Psychology (BSPsy)
As an alternative to the Bachelor of Arts program, this degree is designed to offer students a more extensive scientific program that may better prepare them for graduate study or employment in research fields. Students interested in mathematics-based or physiology-based areas of psychology have the opportunity to develop more breadth and depth in the fields that complement their area of interest within psychology. To accomplish this goal, the curriculum for the Bachelor of Science in Psychology puts more emphasis on natural sciences and less on language arts.
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 | |
| First-Year Signature Course (090) | 3 | |
| RHE 306 | Rhetoric and Writing | 3 |
| PSY 301 | Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
| PSY 317L | Introduction to Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences | 3 |
| Natural Science and Technology, Part I (030) | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Semester 2 | ||
| Natural Science and Technology, Part I (030) | 3 | |
| Visual and Performing Arts (050) | 3 | |
| Hours chosen from: Lower-division PSY | 3 | |
| Natural Science and Technology, Part II (093) | 3 | |
| Hours chosen from: Natural Sciences | 2 | |
| Hours | 14 | |
| Year 2 | ||
| Semester 1 | ||
| Hours chosen from: Natural Sciences | 3 | |
| American and Texas Government (070) | 3 | |
| Additional Social Science (may not also be counted toward Core Curriculum) | 3 | |
| Foreign Language other than English, Intermediate Proficiency | 6 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Semester 2 | ||
| PSY 420M | Psychological Methods and Statistics | 4 |
| Hours chosen from: Natural Sciences | 3 | |
| American and Texas Government (070) | 3 | |
| Foreign Language other than English, Intermediate Proficiency | 6 | |
| Hours | 16 | |
| Year 3 | ||
| Semester 1 | ||
| Hours chosen from: Upper-division PSY Area I | 3 | |
| Free Elective | 3 | |
| U.S. History (060) | 3 | |
| Minor/Certificate course | 3 | |
| Minor/Certificate course | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Semester 2 | ||
| Hours chosen from: Upper-division PSY Area II | 3 | |
| Free Elective | 3 | |
| Hours chosen from: Natural Sciences | 3 | |
| U.S. History (060) | 3 | |
| Minor/Certificate course | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Year 4 | ||
| Semester 1 | ||
| Hours chosen from: Upper-division PSY Area III | 3 | |
| Hours chosen from: Upper-division PSY | 3 | |
| Hours chosen from: Upper-division PSY | 3 | |
| Humanities (040) | 3 | |
| Minor/Certificate course | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Semester 2 | ||
| Minor/Certificate course | 3 | |
| Cultural Expression, Human Experience, and Thought (may not also be counted toward Core Curriculum) | 3 | |
| M 408K or M 408C |
Differential Calculus or Differential and Integral Calculus |
4 |
| Hours chosen from: Upper-division | 3 | |
| Hours chosen from: Upper-division | 2 | |
| 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 | ||
| Hours chosen from: each of the three areas; one course may not be used to satisfy more than one area (see course list tab) | ||
| Clinical/Social/Developmental/Evolutionary Psychology | 3 | |
| Cognition/Language/Neuroscience/Perception | 3 | |
| Multicultural/Diversity/Inclusion in the Behavioral Sciences | 3 | |
| Hours chosen from: upper-division Psychology coursework, including: | 19 | |
| Introduction to Psychology (with a grade of at least C) | ||
| Introduction to Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (with a grade of at least C) | ||
| Psychological Methods and Statistics (with a grade of at least C; must be taken in residence) | ||
| Subtotal | 28 | |
| Degree | ||
| Literature and Writing | ||
| RHE 306 | Rhetoric and Writing | 3 |
| Hours chosen from: Writing intensive coursework-see course list (may also be counted toward Core Curriculum) | 3 | |
| Hours chosen from: Upper-division Writing intensive coursework-see course list (may also be counted toward Core Curriculum) | 6 | |
| E 316L | British Literature | 3 |
| or E 316L | British Literature | |
| or E 316M | American Literature | |
| or E 316N | World Literature | |
| or E 316P | Masterworks of Literature | |
| Foreign Language other than English, Intermediate Proficiency | ||
| Additional Social Science (may not also be counted toward Core Curriculum) | 3 | |
| Cultural Expression, Human Experience, and Thought (may not also be counted toward Core Curriculum) | 3 | |
| Mathematics and Natural Science | ||
| Hours chosen from: | 4 | |
| Differential and Integral Calculus | ||
or M 408K | Differential Calculus | |
or a more advanced calculus course | ||
| PSY 317L | Introduction to Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences | 3 |
| Hours chosen from: Two natural science sequences below | 16 | |
| Sequence 1: Biology | ||
| Introductory Biology I | ||
| Introductory Biology II | ||
| Genetics | ||
| Sequence 2: Chemistry | ||
| Principles of Chemistry I | ||
| Introduction to Chemical Practice I | ||
| Principles of Chemistry II | ||
| Introduction to Chemical Practice II | ||
| Sequence 3: Physics | ||
| General Physics I | ||
| Laboratory For Physics 302K, 303K, and 317K | ||
| General Physics II | ||
| Laboratory For Physics 302L, 303L, and 317L | ||
| Sequence 4: Physics | ||
| Mechanics | ||
| Laboratory for Physics 301 | ||
| Electricity and Magnetism | ||
| Laboratory for Physics 316 | ||
| Sequence 5: Physcis | ||
| Engineering Physics I | ||
| Laboratory For Physics 302K, 303K, and 317K | ||
| Engineering Physics II | ||
| Laboratory for Physics 303L | ||
| Sequence 6: Physics | ||
| General Physics Technical Course: Mechanics, Heat, and Sound | ||
| Laboratory For Physics 302K, 303K, and 317K | ||
| General Physics Technical Course: Electricity and Magnetism, Light, Atomic and Nuclear Physics | ||
| Laboratory For Physics 302L, 303L, and 317L | ||
| Hours chosen from: | 3 | |
Mathematics (M 301, 302, 303D, 303F, 316K, and 316L may not be counted) | ||
Biology, chemistry, or physics listed in the natural science requirement or more advanced natural science hours | ||
| Transcript-recognized minor or certificate | 15 | |
or Liberal Arts multi-disciplinary minor in the Social and Behavioral Sciences or Humanities | ||
| Free electives: Additional coursework to reach total hours required. | 6 | |
| Subtotal | 68 | |
| General Education | ||
| Remaining Core Curriculum (42 hours total) | 24 | |
| Subtotal | 24 | |
| College Requirements - Liberal Arts | ||
| General University Requirements | ||
| Total Hours | 120 | |
Additional Requirements and Policy
Students with credit for PSY 317L must complete PSY 120R with a grade of at least C prior to advancing to PSY 420M.
