Requirements for a Major in Psychology

(For students who declared a Major in Psychology prior to Fall 2015 please see:  Requirements for Fall 2004 – Spring 2015)

Psychology majors must complete a minimum of 35 hours in psychology courses as defined below and must achieve a minimum grade point average of 2.0 across their psychology courses.

A. Foundations

Students must complete each of the following three required courses with a grade of C- or better.

PSY 100 General Psychology
PSY 241 Statistics in Psychology¹
PSY 245 Principles of Psychological Research²

¹PSY 241 is a prerequisite for PSY 245
²PSY 245 is a prerequisite for all 300 and higher psychology courses

B. Core Courses

Students must pass (D- or higher) the following core courses.

PSY 212 Abnormal Psychology
PSY 223 Psychology of Childhood OR PSY 224 Psychology of Adolescence
PSY 230 Social Psychology
PSY 365 Biopsychology & Behavioral Neuroscience
PSY 350 Cognition

C. Concentration

Students must declare one of the following three concentrations: 1) Abnormal/Social,  2) Developmental or 3) Biological/Cognitive.

To fulfill the concentration, students must pass (D- or higher) three courses in their chosen area of concentration.  At least one of the three courses must be at the 400 level.

Note that some of these courses also satisfy the core course requirements in section B.  A Declaration of Concentration form should be completed and submitted to The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences’ Student Services Office (Central Stevens Rm. 100) by the end of the junior year.

Abnormal/Social:
PSY 208 Theories of Personality 
PSY 212 Abnormal Psychology 
PSY 230 Social Psychology 
PSY 251 Psychology of Motivation 
PSY 401 Health Psychology 
PSY 412 Foundations of Clinical Psychology
PSY 424 Abnormal Child Psychology
PSY 430 Current Topics in Social Psychology

Developmental:
PSY 223 Psychology of Childhood 
PSY 224 Psychology of Adolescence 
PSY 320 Child Study Laboratory I *
PSY 321 Child Study Laboratory II *
PSY 325 Psychology of Infant Development *
PSY 422 Infancy: Neurobehavioral Development *
PSY 424 Abnormal Child Psychology
PSY 425 Social Issues in Developmental Psychology 

Biological/Cognitive:
PSY 350 Cognitive Psychology 
PSY 361 Sensation and Perception 
PSY 365 Biological Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience 
PSY 401 Health Psychology 
PSY 422 Infancy: Neurobehavioral Development *
PSY 465 Hormones, Brain, and Behavior *
PSY 466 Cognitive Neuroscience

*These courses are no longer offered but count toward the concentration for students who have already taken them.

D. Affiliated Science

Students are required to pass (D- or higher) either BIO 100 Basic Biology or BIO 122 Biology: The Living Science (previously BIO 222).

Note that BIO 100 is a prerequisite to all additional biology courses, while BIO 122 is intended for non-BIO majors, and does not serve as a prerequisite for additional study in biology. Although recommended, BIO 123 (the lab that can accompany BIO 122) is not required for the psychology major.  Please also note that BIO 122 is typically only offered in the Spring.

E. Capstone Experience and Writing-Intensive Course in the Major

Students must complete one of the following required courses with a grade of C- or better.

PSY 491 Senior Seminar in Psychology
PSY 494 Senior Research Project³
HON 499 Honors Thesis⁴

³PSY 494 must be a minimum of 3 credit hours
⁴HON 499 must be a topic in Psychology and the thesis advisor (or co-advisor) must be from the Psychology Department.  In such cases, 3 of the required 35 credit hours in Psychology will be waived

Note:

The specific requirements above are for the Psychology Major itself. The baccalaureate degree granted will be that associated with the primary major as declared by the student. The student is required to satisfy all of the requirements imposed by the university and the college of the primary major.  Students are reminded that if Psychology is their primary major they must take at least 60⁵ hours of non-psychology coursework and must declare and complete a minor or double major to graduate.

⁵72 hours for students who declared a Psychology Major prior to Fall 2017

No more than 6 credits of PSY492 (Problems in Psychology) and no more than 3 credits of PSY493 (Field Experience) may count toward the 35 credit hours in psychology requirement.

Students who transfer from other institutions must take a minimum of 18 credit hours of psychology at the University of Maine.

For questions or concerns about the undergraduate program contact:

Benjamin Guenther, Ph.D. (Undergraduate Coordinator)
Email: benjamin.guenther@maine.edu
Phone: 207.581.2025

or

Thane Fremouw, Ph.D.  (Psychology Department Chair)
E-mail: thane.fremouw@maine.edu
Phone: 207.581.2033