Navigating the Undergraduate Psychology Degree: A Comprehensive Guide

An undergraduate psychology degree serves as a foundational stepping stone for various career paths, emphasizing a broad understanding of behavioral sciences rather than immediate specialization. This article delves into the requirements, learning outcomes, and opportunities associated with pursuing a Bachelor's degree in psychology.

Core Focus of Undergraduate Psychology Programs

The undergraduate study of psychology emphasizes a broad acquaintance with the behavioral sciences, not specialization. The subject matter is preparatory to a career in psychology either in basic research and teaching, or in any number of professional applications to various human problems. The psychology major provides a fundamental understanding of the principles of human cognition, emotion, behavior, social interactions and mind-brain relationships. The study of Psychology aims to understand the mind, behavior, and mental health.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the psychology (B.A., B.S.) and/or neuroscience (B.S.) programs, students will attain the following:

Knowledge Base: Demonstrate knowledge of the major concepts, theoretical perspectives, empirical findings, and historical trends in psychology and/or neuroscience, including its links to other disciplines.
Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking Skills: Apply basic research methods in psychology and/or neuroscience, including research design, data analysis, and interpretation. Demonstrate scientific reasoning and problem solving.
Ethics, Social Responsibility and Responsible Conduct of Research: Demonstrate use of empirical evidence, tolerate ambiguity, act ethically, be mindful of diversity and reflect other values that are the underpinnings of psychology and/or neuroscience as a science.
Communication: Demonstrate competence in writing and in oral communication skills. Ability to produce a research study or other neuroscience and/or psychology project, explain its scientific results and present information.
Individual and Professional Development: Develop the ability to apply psychology and/or neuroscience content, skills, project management and teamwork skills to career preparation. Apply psychological and/or neuroscience principles to personal, social, and organizational issues. Become aware of career opportunities and paths towards career goals.

General Degree Requirements

Students must complete the general requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences and the requirements for the major, listed below. Students must complete a minimum of 12 upper-division credit hours of psychology coursework on the Boulder campus with a C- or better. Of those 12 credit hours, one laboratory and methods course must be included. All required major courses and all required ancillary courses must be passed with a C- or better and cannot be taken pass/fail. Students must have a GPA of at least 2.000 in the major in order to graduate, and no more than 45 credits in PSYC may be applied to overall graduation requirements.

In addition to the program requirements, students must:

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Earn a minimum final cumulative GPA of 2.000
Complete a minimum of 45 academic credit hours earned from UNC-Chapel Hill courses
Take at least half of their major core requirements (courses and credit hours) at UNC-Chapel Hill
Earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.000 in the major core requirements. Some programs may require higher standards for major or specific courses.

Core Coursework Components

The online psychology degree requires coursework in psychology, statistics, mathematics and biology. Courses are required in four core areas within the discipline as well as elective psychology courses. A major in psychology requires a minimum of 36 credit hours in psychology courses. At least 20 of these credit hours must be in upper-division PSYC or NRSC coursework that includes a minimum of 10 credit hours at the 4000 level. Psychology majors are required to complete 12 hours in distribution courses, 6 hours in each of 2 distribution areas.

Gateway Course

PSYC 101 General Psychology (with a grade of C or better)

Core Requirements

PSYC 210 Statistical Principles of Psychological Research
PSYC 270 Research Methods in Psychology

Program Area Courses

One course below 400 from each of the following program areas:

NSCI 222Learning
NSCI 225Sensation and Perception
NSCI 221Neuropsychopharmacology
PSYC 220Biopsychology
PSYC 230Cognitive Psychology

One course below 400 from two of the three following psychology program areas:

PSYC 242Introduction to Clinical Psychology
PSYC 245Psychopathology
PSYC 250Child Development
PSYC 260Social Psychology

One upper-level course chosen from "Special Requirement Courses"

One upper-level PSYC and/or NSCI course numbered between 395 and 699. May not include PSYC 493 or NSCI 493.

One additional PSYC and/or NSCI course above 101; may not include PSYC 190 or NSCI 190.

