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PSYCHOLOGY

The psychology major is part of the liberal arts program of CAS. As such, it provides students with the skills needed to succeed in a job and in graduate school: to think critically and communicate effectively about human behavior and related topics. The Psychology Department also functions from the perspective that psychology is a natural science. The emphasis it places on research is evident in the foundation courses required to declare the psychology major (e.g., statistics, research methods), as well as in the focus on the scientific methods throughout the content of all other psychology courses. To complement their arts and sciences training, the department also encourages students to participate in directed research and/or supervised field placement opportunities. For more information on the Psychology Department and its programs, please visit http://www.pitt.edu/~psych/ or http://merlin.psych.pitt.edu/psyadvise.htm.

Psychology majors can participate in the following three major options:

• General Major in Psychology

All psychology majors are automatically enrolled in the general major track. This track provides students with a broad background in psychology and a firm understanding of the scientific method. The general major track is flexible in that it allows students to either sample many areas of psychology or focus on a particular content area. The majority of our students select this option.

• Honors in Psychology

The honors major offers a challenging and interesting research experience in which students, under the guidance of a faculty member, formulate a research idea, write a thesis, and defend their study in an oral format. Students pursuing honors in psychology must complete the requirements for the general major or a concentration in psychology (see below), as well as enroll in and complete the requirements for PSY 1973 (Honors Directed Research) and PSY 1975 (Honors Thesis). Additional QPA requirements apply. Students interested in pursuing honors in psychology should contact an advisor in the Psychology Advising Office.

• Psychology Concentrations

The concentrations are designed for highly motivated students who wish to specialize their studies in psychology. They build on the requirements for the general major in psychology, but also include specific, additional advanced courses. Two areas for concentration currently exist: cognitive and developmental psychology. Students should contact the Psychology Advising Office to determine whether applications are being accepted in a given term.

• General Major Requirements

In addition to the CAS Basic Skills and General Education requirements, psychology majors must complete 29 credits in psychology, four credits in statistics, and 12 credits of co-requirements. The distribution of the major requirements is as follows:

Foundation Courses (Three courses which are required to declare the major)

• PSY 0010 (Introduction to Psychology) or PSY 0012 (Foundations of Psychology)
• STAT 0200 (Basic Applied Statistics) or STAT 1000 (Applied Statistical Methods)
• PSY 035 (Research Methods)

Core Courses (Four courses including Developmental Psychology plus one course from each of the three pairs of courses)

• PSY 0310 (Developmental Psychology)
• PSY 0105 (Introduction to Social Psychology) or PSY 0160 (Psychology of Personality)
• PSY 0405 (Learning and Motivation) or 0420 (Human Cognition and Learning)
  Note: the 400-level courses have required laboratory components.
• PSY 0505 (Introduction to Biopsychology) or 0510 (Sensation and Perception)

1000-level courses (three courses)

Students must take three 1000-level courses, one of which may be PSY 1900 (Supervised Field Placement), PSY 1902 (Directed Reading), or PSY 1903 (Directed Research). For students participating in the honors major, PSY 1973 (Honors Directed Research) or PSY 1975 (Honors Thesis) may be used to fulfill one of the 1000-level course requirements.

Co-requirements (four courses)

The Psychology department requires that students further develop their scientific skills through certain approved courses in math, biological sciences, social sciences, and philosophy. A list of these approved courses is available in the Psychology Advising Office. The co-requirements may be used to fulfill CAS general education requirements where appropriate, or can be taken as separate courses.

Psychology majors must also follow these rules and requirements:

• Psychology majors must maintain at least a 2.0 QPA average in their departmental courses.
• Although the psychology department permits its majors to elect the S/N grading option for any psychology course, students are reminded that most graduate and professional schools, and many employers, prefer to see standard grades on the transcript.
• Majors must take one of the W-courses offered within the department. PSY 0035 (Research Methods) is offered every term and is a W-course.
• In addition to their major requirements, all CAS students are required to complete a related area, minor, or certificate. Students should consult a psychology advisor when deciding which courses they would like to pursue to fulfill this requirement.

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