These requirements are for students who matriculated in academic year 2023-2024. Students who matriculated prior to fall 2023 should refer to the Archives to view the requirements for their Bulletin year.
Summary of Degree Requirements
University Requirements
- MATH 0701 (4 s.h.) and/or ENG 0701 (4 s.h.), if required by placement testing.
- All Temple students must take a minimum of two writing-intensive courses as part of the major. The specific courses required for this major are PSY 3096 Conducting Psychological Research and one of the following capstone courses: PSY 4696 or PSY 4996.
- Students must complete requirements of the General Education (GenEd) Program. See the General Education section of the Undergraduate Bulletin for more details.
College of Liberal Arts Requirements
- Completion of a minimum of 123 credits, including:
- 90 credits in CLA/CST courses;
- 45 credits of which must be at the upper level (numbered 2000-4999).
- For Social Science majors, 6 upper level credits (numbered 2000-4999) must be taken in Humanities Subject Areas: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Greek (Ancient), Greek and Roman Classics, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Philosophy, Religion, Russian, and Spanish in the College of Liberal Arts, Art History in the Tyler School of Art and Architecture, or any department in the College of Science and Technology.
- A minimum GPA of 2.0, cumulatively, in CLA/CST coursework, and in the major.
- Only courses in which a student receives a grade of at least C- can satisfy GenEd, major, minor, or CLA Foreign Language and Global Studies requirements.
- Professional Development Requirement
- All students in the College of Liberal Arts are required to take a 1 credit seminar in professional development. PSY 1002 Careers in Psychology is the appropriate course option for this major. Other courses that fulfill this requirement may be found on the CLA College Requirements page. Only one course in this category may count towards graduation.
- Foreign Language/Global Studies Requirements
- All students must complete or test out of the first and second levels of a foreign language - these courses are numbered 1001 and 1002;
- All students must complete at least one course from the GenEd Global/World Society category; and
- All Bachelor of Arts students must complete one of the following options:
- Third semester of a foreign language;
- Demonstrated proficiency beyond the third semester in a foreign language (placement exam or certification from the language department);
- Take one Global Studies course from the list on the CLA College Requirements page;
- Study Abroad at an approved program; or
- Take a second General Education Global/World Society course.
- Notes on Foreign Language Study
- The third level of language is numbered 1003 in French, Spanish, and Portuguese and numbered 2001 in all other foreign language subjects.
- Students are strongly encouraged to take the third level of a foreign language as it is the minimum required for election to the prestigious honor society Phi Beta Kappa. (Taking the course does not guarantee admission but not taking it guarantees exclusion.)
- See the College of Liberal Arts Policies section of this Bulletin for more information on the Foreign Language Placement, Regression in Coursework, and guidelines for students' other experiences with language.
General Electives are typically one-third of a student's program of study and can be focused on a second major, a minor, or towards some other personal enrichment or professional goals. See an academic advisor for assistance in developing an academic plan for these courses.
Major Requirements (minimum 44 credits; 40 credits in Psychology plus 4 credits in a designated science area)
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Introductory Courses Required | ||
| PSY 1001 | Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
| or PSY 1901 | Honors: Introduction to Psychology | |
| PSY 1002 | Careers in Psychology | 1 |
| PSY 1003 | Statistics for Psychology | 3 |
| PSY 1004 | Critical Thinking in Psychology | 3 |
| Psychology Science Requirement | ||
| Select one of the following: | 4 | |
BIOL 1001 | Human Biology | |
BIOL 1011 | General Biology I | |
CHEM 1021 & CHEM 1023 | Introduction to Chemistry I and Introduction to Chemistry Laboratory I | |
CHEM 1027 | Applications of Chemistry | |
CHEM 1031 & CHEM 1033 | General Chemistry I and General Chemistry Laboratory I | |
PHYS 1021 | Introduction to General Physics I | |
EES 2001 | Physical Geology | |
| Developmental/Clinical/Social (DCS) Foundation Courses 1 | ||
| Select two of the following: | 6 | |
PSY 2201 | Foundations of Psychopathology | |
PSY 2301 | Foundations of Developmental Psychology | |
PSY 2401 | Foundations of Social Psychology | |
PSY 2402 | Foundations of Industrial and Organizational Psychology | |
PSY 2601 | Foundations of Health Psychology | |
| Brain and Cognitive Sciences (BCS) Foundation Courses 1 | ||
| Select two of the following: | 6 | |
PSY 2101 | Foundations of Cognitive Psychology | |
PSY 2103 | Foundations of Learning and Behavior Analysis | |
PSY 2104 | Foundations of Sensation and Perception | |
PSY 2501 | Foundations of Behavioral Neuroscience | |
PSY 2502 | Foundations of Cognitive Neuroscience | |
| Required Methods Course | ||
| PSY 3096 | Conducting Psychological Research | 3 |
| Advanced Courses (3000-3620) | ||
| Select three of the following: 2 | 9 | |
PSY 3002 | Evolutionary and Comparative Psychology | |
PSY 3003 | Advanced Undergraduate Statistics | |
PSY 3005 | Affective Neuroscience | |
PSY 3100 | Topics: Brain, Behavior and Cognition | |
PSY 3151 | Direct Applications of Behavioral Principles | |
PSY 3200 | Topics: Clinical | |
PSY 3221 | Clinical Psychology: Research and Practice | |
PSY 3223 | Child Psychopathology and Treatment | |
PSY 3301 | Phases of Development: Infancy | |
PSY 3303 | Psychological Testing: Measuring IQ, Thoughts, Feelings, and Attitudes | |
PSY 3304 | Personality, Social and Emotional Development | |
PSY 3305 | Cognitive and Language Development | |
PSY 3306 | Neuroscience of Development and Aging | |
PSY 3411 | Social Cognition | |
PSY 3417 | Personnel Psychology | |
PSY 3418 | Human Performance Improvement | |
PSY 3561 | Psychopharmacology | |
PSY 3566 | Neurobiology of Learning and Memory | |
PSY 3600 | Advanced Topics in Health Psychology | |
PSY 3601 | Social Health Psychology | |
PSY 3602 | Clinical Neuropsychology | |
PSY 3603 | Clinical Applications of Health Psychology | |
PSY 3615 | History and Systems of Psychology | |
PSY 3620 | Topics in Psychology | |
CJ 3408 | Forensic Psychology | |
| Psychology Elective | ||
| One additional course at the Foundation Level or the Advanced Level (2000-3620). | 3 | |
| Capstone Course 3 | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3-4 | |
PSY 4696 | Capstone in Psychology | |
PSY 4996 | Honors Capstone | |
| Total Credit Hours | 44-45 | |
- 1
Foundation courses are prerequisites for the advanced (3000-level) areas.
- 2
Select three from any of the advanced courses (3000-3620) for which you have completed the prerequisite foundation course. These courses cover specialty areas within particular fields of psychology.
Note: PSY 3096 does not count toward the requirement.
- 3
Seniors only - minimum of 90 credits completed and completion of PSY 3096.
Individual Study Courses
Permission of the instructor is required to register for these courses. For all Psychology majors and minors.
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| PSY 4182 & PSY 4282 | Independent Study in Cognitive Neuroscience I and Independent Study in Cognitive Neuroscience II | 6 |
| Select one of the following: | 1-4 | |
PSY 3791 | Collaborative Research I | |
PSY 3891 | Collaborative Research II | |
PSY 4791 | Collaborative Research III | |
PSY 4891 | Collaborative Research IV | |
| PSY 3785 | Psychology Internship | 3 |
| PSY 3787 | Practicum | 3 |