Additional Requirements

BIOL 101& 101L Principles of Biologyand Introductory Biology Laboratory
One of:
- CHEM 101& 101L General Descriptive Chemistry Iand Quantitative Chemistry Laboratory I
- PHYS 114 General Physics I: For Students of the Life Sciences
- PHYS 118 Introductory Calculus-based Mechanics and Relativity
- MATH 231 Calculus of Functions of One Variable I
One additional non-Psychology and Neuroscience Department quantitative reasoning course (FC-QUANT) not used to fulfill the FC-QUANT Gen Ed requirement or any other requirement in the psychology major.
At least 3 additional three-credit hour non-Psychology and Neuroscience Department courses which must come from the Allied Science list (see below). Additionally, 1 four-credit hour non-Psychology and Neuroscience Department course from the Allied Science list (see below) or one of the following combinations: CHEM 241 + 241L, CHEM 241H + 245L, CHEM 262 + 262L or CHEM 262H + 263L or EMES 101 + EMES 101L.
Remaining General Education requirements and enough additional hours to accumulate 120 academic hours

Special Requirements Courses

PSYC 395 Independent Research
PSYC 404Clinical Psychopharmacology
PSYC 430Human Memory
PSYC 433Behavioral Decision Theory
PSYC 438 Research Topics in the Psychology of Language
PSYC 469Evolution and Development of Biobehavioral Systems
PSYC 504Health Psychology
PSYC 517Addiction
PSYC 525Psychological Archival Data Science
PSYC 528 Clinical Research: Design, Analyze, Disseminate
PSYC 530Design and Interpretation of Psychological Research
PSYC 531Tests and Measurement
PSYC 532Quantitative Psychology
PSYC 533The General Linear Model in Psychology
PSYC 534Introduction to Statistics in R
PSYC 559Applied Machine Learning in Psychology
PSYC 693H Honors in Psychology I
PSYC 694H Honors in Psychology II
NSCI 395 and any course between NSCI 400-699, except NSCI 415 and NSCI 493.

Allied Science Electives

Anthropology: ANTH 143, ANTH 148, ANTH 217, ANTH 298, ANTH 315, ANTH 318, ANTH 412, ANTH 413, ANTH 414, ANTH 415, ANTH 416, ANTH 423, ANTH 437, ANTH 471
Astronomy: Any course above ASTR 99 except ASTR 390
Biochemistry: BIOC 107, BIOC 108
Biology: Any course above BIOL 101, except BIOL 195, BIOL 290, BIOL 291, BIOL 292, BIOL 293, BIOL 294, BIOL 295, BIOL 296, BIOL 395, BIOL 410, BIOL 490, and BIOL 495
Biomedical Engineering: BMME 150, BMME 207, BMME 301, BMME 315, BMME 335, BMME 385, BMME 405, BMME 420, BMME 435, BMME 445, BMME 455, BMME 470, BMME 485, BMME 505
Biostatistics: Any course above BIOS 500H, except BIOS 540, BIOS 543, BIOS 690, BIOS 691, BIOS 693H, BIOS 694H
Chemistry: Any course above CHEM 101 except CHEM 190, CHEM 291, CHEM 395, CHEM 396, CHEM 397, CHEM 410, and CHEM 692H
Computer Science: Any course above COMP 116, except COMP 185, COMP 190, COMP 380, COMP 390, and COMP 393
Environment and Ecology: ENEC 108, ENEC 202, ENEC 220, ENEC 222, ENEC 256, ENEC 304, ENEC 324, ENEC 352, ENEC 403, ENEC 406, ENEC 410, ENEC 411, ENEC 415, ENEC 416, ENEC 431, ENEC 450, ENEC 462, ENEC 471, ENEC 479, ENEC 489, ENEC 530, ENEC 562, ENEC 567
Environment Sciences: ENVR 205, ENVR 403, ENVR 411, ENVR 412, ENVR 413, ENVR 416, ENVR 419, ENVR 421, ENVR 425, ENVR 430, ENVR 442, ENVR 451, ENVR 453, ENVR 468, ENVR 470, ENVR 472, ENVR 514, ENVR 575, ENVR 630, ENVR 661, ENVR 662, ENVR 666, ENVR 668, ENVR 669, ENVR 671, ENVR 672, ENVR 675
Exercise and Sport Science: EXSS 175, EXSS 276, EXSS 376, EXSS 380, EXSS 385, EXSS 475, EXSS 576, EXSS 580
Geography: GEOG 110, GEOG 111, GEOG 212, GEOG 253, GEOG 391, GEOG 412, GEOG 414, GEOG 416, GEOG 440, GEOG 441, GEOG 442
Earth, Marine, and Environmental Sciences: Any course above GEOL 100, except GEOL 190, GEOL 390, GEOL 395, GEOL 396, GEOL 412, GEOL 480, GEOL 590, GEOL 601, GEOL 602, GEOL 691H, GEOL 692H, and GEOL 695Any course above MASC 100, except MASC 190, MASC 390, MASC 395, MASC 396, and MASC 490Any course above EMES 100, except EMES 190, EMES 220, EMES 390, EMES 395, EMES 396, EMES 412, EMES 490, EMES 590, EMES 691H, and EMES 692H
Mathematics: Any course above MATH 230 except MATH 290, 296, 396, 410, 411, 418, 515, 691H and 692H.

