Thirteen courses are required for the general major. Here is a brief overview of these courses:
- Five lower-division courses are required before completing most upper-division courses. These should be completed as soon as possible, ideally by the end of the sophomore year. They include:
- three lower-division courses required for declaration (PSYC 1, mathematics requirement, and statistics requirement), and
- two additional lower-division courses (PSYC 10, PSYC 20)
- PSYC 100, Research Methods in Psychology, which is a prerequisite for many other upper-division courses and fulfills half of the Disciplinary Communication requirement. This course MUST be taken at UC Santa Cruz.
- Six additional upper-division courses in psychology, including a senior seminar (see below for details)
- One non-psychology upper-division course (see below for details)
Lower-Division Courses
Take this course:
PSYC 1 | Introduction to Psychology | 5 |
Or a score of 4 or 5 on the AP Psychology exam.
Plus one of the following options:
| Either this course | |
PSYC 2 | Introduction to Psychological Statistics | 5 |
| or this course | |
STAT 5 | Statistics | 5 |
| or these courses | |
STAT 7 | Statistical Methods for the Biological, Environmental, and Health Sciences | 5 |
STAT 7L | Statistical Methods for the Biological, Environmental, and Health Sciences Laboratory | 2 |
Or a score of 4 or 5 on the AP Statistics exam.
Plus:
PSYC 10 | Introduction to Developmental Psychology | 5 |
Plus:
PSYC 20 | Cognition: Fundamental Theories | 5 |
Plus one of the following courses:
AM 3 | Precalculus for the Social Sciences | 5 |
AM 6 | Precalculus for Statistics | 5 |
AM 11A | Mathematical Methods for Economists I | 5 |
MATH 3 | Precalculus | 5 |
MATH 4 | Mathematics of Choice and Argument | 5 |
MATH 11A | Calculus with Applications | 5 |
MATH 11B | Calculus with Applications | 5 |
MATH 16A | Mathematics for Life and Environmental Sciences | 5 |
MATH 16B | Mathematics for Life and Environmental Sciences | 5 |
MATH 19A | Calculus for Science, Engineering, and Mathematics | 5 |
MATH 19B | Calculus for Science, Engineering, and Mathematics | 5 |
May also be satisfied with a score of 300 or higher on the ALEKS Mathematics Placement or score a 3, 4, or 5 on either the AP Calculus AB or the AP Calculus BC examination.
Appropriate equivalent courses may be substituted for any of the lower-division requirements.
Upper-Division Courses
Eight upper-division courses are required for the general major. At least four must be PSYC courses taken at UC Santa Cruz: PSYC 100, and one from each of the Developmental, Cognitive, and Social subfields.
Research Methods:
One course in each of the following subfields (three courses):
One additional 5-credit upper-division course from THREE of the subfields listed below (i.e., a total of three courses, each from a separate subfield):
One upper-division course outside of psychology:
One upper-division course, numbered 100-189 from one of the following related areas outside of psychology. The course must be 5 credits, and neither cross-listed with psychology nor taught by psychology faculty. Please check with an advisor if you are a double major or minor in one of the below subjects:
- Anthropology
- Community Studies
- Critical Race and Ethnic Studies
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
- Economics
- Education
- Environmental Studies
- Feminist Studies
- History of Consciousness
- Latin American and Latino Studies
- Legal Studies
- Linguistics
- Philosophy
- Politics
- Sociology
- Or a specific course from the list below:
APLX 102 | Bilingualism | 5 |
APLX 116 | Discourse Analysis: Language Use and Context | 5 |
CMPM 146 | Game AI | 5 |
CMPM 148 | Interactive Storytelling | 5 |
CSE 104 | Computability and Computational Complexity | 5 |
CSE 140 | Artificial Intelligence | 5 |
HAVC 141F | The Camera and the Body | 5 |
HAVC 141K | Activist Art Since 1960: Art, Technology, Activism | |
HAVC 141O | Sex, Lies, and Surveillance: Contemporary Documentary Arts | 5 |
HAVC 185 | Community Engagement Through the Arts | 5 |
HAVC 186 | Horror and Gender in Art and Visual Culture | 5 |
METX 135 | Functional Anatomy | 5 |
STAT 131 | Introduction to Probability Theory | 5 |
STAT 132 | Classical and Bayesian Inference | 5 |
Upper-Division Seminar:
One of the upper-division courses must be an upper-division seminar; these courses are psychology courses identified within the General Catalog by their course descriptions containing the phrase “satisfies seminar requirement.” These are any course in the PSYC 119, 139, 159, or 179 series.
Students can access a full list of courses on the department’s website. Upper-division courses and their catalog descriptions are grouped within each of the subfields.
Disciplinary Communication (DC) Requirement
Students of every major must satisfy that major's upper-division Disciplinary Communication (DC) requirement. The DC requirement in Psychology is satisfied by completing PSYC 100 and a seminar. Seminar courses are Psychology courses identified within the General Catalog by their course descriptions containing the phrase “satisfies seminar requirement,” and are numbered PSYC 119A-Z, PSYC 139A-Z, PSYC 159A-Z, and PSYC 179A-Z.
Comprehensive Requirement
UC Santa Cruz requires that every student satisfy a senior exit/comprehensive requirement prior to graduation. Psychology students will satisfy this requirement by receiving a passing grade in a Psychology seminar which is also part of the DC requirement (see above). These are any course in the PSYC 119, 139, 159, or 179 series. To ensure that all students can meet the seminar requirement, students will enroll in only one senior seminar.
The tables below are for informational purposes and do not reflect all university, general education, and credit requirements. See Undergraduate Graduation Requirements for more information.
