An interdisciplinary (ID) major in psychology combines select psychology courses with those of another major to best suit the needs of the student. A popular combination is that of the biology/psychology interdisciplinary major. This combination is often chosen by those students who would like to eventually pursue medical school, graduate school in health psychology, or a career in research. The psychology requirements of the ID major are listed below.
Students interested in combining psychology with another major should seek guidance from that major regarding the specified courses needed to fulfill that major's requirements. Not all majors may be combined to constitute an ID major; students should consult specific departments with questions.
All ID majors except Biopsych majors in Class of 2015
- Required to take the following seven psychology courses:
- PY101: Introduction to Psychology
- PY200-level course (excluding PY291 or PY292)
- PY241: Child Development, PY242: Adolescent Development, PY243: Adult Development or PY244: Life Span Development (Group IV developmental course)
- PY291: Research Methods I & PY292: Research Methods II (research sequence)
- Advanced Topics Course (Group I): PY 300, PY 353, PY 400, PY 404, PY 413, PY 414, PY 415, PY 417, PY 418, PY 419, PY 420, PY 435, PY 490.
- Two other PY courses chosen with the guidance of the academic advisor
- Interdisciplinary majors are strongly encouraged to take BL105 (Anatomy and Physiology; natural science core requirement); however, they may take BL121/BL126 (and in the case of BL/PY are required to take BL121/126). Taking either BL105 or BL121 serves as the prerequisite for any courses in PY Group III.
- Required to take one of the following: ST110: Statistical Methods & Data Analysis, ST210: Statistics or ST265: Biostatistics; course will be used to fulfill the core requirement in mathematics and should be taken Freshman year, as is a prerequisite to entry into PY292; no other mathematics courses may serve in lieu of the aforementioned courses (e.g., calculus will not substitute for statistics).
- Although not required, CS111: Computers with Software Applications is a good course to use to fulfill the final math/science core course; students learn application software that will be useful regardless of major or intended post-graduate path (e.g., Microsoft office suite)
- Other half of the ID degree will depend on the requirements of that major; students should seek guidance from their major advisor.
Biology/psychology (BL/PY) interdisciplinary majors in the Class of 2015
- Required to take the following seven psychology courses:
- PY101: Introduction to Psychology
- PY200 level PY200-level course (excluding PY291 or PY292)
- PY241: Child Psychology, PY242: Adolescent Psychology, PY243: Adult Development or PY244: Life Span Psychology (Group IV developmental course)
- PY261: Health Psychology or PY325: Controlling Stress and Tension
- PY291: Research Methods I & PY292: Research Methods II (research sequence)
- Advanced Topics Course (Group I): PY 300, PY 353, PY 400, PY 404, PY 413, PY 414, PY 415, PY 417, PY 418, PY 419, PY 420, PY 435, PY 490.
- 1 course from PY 331, PY 332, or BL 403
- Students can use PY331: Biopsychology or PY332: Behavioral Neuroscience to fulfill a biology requirement but cannot count these courses as psychology electives
- Required to take one of the following: ST110: Statistical Methods & Data Analysis, ST210: Statistics or ST265: Biostatistics; statistics course will be used to fulfill the core requirement in mathematics and should be taken Freshman year, as is a prerequisite to entry into PY291; no other mathematics courses may serve in lieu of the aforementioned courses (e.g., calculus will not substitute for statistics; students should select ST265 if they plan to go to medical school or study neuroscience at graduate level
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