Sample Curriculum

The department recommends taking PSYC 1001, PSYC 2111 and three of the four required courses (select from PSYC 2012, PSYC 2145, PSYC 2606, PSYC 3102 and PSYC 3303) by the end of the sophomore year. It is recommend that the math prerequisite for PSYC 2111 be taken by the end of the first year. It is also recommended that the two-part sequence, PSYC 2111 and PSYC 3111 , be taken in consecutive semesters if possible, although completing the two classes over three semesters is also acceptable.

First Year

First-Year Foundation Courses
- IDST 101 College Thriving
- ENGL 105 English Composition and Rhetoric
- First-Year Seminar or First-Year Launch
- IDST 111L Data Literacy Lab
- Global Language through level 3
Major Courses
- BIOL 101& 101L Principles of Biologyand Introductory Biology Laboratory
- CHEM 101& 101Lor PHYS 114or PHYS 118 General Descriptive Chemistry I H, For General Physics I: For Students of the Life Sciencesor Introductory Calculus-based Mechanics and Relativity
- MATH 231 Calculus of Functions of One Variable I
- PSYC 101 General Psychology

Sophomore Year

Allied science course #1
Allied science course #2, with lab
One additional non-Psychology and Neuroscience Department quantitative reasoning course (FC-QUANT) not used to fulfill the FC-QUANT Gen Ed requirement or any other requirement in the psychology major.
PSYC 210 Statistical Principles of Psychological Research
PSYC 220or NSCI 221or NSCI 222or NSCI 225 Biopsychology Hor Neuropsychopharmacologyor Learningor Sensation and Perception

Junior Year

PSYC 270 Research Methods in Psychology
Two courses chosen from the clinical, developmental, or social list
Allied science course #3
PSYC 230or NSCI 225 Cognitive Psychology Hor Sensation and Perception

Senior Year

One PSYC and/or NSCI course chosen from the "Upper Level Courses for Special Requirement" (see course list)
One additional PSYC and/or NSCI course numbered between 395 and 699. May not include PSYC 493 or NSCI 493.

Detailed Four-Year Plan Example

Year One

Fall Semester:
- PSYC 1001 General Psychology
- Gen. Ed. Distribution/Diversity course (example: Social Sciences/US Perspective)
- Psychology approved Ancillary Natural Science sequence part 1 (example: EBIO 1210; also partially fulfills Gen. Ed.: Natural Sciences)
- Gen. Ed. Skills or Distribution course (example: Foreign Language or Arts & Humanities)
- Elective
Spring Semester:
- Required Psychology Course 1 of 4 (e.g. PSYC 2012, PSYC 2145, or PSYC 2606)
- MATH Ancillary course (MATH 1212, MATH 1011, MATH 1150, or MATH 1300, also fulfills Gen. Ed. Skills: QRMS)
- Psychology approved Ancillary Natural Science sequence part 2 (example: EBIO 1220; also partially fulfills Gen. Ed.: Natural Sciences)
- Gen. Ed. Skills or Distribution course (example: Arts & Humanities or lower-division Written Communication)
- Elective

