The following requirements must be met before declaring a major in psychology:
1. Completion of 01:830:101 General Psychology with a grade of C or better.
2. Completion of 01:830:200 Quantitative Methods in Psychology with a grade of C or better.
The following requirements must be met to complete a major in psychology:
1. Completion of six of the seven core courses in psychology. The seven
core courses are 01:830:301 Sensation and Perception, 01:830:305
Cognition, 01:830:311 Conditioning and Learning, 01:830:313
Physiological Psychology, 01:830:321 Social Psychology, 01:830:331
Infant and Child Development, and 01:830:338 Personality Psychology.
2. Completion of one course designated as a laboratory course.
3. Completion of four additional 3- or 4-credit elective courses, no
more than one of which may be a nonclassroom course, such as fieldwork,
internship, or research. No college honors courses may count toward
this requirement.
4. Completion of precalculus (01:640:112 or
115) or tested placement into calculus. Several required courses for
the major have precalculus as a prerequisite.
5. A cumulative
grade-point average of at least 2.0 in all psychology (01:830) courses
including, if available, up to 6 credits of honors research in
psychology or up to 3 credits of other nonclassroom credits in
psychology.
6. A minimum of 38 credits in psychology is necessary to complete the major.
7. At least seven of the 3- or 4-credit courses counting toward the major must be taken at Rutgers-New Brunswick.
Additional information, applications, and forms may be found at www.psychology.rutgers.edu.
Specializations
In addition to the general psychology major, students who have
particular interests for graduate school, or specialized aspects of
psychology, may wish to consider the following recommendations.
Behavioral Neuroscience. Students interested in the biological
aspects of psychology, graduate school in the neurosciences, or medical
school may wish to complete all or many of the following courses:
From the Department of Psychology: 01:830:301 Sensation and Perception;
01:830:311 Conditioning and Learning; 01:830:313 Physiological
Psychology; 01:830:365 Hormones and Behavior; 01:830:412
Neuropsychopharmacology; 01: 830:495,496 Research in Psychology.
From other departments: 01:119:101-102 General Biology;
01:160:161-162 General Chemistry; 01:640:135, 138 Calculus; 01:146: 245
Fundamentals of Neurobiology; 01:146:445 Advanced Neurobiology; 01:447:
380 Genetics; 01:447:384 Behavior and Neural Genetics.
Clinical Psychology. Students with particular interests in
clinical psychology should consider the following courses: 01: 830:340
Principles of Abnormal Psychology; 01:830:311 Conditioning and
Learning; 01:830:313 Physiological Psychology; 01:830:338 Personality
Psychology; 01:830:393 Systems of Psychotherapy; 01:830:412
Neuropsychopharmacology; 01:830:451 Advanced Topics in Clinical and
Abnormal Psychology; 01:830:474 Psychological Tests and Measurements.
Cognitive Psychology. Courses in cognition include those dealing
with memory, language, attention, perception, cognitive development,
thinking, and artificial intelligence. Students interested in pursuing
careers in cognition also are encouraged to take courses in related
fields, such as computer science, mathematics, linguistics, philosophy,
and neuroscience. Consultation with cognitive faculty about course
selection is recommended strongly. See also the listing in this section
of the catalog for the minor in cognitive science.
Developmental Psychology. Students interested in developmental
issues in psychology may wish to complete all or many of the following
courses: 01:830:330 Developmental Psychology; 01:830: 331 Infant and
Child Development; 01:830:333 Adolescent Development; 01:830: 335 Adult
Development and Aging; 01:830:346 Atypical Development in Childhood and
Adolescence; 01:830:361 Developmental Psychobiology; 01:830: 431
Advanced Topics in Developmental Psychology.
Students are
encouraged to take a balanced array of courses within the discipline as
a whole, and to develop and carry out individual research projects and
participate in fieldwork courses, working with departmental faculty.
Consult faculty with developmental interests for advice about courses
concerning developmental issues available in other departments.
Health Psychology. Students interested in the psychological
aspects of physical health should take 01:830:377 Health Psychology and
may wish to combine elements of the behavioral neuroscience
specialization (e.g., 01: 830:313 Physiological Psychology; 01:830:311
Conditioning and Learning) and the social psychology specialization
(e.g., 01:830:321 Social Psychology; 01:830:338 Personality Psychology;
and 01:830:372 Psychological Approaches to Social Problems). Students
interested in health psychology also should complete 01:830:305
Cognition. Because health psychology is a research-oriented field,
independent study and honors research are highly recommended. Relevant
courses outside of psychology include 01:070: 307 Medical Anthropology;
10:832:232 Introduction to Public Health; 10:832: 335 Epidemiology;
01:920:210 Sociology of Medicine and Health Care; and 01: 920:303
Social Gerontology.
Social Psychology. Students with
particular interests in social psychology may wish to complete all or
many of the following courses: (1) 01:830:321 Social Psychology and
01:830:338 Personality Psychology; (2) 01:830:323 Research Methods in
Social Psychology should be one of two required laboratory courses for
the major; (3) four or more courses from: 01:830:326 Small Groups;
01:830:374 Environmental Psychology; 01:830:375 Prejudice and Conflict;
01:830:377 Health Psychology; 01:830:372 Psychological Approaches to
Social Problems; 01:830:373 Organizational and Personnel Psychology;
01:830:474 Psychological Tests and Measurements; 01:830:421 Advanced
Topics in Social Psychology; 01:830:441 Advanced Topics in Personality
Psychology; any of the research opportunities in social psychology
including 01:830:495,496 Research in Psychology; and/or
01:830:497,498 Honors Research in Psychology, all of which are
highly recommended for those interested in attending graduate school in
social psychology.
