Undergraduate Programs
The Major (B.A.)
A new set of major requirements, described below, will be in effect for all SAS and SEBS students who declare in Fall 2009 or later. See also Frequently Asked Questions. |
Requirements for the New Major – Fall 2009
Foundation Courses for Declaration of Major
The prerequisite for declaring the major in psychology is completion of the following courses with a grade of C or better in each:
- General Psychology
- Quantitative Methods or equivalent
- One 4-credit content course and lab combination (see note)
Four Sub-discipline Core Courses
A separate course must be selected from each of the following four sub-discipline clusters. These four courses must be taken within the 01:830 subject index of the SAS Department of Psychology:
Behavioral Neuroscience
830:310 Neuropsychology
830:311 Conditioning & Learning
830:313 Physiological Psychology
Clinical Psychology
830:310 Neuropsychology
830:340 Abnormal Psychology
830:346 Atypical Development in Childhood and Adolescence
830:394 Community Psychology and Community Health
830:393 Systems of Psychotherapy
Cognitive Psychology
830:301 Sensation & Perception
830:303 Memory & Attention
830:305 Cognitive Psychology
830:351 Psychology of Language
Social Psychology
830:321 Social Psychology
830:338 Personality Psychology
830:373 Organization & Personnel Psychology
830:377 Health Psychology
Five Psychology Electives
Five psychology electives to be selected from the department's complete set of course offerings. These may include any additional courses from the sub-discipline core categories above (i.e., selections beyond those required to meet the sub-discipline distribution requirement).
No more than three credits of non-classroom courses such as field work, research, or internships may be applied toward the major. The additional credits do, however apply toward the overall graduation credits and students are encouraged to take additional credits.
All 400-level psychology electives have the prerequisites of a 4-credit lab course plus at least one core course. Individual courses may have additional prerequisites and instructors may grant special permission to enroll.
Transfer courses may be applied, but at least one of the electives must be completed within the SAS Department of Psychology. No more than two courses may be applied from two-year institutions.
Upper Level Elective
All students must complete one 400-level elective within the 01:830 subject index of the SAS Department of Psychology.
Students are strongly encouraged to select a designated writing-intensive course. These courses provide an opportunity for the student to demonstrate the ability to delve deeply into a subsection of psychology and address the types of questions and issues that confront the experts in the field.
College-level Math Course
All students must complete a college-level math course in addition to the statistics requirement above. We strongly recommend precalculus, but other math classes will also fulfill the requirement.
Honors Discipline Capstone
Psychology majors who are designated as SAS Honors Students are required to complete six or more credits from writing-intensive 400-level courses. These credits must be pre-approved by the SAS Honors Program.
Requirements for the Old Major – Fall 2005
(For students who declared the major prior to Fall 2009 and for all students who are not following the SAS or SEBS Distribution Requirements)
Declaring the Major in Psychology
1. Completion of 01:830:101 General Psychology with a grade of C or better.
2. Completion of 01:830:200 Quantitative Methods in Psychology with a grade of C or better.
Requirements for Completion of the Major
1. Completion of six of the seven core courses in psychology. The seven core courses are:
01:830:301 Sensation and Perception
01:830:305 Cognition
01:830:311 Conditioning and Learning
01:830:313 Physiological Psychology
01:830:321 Social Psychology
01:830:331 Infant and Child Development (830:330 may be used as a substitute)
01:830:340 Abnormal Psychology (830:338 may be used as a substitute)
2. Completion of one course designated as a psychology lab course.
3. Completion of four additional 3- or 4-credit psychology elective courses at the 200-level or higher. No more than one of these four additional courses may be a non-classroom course such as fieldwork, internship or research. No college honors courses (except those with 830 subject index) may count toward this requirement.
4. Completion of precalculus (01:640:112 or 115) or tested placement into calculus. All laboratory courses in psychology have precalculus as a prerequisite.
5. A cumulative grade-point average of at least 2.0 in all psychology (01:830) courses including, if available, up to 6 credits of Honors Research in Psychology or up to 3 credits of other non-classroom credits in psychology.
6. A minimum of 38 credits in psychology (830 subject index) must be completed.
7. At least seven of the 3- or 4-credit courses counting toward the major must be taken at Rutgers New Brunswick.
Checking Your Progress
You may wish to check your progress toward completion of the major by using the Degree Navigator system. When using Degree Navigator to see your progress toward completion of the major, you may view both sets of requirements: at the top of the page there is a drop-down menu for Version where you may choose either the new major (Fall 2009) or the old major (Fall2005).
Or, if you prefer, you may use our checklists:
If you have taken courses at Rutgers Newark or Camden, they will appear on your overall Rutgers transcript (with grades), but will not be automatically incorporated into your Degree Navigator profile for the psychology major. Please consult our RU Transfer Table for information about how such courses will be applied toward the SAS psychology major. Contact advisor@psych.rutgers.edu to have the courses added to your Degree Navigator profile.
Please refer to Frequently Asked Questions for additional information and for conditions that might permit switching from the old major to the new major.
Learning Objectives
Students graduating with an undergraduate degree in psychology from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, have many different aspirations and follow varied career paths after graduation. Thus, our curriculum allows students flexibility in choosing the trajectory and intensity of the psychological training they will receive. Our aim is two-fold, first to prepare students for graduate professional training in neurobiology, cognitive, social, or clinical psychology or a closely related disciplines, and secondly to equip all of our students with the basic concepts and skills in psychology appropriate to match the ever-changing demands of their fast-paced world.
