INFORMATION ABOUT THE MAJOR

Students should be aware that psychology courses are offered in several different departments and programs.

The B.A. in Psychology is designed to provide students with a strong foundation in general psychology, including the areas of development, clinical, perception, learning, memory, cognitive processes, and neuroscience. The B.S. in Psychology incorporates more science content, as the physical and biological sciences play a critical role in deeper study of the mind and brain. The B.S. in Cognitive Sciences is structured to provide students with a challenging introduction to the broad field of Cognitive Sciences that is strongly grounded in theory emphasizing experimental and computational methods.

Students interested in other areas of psychology are advised to consult the course listings in the School of Social Ecology and the School of Biological Sciences sections.

NOTE: Students may complete either the B.A. in Psychology, the B.S. in Psychology, or the B.S. in Cognitive Sciences. You may not double major within the majors offered by the department. For students who double major in the B.S. in Psychology and the B.S. in Biological Sciences, no more than three courses may overlap.

 


REQUIRED COURSEWORK

For prior catalogue years, please refer to this link: https://catalogue.uci.edu/previouseditions/

All students must meet the University Requirements.

All students must meet the School Requirements.

School requirements must be met and must include courses as specified below:

 
A. Complete the following:

PSYCH 10A-10B-10C Exploratory Data Analysis
and Probability and Inference
and Statistical Models
PSYCH 9A-9B-9C Psychology Fundamentals
and Psychology Fundamentals
and Psychology Fundamentals
LPS 31 Introduction to Inductive Logic

 
B. Select three of the following. At least two of these courses must come from a single discipline:
 
Background Science

BIO SCI 35 The Brain and Behavior
BIO SCI 36 Drugs and the Brain
BIO SCI 37 Brain Dysfunction and Repair
BIO SCI 38 Mind, Memory, Amnesia, and the Brain
BIO SCI 41 Aspects of Mood Disorder
BIO SCI 47 Stress
BIO SCI 75 Human Development: Conception to Birth
BIO SCI 93 From DNA to Organisms
BIO SCI 94 From Organisms to Ecosystems
CHEM 1A-1LA General Chemistry and General Chemistry Laboratory
CHEM 1B General Chemistry
CHEM 1C-1LC General Chemistry and General Chemistry Laboratory
COGS 108 Neural Analytics
PHYSICS 3A Basic Physics I
PHYSCIS 3B-3LB Basic Physics II and Basic Physics Laboratory
PHYSICS 3C-3LC Basic Physics II and Basic Physics Laboratory
PHYSICS 7C-7LC Classical Physics and Classical Physics Laboratory
PHYSICS 7D-7LD Classical Physics and Classical Physics Laboratory
PHYSICS 7E Classical Physics

 
C. Complete three additional courses that can be selected from the above list or from the following list:
 
Additional Science Background

COGS 14P Scientific Python for Research
MATH 2A-2B Single-Variable Calculus and Single-Variable Claculus
MATH 5A-5B Calculus for Life Sciences and Calculus for Life Sciences
MATH 3A Introduction to Linear Algebra
MATH 3D Elementary Differential Equations
LPS 30 Introduction to Symbolic Logic
LPS 40 The Nature of Scientific Inquiry
LPS 60 The Making of Modern Science
PHYSICS 15 Physics of Music
STATS 110-111-112 Statistical Methods for Data Analysis I
and Statistical Methods for Data Analysis II
and Statiscial Methods for Data Analysis III
CHEM 51A Organic Chemistry
CHEM 51B-51LB Organic Chemistry and Organic Chemistry Laboratory
CHEM 51C-51LC Organic Chemistry and Organic Chemistry Laboratory

 
D. Select four from the following:
 
Psychology Core Courses

PSYCH 120A Abnormal Psychology
PSYCH 120D Developmental Psychology
PSYCH 120H History of Psychology
PSYCH 120P Personality Theories
PSYCH 130A Perception and Sensory Processes
PSYCH 140C Cognitive Science
PSYCH 140J Judgment and Decision Making
PSYCH 140L Principles of Learning Theory
PSYCH 140M Human Memory
PSYCH 150 Psychology of Language
PSYCH 160A Introduction to Cognitive Neuroscience
PSYCH 160D Brain Disorders and Behavior
PSYCH 160H History of Cognitive Neuroscience

 
E. Select three courses from the following modules:1
 
Psychology Module Courses

PSYCH 120 to PSYCH 129 (General)
PSYCH 130 to PSYCH 139 (Perception and Sensory Processes)
PSYCH 140 to PSYCH 149 (Cognition and Learning)
PSYCH 150 to PSYCH 159 (Language)
PSYCH 160 to PSYCH 169 (Cognitive Neuroscience)

 
F. Select three of the following:
 
Research Methods

PSYCH 112A-112LA Experimental Psychology and Experimental Psychology Laboratory
PSYCH 112BW-112LB Advanced Experimental Psycholgy and Advanced Experimental Psychology Laboratory
PSYCH 112C-112LC Research in Experimental Psychology and Research in Experimental Psychology
PSYCH 112M-112LM Research Methods in Psychology and Research Methods in Psychology Laboratory
PSYCH 112P-112LP Research in Perception and Psychophysics and Research in Perception and Psychophysics Laboratory
PSYCH 112R-112LR Cognitive Robotics and Cognitive Robotics Laboratory

 
G. Select four courses (four or more units each) with emphasis in psychology, distributed as follows:

  1. No more than one may be lower-division. PSYC 7A may not be used to fulfill this requirement.
  2. No more than one of the courses may be numbered 190-199.
  3. If accepted into the Honors Program, only one course is needed to fulfill this requirement.

NOTE: The 2022-23 Catalogue states 2 courses. Only ONE (1) course is required if admitted to the Honors Program.

1Psychology core courses may be used to fulfill this requirement, but cannot count for both requirements.

 


HONORS PROGRAM IN PSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITIVE SCIENCES

The Honors Program in Psychology and Cognitive Sciences is an advanced educational and research program for outstanding undergraduate students in these majors.

The program emphasizes advanced competence in scientific research, and allows participants the opportunity to pursue advanced work in independent research, in addition to earning honors upon graduation. While the program is designed for students who are interested in pursuing graduate study or seeking challenging research experiences as a capstone to their undergraduate experience, all Psychology and Cognitive Sciences majors who meet the minimum eligibility requirements are welcome to apply.

For more information about the Honors Program, please visit here.

 


CHANGE OF MAJOR REQUIREMENTS

In order to change your major to the B.S. in Psychology, you must meet the following requirements:

RequirementsDescription
Cumulative UC GPA 2.0 GPA
2.0 GPA for the quarter prior to changing major
Course grades Completion of PSYC 9A, PSYC 9C, and three lower-division science courses (from Requirements B or C*) with a GPA of at least 3.0 for those five courses.

 
*Note: Requirement B is Background in Science and Requirement C is Additional Science. Background.

For a listing of change of major requirements for all majors at UCI, please visit here.

 


QUESTIONS

For academic advising (e.g., coursework required, change of major requirements), contact the School of Social Sciences' Undergraduate Student Affairs Office at: socsci@uci.edu or (949) 824-6803.

 

 

 

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