WHAT IS REQUIRED TO MAJOR IN PSYCHOLOGY?

The psychology major requires a minimum of 32 hours and allows a maximum of 50 hours, which works out to 11-17 courses, including Introductory Psychology. An average Psychology GPA of 2.0 is required to graduate with a major.

Requirements for the major:

1) Students on the path to the major must complete PSY 151 (Introductory Psychology) or transfer credit for PSY 151 by scoring a 4 or 5 on the AP Psychology exam. This provides an overview necessary prior to beginning classes focused on specific subfields within the discipline of Psychology. (3 credit hours)

2) Once Introductory Psychology is completed, students are encouraged to explore the field by choosing a set of courses designed to deepen their understanding within multiple areas of psychology. A student must complete 13.5 credit hours of electives within the major. Typically, most of these credits are earned by coursework selected from the following courses. Courses that have only Introductory Psychology as a prerequisite include:

Research credit earned through Independent Study or Directed Readings may also be credited towards elective credit. If you wish to earn more than 3 credit hours in this manner, please discuss this with your advisor. There is a maximum limit, depending on the number of total elective credit hours you take towards the major. For instance, if you take the minimum of 13.5 elective credits, then there is a 3 credit maximum for Independent Study/Directed readings. You may earn up to 5 credit hours maximum if you take more than 13.5 elective credits: 14.5 hours = up to 4 credit maximum in IS or DR; 15.5 hours = up to 5 credit maximum for IS or DR.

3) All psychology majors are required to take the Research Methods sequence (PSY 311 and 312). These four-credit-hour courses introduce students to the approaches, methods, and statistics that are common to all fields of psychology. Students intending to major in psychology are encouraged to begin this sequence as early as their sophomore year, usually after they have completed PSY 151 and one of the above elective courses (8 credit hours across 2 semesters).

4) In addition to PSY 311 and 312, students gain experience applying critical thinking and research skills in upper-level coursework during their Junior and Senior years. Students must complete one course from each of the two following groups (2 courses; 6 credit hours).

5) Finally, seniors are required to take a “Contemporary Issues” capstone class in their senior year (PSY 392). These ½ semester courses are designed to go into depth in a specific relevant topic within psychology, and have the students apply all of the learned skills of the major to its examination. (1½ credit hours)

Exceptions and additional information

1) Not all psychology courses listed above or in the undergraduate Bulletin are offered each semester. Students should talk to their advisor or inquire during registration regarding when certain courses will be taught in future semesters.

2) Students in the Honor’s program are not required to take PSY 392. However, they are required to enroll in a two-course sequence the spring of their junior year and the fall of their senior year. For more information on the Honor’s program, please find the corresponding tab in this electronic handbook.

3) Topics in Psychology (PSY 270) courses are a half semester long (1.5 credits). Special Topics (PSY 314, 315, 316, and 317) are a full semester long (3 credits). A student may take more than one course (if each course is on a different topic) for credit.

4) There are also 5 courses offered through other departments for which you can receive psychology elective credit. Your degree audit is set to so that these courses automatically count toward your Psychology major electives. If you do not want the course to count toward your major, please contact Brian Davis in the Psychology Office (davisbr@wfu.edu) about the process for having the course adjusted. The courses are:

5) Transfer credit may be received for up to 6 credit hours within the major. This includes credit for AP Psychology, the courses listed in item 4 above, and elective coursework that is transferred in from other institutions. With the exception of PSY 151, none of the required courses (PSY 311, 312, 392, Group A or B) for the major are taught in summer school or can be taken at another university.

6) The Psychology Department encourages studying abroad, and it is possible to spend a semester abroad and complete the psychology major on time. Students who plan to spend a semester abroad should work with their advisor to carefully plan their schedules to make sure that they can accomplish all their goals in the major prior to graduation.

7) Internship credit (PSY275) does not count toward elective credits in the major. In addition, a student must have completed PSY 311 – Research Methods in Psychology I prior to receiving approval to register for the internship course. An internship course can be taken more than once for up to a total of 3 hours maximum. More information on internships may be found elsewhere in this handbook.