Psychology Major

Requirements for the Major

The major in psychology consists of nine upper-division courses, including a senior thesis. Upper-division psychology courses are those at Scripps above the 100 level and all those on other campuses requiring Introduction to Psychology as a prerequisite. PSYC 052  is prerequisite to all upper-division psychology courses. Students may petition the psychology faculty to fulfill this requirement by taking a suitable course elsewhere, by completion of a high school AP Psychology course and receiving a score of 4 or 5, or by special examination. Psychology majors will:

• Demonstrate knowledge in research methods and statistics. This requirement is met by taking PSYC 103  and PSYC 104  and PSYC 104L  at Scripps.
• Take at least two upper division courses in addition to PSYC 103 ,PSYC 104 , PSYC 104L , and thesis at Scripps.
• Take at least one upper-division course in each of the following two areas:
  • Human function in a social context including courses such as: human development, personality, abnormal, cultural, or social psychology.
  • Basic processes including courses such as: cognitive psychology, cognitive neuroscience, perception, psychopharmacology, learning, or physiological psychology.
• Complete one laboratory course in psychology in addition to PSYC 104L  (e.g. PSYC 123L  or PSYC 168L ).
• Complete a senior thesis.
• Take as many upper-division elective courses in psychology as are necessary to meet the nine-course requirement. Ideally, electives will constitute a sequence carefully planned with the student’s adviser.

Students intending to pursue graduate studies in psychology are advised to select courses in mathematics, history and systems in psychology, and laboratory courses in psychology, biology, and physiology.

Honors Requirements

Outstanding senior psychology majors may be granted Honors in Psychology at graduation. To earn honors, students must: have a GPA of at least 11.0 (A-) in the major (10.5 overall), have completed PSYC 143  or PSYC 144  , have presented an exceptional senior thesis (earning a grade of A or A- on a 1- or 2-semester thesis), have demonstrated breadth of study in psychology, and have mentored research and/or teaching experience in psychology.