Major in Psychology
Welcome to the Undergraduate Program in Psychology. There are almost 2000 undergraduate
students majoring in psychology at USF. Many of our graduates go on to graduate
study in psychology, counseling, law or medical school and various other graduate
programs. Other graduates find employment in various organizations and businesses.
An undergraduate degree in psychology prepares students to better understand behavior
and mental processing. We also emphasize critical thinking skills and knowing how
to formulate effective questions and research the answers. While many classes are
large, there are also many upper level courses that are smaller, seminar- format
courses (look for the PSY 4931 – Selected Topics courses). Our faculty members welcome
students to visit during their office hours or to set up a meeting at other times.
Many undergraduates find working with faculty in their research invaluable, allowing
a hands-on education in psychological science. If you have any questions, stop by
Student Services on the 4th floor of the Psychology building (PCD).
Major Requirements (34 Hours)
The Department of Psychology at the University of South Florida offers a Bachelors
of Art (BA). For a listing of the complete requirements needed to obtain a BA in
psychology, students should consult the
Undergraduate Catalog. Below you will find the major requirements for the
BA in Psychology. In addition to these major requirements, psychology majors must
complete General Education, Exit, Foreign Language and Elective requirements. For more information on general education and exit requirements.
Core/Pre-requite Courses
*These courses must be completed BEFORE taking any upper-level psychology
course. You must have a cumulative 2.5 GPA in these courses to graduate with a BA
in psychology.
- PSY 2012 Introduction to Psychology (3) (*or equivalent from another college or
university)
- PSY 3204 Psychological Statistics (3) (*may substitute a different statistics (STA)
course but will have to make up the 3 credit hours with an additional upper-level
psychology elective)
- PSY 3213 Research Methods in Psychology (4)
After successful completion of the core/pre-requite courses, students can complete
the rest of their major course work in any order
Methods Requirement (Choose one of the following)
- CLP 4433 Tests and Measurements (3)
- PSY 4931 Developmental Research (3)
- PSY 4205 Experimental Design and Analysis (3)
- PSY 4931 Program Evaluation (3)
Cognitive and Neurosciences Requirements (Choose two of the following)
- PSB 4004C Physiological Psychology (3)
- EXP 4204C Perception (3)
- EXP 4680C Cognitive Psychology (3)
- EXP 4404 Psychology of Learning (3)
- EXP 4304 Motivation (3)
Social/Applied Psychology Requirements (Choose two of the following)
- CLP 4143 Abnormal Psychology (3)
- PPE 4003 Personality (3)
- DEP 4053 Developmental Psychology (3)
- SOP 4004 Social Psychology (3)
- INP 4004 Industrial Psychology (3)
Psychology Electives
- The remaining credit hours can come from psychology elective courses. Students
can choose ANY 4000 level psychology course as an elective (PSB 3444 Drugs and Behavior
will also count as a psychology elective). This is your chance to focus you area
of study in an area of psychology that interests you. You can take take extra courses
in the cognitive areas listed above (Cognitive and Neurosciences AND/OR the Social
and Applied area) or choose from a number of courses we offered in the department
including up to 9 hours of seminar courses (PSY 4931*). You can even fulfill 3 hours
of psychology elective credit with directed study (PSY 4913**). Some popular electives
that are frequently offered include CBH 4004 Comparative Psychology, GEY 4612 Psychology
of Aging, SOP 4330 Social Psychology of HIV/AIDS and many others.
-
Electives NOT for Psychology Major Credit
- DEP 3103 Child Psychology
- SOP 3742 Psychology of Women *Offered by Women's Studies
- SYP 3000 Social Psychology *Offered by Sociology
*PSY 4931, Selected Topics can be taken for a maximum of nine hours under different topics.
**No more than three hours of PSY 4913 or PSY 4970 (combined) can count towards
the major.
***PSY 4932, Honors Seminar, does not fulfill major requirements.