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The Bachelor of Arts in Psychology

Total Course Requirements for the Bachelor's Degree: 120 units



General Education Pathway Requirements: 48 units


  • PSYC 401 is an approved GE Capstone substitution.

Diversity Course Requirements: 6 units


Literacy Requirement:


Course Requirements for the Major: 39-41 units


6 courses required:

SUBJ NUM Title Sustainable Units Semester Offered Course Flags
Introduction to concepts and problems in psychology. Topics include perception, learning, development, motivation, personality, abnormal behavior, and biological and social bases of behavior. 3 hours lecture. This is an approved General Education course. (007881)
Prerequisites: ENGL 130 or JOUR 130 (or equivalent) with a grade of C- or higher. Prerequisite or corequisite: PSYC 101.
Aspects of psychological research process and research methods, including measurement and quantitative description of behavior, problem definition and hypothesis formation, major research approaches to psychological phenomena, bibliographic resource use, and professional report writing. 3 hours lecture. (007898)
Prerequisites: ENGL 130 or JOUR 130 (or equivalent) with a grade of C- or higher, PSYC 101, PSYC 261.
An introduction to basic processes involved in brain function and an overview of the biological bases of behaviors such as sleep, biological rhythms, sex, emotions, learning and memory, language, laterality, and psychophysiological states such as depression, anxiety disorders, and schizophrenia. The laboratory includes the study of neuroanatomy and experiments on topics such as EEG, GSR, biofeedback, hemisphere specialization, and cardiovascular reactivity. 3 hours lecture, 3 hours laboratory. (007901)
Prerequisites: ENGL 130 or JOUR 130 (or equivalent) with a grade of C- or higher, PSYC 101, PSYC 261, or faculty permission.
An in-depth examination of current research and theory in cognition. Topics include attention, memory models, language, problem solving, creativity, reasoning, decision making, human and artificial intelligence, and cognitive development. 3 hours lecture. (007903)
The analysis of research data in psychology using inferential statistical methods, with an emphasis on relevant statistical designs, understanding statistical conclusions in published research, and professional report writing. Descriptive statistics, graphing, hypothesis testing, correlation and regression, chi-square, t-tests, and analysis of variance. Single factor designs and ANOVA, post-hoc comparisons, repeated measures ANOVA, and simple factorial designs. Professional reporting of research. Laboratory provides examples, applications, and development of research data analysis and statistical evaluation skills. 3 hours lecture, 3 hours laboratory. (007904)
An examination of the principles of learning and the environmental determinants of behavior change, emphasizing fundamental mechanisms such as habituation, sensitization, classical conditioning, and operant conditioning. Includes a laboratory in the methods used to investigate learning processes and to analyze behavior. 2 hours lecture, 3 hours laboratory. (007905)

1 course selected from:

SUBJ NUM Title Sustainable Units Semester Offered Course Flags
Prerequisites: ENGL 130 or JOUR 130 (or equivalent) with a grade of C- or higher, PSYC 101, PSYC 261, PSYC 364, and four additional courses in the major.
This is the capstone course in the major. Students integrate different topics and perspectives, previously examined in the core and elective courses. This integration centers on important contemporary issues and problems in the discipline of psychology. After an in-depth examination of the issue, students generate solutions to problems, new lines of research or fusions of perspectives, depending upon the topic under investigation. Multiple sections of PSYC 401 are offered each semester, each focusing on a unique topic. Students in this seminar participate in advanced readings, writing, reporting, discussion, demonstration, oral presentation, and experiential components. 3 hours seminar. This is an approved Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement course; a grade of C- or better certifies writing proficiency for majors. (007990)
Prerequisites: Completion of PSYC 399H with a B or higher, faculty permission.
A seminar for Honors students. Prepare the creative project begun in PSY 399H for presentation and publication. 9 hours supervision. (007992)

4 courses selected from:

SUBJ NUM Title Sustainable Units Semester Offered Course Flags
This course provides an introduction to the field of health psychology which is the field within psychology devoted to understanding psychological influences on how people stay healthy, why they become ill, and how they respond when they do get ill. Topics include a study of health psychology as a profession, the bio-psychosocial model of health, health belief models and human behavior, health-compromising and health-enhancing behaviors, cognitive-behavioral approaches to behavior change, stress and coping, personality and health, and psychological issues in heart disease, cancer, AIDS, and other diseases. 3 hours discussion. (007975)
A review of the major theories, phenomena, and research associated with the structure and function of the sensory and perceptual systems. Primary emphasis is on the visual and auditory systems, but gustation, olfaction, and skin perception are also reviewed. 3 hours lecture. (007985)
Physical, mental, social, and emotional factors of human growth and development from infancy through adolescence. Supervised experience working with children is strongly encouraged. 3 hours lecture. (007925)
Introduction to the study, definition, and classification of deviant behavior, including experimental psychopathology, psychodiagnostic methods, and psychotherapeutic procedures. 3 hours lecture. (007939)
Introduction to the nature and development of personality, with emphasis on the normal adult, including theories of personality, techniques of assessment, and a survey of current research. 3 hours lecture. (007944)
An overview of social psychology, emphasizing the variety of social factors that influence individual behavior. 3 hours lecture. (007952)
Development of psychology from ancient to modern times. Relationship of this development to twentieth-century systematic viewpoints in psychology. 3 hours lecture. (007986)

2 courses selected from:

Any psychology (PSYC) courses except those graded Credit/No Credit only; 3.0 units must be upper division.

Electives Requirement:


Grading Requirement:


Advising Requirement:


Honors in the Major:



Some common features of Honors in the Major program are:



Honors in Psychology

In addition to the requirements above, specific requirements in the Honors in Psychology program include:

1. You must complete PSYC 101, PSYC 261, PSYC 364, and 9 units of other upper-division psychology courses before being considered for admission to the Honors in Psychology program.

2. You must apply in the spring semester preceding your two-semester participation in the program.

3. To complete the Honors in Psychology program, you must complete PSYC 399H in the fall semester and PSYC 499H in the spring semester with minimum grades of B. You must maintain an overall GPA of at least 3.0 and must make a public presentation of the results of your Honors project.

Catalog Cycle:15