2010-2011 University Catalog 
  
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2010-2011 University Catalog

Psychology, BA

Banner Code:  LA-BA-PSYC

Web: psychology.gmu.edu

This program of study is offered by the Department of Psychology .

For policies governing all undergraduate degrees, see the Academic Policies  chapter of the catalog.

Degree Requirements

In addition to satisfying university general education requirements and the requirements for a bachelor of arts degree in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences , students pursuing this degree must complete 36 credits in psychology with 24 credits at the 300 and 400 level.  Students must have a minimum GPA of 2.00 in these 36 credits and a minimum grade of 1.67 (C-) in each of the courses.

See the note at the end of this section for recommendations and restrictions.

Basic courses in psychology (22-28 credits)

One introductory course (3 credits)

Three or four foundational courses (9 or 12 credits):

One or two courses (3 or 6 credits) chosen from:
One course (3 credits) in cognitive psychology
One course (3 credits) in social psychology

One or two courses in biopsychology (3 or 6 credits) chosen from:

Two research methods courses (7 credits):

Two courses in applied psychology (6-7 credits) chosen from:

Electives courses in psychology (1-8 credits)

Students complete the 36 required credits with electives in psychology (PSYC). PSYC 465 is strongly recommended for all students who plan to attend graduate school in psychology.

Total: 36 credits

Notes

It is strongly recommended that students fulfill the general education natural science requirement by completing BIOL 103 and 104 because these courses are prerequisites to the requirement of PSYC 372 or PSYC 375, 376. Students who have limited technology skills are encouraged to take IT 103.

Students who receive transfer credit for a research methods course must take PSYC 304, PSYC 309, or PSYC 323 unless the transfer courses has been approved as writing intensive.

Any psychology course may be used to satisfy the 36-credit psychology requirement for the BA degree with the following restrictions:

  • A maximum of 6 credits of 327, 328, 421, 422, 548, and 549 may be applied to required psychology credits
  • A maximum of 6 credits of 260, 350, and 460 may be applied to required psychology credits
  • No more than 9 credits can be taken from the courses listed in the two bullets above without written permission of the department chair
  • PSYC 330 may not be taken for credit by psychology majors

Writing-Intensive Requirement

The university requires all students to complete at least one course designated “writing intensive” in their majors at the 300 level or above. Students majoring in psychology may fulfill this requirement by successfully completing PSYC 301, 304, 309, or 323.