Students who maintain an excellent academic record may wish to pursue the Honors Major in Psychology. This option is an enhancement of the standard major and requires, in addition to the minimum requirements of the standard major, the following:
1. A cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.4 in all psychology (830 subject index) courses including 6 credits of Honors Research in Psychology.
2. An overall grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.
3. A minimum of 45 credits in psychology (830 subject index). Students in the honors major are strongly encouraged to get involved in research during their junior year.
4. At least nine of the 3- or 4-credit courses counting toward the Honors Major must be taken at Rutgers-New Brunswick (01:830).
5. Satisfactory completion of a special 1-credit Honors Research Seminar in Psychology* (01:830:490) normally completed during the fall semester of the final year.
6. Successful completion of Honors Research in Psychology (01:830:497) taken during each of the final two semesters and full participation in the departmental honors program. (As an alternative to 01:830:497, students who are sponsored by departmental faculty and are participating in the School of Arts and Sciences Honors Program, Mabel Smith Douglass Honors Program, Paul Robeson Scholars Project, or the Henry Rutgers Scholars Program may substitute 6 credits in these courses for 01:830:497 toward the 45-credit requirement for the honors program in psychology.)
Upon successful completion of all of these requirements and upon the recommendation of the psychology department Honors Committee, the student will earn the B.A. with Honors in Psychology.
The department also has an active chapter of Psi Chi, the national honor society in psychology.
Specializations
In addition to the general psychology major, students may have particular interests for graduate school, or specialized aspects of psychology such as: (1) behavioral neuroscience, (2) clinical psychology, (3) cognitive psychology, (4) developmental psychology, (5) health psychology, and (6) social psychology.
Students with one of these special interests may wish to select their electives from specific clusters within psychology and related programs. For additional information, see our website http://www.psychology.rutgers.edu.
