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General Psychology Major

General Psychology Major Requirements- 2020-22 Catalog

General Psychology Major Requirements- 2019 Catalog

General Psychology Major Requirements- 2013-18 Catalog

Choosing a Catalog for Psychology

If you have already declared the Psychology major and are unsure which Catalog you are following, you can find the term you declared in your UCSC portal (follow the instructions to find it here). If you have not yet declared the Psychology major, you will choose your Catalog when petitioning to declare following these guidelines:

  • Students who entered UCSC as frosh in Fall 2020 or later terms must choose the 2020-22 Catalog when petitioning to declare the Psychology major.
  • Students who entered UCSC as frosh in Fall 2019 may choose the 2019 or 2020-22 Catalogs when petitioning to declare the Psychology major.
  • Transfer students and students who entered UCSC as frosh before Fall 2019 may choose any Catalog listed below when petitioning to declare the Psychology major.
  • The only difference between the 2019 & 2020-22 Catalogs is that PSYC 20 is required for students declared on the 2020-22 Catalog. PSYC 20 is recommended for students declared on earlier Catalogs, but not required. 
Major Worksheets and sample Academic Plans for each Catalog are available on the Advising Forms page.
Some major requirements may be satisfied through test scores or transfer credit. See the AP and Transfer Credit page for details.
Some major requirements may be satisifed by courses taken through UCSC Global Learning. See the Global Learning page for details.
Honors in the major are awarded to eligible graduating seniors. See the Honors in the Major page for details.
The 2022-23 UCSC Catalog can be found here.

 See the Letter Grade and Double-Counting Courses notes below.

General Psychology Major Requirements- 2020-22 Catalog

FIVE Lower-Division Courses

Lower-Division Courses to Declare the Psychology Major:

  • Math: AM 3, Pre-Calculus for the Social Sciences (OR AM 6, MATH 3 or 4, AM 11A, MATH 11A or 11B, or MATH 19A or 19B; OR 300+ on ALEKS Math Placement, or AP Calculus score of 3+)
  • PSYC 1: Introduction to Psychology (OR AP Psychology score of 4+)
  • Statistics: PSYC 2, Introduction to Psychological Statistics (OR STAT 5, or STAT 7 & 7L; OR AP Statistics score of 4+)

PSYC 1 and Statistics must be taken for a letter grade. A minimum grade of B- is required in courses taken to fulfill the PSYC 1 and statistics requirements. Review the Major Admission Requirements for more information and options if the grade requirement has not been met.

Additional Lower-Division Courses (Required):

EIGHT Upper-Division Courses

PSYC 100: Research Methods in Psychology (must be taken at UCSC)

*PSYC 100 is a prerequisite for all other Upper-Division Psychology Courses

THREE Upper-Division Psychology Courses (must be taken at UCSC):

One course each from these sub-fields:

  • Developmental (courses #101-119)
  • Cognitive (courses #120-139)
  • Social (courses #140-159)

THREE Additional Upper-Division Psychology Courses in 3 different areas:

  • Developmental (courses #101-119)
  • Cognitive (courses #120-139)
  • Social (courses #140-159)
  • Clinical/Personality (courses #165-179)
  • Methods (courses #181-183)
  • Independent Study (courses #193-199). Faculty or staff approval is required for enrollment in independent study courses; find information about field study, research, and thesis opportunities here.

NOTE: One of the above Upper-Division Psychology Courses must also be a senior seminar.

ONE Upper-Division Outside Course:

One course from outside the Psychology Department from an approved list.

General Psychology Major Requirements- 2019 Catalog

FOUR Lower-Division Courses

Lower-Division Courses to Declare the Psychology Major:

  • Math: AM 3, Pre-Calculus for the Social Sciences (OR AM 6, MATH 3 or 4, AM 11A, MATH 11A or 11B, or MATH 19A or 19B; OR 300+ on ALEKS Math Placement, or AP Calculus score of 3+)
  • PSYC 1: Introduction to Psychology (OR AP Psychology score of 4+)
  • Statistics: PSYC 2, Introduction to Psychological Statistics (OR STAT 5, or STAT 7 & 7L; OR AP Statistics score of 4+)

PSYC 1 and Statistics must be taken for a letter grade. A minimum grade of B- is required in courses taken to fulfill the PSYC 1 and statistics requirements. Review the Major Admission Requirements for more information and options if the grade requirement has not been met.

