Choosing Courses

Course descriptions

The undergraduate catalog includes descriptions of all our undergraduate courses. Near the end of each quarter longer descriptions of courses for the upcoming quarter are posted on the registrar's website. Additional course information is available in our undergraduate newsletter, Swift Thinking. Meeting with your department adviser is also a good way to learn more about psychology department courses—and about which courses might work best for you.

Completing requirements

As you select courses for each quarter, it is a good idea to check your progress on department requirements; see the tables of requirements for the major and minor. You should also consider which courses you would like to take in future quarters and take the prerequisites for these courses sooner rather than later. It may be helpful to check the tentative list of course offerings for upcoming quarters, which you can find in the course schedules and resources section of our webpage.

Required research sequence

The sequence of 201-Statistical Methods, 205-Research Methods, and at least one upper-level research course is the core of the major.  The first two of these courses are required for the minor as well. Through these courses you learn how to design, carry out, analyze, write-up, and evaluate psychological research. You MUST take 201-Statistical Methods before you can enroll in 205-Research Methods, and you need to take 205 before any upper-level research courses. Some of our upper-level research courses are offered one or more times each year, but others are offered only every other year (or less often). Most upper-level research courses have at least one other prerequisite in addition to 205-Research Methods. Decide which upper-level course(s) you might want to take, and take the additional prerequisites for these courses as soon as you can.

"Column A" and "Column B" courses

Requirements for the major and minor in psychology are designed to give students in-depth exposure to a range of areas within the field. Psychology majors take at least two courses from the social/personality/clinical category and at least two from the cognition/neuroscience category. Psychology minors take at least one course in each of these categories. Courses in the two categories are listed in "Column A" and "Column B" in the tables of requirements for the major and minor.

300-level courses

All psychology majors must take at least three 300-level courses (including an upper-level research course). All psychology minors must take at least two 300-level courses. Many options are available for the 300-level courses.  Some courses have only Psych 110-Introduction to Psychology as a prerequisite, while other advanced courses have several prerequisites.

Among the 300-level options are four courses with variable content: 314-Special Topics in Psychology and the advanced seminars: 357-Advanced Seminar in Personality, Clinical, or Social Psychology, 358-Advanced Seminar in Cognition or Neuroscience, and 359-Advanced Seminar in Psychology. Each of these courses covers different topics during different quarters, and each may be taken more than once for credit. Sometimes these courses are one-time offerings, so students interested in a particular course, who have the appropriate prerequisites, are advised to take the course when they see it offered. All three of the advanced seminars count toward the upper-level research requirement for psychology majors.

Advanced psychology undergraduates with strong credentials can also take our 400-level (graduate) courses, with the instructor's permission. All 400-level courses may be counted as 300-level courses for the purpose of fulfilling the major or minor requirements. See Joan Linsenmeier or Sara Broaders to complete official paperwork if you wish to count a 400-level course toward your requirements. To make an appointment, contact the Undergraduate Secretary, Ginger Gilmore, in the psychology department office (Swift 102, phone 847-491-5190).

Related courses

As you choose your courses, don't forget about the Related Courses in Math and Science required for psychology majors. All psychology majors need to complete two 200-level math courses, plus three additional eligible courses (see the table of requirements for the major). Students who are careful in their course selections can have a course count as both a Related Course for psychology and a distribution requirement for Weinberg College. Check both Weinberg College and psychology requirements carefully if you plan to have one course count toward both requirements.

Grades in major and minor courses

Courses with grades below C- cannot count as part of the major or minor program. This requirement applies to both psychology courses, and, for majors, the Related Courses.

Research for course credit

Many undergraduate psychology students participate in 399-Independent Study and 397-Advanced Supervised Research. These courses are taken by juniors and seniors who want to become actively involved in research or to study a narrow topic in greater depth than is possible in our regular courses. The two-quarter 397 sequence can fulfill the upper-level research requirement for psychology majors. For more information on these courses, see our webpage on research for course credit.

For more guidance

All psychology majors and minors are assigned to a faculty adviser in the department. If you have additional questions about choosing psychology courses, or about other aspects of your academic program and planning, you are encouraged to meet with your assigned faculty adviser or with one of the general advisers in the department (Joan Linsenmeier, Renee Engeln-Maddox, and Sara Broaders). To make an appointment with a general adviser, contact the Undergraduate Secretary, Ginger Gilmore, in the psychology department office (Swift 102, phone 847-491-5190).