Planning Classes Before Registration

Remember Registration Policies

Check prerequisites. Make sure you meet prereqs.
- PSY has all prerequisites computer-enforced during registration.
- GWAR courses also have computer-enforced prerequisites.
- During Early Registration (April to mid-May for Fall, mid-November to December for Spring), you may only enroll in courses whose prerequisites you have completed or are in-progress with at SDSU. See this page for more information on registration issues and ways to plan ahead to avoid them.
Max Units: 18 units is the maximum Links to an external site. that a student can enroll in until a week before the term begins.
San Diego Campus: Students can only enroll in classes offered at their 'home' campus Links to an external site.. Make sure to filter to "San Diego Campus" when searching in the class schedule. Unfortunately, there is no direct indication when you click on a class that says which campus is offering it; the only way to avoid picking the wrong class is to filter your search.
Repeat Eligibility: Students can only enroll themselves to retake a class if they earned a C- or below on the first attempt. Students wanting to take a class for the 3rd time must request a Course Repeat Petition be filed for them.
GE Explorations & GWAR: For a course to count toward either, it cannot be taken any earlier than the term in which a student will reach 60 units Links to an external site. earned. Keep in mind though that some GWAR classes require you to already be a junior before enrolling.
Class Overlap? Students cannot register for classes that overlap Links to an external site. at all in day/time held.
International students must take at least 12 units per term with limited exceptions. Links to an external site.

How to Select Classes to Take Each Term

**1. Determine which requirements you should take:**

Find the Major Academic Plans (MyMap) Links to an external site. for your major catalog year. The MyMap lists requirements to take each term and opportunities to "double-dip" or use one class to meet multiple requirements for the major, GE and/or graduation requirements. Be careful: the option for "Psychology - BAA" is actually the Applied degree path. If you are on the Liberal path, choose "Psychology - BAL" instead. There are separate MyMaps for each PSY emphasis as well.
Check GE/Grad requirements apply: Compare MyMap to Degree Evaluation to confirm that all GE/grad requirements apply to you. If you started SDSU in a different major, you may have a different GE catalog year, which could mean that you have one or two fewer GE or graduation requirements (because some have been added in the past few years).
- Degree Eval Tip: See this slide for how to view only the requirements you have left on your degree evaluation, rather than those completed and/or in-progress.
Prioritize any requirements that were listed to have been taken earlier. E.g., if you will be a Junior in Fall and are planning what courses to take that term, check to see that you have already completed any requirements listed for the Freshman and Sophomore years. If you have not, prioritize taking those requirements next, especially any that take longer than 1 semester to complete (e.g., language requirement, American Institutions).

2. Select specific classes for requirements that offer several course options:

For most requirements (except PSY prep), there will be several courses you can select from. Courses are listed on the degree evaluation and you can find descriptions and prerequisite information in the university catalog Links to an external site.. Check the class schedule in my.SDSU for availability.

Pick PSY Classes first: We created a list with all PSY courses, their prereqs, days/times/locations, open seats, important notes and special registration info to make planning your PSY coursework easier!

Take the following into account as you select courses:

Select backup options per requirement because some courses may fill before you register (our advisors can help you identify which courses fill quicker than others) and/or in case you do not successfully complete particular courses you are currently taking.

Freshmen required courses. Freshmen are required to complete the Golden Four courses in the first year, unless already completed through AP scores Links to an external site. or transfer coursework. For Fall, psychology majors need to take courses for Written Comm and Oral Comm. For Spring, psychology majors need to take a course for Critical Thinking and GE Foundations-Math/Quant. Keep in mind that a C- or higher is needed to satisfy these requirements—except if the GE Math course is being taken for major prep, in which case a C or higher is needed (except for I/O Emphasis, a B is needed).

Juniors & Seniors. Remember there is room to shape upper-division requirements of the major to benefit your career path. This can be achieved with thoughtful course selections both within the breadth requirement as well as additional units. See the resources on this page that covers how to pick courses to support your future goals. If you are interested in a particular field of graduate study, explore which courses tend to be required for admission to programs. There will be variability in the courses that are required across programs, but there will be some in common as well.

Seniors. Make sure to check (1) if you can finish the upper division major courses, (2) will meet GE & graduation requirements and (3) that you will meet all unit, residence and GPA requirements (there is a section for these on your degree evaluation) within the number of semesters you have left given when you hope to graduate. The university will not allow you to receive your degree unless all of the requirements are met, including 120 minimum units! You are encouraged to visit the Psychology Advising Office for assistance checking your degree progress!

After you enroll in classes for your final term, run your Degree Evaluation and check that all requirements are listed as either completed or in progress.

Look for the first line of text under the graphs to read “All requirements completed - IP Courses Used”.

If you see “At least one requirement has not been satisfied”, look for remaining requirements that you need to fulfill. It might be helpful to click on the Not Met option in the legend under the graphs to focus on outstanding requirements.

Apply to graduate Links to an external site. early! It may seem odd, but you can apply to graduate approximately 6 months before you expect to complete your requirements. We strongly suggest that you apply early, at least one semester in advance as it can take 6-8 weeks to receive feedback on exactly what requirements you need to take in your final term. If you wait to file until the term you want to graduate, you will not receive feedback until midway through the term, which would be too late to make any needed adjustments to your schedule.

3. Check That Your Planned Schedule Will Not Lead to Registration Issues/Blocks

Unfortunately even if you follow the advice above, there can sometimes be registration glitches that prevent you from enrolling yourself in a course. For example, if you took a course a different college that came in as equivalent to a course at SDSU or was approved via a petition/RAAR to satisfy a certain requirement, the system may not recognize that you are eligible to enroll, which may block you from registering for the course on your own. Please refer to the linked page above for guidance on how to address these glitches.