Department of Psychology
Department of Psychology

BA-Psychology

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Major Checklist

 

 

The program checklist can be used to keep track of prerequisites and your progress toward completing the requirements of the major. 

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Requirements

Official requirements are available in the University Registrar Undergraduate Academic Record, and summarized below.

Prerequisites to Declare the Major

The prerequisite courses list below must be completed and graded before you qualify to declare the major.  Transferred courses meeting these descriptions may be used as prerequisite courses.  Grades of above a C- are required for each.

  • *STAT 1601: Introduction to Data Science with R  OR PSYC 3310: RM: R Applications in Psychology
  • *PSYC 2005: Research Methods & Data Analysis I.
  • One PSYC 2000-pillar course
  • A GPA of at least 2.00 for all psychology courses taken at UVa.

*Satisfies the Quantitative, Computational, and Data Analysis requirement of the College of Arts & Sciences curriculum

Major Requirements

  • A total of 34 credits must be earned in PSYC courses (not including Introductory Psychology). A grade of above a C- is required in all Psychology courses that count toward the major.
  • All courses used to meet the requirements must be letter-graded*. Courses taken on a Credit/No Credit or Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis do not count toward the major. *Directed Research in Psychology (PSYC 3590, 3 credits) used to fulfill an elective require a satisfactory “S” grade.
  • A 2.000 GPA in all Psychology coursework is required to complete the major. If a course is repeated, both grades are counted in the PSYC GPA.
  • Students who have less than a 2.0 GPA in all psychology coursework at the end of a semester will be put on probationary status in the major.
  • Students with two consecutive semesters with a psychology GPA below 2.0 will not be permitted to continue in the major.

The 34 credits must include the following components:

A. Fundamentals of Psychology (4 courses, 12 credits from 2000-level courses)

One course must be completed from each of the following four pillars:

  • Pillar I: Cognitive Psychology (1 course, 3 credits)
    • PSYC 2150: Cognitive Psychology OR PSYC 3160: Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Pillar II: Systems and Behavioral Neuroscience (1 course, 3 credits)
    • PSYC 2200: Neural Basis of Behavior OR PSYC 3200: Fundamentals of Neuroscience
    • Note. BIOL 3050 fulfills this pillar requirement, but does not count toward the 34 hours required for the psychology major. Students using BIOL3050 to satisfy the Pillar II requirement must take an additional PSYC course to fufill the 34-credit degree requirement 
  • Pillar III: Developmental Psychology (1 course, 3 credits)
    • PSYC 2700: Introduction to Child Psychology
  • Pillar IV: Clinical and Social Psychology (1 course, 3 credits)
    • PSYC 2410: Abnormal Psychology OR PSYC 2600: Social Psychology

B. Research Methods and Data Analysis (3 courses, 10 credits) 

  • PSYC 2005: Research Methods and Data Analysis I 
  • PSYC 3006: Research Methods and Data Analysis I
    • PSYC 2005 and PSYC 3006 lay the foundation for understanding scientific analysis and reporting, and are best completed as soon as possible (preferably by fall semester of third-year). 
  • PSYC RM-Topics Course 
    • Students must take one research methods (RM) topic course at the 3000, 4000, or 5000-level.  
    • Visit the course planning page for a list of approved Advanced Research Methods (RM) courses.
    • BA-PSYC majors may use a total of 3 credit hours of combined Hoos Connected Courses [PSYC 3990 (2 credits) + PSYC 3991 (1 credit) = 3 credits total] toward the required PSYC RM-Topics Course requirement. Note: Hoos Connected courses may only be used toward the PSYC RM requirement. Additional Hoos Connected credits cannot be used toward any other requirement.