Additional Lower-Division Course:

EIGHT Upper-Division Courses

PSYC 100: Research Methods in Psychology (must be taken at UCSC)

*PSYC 100 is a prerequisite for all other Upper-Division Psychology Courses

THREE Upper-Division Psychology Courses (must be taken at UCSC):

One course each from these sub-fields:

  • Developmental (courses #101-119)
  • Cognitive (courses #120-139)
  • Social (courses #140-159)

THREE Additional Upper-Division Psychology Courses in 3 different areas:

  • Developmental (courses #101-119)
  • Cognitive (courses #120-139)
  • Social (courses #140-159)
  • Clinical/Personality (courses #160-179)
  • Methods (courses #181-183)
  • Independent Study (courses #193-199). Faculty or staff approval is required for enrollment in independent study courses; find information about field study, research, and thesis opportunities here.

NOTE: One of the above Upper-Division Psychology Courses must also be a senior seminar.

ONE Upper-Division Outside Course:

One course from outside the Psychology Department from an approved list. 

General Psychology Major Requirements- 2013-18 Catalog

FOUR Lower-Division Courses

Lower-Division Courses to Declare the Psychology Major:

  • Math: AM 3, Pre-Calculus for the Social Sciences (OR AM 6, MATH 3 or 4, AM 11A, MATH 11A or 11B, or MATH 19A or 19B; OR 300+ on ALEKS Math Placement, or AP Calculus score of 3+)
  • PSYC 1: Introduction to Psychology (OR AP Psychology score of 4+)
  • Statistics: PSYC 2, Introduction to Psychological Statistics (OR STAT 5, or STAT 7 & 7L; OR AP Statistics score of 4+)

PSYC 1 and Statistics must be taken for a letter grade. A minimum grade of B- is required in courses taken to fulfill the PSYC 1 and statistics requirements. Review the Major Admission Requirements for more information and options if the grade requirement has not been met.

Additional Lower-Division Course:

EIGHT Upper-Division Courses

PSYC 100: Research Methods in Psychology (must be taken at UCSC)

*PSYC 100 is a prerequisite for all other Upper-Division Psychology Courses

FOUR Upper-Division Psychology Courses (must be taken at UCSC):

One course each from these sub-fields:

  • Developmental (courses #101-119)
  • Cognitive (courses #120-139)
  • Social (courses #140-159)
  • Clinical/Personality (courses #160-179)

TWO Additional Upper-Division Psychology Courses in 2 different areas:

  • Developmental (courses #101-119)
  • Cognitive (courses #120-139)
  • Social (courses #140-159)
  • Clinical/Personality (courses #160-179)
  • Methods (courses #181-183)
  • Independent Study (courses #193-199). Faculty or staff approval is required for enrollment in independent study courses; find information about field study, research, and thesis opportunities here.

NOTE: One of the above classes must be a senior seminar.

ONE Upper Division Outside Course:

One course from outside the Psychology Department from an approved list.

LETTER GRADE NOTE: Courses graded NP, C-, D or F may NOT be used to satisfy major requirements. Also, please refer to the Major Admission Requirements. The Psychology major courses which must be taken for a letter grade are PSYC 1, the statistics requirement, and PSYC 10 or 20 if a minimum grade of B- was not earned in PSYC 1. All other courses required for the major could be taken Pass/No Pass (review the full policy for other restrictions for the P/NP option here).

DOUBLE-COUNTING COURSES NOTE: A major must have a minimum of 40 upper division credits, and a minor must have a minimum of 25 upper division credits (courses numbered 100-199). The General Psychology major requires the minimum number of upper division courses, so approval to double-count one or more courses depends on the number of upper division units required for a student's other major(s) or minor(s). For example, students may double-count their upper division "Outside" course if they confirm with their other major or minor advisor they will be completing at least 45 upper division units (for that major) or 30 upper division units (for that minor).

Check with your major/minor advisors if you want to use one upper division course to satisfy requirements for two majors or both a major & minor, and you are not sure how many upper division credits are required for your major(s)/minor(s). There is no limit to the number of lower-division credits (courses numbered 1-99) that can be shared between majors and minors. Students interested in double-majoring in Cognitive Science and General Psychology must double-count PSYC 100 and the senior seminar, which requires adding 1 additional upper division Psychology course to the academic plan to ensure both majors have the minimum number of upper division units (a sample academic plan is available on the Advising Forms page).