Following are two recommended academic plans for frosh, a three-year plan for frosh, and one additional plan for transfer students. Plan One is a suggested guideline for frosh who are committed to the major early in their academic career. Plan Two is for frosh who are considering the major or who need more preparation. Students should note that precalculus (AM 3, or see Lower Division Courses section for other qualifying courses or test scores) is a requirement for the major and is a prerequisite for PSYC 2 and PSYC 100. The three-year plan for frosh is most appropriate for students who plan on a single major, who have satisfied the Entry Level Writing and Composition requirements before their first quarter, and who are committed to enrolling in Summer Session courses after their first and second years. The fourth planner is a suggested two-year guideline for transfer students.
Frosh Plan One
|
Fall |
Winter |
Spring |
Summer |
Entering |
|
|
|
College 1A |
|
|
|
Summer Edge (optional) |
|
|
|
|
1st (frosh) |
|
PSYC 1 |
AM 3 |
|
|
WRIT 1/WRIT 1E (if needed) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2nd (soph) |
WRIT 2* |
PSYC 2 |
PSYC 20 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3rd (junior) |
PSYC 10 |
PSYC 100 |
upper-division
social |
|
out of dept.
course |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4th (senior) |
upper-division
cognitive |
upper-division
PSYC elective
(seminar) |
upper-division
PSYC elective |
|
|
upper-division developmental |
upper-division
PSYC elective |
|
|
|
|
|
|
* WRIT 2 should be taken in or before spring quarter of the second year.
The courses listed above will satisfy the PE, SR, and DC general education requirements. All other GE requirements have to be satisfied.
Frosh Plan Two
|
Fall |
Winter |
Spring |
Summer |
Entering |
|
|
|
College 1A |
|
|
|
Summer Edge (optional) |
|
|
|
|
1st (frosh) |
MATH 2 |
AM 3 |
PSYC 1 |
|
|
WRIT 1/WRIT 1E (if needed) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2nd (soph) |
PSYC 20 |
PSYC 2 |
PSYC 10 |
|
WRIT 2* |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3rd (junior) |
out of dept.
course |
PSYC 100 |
upper-division
developmental |
|
|
upper-division
cognitive |
|
|
|
|
|
|
4th (senior) |
upper-division
social |
upper-division
PSYC elective
(seminar) |
upper-division
PSYC elective |
|
upper-division
cognitive |
upper-division
PSYC elective |
|
|
|
|
|
|
* WRIT 2 should be taken in or before spring quarter of the second year.
The courses listed above will satisfy the PE, SR, and DC general education requirements. All other GE requirements have to be satisfied.
Frosh Three-Year Plan
|
Fall
|
Winter
|
Spring
|
Summer
|
1st (frosh)
|
MATH 2 (if needed)
or any 5-credit class
|
PSYC 1 (PE GE)
|
PSYC 2 (SR GE)
|
PSYC 100
(7 credits, 1/2 DC GE)**
|
College Core Course
|
AM 3 (MF GE)*
|
CC Gen Ed
|
Any 5-credit class
|
SI Gen Ed
|
Any 5-credit class
|
Writing 2 (C GE)
|
|
|
|
STEV 26 |
|
|
|
Total credits for quarter: 17 |
Total credits for quarter: 17 |
Total credits for quarter: 15 |
Total credits for quarter: 12 |
2nd (soph)
|
PSYC 20
|
PSYC 10
|
Upper-division
Social
|
Upper-division
PSYC elective
|
Upper-division Outside PSYC |
ER General Education Class |
IM General Education Class
|
Any 5 credit class
|
TA General Education Class
|
Any 5 credit class
|
Any 5 credit class
|
Any 5 credit class
|
|
PR General Education Class (2 credits) |
Any 2 credit class |
Any 2 credit class |
|
|
Total credits for quarter: 17 |
Total credits for quarter: 17 |
Total credits for quarter: 17 |
Total credits for quarter: 15 |
3rd (junior)
|
Upper-division
Developmental
|
Upper-division
Cognitive
|
Upper-division
PSYC Seminar (1/2 DC GE)
|
Any 5 credit class
|
Any 5 credit class
|
Upper-division
PSYC elective
|
Any 5 credit class
|
Any 5 credit class
|
Any 5 credit class
|
Any 5 credit class
|
Any 5 credit class
|
|
|
Total credits for quarter: 15 |
Total credits for quarter: 15 |
Total credits for quarter: 15 |
Total credits for quarter: 10 |
|
|
|
|
Total credits in plan: 183*** |
* Students who place higher than MATH 3, Precalculus, may substitute another course that satisfies the MF GE requirement.
** To successfully complete the three-year pathway, students must take PSYC 100 during Summer Session of Year 1. Prerequisites to this course are Precalculus, PSYC 2, and completion of the C general education requirement. Therefore it is crucial these classes be completed in the first year.
***Total credit count includes the 1-unit Orientation Course taken the summer before the start of year 1
The following General Education requirements will be satisfied through required courses in the Psychology major: PE, SR, DC.
Transfer Plan
|
Fall |
Winter |
Spring |
Summer |
Entering |
|
|
|
KRSG 1T |
|
|
|
Summer Edge (optional) |
|
|
|
|
3rd (junior) |
PSYC 100 |
PSYC 20 |
upper-division
Developmental |
|
PSYC 10 |
upper-division
Social |
|
|
|
|
|
|
4th (senior) |
upper-division
Cognitive |
out of dept.
course |
upper-division
PSYC elective
(seminar) |
|
upper-division
PSYC elective |
upper-division
PSYC elective
|
|
|
|
|
|
|