UD Major - Liberal & Applied Paths
Overview
Units & GPA
- Required Units = 31 UD PSY units.
- "PSY" department offerings only: Courses from other departments cannot count even if ‘psychology’ is in the course title.
- Unit limit: Only up to 56 PSY units (lower and upper-division) can contribute to the 120 units needed to graduate (except for the Applied/Associate Degree for Transfer pathway, which has no limit).
- Major courses must be taken for a letter grade (whether lower- or upper-division courses), except courses like PSY 201 that are only offered for Cr/NC.
- Major GPA = Points/Units Attempted;
- Only UD courses contribute to a major GPA.
- Must have 2.0 or higher major GPA to graduate.
- However, a D- or higher in an individual course will still count toward meeting a major requirement as long it is balanced out by higher grades in other UD PSY classes to keep a 2.0.
- DARS formatting:
- In progress units are included in Earned units but not in Attempted units (because they do not have an associated grade yet).
Major Residency
Students must take at least 16 upper-division major units "in residence" at SDSU. The only "exception" to this is if students attend a specific type of study abroad program that grants SDSU "resident credit" Links to an external site..
Methods Requirement (4 to 5 units)
Unfortunately labeled only as “Required Course”.
- How to Choose? Read the Major Homeroom page describes the workload for each class and how to select a Methods course based on your career path.
- Course Availability: PSY 301 (4 units) and 410 (5 units) are offered in Fall and Spring terms only.
Breadth Group Requirement [12 units; 1 course per group]
- Emphases: See UD major requirements & important notes for emphases: I/O Emphasis or Neuroscience Emphasis.
- Students can take multiple courses from 1 group if they want. One will count toward the particular group and the other(s) will count toward PSY “additional units”, detailed below.
- Course Availability:
- Courses only offered in Spring or Fall: PSY 333 (offered only in Spring), and Group 4 courses (each course is offered once a year).
- All other courses are typically offered in Spring and Fall terms.
- PSY 340, 350 and 351 are typically offered year round including summer and winter breaks.
- Double-Dip Option: PSY 340 or 351 can double-dip to satisfy GE Explorations for Social and Behavioral Sciences but only if
- it is taken in the semester a student earns 60 or more units (if taken earlier, it cannot meet the GE; no exceptions allowed), and
- the student has used only 1 PSY course to meet the GE-Foundations req. for Social & Behavioral Sciences.
- DARS Formatting:
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- In actuality, the 1st course taken from a Group satisfies the requirement; however, if the student is in progress with another course from the same Group and you run an in-progress DARS, the IP version of the class will show up as satisfying the Group req.
- For this reason, running a non-in-progress version is sometimes needed, especially for seniors, to see if IP courses are truly needed to meet a requirement.
- In actuality, the 1st course taken from a Group satisfies the requirement; however, if the student is in progress with another course from the same Group and you run an in-progress DARS, the IP version of the class will show up as satisfying the Group req.
PSY “Additional Units” (14/15 units) - Liberal/Applied paths
- Additional upper-division PSY units required to reach 31 UD units for the major (must be offered by the PSY department); does not have a formal title on the degree evaluation.
- Can use to focus on career-relevant courses Links to an external site. or explore new topics if not yet settled on a career.
- Unfortunately, # of units needed is never listed in this section, only the units earned. If Methods and Breadth requirements have been completed, can focus on how many upper-division units are needed to reach 31 for the major.
- Liberal/ADT paths: 15 units if take PSY 301, 14 units if take PSY 410 for Methods (for Emphases, 6 and 5 units instead, respectively).
Choosing Breadth & Additional Units Courses:
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- To pick courses best suited for your career goals, see other Major Homeroom pages;
- career-relevant courses Links to an external site.
- high-impact courses (PSY 490s) - field internships*, honors thesis, research assistantships, etc.
- study abroad
- CSU Fully Online
- To pick courses best suited for your career goals, see other Major Homeroom pages;
*Note on Non-Psychology Field Internships:
The psychology department does not have an internship requirement for the degree nor does it offer units for internships besides those done through PSY 495. If you have an internship that you have found on your own, it may be possible to get up to six units of General Studies (GEN S200 and/or GEN S400). Contact the coordinator of these programs in advance to see if applying to take GEN S courses makes sense for you.
Upper-Division Major Residency Requirement
Residency refers to units that need to be taken at SDSU. ½ of UD major units (i.e., 16 UD units for PSY major/emphases) must be taken in residence at SDSU. Note that some Study Abroad programs also grant residence credit but student should check with GEO Advisor if unsure.