Psychology (BA)
Total Hours Required: 120
Plan of Study
The Plan of Study is a suggested four-year course sequence to support academic planning and serves as a helpful guide. Currently enrolled students should meet with their academic advisor to tailor their course selections and timelines to their individual goals and circumstances.
| Year 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Semester 1 | Hours | |
| PSY 301 | Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
| U.S. History (060) | 3 | |
| RHE 306 | Rhetoric and Writing | 3 |
| American and Texas Government (070) | 3 | |
| First-Year Signature Course (090) | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Semester 2 | ||
| Foreign Language other than English, Beginning Proficiency | 6 | |
| PSY 317L | Introduction to Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences | 3 |
| Natural Science and Technology, Part I (030) | 3 | |
| Hours chosen from: Lower-division psychology | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Year 2 | ||
| Semester 1 | ||
| American and Texas Government (070) | 3 | |
| Cultural Expression, Human Experience, and Thought (may not also be counted toward Core Curriculum) | 3 | |
| Natural Science and Technology, Part I (030) | 3 | |
| Foreign Language other than English, Beginning Proficiency | 6 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Semester 2 | ||
| PSY 420M | Psychological Methods and Statistics | 4 |
| Humanities (040) | 3 | |
| U.S. History (060) | 3 | |
| Foreign Language other than English, Beginning Proficiency | 6 | |
| Hours | 16 | |
| Year 3 | ||
| Semester 1 | ||
| Hours chosen from: Upper-division PSY Area I | 3 | |
| Hours chosen from: Upper-division PSY | 3 | |
| Minor/Certificate course | 3 | |
| Free Elective | 3 | |
| Free Elective | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Semester 2 | ||
| Hours chosen from: Upper-division PSY Area II | 3 | |
| Natural Science and Technology, Part II (093) | 3 | |
| Minor/Certificate course | 3 | |
| Free Elective | 6 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Year 4 | ||
| Semester 1 | ||
| Hours chosen from: Upper-division PSY Area III | 3 | |
| Minor/Certificate course | 3 | |
| Minor/Certificate course | 3 | |
| Hours chosen from: Upper-division | 3 | |
| Free Elective | 2 | |
| Hours | 14 | |
| Semester 2 | ||
| Visual and Performing Arts (050) | 3 | |
| Minor/Certificate course | 3 | |
| Hours chosen from: Upper-division | 3 | |
| Free Elective | 3 | |
| Free Elective | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Total Hours | 120 | |
Requirements
All requirements are listed below, starting with the most specialized moving to the most general. Additional requirements may follow the table, so be sure to read the entire page. Some required courses listed below may also satisfy General Education requirements, including Core Curriculum.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Major | ||
| PSY 301 | Introduction to Psychology (with a grade of at least C) | 3 |
| PSY 317L | Introduction to Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (with a grade of at least C) (Students with credit for Psychology 317 must complete Psychology 120R with a grade of at least C prior to advancing to Psychology 420M) | 3 |
| PSY 420M | Psychological Methods and Statistics (with a grade of at least C) | 4 |
| For the three following areas, one course may not be used to satisfy more than one area: | ||
| Clinical/social/developmental/evolutionary psychology | ||
| Hours chosen from: | 3 | |
| Controversial Issues in Development | ||
| Introduction to Developmental Psychology | ||
| Identity Formation | ||
| Fantasy and Reality | ||
| Infant Development | ||
| Social Development in Children | ||
| Adolescent Development | ||
| Moral Development | ||
| Psychology of Human Mating | ||
| Evolutionary Psychology | ||
| Behavior Problems of Children | ||
| Substance Abuse | ||
| Psychology of Sex | ||
| Introduction to Clinical Psychology | ||
| Gender and Racial Attitudes | ||
| Cognition/language/neuroscience/perception | ||
| Hours chosen from: | 3 | |
| Perception | ||
| Perceptual Systems: Neurons, Behavior, and Evolution | ||
| Sex Differences in Cognition and Perception | ||
| Principles of Conditioning and Learning | ||
| Behavioral Neuroscience | ||
| Hormones and Behavior | ||
| Cognitive Development | ||
| Child Language | ||
| Psychology of Language | ||
| Psychology of Reading | ||
| Individual Differences | ||
| Psychopharmacology | ||
| Cognition | ||
| Animal Cognition | ||
| Reasoning and Decision Making | ||
| Learning and Memory | ||
| Multicultural/diversity/inclusion in the behavioral sciences | ||
| Hours chosen from: | 3 | |
| Diversity in Cognitive Aging | ||
| Multicultural Psychotherapy | ||
| Controversial Issues in Development | ||
| Behavior Problems of Children | ||
| Behavioral Science, Equity, and Inclusion | ||
OR a course form an approved list available at https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/psychology/ | ||
| Hours chosen from: Psychology | 9 | |
| Subtotal | 28 | |
| Degree (see details below) | 51 | |
| Free electives: Additional coursework to reach total hours required. | 11 | |
| Subtotal | 62 | |
| General Education | ||
| Remaining Core Curriculum (42 hours total) | 30 | |
| Foreign Language other than English, Beginning Proficiency | ||
| Subtotal | 30 | |
| College Requirements - Liberal Arts | ||
| General University Requirements | ||
| Total Hours | 120 | |
Additional Requirements and Policy
- No more than three hours lower-division psychology may be taken in addition to PSY 301 and PSY 317L, and no less than 15 hours upper-division beyond PSY 420M.