A maximum of the following may be counted:
- 3 lower-division psychology hours in addition to PSY 301 and PSY 317L
- 15 hours upper-division beyond PSY 420M
No student may register for more than 10 hours of psychology in any one semester without advisor approval.
Students may not enroll in PSY 317L (PSY 120R) and PSY 420M more than twice.
Students must earn or complete at least:
- 6 upper-division hours and PSY 420M in residence at the University.
- a grade of C in PSY 317L (PSY 120R) and PSY 420M to register for upper-division psychology.
- a 2.00 grade point average in the major
- 39 upper-division hours
- 24 upper-division in-residence hours
- 36 lower- or upper-division in-residence hours
PSY 319R, PSY 357, PSY 357R, PSY 359 may not be counted toward major psychology hours.
A student may not earn both the Bachelor of Arts with a major in psychology and the Bachelor of Science in Psychology.
Students in this program may pursue any Bachelor of Arts honors program in the college except for Plan II Honors.
Hours may be counted toward more than one requirement only in the following cases:
- Core Curriculum hours may also be counted toward any specific program requirement unless otherwise stated below.
- Hours counted toward the degree may also be counted toward the major.
- Up to 3 hours counted toward the degree or Core Curriculum may also be counted toward the minor.
Course Lists
Clinical/Social/Developmental/Evolutionary Psychology
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| PSY 333C | Controversial Issues in Development | 3 |
| PSY 333D | Introduction to Developmental Psychology | 3 |
| PSY 333E | Identity Formation | 3 |
| PSY 333F | Fantasy and Reality | 3 |
| PSY 333M | Infant Development | 3 |
| PSY 333R | Social Development in Children | 3 |
| PSY 333T | Adolescent Development | 3 |
| PSY 333W | Moral Development | 3 |
| PSY 334D | Psychology of Human Mating | 3 |
| PSY 334E | Evolutionary Psychology | 3 |
| PSY 339 | Behavior Problems of Children | 3 |
| PSY 343K | Substance Abuse | 3 |
| PSY 346K | Psychology of Sex | 3 |
| PSY 352P | Psychopathology | 3 |
| PSY 364 | Introduction to Clinical Psychology | 3 |
| PSY 365G | Gender and Racial Attitudes | 3 |
Cognition/Language/Neuroscience/Perception
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| PSY 323 | Perception | 3 |
| PSY 323P | Perceptual Systems: Neurons, Behavior, and Evolution | 3 |
| PSY 323S | Sex Differences in Cognition and Perception | 3 |
| PSY 326K | Principles of Conditioning and Learning | 3 |
| PSY 332 | Behavioral Neuroscience | 3 |
| PSY 332C | Hormones and Behavior | 3 |
| PSY 333N | Cognitive Development | 3 |
| PSY 333P | Child Language | 3 |
| PSY 337 | Psychology of Language | 3 |
| PSY 338K | Psychology of Reading | 3 |
| PSY 345 | Individual Differences | 3 |
| PSY 353K | Psychopharmacology | 3 |
| PSY 355 | Cognition | 3 |
| PSY 355D | Animal Cognition | 3 |
| PSY 355R | Reasoning and Decision Making | 3 |
| PSY 371 | Learning and Memory | 3 |
Multicultural/Diversity/Inclusion in the Behavioral Sciences
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| PSY 332U | Diversity in Cognitive Aging | 3 |
| PSY 333C | Controversial Issues in Development | 3 |
| PSY 339 | Behavior Problems of Children | 3 |
| PSY 364T | Multicultural Psychotherapy | 3 |
| PSY 365D | Behavioral Science, Equity, and Inclusion | 3 |
| Hours chosen from: an approved list available at https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/psychology/ | 3 | |