Year Two

Fall Semester:
- PSYC 2111 Psychological Science I: Statistics
- Required Psychology Course 2 of 4 (e.g. PSYC 2012, PSYC 2145, or PSYC 2606)
- Gen Ed. Distribution course (example: Social Sciences)
- Elective
Spring Semester:
- PSYC 3111 Psychological Science 2: Research Methods in Psychology
- Gen. Ed. Distribution/Diversity course (example: Arts & Humanities/Global Perspective)
- Required Psychology Course 3 of 4 (PSYC 2012, PSYC 2145, PSYC 2606, PSYC 3102, or PSYC 3303)
- Elective
- Elective

Year Three

Fall Semester:
- Required Psychology Course 4 of 4 (PSYC 2012, PSYC 2145, PSYC 2606, PSYC 3102, or PSYC 3303)
- PSYC Elective: 3000 level
- Gen. Ed. Skills course (example: Upper-division Written Communication)
- Elective
- Elective
Spring Semester:
- PSYC Elective: 4000 level (or external elective from approved list)
- Upper-division Elective
- Gen. Ed. Distribution course (example: Arts & Humanities)
- Elective
- Elective

Year Four

Fall Semester:
- PSYC Approved Laboratory and Methods course (or PSYC Elective: 4000 level)
- Gen. Ed.
- Elective
- Elective
- Elective
Spring Semester:
- Electives

Special Opportunities

Honors in Psychology and Neuroscience

Any major in the program with an overall grade point average of 3.3 or higher and prior research experience in a faculty lab (e.g., PSYC 395 or NSCI 395) is eligible for enrollment in the departmental senior honors thesis program. Each candidate for honors participates in a two-semester course sequence (PSYC 693H and PSYC 694H or NSCI 693H and NSCI 694H) and carries out independent research in an area of the student’s choice under the guidance of a psychology and neuroscience faculty member.

To earn Honors in the Major in Psychology, students must satisfy both the requirements for the major (above) and the following additional requirements:

Earn a 3.300 University GPA
Earn a 3.300 GPA in all PSYCH and major courses
Complete the following courses with Honors and a grade of B or higher: PSYCH 380 (Junior year) or two semesters of PSYCH 686 Senior Thesis Seminar in Psychology (requires Fall and Spring enrollment)
Three Psychology Breadth and/or Depth courses OR Two Psychology Breadth and/or Depth courses and one of the following: PSYCH 210 Basic Statistics for Psychology or PSYCH 225 Research Methods
A two-semester Senior Honors Thesis in PSYCH 681 and PSYCH 682 for a total of 6 credits.

Clinical Psychology Area of Focus

The Clinical Psychology Area of Focus offers more extensive training in Clinical Psychology beyond that gained by completion of the Psychology major. The area of focus provides a three-term course sequence (15 units), beginning in the spring term of the junior year. Courses are organized around internship experience with extensive supervision so that there is continuity between theory and practice of clinical skills.

Read also: Undergraduate Programs at UNC

Honors Thesis in Psychology

The Department of Psychology offers an undergraduate honors thesis option that provides students an opportunity to learn in-depth about the research process in psychology. Students complete an independent thesis in close collaboration with a faculty mentor, while taking a series of advanced courses on research methods, data analysis, thesis preparation and professional presentation. The three-term program (11 units) culminates in the student’s senior year with the completion of the thesis and presentation of the findings in a symposium format. The honors thesis option begins during the spring term of the student’s junior year and continues throughout the student’s senior year.

Career Paths

Students who major in Psychology enter a wide variety of careers, both with and without education beyond a Bachelor’s degree. Psychology majors work in diverse fields such as community and social services, human resources, management and business, health care, student affairs and services, law enforcement, education, and scientific research. Some students will go to graduate school and become the next generation of psychological scientists and educators who will create and disseminate new knowledge. Others will choose careers in other areas, including business, medicine, law, education, and counseling.

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