Introduction

Please click here to see Psychology department information.

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences also offers a Gardner Psychology Research Scholars BS degree.

The Gardner Psychology Research Scholars Program consists of a rigorous set of criteria centered around a research project working with a Psychology faculty mentor.

These degree requirements are subject to periodic revision by the academic department, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences reserves the right to make exceptions and substitutions as judged necessary in individual cases. Therefore, the College strongly urges students to consult regularly with their major advisor and CLAS advisor to confirm the best plans of study before finalizing them.

Program Delivery

• This is an on-campus program.

Declaring This Major

• Secure approval from the Psychology Department Gardner Program Director.

• Click here to go to information about declaring a major.

General Requirements

To earn a degree, students must satisfy all requirements in each of the three areas below, in addition to their individual major requirements.

• CU Denver General Graduation Requirements  

• CU Denver Core Curriculum   

• College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Graduation Requirements  

• Click here for information about Academic Policies

Program Requirements

1. Students must complete a minimum of 43 credit hours with a minimum of 37 PSYC credit hours.

2. Students must earn a minimum grade of C- (1.7) in all courses that apply to the major and must achieve a minimum of B (3.0) in the 3 Behavioral & Biomedical Sciences Research courses and must achieve a minimum cumulative major GPA of 2.5. Courses taken using P+/P/F or S/U grading cannot apply to major requirements. 

3. Students must complete a minimum of 16 upper division (3000-level and above) PSYC credit hours with CU Denver faculty.

Program Restrictions, Allowances and Recommendations

1. PSYC 3939 Internship does not count toward the 43 hour minimum or the 16-hour upper-division requirement, but it does count as elective psychology credit.

2. PSYC 3600 Topics in Psychology: See your advisor to determine if they count as Group A or Group B courses.

3. Many courses have prerequisites. Refer to the course descriptions for prerequisite information.

4. Students with transfer credit for PSYC1005 that was awarded zero credits will need to take an additional three credit Psychology Elective course to reach the minimum credit hours required for the Psychology Major.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete all of the following required courses:		19
PSYC 1000	Introduction to Psychology I
PSYC 1005	Introduction to Psychology II
PSYC 2090	Statistics and Research Methods
PSYC 2220	Biological Basis of Behavior
PSYC 3090	Research Methods in Psychology
PSYC 4511	History of Psychology
Complete one of the following Group A elective courses:		3
BIOL 3104	Behavioral Genetics
PSYC 3144	Human Cognition
PSYC 3222	Principles of Learning and Behavior
Complete one of the following Group A elective courses, not already completed:		3
PSYC 3144	Human Cognition
PSYC 3222	Principles of Learning and Behavior
PSYC 3254	Introduction to Animal Behavior
PSYC 3262	Health Psychology
PSYC 3263	Hormones and Behavior
PSYC 3264	Exercise, Brain and Behavior
PSYC 3265	Drugs, Brain and Behavior
PSYC 3385	Psychology of Mindfulness
PSYC 3724	Developmental Neuroscience
PSYC 3810	Neuropsychology
PSYC 3822	Aging, Brain and Behavior
PSYC 3832	Neural Basis of Learning
PSYC 4054	Behavioral Neuroscience
PSYC 4164	Psychology of Perception
Complete two of the following Group B elective courses:		6
PSYC 3205	Human Development I: Child Psychology
PSYC 3305	Psychopathology
PSYC 3415	Experimental Social Psychology
Complete one of the following Group B elective courses, not already completed:		3
PSYC 3145	Industrial and Organizational Psychology
PSYC 3205	Human Development I: Child Psychology
PSYC 3215	Human Development II: Adolescence and Adulthood
PSYC 3235	Human Sexuality
PSYC 3236	Introduction to Media Psychology
PSYC 3305	Psychopathology
PSYC 3405	Family Psychology
PSYC 3415	Experimental Social Psychology
PSYC 3460	Military Clinical Psychology
PSYC 3505	Psychology and the Law
PSYC 3611	Psychology of Women
PSYC 3612	Domestic Abuse
PSYC 3615	Positive Psychology
PSYC 4111	Senior Seminar in Psychology: Career Capstone
PSYC 4455	Theories of Personality
PSYC 4500	Psychotherapy
PSYC 4730	Clinical Psychology: Ethics and Issues
Complete one additional elective course from either Group A or Group B not already completed.		3
Complete Gardner Psychology Research Requirements: 1		6
PSYC/MARC 4680	Behavioral & Biomedical Sciences Research Seminar 2
PSYC/MARC 4681	Behavioral & Biomedical Sciences Research Seminar II 3
PSYC/MARC 4780	Behavioral & Biomedical Sciences Research: Ethics & Issues 2
Total Hours		43

¹

Students must earn a minimum grade of B or better in all of the following courses. It is required for students to have instructor permission to enroll in both PSYC 4680 Behavioral & Biomedical Sciences Research Seminar and PSYC 4681 Behavioral & Biomedical Sciences Research Seminar II

²

Take in the Fall.

³

Take in the Spring.

Additional Research Requirements

• The faculty mentor will work with students to guide fulfillment of these co-curricular requirements

• begin this course of study with at least 2 semesters remaining at CU Denver before graduation
• find a CU Denver Psychology faculty member who will mentor this project
• devote a minimum of 180 hours of work on this research project, completed during two semesters or more
• write a scientific paper describing the research
• present the results in an oral format
• present the results in poster format

To learn more about the Student Learning Outcomes for this program, please visit our website.

To review the Degree Map for this program, please visit our website.