- PSY 420M and at least six hours upper-division must be completed in residence. Psychology majors must earn a grade of at least C in PSY 317L (PSY 120R) and PSY 420M to register for upper-division psychology.
- Students may not enroll in PSY 317L (PSY 120R) and PSY 420M more than twice.
- PSY 319R, PSY 357, PSY 357R, PSY 359 are offered on pass/fail basis only; they may not be counted toward the 28 hours in psychology required for the major.
- No student may register for more than 10 semester hours of psychology in any one semester without approval Psychology undergraduate advisor approval.
Degree - Bachelor of Arts (BA) - Liberal Arts
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Degree | ||
| Literature and Writing | ||
| RHE 306 | Rhetoric and Writing (Plan II honors requires at least a C-; may also count toward Core Curriculum) | 3 |
| Hours chosen from: Writing intensive coursework-see course list (may also count toward Core Curriculum; Plan II honors requires at least a C-) | 3 | |
| Hours chosen from: Upper-division Writing intensive coursework-see course list (may also count toward Core Curriculum; Plan II honors requires at least a C-) | 6 | |
| Choose a sequence below: | 12 | |
| Sequence 1: Plan II Honors (requires at least a C-; may also count toward Core Curriculum) | ||
| Plan II World Literature Part I | ||
or T C 303C | Plan II World Literature Part I | |
| Sequence 2: Plan I | ||
| British Literature | ||
or E 316M | American Literature | |
or E 316N | World Literature | |
| Foreign Language other than English, Intermediate Proficiency | 3 | |
| Choose a sequence below: Social Science | 3 | |
| Sequence 1: Plan II Honors (requires at least a C-; may also count toward Core Curriculum) | ||
| Honors Social Science: Methods and Theory | ||
or S S 302D | Honors Social Science: Psychology | |
or S S 302E | Honors Social Science: Anthropology | |
or S S 302E | Honors Social Science: Anthropology | |
or S S 302F | Honors Social Science: Economics | |
| Sequence 2: Plan I | ||
| Mathematics | ||
| Choose a sequence below: (M 301, M 316K, and M 316L do not count toward this requirement) | 3 | |
| Sequence 1: Plan II Honors | ||
| Modern Mathematics: Plan II | ||
| Sequence 2: Plan I | ||
Hours chosen from: Mathematics | ||
| Choose a sequence below: | 3 | |
| Sequence 1: Plan II Honors | ||
| Modes of Reasoning | ||
or PHL 313Q | Logic and Scientific Reasoning | |
| Sequence 2: Plan I | ||
| Choose a sequence below: | 15 | |
| Sequence 1: Plan II Honors | ||
Six Hours chosen from: Astronomy, biology, chemistry, geological sciences, physical science, or physics (may also count toward Core Curriculum) | ||
| Problems in Modern Biology | ||
| Modern Physics: Plan II | ||
Three Hours chosen from: | ||
Art history, music history, or history of theatre and dance | ||
Upper-division classical civilization, humanities, literature, or philosophy | ||
| Sequence 2: Plan I International Relations and Global Studies | ||
Free electives: Additional coursework to reach total hours required. | ||
| Sequence 3: Other Plan I | ||
Hours chosen from: | ||
Liberal Arts multi-disciplinary minor in the Social and Behavioral Sciences | ||
Liberal Arts multi-disciplinary minor in Cultural Expression, Human Experience, and Thought | ||
| Total Hours | 51 | |
Additional Requirements and Policies
Unless otherwise stated, students must complete at least:
- 15 upper-division degree hours
- 24 upper-division degree hours taken in residence at the University
- 36 additional degree hours taken in residence at the University.
Credit may be earned via credit by examination, extension, or transferred hours from another institution (requires dean's approval).
Major and minor required hours may also be used to fulfill degree requirements unless expressly prohibited.
A course in one degree area may not also be used to fulfill the requirements of another degree area unless specified otherwise.
Mathematics courses at the college algebra level may not count toward elective hours.
Majors
A major consists of 24 to 45 hours, with at least 15 upper-division hours unless the requirements of the major state otherwise.
Students must earn at least:
- 18 major hours taken in residence at the University.
- 6 upper-division major hours taken in residence at the University
- a 2.00 grade point average for in-residence major hours taken at the University unless a higher minimum scholastic requirement is specified for the major.
Minors
Students must get permission from their College of Liberal Arts academic advisor to pursue more than one transcript-recognized minor or certificate per major. The academic advisor will approve or deny the request after considering the student's long-term educational and professional goals and the student's ability to graduate within 4 years of entering the University.
Students should consult the department offering the course before planning to use it to fulfill the minor requirement.
Hours used to fulfill the requirements for a minor must be taken on the letter-grade basis.