Social Psychology Requirements
Requirements for the Major in Social Psychology
Students are required to declare the joint major in Psychology and Sociology no later than the start of their junior year. Waiving or modifying any joint major requirement must be approved by both departments.
Foundational course sequence. Six courses are required:
PSYCH 100 or 101 (Introduction to Psychology)
SOCIOL 101 (Introduction to Sociology)
PSYCH 330 (Social Psychology) or SOCIOL 281 (Society and the Individual)
SOCIOL 341 (Elements of Sociological Theory)
SOCIOL 351L (Research Methods)
PSYCH 201 (Methods), PSYCH 270 (Statistics) or SOCIOL 350 (Statistics)
Psychology, Group A. One of the following Psychology courses:
PSYCH 350 (Learning and Memory)
PSYCH 355 (Perception)
PSYCH 360 (Behavioral Neuroscience)
Psychology, Group B. One of the following Psychology courses:
PSYCH 300 (Personality)
PSYCH 315 (Abnormal Psychology)
PSYCH 341 (Infancy and Childhood Development)
Two of the following Psychology courses (Psychology Directed List):
PSYCH 333 (Group Dynamics)
PSYCH 335 (Social Attitudes and Public Opinion)
PSYCH 337 (Communication and Society)
PSYCH 338 (Community Psychology)
PSYCH 339 (The Psychology of Law)
PSYCH 415 (Psychological Trauma: Individual and Society)
PSYCH 430 (Internship in Psychology: 6 credits)
PSYCH 434 (Social Perception)
PSYCH 477 (Experimental Methods: Social)
PSYCH 441 (The Family and the Child: A Psychological View)
Two of the following Sociology courses (Sociology Directed List):
SOCIOL 300 (Communication and Opinion)
SOCIOL 310 (Socialization)
SOCIOL 316 (Family Violence in America)
SOCIOL 342 (Aging and Society)
SOCIOL 362 (Juvenile Delinquency)
SOCIOL 382 (Sociology of Gender)
SOCIOL 384 (Sociology of Health, Illness, and Health Care)
SOCIOL 386 (Sociology of Mental Health and Illness)
SOCIOL 460 (Internship in Urban Social Service: 6 credits)
Senior Capstone Experience for the Joint Major in Social Psychology
Capstone courses require students to synthesize various themes in Sociology and Psychology to which they have been exposed during their required coursework. Any course in the Directed Lists numbered 400 or above fulfills this requirement. Two of the choices are internship courses that require students to apply knowledge gained in the major in a setting outside the classroom. Other courses require a substantial research paper with the use of original sources. Students must achieve a C- or better to obtain capstone credit.
Additional notes:
- A maximum of three Sociology courses (nine credits) and three Psychology courses (nine credits) may be transferred from other institutions.
- One course within the major may be taken pass/fail, but it may not be the capstone.
- Either PSYCH 430 or SOCIOL 460 may be included in the major, but not both.
- Students who take an internship course will complete three extra credits in either Psychology or Sociology because each internship carries six credits. The extra three credits will be considered elective credits, counting towards graduation but not towards the major.
