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)
(For students who declared a Major in Psychology between Fall 2015 and Spring 2025, please see: Requirements for Fall 2015 – Spring 2025)
Requirements for a Major in Psychology Declared Fall 2025 & After
Psychology majors must complete a minimum of 38 credit 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 OR PSY 201 Lifespan Development
PSY 230 Social Psychology
PSY 365 Biopsychology & Behavioral Neuroscience
PSY 350 Cognition
C. Additional Courses
In addition to the classes used for A. Foundations, B. Core Courses, D. Affiliated Science, and E. Capstone Experience and Writing-Intensive Course in the Major, 9 additional PSY credits are required, 6 of which must be at the 300 level or higher.
D. Affiliated Science
Students are required to pass (D- or higher) either BIO 100 Basic Biology or BIO 117 This is Life! or BIO 122 Biology: The Living Science (previously BIO 222).
Note that BIO 100 is a prerequisite to all additional biology courses, while BIO 117 and BIO 122 are intended for non-BIO majors, and do 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 there must be a committee member from the Psychology Department and they must approve the topic as related to psychology. In such cases, 3 of the required 38 credit hours of PSY courses 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.
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