The philosophy behind the Bachelor’s degree at Colorado College is defined by the following statement from the Colorado College Catalog: “Although the College requires all students to concentrate their academic work around a ‘major’ field of study, it strongly encourages students to develop an active appreciation for the interconnection of ideas and different disciplines through the general education program. The primary goal of Colorado College is not to develop specialists, but to prepare students to possess a broad spectrum of knowledge and ideals, and who are equipped to think and express themselves imaginatively and to live productively according to their best insight and values.”

The Registrar provides information regarding the “All-College” Requirements that apply to all students. The following outline presents the Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology course requirements for the declared psychology major, including major courses within and outside the department. The Psychology section of the Colorado College Catalog of Courses is also reproduced on this website. This information, and more, regarding the major in psychology may be found in The Psychology Major’s Handbook. Links are provided below to the Course Descriptions of psychology courses. Requirements of the pre-2004-2005 major in Psychology can be found at Old Major Requirements. and a comparison handout is available at Old vs. New Major Info Sheet.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR

A. Requirements within the department. All majors in psychology complete the following requirements in the department or their equivalent. Any substitutions or transfer courses must be approved by the Psychology Faculty (submit your requests to the current Department Chair). Students must earn a grade of C- or higher to pass in all PY courses taken to fulfill major requirements. When a grade of D+ or lower is received in such a course, students must repeat the course for a passing grade. (From the "Credit and Grades" section of the Academic Policies chapter of the CC Catalog: "D+ and D grades under the P and G track options do fulfill graduation requirements. They do not fulfill major or prerequisite requirements.")

1) One introductory course:

PY100—Intro to Psych: Bases of Behavior or
PY101—Intro to Psych: Enduring Ideas and Present Principles(2 blocks, occasionally an FYE) or
PY111—Intro to Psych: General Laws and Individual Differences(2 blocks, FYE)

2) One course in research design and statistics*:

PY202—Research Design (2 blocks)
An integrated Statistics and Design course

[*Or two courses, one in Statistics and one in Research Design]

3) Five Core courses:

PY299— Neuroscience (2 blocks)*
PY362—Abnormal Psychology
PY374—Lifespan Developmental Psychology
PY281—Personality* OR PY209—Social Psychology*
PY332—Learning and Adaptive Behavior OR PY344—Cognition

[*All Core courses require PY 202 Research Design, except where noted by an asterisk]

4) Two of the following 400-level seminars:

PY405-409—Topical Seminar (each different 400-level Topical Seminar fulfills a 400-level requirement)
PY412—Neuropsychology
PY413—Developmental Psychopathology
PY417—Advanced Neuroscience Seminar
PY420—Cognitive Ethology
PY421—Perception
PY422—Emotion
PY423—Psychology of Morality and Conflict
PY425—Depression
PY426—Sport Psychology
PY427—Moral Reasoning in Context
PY430—Adolescence
PY433—Neuropharmacology
PY437—Evolutionary Psychology
PY441—Remembering
PY449—History of Psychology

5) Minimum of one unit of the following:

PY451, 452, 453, 454—Final Project

All psychology majors are required to complete at least one block of Final Project. Students begin preparation for Final Project one year prior to the enrollment in PY451. The final project takes one of three forms:

(a) Empirical research: This is supervised empirical research leading to a publishable paper. Students, in collaboration with a faculty supervisor, design a project, collect and analyze data, and write up a paper in a manner appropriate for a peer-reviewed journal. Examples of such research articles can be found in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Journal of Experimental Psychology, and Cerebral Cortex.
(b) Literature review: This is a critical review of the literature that addresses a particular issue. Students carefully outline the topic they will address, and use (primarily) journal articles to support their thesis. Such a review is not a mere summary of the literature; instead, it critically analyzes existing literature to a particular end. Examples of such reviews can be found in Psychological Bulletin, and Nature Reviews Neuroscience (online).
(c) Directed field study: This is a project completed in the field under the direct supervision of a Colorado College (CC) faculty member. In addition to the service component, the project results in a final paper (e.g., grant/program application, critical summary) that is negotiated between the supervising CC faculty, the student, and the agency director.

Considerable preparation is required of all students prior to conducting their final project (see Final Project Preparation and Application in The Psychology Major's Handbook).

B. Requirements outside the Department. In addition to the above requirements, psychology majors will complete the following courses outside the department or their equivalent. Any substitutions or transfer courses must be approved by the Psychology Faculty (submit your requests to the current Department Chair). Students must earn a grade of C- or higher to pass in any "outside" course taken to fulfill major requirements. When a grade of D+ or lower is received in such a course, students must repeat the course for a passing grade. (From the "Credit and Grades" section of the Academic Policies chapter of the CC Catalog: "D+ and D grades under the P and G track options do fulfill graduation requirements. They do not fulfill major or prerequisite requirements.")

6) Math requirement

MA126—Calculus

7) Two units from courses taught in the Natural Science division.

These two courses must be taken from departments in the Natural Science Division: Biology, Chemistry, Geology, Math, Physics, or Sport Science (not including adjunct certification courses). Some courses in Environmental Science and the Studies in the Natural Sciences may fulfill this requirement. The courses in EV that do not fulfill this requirement include any policy course or course that fulfills a social science credit. The courses in Studies in the NS that do not fulfill this requirement include any course that fulfills Social Science or Humanities requirements. MA117 (Probability and Statistics) cannot be used to fulfill this requirement. Advanced Placement (AP) and/or International Baccalaureate (IB) credit may fulfill one but not both of the two required courses for Natural Science unit credit.

| New Major Requirements | Old Major Requirements |

http://www.ColoradoCollege.edu/dept/PY/Require.html
Copyright 2007 Colorado College