UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS:
Psychology Majors & Minor Requirements Prior to Fall 2006
A change in degree requirements for both the BA and BS Psychology majors began with the FALL 2006 semester. Parallel changes were made to the Psychology minor. These changes strengthen the majors and minor by using a tiered learning structure in which introductory and methods courses are taken first, followed by discipline-specific courses, followed by topics and applications courses or courses in specialized areas of Psychology. These changes to our major provide greater opportunities for you to learn about the breadth of Psychology as a discipline and to practice critical thinking skills when approaching information about human behavior.
What does this mean for you?
If you are a declared Psychology major or minor before the Fall 2006 semester, you can complete either the old requirements or the new requirements. If you declare Psychology as a major or minor during or after the Fall 2006 semester, you must complete the new major requirements to earn a degree in Psychology. Note: You must be enrolled in courses at UC Denver the semester that you declare a major. You cannot declare a major in Psychology during the summer semester if you are not enrolled in courses during that semester.
OLD REQUIREMENTS
NEW REQUIREMENTS
A note for Psychology majors or minors declared before Fall 2006:
Students who declare a Psychology major or minor before the Fall 2006 semester can complete the old degree program requirements without trouble, despite these changes to the curriculum, but should note some changes to prerequisites, course numbers, and titles:
Course title and number changes beginning Fall 2006:
Introduction to Statistics (PSY 2090/2090R) will be called Statistics and Research Methods to reflect the addition of some research methodology content and a focus on applications of statistics in research.
Research Methods in Experimental Psychology and the associated lab course (PSY 2130/2140) will be renumbered to 3090/3091.
If you are completing the “old” major requirements you must take both the 2090 statistics course (under either title) and the Research Methods in Experimental Psychology course with the lab (under either set of numbers). The following combinations of courses count to fulfill this requirement for students completing the old major requirements:
- PSY 2090/2090R, Introduction to Statistics (taken prior to Fall 2006) AND
- PSY 2130/2140, Research Methods in Experimental Psychology (taken prior to Fall 2006)
Or…
- PSY 2090/2090R, Introduction to Statistics (taken prior to Fall 2006) AND
- PSY 3090/3091, Research Methods in Experimental Psychology (taken Fall 2006 or later)
Or…
- PSY 2090, Statistics and Research Methods (taken Fall 2006 or later) AND
- PSY 3090/3091, Research Methods in Experimental Psychology (taken Fall 2006 or later)
Course prerequisite changes:
Students completing the new major requirements must complete an introductory course in biological psychology (PSY 2220: Biological Basis of Behavior) before taking many of our upper division “biotropic” elective courses. If you are completing the old major, you should try to complete your upper division “biotropic” elective courses as soon as possible. Although the course catalogue already lists the new prerequisites for these upper division courses, our faculty will allow you to sign up for these courses without having taken PSY 2220. Our faculty plan to slowly make a transition in course content, so that currently declared majors will not be at a disadvantage when taking these courses if they have not completed PSY 2220. After this transition, faculty will enforce the new course prerequisites and offer “biotropic” courses that build upon the foundational knowledge acquired in PSY 2220.
Contact your advisors!
We have designed these changes to our majors/minor so that the transition will be as seamless as possible for you. Though some course numbers and names have changed, and new prerequisites are on the horizon, you will still be offered all of the courses we have offered over the last several years. We encourage you to contact your Psychology major/minor advisors with any questions you may have about the requirements for graduating with a major or minor in Psychology.
