/351 Abnormal Psychology
Social Psychology: PSYC 360/361 Social Psychology
Biological Psychology: PSYC 370/371 Brain and Behavior OR PSYC 380/381 Brain and Pathology

ELECTIVE COURSES
Courses numbered in the 400-699 range involve more specialized areas within psychology. Most of these courses are offered only once a year or less frequently. These remaining courses to complete your 37-hour major in psychology are selected according to your personal and vocational interests.

TRANSFER CREDITS IN PSYCHOLOGY
Transfer course work in psychology may also be credited toward the completion of your major requirements provided the courses were taken in the Department of Psychology of your former college or university and were essentially equivalent to courses required for the major in our Department. If you are transferring credits from another university, you must first have these approved through the College. The Director of Undergraduate Studies in Psychology can then clarify whether a transfer course will be credited toward your major in psychology. Before a final decision is made regarding such matters, you will be asked to assemble materials that help in evaluating your course work, such as the course syllabus. topics covered and the author and title of the text used in the course.

Since Fall 1994, the Department of Psychology has been requiring students to apply for admission to the major in psychology.

Applications for admission to the major may be submitted at three times during the academic year: September 1-15, February 1-15 and June 1-15. Application forms are available in the Department office (426 Fraser) and at this web site. Students will be notified regarding the results of their application by October 15,March 15 and July 15 for Fall, Spring and Summer semesters respectively. Students who are unsuccessful at gaining admission to the major are free to reapply during the next application period.

Qualifications for applying for admission to the major differ depending on whether the student's initial KU semester was prior to Fall of 1996, Fall of 1996 through Summer 2006 or Fall 2006 and after:

For students first entering KU in the Fall 2006 and after, the qualifications for applying for admission to the major are as follows:
1. Must have completed at least 30 semester hours of college course work.
2. Must have completed at least one semester (9 hours) of courses at KU.
3. Must have an overall GPA of at least 2.00.
4. Must have satisfactorily completed PSYC 102.
5. Must have completed PSYC 104, PSYC 300 or one research methods course (310, 618, 620, 622, 624), and at least one but not more than three of the psychology core courses (318, 333, 350, 360, 370, 380), or their equivalents.
6. Must have a GPA of 2.50 based on grades in PSYC 104, PSYC 300 or one research methods course (310, 618, 620, 622, 624), and all of the psychology core courses (318, 333, 350, 360, 370, 380 or their equivalents) completed at the time of applying. If a student has taken both PSYC 300 and one research methods course, both will be computed in the GPA.
Students providing documentation of meeting these six criteria will be admitted to the major when they apply. Click on "Apply" at the top of the page to download an application.

For students first entering KU in the Fall 1996 through Summer 2006, the qualifications for applying for admission to the major are as follows:
1. Must have completed at least 30 semester hours of college course work.
2. Must have completed at least one semester (9 hours) of courses at KU.
3. Must have an overall GPA of at least 2.00.
4. Must have completed PSYC 104, PSYC 300 or one research methods course (310, 618, 620, 622, 624), and at least one but not more than three of the psychology core courses (318, 333, 350, 360, 370, 380), or their equivalents.
5. Must have a GPA of 2.50 based on grades in PSYC 104, PSYC 300 or one research methods course (310, 618, 620, 622, 624), and all of the psychology core courses (318, 333, 350, 360, 370, 380 or their equivalents) completed at the time of applying. If a student has taken both PSYC 300 and one research methods course, both will be computed in the GPA.
Students providing documentation of meeting these five criteria will be admitted to the major when they apply. Click on "Apply" at the top of the page to download an application.

For students first entering KU prior to Fall 1996, the qualifications for applying for admission to the major are as follows:
1. Must have completed at least 30 semester hours of college course work.
2. Must have completed at least one semester (9 hours) of courses at KU
3. Must have completed PSYC 104 or its equivalent.
4. Must have an overall GPA of at least 2.00.
These applications for admission are reviewed by faculty members serving on the Undergraduate Advisory Committee (UGAC), and the decision to admit or reject the application is based upon their review. If there are special issues, the entire committee reviews the application. Click on "Apply" at the top of the page to download an application.