To accomplish both goals there is a common set of core knowledge and concepts that students must acquire and a common group of skills that all psychology majors should master prior to graduation. In addition to the core knowledge and concepts, students are able to use analytic and quantitative approaches in their research methods, use higher-order cognitive skills to process and apply what is learned, and practice the application of psychological concepts to areas outside the classroom both professionally and for civic engagement. These four learning objectives listed below are consistent with the Rutgers University Learning Goals and the American Psychological Association’s recommendations for undergraduate programs. These are the main goals of the major in psychology
1. Content in Psychology
Students should know the terms, concepts, theoretical perspectives, empirical findings, and historical trends in psychology.
2. Research Methods in Psychology
Students should apply basic research methods in psychology, including research design, data analysis and interpretation, to standard lab problems. Those students pursuing research careers also design new experiments, use a subset of modern laboratory techniques, analyze information and communicate their research effectively in reports that follow American Psychology research report style.
3. Higher-Order Cognitive Skills
Students should be able to use critical thinking, skeptical inquiry, and, when possible, the scientific approach to ask, answer and understand questions related to behavior and mental processes. These skills are tested in different ways in different courses, from conceptual questions on standard tests to critiques of cases to presentation of research or programs or cases.
4. Civic Engagement
Students should have opportunities to apply psychological concepts and content to become engaged citizens. Students may work in an applied setting under the supervision of trained mental health professionals. Here they will integrate academic concepts and ideas with personal observations and provide programmatic and case reports.
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Some Additional Considerations
Although all psychology majors earn the same degree, a B.A. in Psychology, our students have a wide range of career and graduate school plans. If you know which specific area of psychology interests you, you may wish to choose your minor and/or your free electives to build a knowledge base in that area. The following specialization areas indicate clusters of psychology courses and courses in related fields that may be of interest to you. Again, these are not official areas of study — just some suggestions:
Behavioral Neuroscience: Students interested in the biological aspects of psychology, graduate school in the neurosciences, or medical school may wish to complete all or many of the following courses:
From the Department of Psychology: 01:830:301,Sensation and Perception; 01:830:311, Conditioning and Learning; 01:830:313, Physiological Psychology; 01:830:365, Hormones and Behavior; 01:830:412, Neuropsychopharmacology; 01:830:495, 496, Research in Psychology.
From other departments: 01:119:101-102,General Biology; 01:160:161-162 General Chemistry; 640:135,138, Calculus; 01:146:245, Fundamentals of Neurobiology; 01:146:445, Advanced Neurobiology; 01:447:380, Genetics; 01:447:384,Behavior Genetics.
Clinical Psychology: Students with particular interests in Clinical Psychology should consider the following courses:
01:830:340, Abnormal Psychology; 01:830:311 Conditioning & Learning; 01:830:313, Physiological Psychology; 01:830:338, 01:830:338, Personality; 01:830:393, Systems of Psychotherapy; 01:830:412, Neuropsychopharmacology; 01:830:451, Advanced Topics in Clinical Psychology, 01:830:474, Tests and Measurements.
Cognitive Psychology: Courses in cognition include those dealing with memory, language, attention, perception, cognitive development, thinking, and artificial intelligence. Students interested in pursuing careers in cognition are also encouraged to take courses in related fields, such as computer science, mathematics, linguistics, philosophy, and neuroscience. Consultation with cognitive faculty about course selection is strongly recommended. See also the description of the Minor in Cognitive Science.
Developmental Psychology: Students interested in developmental issues in Psychology may wish to complete all or many of the following courses:
01:830:330, Developmental Psychology; 01:830:331, Infant and Child Psychology, 01:830:333, Adolescent Development; 01:830:335, Adult Development and Aging; 01:830:346, Atypical Development in Childhood and Adolescence, 01:830:361, Developmental Psychobiology; and 01:830:431, Advanced Topics in Developmental Psychology.
Students are encouraged to take a balanced array of courses within the discipline as a whole, participate in fieldwork courses, and to develop and carry out individual research projects with departmental faculty. Consult developmental faculty for advice on courses concerning developmental issues available in other departments.
Health Psychology: Students interested in the psychological aspects of physical health should take: 01:830:377 Health Psychology; and may wish to combine elements of the behavioral neuroscience specialization, e.g., 01:830:313 Physiological Psychology; 01:830:311 Conditioning and Learning, and the Social Psychology specialization, e.g., 01:830:32, Social Psychology; 01:830:338, Personality; and 01:830:372, Psychological Approaches to Social Problems. Students interested in Health Psychology should also take 01:830:305,Cognition. Because Health Psychology is a research-oriented field, Independent Study and Honors Research are highly recommended. Relevant courses outside of Psychology include 01:070:307, Medical Anthropology; Introduction to 10:832:232, Public Health; 10:832:335 Epidemiology; 01:920:210 Sociology of Medicine and Health Care; and 01:920:334, and Social Gerontology.
Social Psychology: Students with particular interests in Social Psychology may wish to complete all or many of the following courses:
1) 01:830:321 Social Psychology and 01:830:338 Personality;
2) 01:830:323, Research Methods in Social Psychology should be taken to satisfy the lab course;
3) Four or more courses from: 01:830:326 Small Groups; 01:830:374, Environmental Psychology; 01:830:375, Prejudice and Conflict; 01:830:377, Health Psychology, 01:830:372, Psychological Approaches to Social Problems; 01:830:373 Organizational and Personnel Psychology; 01:830:474 Psychological Tests and Measurements; and any of the 01:830:421 Advanced Topics in Social Psychology, 01:830:441 Advanced Topics in Personality. Also any of the research opportunities in Social Psychology including 01:830:495,496, Research in Psychology; and/or 01:830:497,498, Honors Research in Psychology are highly recommended for those interested in attending graduate school in Social Psychology