Major Requirements for the B.A. Degree in Psychology

Effective Fall 2007

The major requirements for the B. A. degree in Psychology include 12 courses, distributed as listed below. This handout reflects course number changes that went into effect in Fall, 2007. Please refer to course name to see where courses taken before Fall 2007 will fit in your plan of study. The courses have not changed and fill the same requirements as previously. (Please contact your advisor if you declared your major before September 1, 2000 and want to use old requirements.)

Introductory Courses

1. Introduction to Psychology (Psych 101 or 100)

2. Introduction to Behavioral Research (Psych 201)

Intermediate Courses (Core Requirements)

One intermediate level course from each of the five sub-disciplines of Psychology, chosen from among the following options. These courses provide the required core of the major and serve as prerequisites to more specialized courses. (Note that all course numbers in this category have been changed from 200- to 300-level, but the courses and requirements in this category have not changed.)

3. Personality/Clinical: Personality (Psych 300) or Abnormal Psychology (Psych 315)

4. Developmental: Infancy and Childhood Development (Psych 341) or Adolescence (Psych 342)

5. Social Psychology (Psych 330)

6. Behavioral Neuroscience (Psych 360)

7. Cognitive: Learning and Memory (Psych 350) or Perception (Psych 355)

Advanced Courses (Capstone Requirement)

8., 9. Two advanced courses at the 400 level.

Students who declared the major on or after September 1, 2003 will need to meet the capstone requirement. Capstone criteria include a grade of C- or better in a 400-level course taken in residence after completing at least 3 of the 5 intermediate core requirements. (Note that many courses in this category have been renumbered. A course that now has a number in the 400s will count here even if it had a different number when you took it. Please see your advisor if you declared the major before September 1, 2003 and have questions about your advanced course requirement.)

Elective Courses

10. Advanced elective. Any course numbered 300 or higher, with the exception of courses listed in the intermediate core requirement category.

11., 12. Any two courses from any level.

Further restrictions: Eight of the 12 courses for the major must be taken in residence at UMass Boston.

Only one of the following courses can be counted as an advanced requirement or advanced elective: Psych 486, 488, 489, 496-499. Only one of the 12 courses counted toward the major may be taken pass/fail.

Summary of Course Number Changes in the Psychology Curriculum, Effective Fall 2007

Old Course No.	New Course No.	Course Name
102	201	Introduction to Behavioral Research
200	300	Personality
300	301	Psychological Testing
215	315	Abnormal Psychology
230	330	Social Psychology
241	341	Infancy and Childhood Development
242	342	Adolescence
243	343	The Psychology of Adult Development and Human Aging
250	350	Learning and Memory
255	355	Perception
260	360	Behavioral Neuroscience
303	403	Gender, Culture and Health Promotion
315	415	Psychological Trauma: Individual and Society
334	434	Social Perception
336	436	Religion, Spirituality, and Health
341	441	The Family and the Child: A Psychological View
347	447	Cognitive Development
349	449	Developmental Disorders
350	450	Cognitive Psychology
360	460	The Neuropsychology of Higher Cognitive Processes
362	462	Psychopharmacology
363	463	Substance Abuse and the Brain
366	466	Hormones and Behavior
365	467	Evolution and Behavior
380	470	History, Systems, and Theories of Psychology
469	476	Experimental Methods: Physiological
439	477	Experimental Methods: Social
409	478	Experimental Methods: Personality and Abnormal Psychology
442	479	Psychology Internship: Field Placement in Early Child Development