Psychology (PSYC) Major

Requirements for Psychology Major

 Bachelor of Science in Arts and Sciences

System General Education Requirements*: 27

• Goal #1 Written Communication:
  ENGL 201
   , and
  ENGL 101
    Credits: 6
• Goal #2 Oral Communication:
  SPCM 101*
    Credits: 3
• Goal #3 Social Sciences/Diversity : (not PSYC) Credits: 3
• Goal #4 Arts and Humanities/Diversity  Credits: 6
• Goal #5 Mathematics:
  MATH 102
    Credits: 3
• Goal #6 Natural Sciences  Credits: 6

Institutional Graduation Requirements**: 8-9

• Goal #1 Land and Natural Resource Stewardship : (cannot be used to meet another SGE, IGR, or A&S requirement) Credits: 3
• Goal #2 Personal Wellness  Credits: 2-3
• Goal #3 Social Responsibility/Cultural and Aesthetic Awareness : Option 1 Credits: 3

College Requirements: 13

See the College of Arts and Sciences  for additional information.

• Natural Sciences Credits: 8
• Social Sciences: (not PSYC) Credits: 3
• Humanities Credits: 2

Major Requirements: 33-34

Required Courses: 19-20

• Psychology Elective Content Courses: 14 credits or Choose a Specialization below

• ---

• PSYC 101 - General Psychology * ** (COM) Credits: 3

• or

• PSYC 202 - Advanced General Psychology Credits: 3

• ---

• PSYC 287 - Controversial Issues in Psychology Credits: 3

• or

• PSYC 289 - Pseudoscience and Psychology Credits: 3

• ---

• STAT 281 - Introduction to Statistics (COM) Credits: 3
• PSYC 375 - Research Methods in Psychology Credits: 3
• PSYC 390 - Seminar Credits: 1
• PSYC 409 - History and Systems of Psychology (COM) (AW) (G) Credits: 3

Electives: 47

Total Required Credits: 128

Curriculum Notes:

* The 30 credit Board of Regents System General Education Requirements (SGRs) must be completed as part of a student’s first 64 credits.

** South Dakota State University has an 8-9 credit Institutional Graduation Requirement (IGRs).

(G) Globalization Requirement.

(AW) Advanced Writing Requirement.

Students must take the proficiency examination after completing 48 credits. English 101, and a course in each of the General Education areas of social science, mathematics, natural science, and humanities and arts must be taken prior to taking this exam.

Graduate School Preparation Specialization Requirements: 48-49

Major Required Courses (above) except PSYC 375: 16-17

• PSYC 373 - Research Methods in Experimental Psychology (COM) Credits: 3
• PSYC 373L - Research Methods in Experimental Psychology Lab (COM) Credits: 1
• PSYC 374-374L - Experiments in Psychology and Lab Credits: 4

• ---

• PSYC 301 - Sensation and Perception (COM) Credits: 3

• or

• PSYC 411 - Physiological Psychology Credits: 3

• ---

• PSYC 305 - Learning and Conditioning (COM) Credits: 3

• or

• PSYC 406 - Cognitive Psychology ** (COM) Credits: 3

• ---

• PSYC 324 - Psychology of Aging ** Credits: 3

• or

• PSYC 327 - Child Psychology ** (COM) Credits: 3

• ---

• PSYC 451 - Psychology of Abnormal Behavior ** (COM) Credits: 3

• or

• PSYC 461 - Theories of Personality ** (COM) Credits: 3

• ---

• PSYC 441 - Social Psychology ** (COM) Credits: 3
• PSYC 491 - Independent Study (COM) Credits: (1-3)
• PSYC 498 - Undergraduate Research/Scholarship (COM) Credits: (1-12)

Psychology Emphasis Courses:

Choose 6 credits from one Emphasis. Cannot duplicate courses in the required list. Other courses can be selected with the approval of the Department Head.