Psychology, BS
Introduction
Please click here to see Psychology department information.
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences also offers a Psychology BA degree.
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
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This is an on-campus program.
Declaring This Major
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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.
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Click here for information about Academic Policies
Program Requirements
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Students must complete a minimum of 54 credit hours, including a minimum of 31 PSYC credit hours and a minimum of 23 credit hours in ancillary course work.
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Students must earn a minimum grade of C- (1.7) in all courses that apply to the major and must achieve a minimum cumulative major GPA of 2.0. All graded attempts in required and elective courses are calculated in the major GPA. Courses taken using P+/P/F or S/U grading cannot apply to major requirements.
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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
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An experiential learning component is required and must be approved by the Bachelor of Science academic advisor. To fulfill the experiential learning requirement, some options have a minimum overall GPA of 2.5 or higher. Fulfilling this requirement with a project outside of the Psychology Department requires prior approval by the Bachelor of Science academic advisor. Independent study or internship credit hours taken outside of the Psychology Department will not count as Psychology credit hours. PSYC 4111 Senior Seminar in Psychology: Career Capstone, or PSYC 3939 Internship, can fulfill this requirement, and student does not need 2.5 GPA
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Successful (final grade of B or better) completion of PSYC 4680 Behavioral & Biomedical Sciences Research Seminar, PSYC 4681 Behavioral & Biomedical Sciences Research Seminar II and PSYC 4780 Behavioral & Biomedical Sciences Research: Ethics & Issues fulfills the experiential learning requirement for the Bachelor of Science in Psychology dept core graduation requirement. 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
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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.
Psychology Major Course Requirement
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Complete all of the following required courses: | 19 | |
| Introduction to Psychology I | ||
| Introduction to Psychology II | ||
| Statistics and Research Methods | ||
| Biological Basis of Behavior | ||
| Research Methods in Psychology | ||
| Behavioral Neuroscience | ||
| Complete two of the following Group A elective courses | 6 | |
| Behavioral Genetics | ||
| Principles of Learning and Behavior | ||
| Introduction to Animal Behavior | ||
| Health Psychology | ||
| Hormones and Behavior | ||
| Exercise, Brain and Behavior | ||
| Drugs, Brain and Behavior | ||
| Developmental Neuroscience | ||
| Neuropsychology | ||
| Aging, Brain and Behavior | ||
| Neural Basis of Learning | ||
| Psychology of Perception | ||
| Complete one of the following Group B elective courses: | 3 | |
| Human Development I: Child Psychology | ||
| Abnormal Psychology | ||
| Experimental Social Psychology | ||
| Complete required ancillary coursework from Biology and Chemistry: | 23 | |
| Biology | ||
| Chemistry | ||
| Upper Division Biology/ Chemistry electives | ||
| Complete 3 credit hours of Experiential Learning coursework: 1 | 3 | |
| Internship | ||
| Senior Seminar in Psychology: Career Capstone | ||
| Behavioral & Biomedical Sciences Research Seminar and Behavioral & Biomedical Sciences Research Seminar II and Behavioral & Biomedical Sciences Research: Ethics & Issues | ||
| Independent Study: PSYC | ||
| Directed Research | ||
| Total Hours | 54 | |
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Students should consult with the BS advisor to choose the best option.
Registration in PSYC 3939 Internship requires permission of instructor, meeting minimum grade requirements and approval of Experiential Learning Center. Registration in PSYC 4840 Independent Study: PSYC and PSYC 4880 Directed Research requires permission of instructor, meeting minimum grade requirements and approval of the CLAS advising office.
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
Successful (final grade of B or better) completion of PSYC 4680 Behavioral & Biomedical Sciences Research Seminar, PSYC 4681 Behavioral & Biomedical Sciences Research Seminar II and PSYC 4780 Behavioral & Biomedical Sciences Research: Ethics & Issues fulfills the experiential learning requirement for the Bachelor of Science in Psychology dept core graduation requirement.
Biology
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Take the following: | 8 | |
| Organisms to Ecosystems (Gen Bio) | ||
or BIOL 2030 | Honors Organisms to Ecosystems (Gen Bio) | |
| Organisms to Ecosystems Lab (Gen Bio) | ||
or BIOL 2031 | Honors Organisms to Ecosystems Lab (Gen Bio) | |
| Molecules to Cells (Gen Bio) | ||
or BIOL 2040 | Honors Molecules to Cells (Gen Bio) | |
| Molecules to Cells Lab (Gen Bio) | ||
or BIOL 2041 | Honors Molecules to Cells Lab (Gen Bio) | |
Chemistry
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Take the following: | 9 | |
| General Chemistry I | ||
or CHEM 2081 | Honors General Chemistry I | |
| General Chemistry Laboratory I | ||
or CHEM 2088 | Honors General Chemistry I Laboratory | |
| General Chemistry II | ||
or CHEM 2091 | Honors General Chemistry II Lecture | |
| General Chemistry Laboratory II | ||
or CHEM 2098 | Honors General Chemistry II Laboratory | |
Upper Division Biology/ Chemistry Electives
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Take two of the following upper division level ancillary elective courses: | 6 | |
| Human Physiology | ||
| Human Anatomy | ||
| Introduction to Evolution | ||
| General Cell Biology | ||
| Introduction to Immunology | ||
| General Microbiology and General Microbiology Lab | ||
| General Genetics | ||
| Human Genetics | ||
| Neurobiology | ||
| Biochemistry | ||
| General Biochemistry I | ||
| General Biochemistry II | ||
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.