Effective Date of Major: Winter 2012-Summer 2012
May be elected as a departmental major
Exclusions: Students who elect a major in Brain, Behavior, and Cognitive Sciences may not elect the Neuroscience or Psychology majors.
Prerequisites to the Major. Before declaring a major in Psychology or Brain, Behavior and Cognitive Science, students must complete:
- an introductory course (PSYCH 111, 112, or 114) with a minimum letter grade of "C";
- two gateway courses (PSYCH 230, 240, 250, 260, 270, 280, 290) from different breadth groups; and
- STATS 250 (or 350).
Requirements for the Major. A minimum of 24 credits is required for the major. Of the overall 40 credits (prerequisites and courses for the major), 24 must be completed directly through the University of Michigan's Department of Psychology at the Ann Arbor campus. Of these 24 credits, 12 credits must be upper-division (300 or above). 100-level courses may not be used to meet the requirements for the major or the credit requirement. Although some courses that are graded credit/no credit may be used to meet the lab requirement, 24 credits must be letter graded.
1. Gateway requirement:
At least one course from each of the groups below. Only one course from each group may be used toward either the prerequisite or major credits.
| Group | Course |
| Biopsychology Group | PSYCH 230 or 335 |
| Cognitive Group | PSYCH 240 or 345 |
| Social Science Group | PSYCH 250, 260, 270, 280, or 290 |
2. Lab requirement. Students must elect two different courses for a minimum of five credits total. To meet the lab requirement, students may complete either:
- two (at least 2 credits each) courses from the list of Methods-based Lab courses
- one (at least 2 credits) course from the list of Methods-based Lab courses and one (at least 2 credits) course from the list of Research Lab courses
or - the Psychology Honors Research sequence (6 credits total) and one course (at least 2 credits) from the list of Methods-based Lab courses.
Methods-Based Lab Courses: - PSYCH 303, 331/332, 341, 342
- BIOLOGY 226
- EEB 381 or 493
- MCDB 306, 308, or 423
*Note: Only one non-departmental course may be elected to satisfy the lab requirement. Each course must be taken for a minimum of two credits each and be completed in a single academic term.
Research Lab Courses (2 credits minimum to satisfy requirement):
- Research-based Lab Courses: PSYCH 322, 326, 422, 428
- Honors Research Sequence: PSYCH 424 and 426.
Note: Credit/No-credit courses may be used toward the Lab requirement, but will not count toward the total number of psychology credits required for major. Students wishing to pursue the Brain, Behavior, and Cognitive Science Honors Research program should acquire research and statistical skills early in their major before applying.
3. Four additional courses, for a minimum of 12 credits selected from the following: PSYCH 230, 240, 245, 335, 338, 344, 345, 346, 347, 348, 349, 400, 413, 420, 433, 434, 435, 436, 437, 438, 439, 442, 445, 447, 448, 449, 530, 531, 532, 533, 541.
4. Additional credits. In order to meet the minimum requirement of 24 credits, students may elect additional courses from the advanced courses in biopsychology and cognitive psychology, approved lab courses, or cognate courses.
5. Cognate course requirement. One course selected from the following list:
- ANTHRBIO 467, 478
- BIOLCHEM 415
- BIOLOGY 208, 222, 225, 305, 390
- CHEM 351
- EEB 381, 440, 442, 444, 450, 451, 481, 492
- EECS 281, 492
- LING 315, 514
- MCDB 307, 310 (or 311 or 412), 418, 422
- PHIL 345, 450, 482
- STATS 401, 406