C. Advanced Topics and Electives in Psychology  (4 courses, 12 credits)

  • Must complete four PSYC elective courses
    • One course must be at the 2000-level or higher 
    • Two courses must be completed at 3000-level or higher
    • One course must be at the 4000-level or higher
      • Courses at the 4000- and 5000-levels are generally reserved for third-year and fourth-year majors, but may be accessible earlier, depending on space capacity.
      • Don’t overlook 5000-level courses; though these are open to graduate students as well as undergraduates, they are not substantively different in depth or challenge.
  • Courses used towards Pillar requirements (such as PSYC 2600, PSYC 3160, etc.) cannot simultaneously satisfy an elective requirement. Each requirement must be satisfied by its own respective course to result in a total of 34 credits.
  • PSYC-3590, Research in Psychology, may be counted for one elective course (3 credits).  Please note, although students may take more than 3 credits of PSYC 3590 in the college career, only 3 credits of PSYC 3590 is permitted to count toward the 34 total credit hours required for the major.  
    • The College of Arts & Sciences will count up to 24 credits of ungraded (CR/NC or S/U) coursework toward the 120 required for graduation, so as many as 24 credits of 3590 could count in this general way.  Please visit the College for more information about ungraded courses policy.
  • The following courses do not count toward this requirement: PSYC 3006, PSYC 4580: Directed Readings in Psychology, PSYC 3910: Internship Toolkit, PSYC 4970/4980: DMP Seminars and Thesis courses.
  • If the PSYC-RM Topic requirement has been satisfied, additional RM-Topic courses can serve as elective courses.
  • Please note: some Advanced Topics courses may have prerequisites.

 

Ready to Declare (or Defer) the Major - Follow all of these steps:

THIS PROCESS WILL BE CONDUCTED ELECTRONICALLY VIA DOCUSIGN. 

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STEP 1: Sign up for notifications regarding the major

  • Join “Psych-Majors-Minors” listserv. Students are welcome to join the list before they declare. 
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STEP 2: Complete your Psychology Course Plan

  1. Open and complete the psychology course plan form:
  2. Download and review your unofficial transcript from SIS to assist in completing the course plan form. 
  3. Start by filling in any courses you have already completed.
  4. Fill in the other courses that you would like* to take to satisfy all major requirements. *The courses you list are simply your “best guesses” about the courses you will likely take; these guesses are not binding and courses can be rearranged or substituted as necessary or desired in the future.  Visit our course planning page to view current course offerings.
  5. When finished, save your course form and your SIS unofficial transcripts as PDF documents. You will eventually attach these forms to the Docusign Major Form -or- if you are deferring the major, you will attach them to the Request to Defer Major Form.
  6. If you need help completing the Course Plan, email psych-info@virginia.edu.
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STEP 3. Start the Docusign Process

DECLARE: Have you completed all of the prerequisite courses? Then you are ready to declare...

(If not, then move down to the Defer section below)

  • You can access the form by going to the College web page here: https://college.as.virginia.edu/forms - scroll down to find the "Declaration of Major and Minor Form (DocuSign)".  
  • Make sure to designate the Declaration of Major Contact (DMC) as: 
    • Name: Justin Woodward
    • Email:  gxw7az@virginia.edu 
  • Regarding the Docusign Course List:  You do not have to fill this part out with an advisor as it states on the form, because you should have already completed the courseplan on your own or with an advisors help (in STEP 2).  At this stage, you will simply attach your completed course plan file instead.  Instead of relisting your courses from the course plan, just add a filler course so the docusign form will allow you to submit it: “PSYC | 0000| Title: See Attached Course Plan | 34 Credits"

Don't forget...

Include:

DEFER: Still working on prerequisite courses past your second year?

Then you will need to defer the major...

  • Use the Defer Declaring a Major (DocuSign) form if you are at the end of your second year and are missing prerequisite courses that you plan to take at the beginning of your third year. You can access the form by going to the College web page here: https://college.as.virginia.edu/forms, scroll down to find the "Defer Declaring a Major (DocuSign)" form.

  • Make sure to designate the Declaration of Major Contact (DMC) as: 

    • Name: Justin Woodward
    • Email:  gxw7az@virginia.edu 

​Complete the form and be sure to list out the prerequisite courses you are currently taking.

Don't forget...

Include your 2 attachments when you submit your Docusign form:

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STEP 4. Check SIS to ensure your major form was processed

We will try to process your form as soon as possible, however, there may be delays in processing your form depending on the time of the year (e.g. beginning of the semester, enrollment periods, end of semster, graduation, and conferences).   After 10 days of submitting your form, your major should show up in SIS. If 10 days have passed, and you are not notified via docusign that your form has been processed and you have checked SIS and don't see your major, please email Justin Woodward, at gxw7az@virginia.edu, to ensure your form has been received by the college and is processed.

 

Questions/Advising