General Psychology, B.A.

A student must complete a minimum of 44 PSYC credits and at least 60 non-PSYC credits.

Admission and Retention Requirements

Students who wish to pursue the psychology major must 1) declare the major and 2) meet admissions requirements.

Deadline for Declaration of Psychology major (B.A., B.S. or 2 nd major) Semester Deadline February 15 February 15 September 15 of the previous year Requests to declare the major after the deadline will be processed the following semester. Requirements for Admission to the Major

Students interested in completing the psychology major must meet the department’s progression standards and be fully admitted to the major. The number of semesters required to complete the program will depend on the timing of the student’s admission to psychology and the number of summer courses completed.

Students who meet all of the following criteria will be fully admitted to the major and will be permitted to take psychology major courses. Equivalent courses completed at another university for which the student has earned JMU approved transfer credit are acceptable.

Complete PSYC 101. General Psychology [C5SD] , with a minimum grade of “C.” Equivalent courses completed at other institutions that transfer to JMU are acceptable.

Complete MATH 205 , MATH 220 , MATH 231 , MATH 235 or another acceptable math course with a minimum grade of “C.” Equivalent courses completed at other institutions that transfer to JMU are acceptable.

Complete any General Education Psychology course (PSYC 101 , PSYC 122 or PSYC 160 ) with a minimum grade of “B.” Earning a 4 on the AP Psychology exam meets this requirement. With departmental approval, grades from other institutions can fulfill this requirement.

Complete an online orientation and application, available from the psychology department website.

Declared psychology majors who meet the criteria for admission and register for PSYC 210 or PSYC 212 will be fully admitted to the major. Students not admitted to the major may be admitted in a later semester, once they meet admissions requirements.

Retention

All psychology courses taken must carry a minimum grade of “C-” to apply to the major. A psychology course completed with a grade of “D” may be credited toward graduation requirements but may not be included in courses credited toward the psychology major.

Prerequisites

Psychology majors must complete PSYC 101 and two statistics and research methodology courses (PSYC 210 -PSYC 211 or PSYC 212 -PSYC 213 ) before enrolling in courses numbered 330 and above. The prerequisites for PSYC 210 and PSYC 212 are any mathematics course numbered 205 or above and PSYC 101 . Some psychology courses numbered 330 and above have specific prerequisites. See course listings for details.

Registration and Assessment

During registration, psychology majors will be given priority for course selection. Graduating majors must participate in assessment activities. Assessment information helps the faculty modify the curriculum to meet student needs.

Degree and Major Requirements

Degree Requirements Credit Hours
General Education 1 41
Foreign Language classes (intermediate level required) 0-14
Philosophy course(s) (in addition to General Education courses) 3
Major requirements (listed below) 44
Electives

Total

120

Major Requirements

The courses listed below are required of all students pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree, regardless of whether psychology is their first or second major.

Methodology Core: 8 Credit Hours

PSYC 210 and PSYC 211 are offered every semester; PSYC 212 is offered only during the fall semester; PSYC 213 is offered only during the spring semester.

Choose one of the following sequences:

SS Content Core – Psychology as a Social Science: 9 Credit Hours

Choose at least three of the following:

NS Content Core – Psychology as a Natural Science: 9 Credit Hours

Choose at least three of the following:

Upper Level Specialty Content Courses: 3 Credit Hours

Choose at least one of the following:

Psychology electives: 9 Credit Hours

At least three hours must be at the 400 level.

Capstone course: 3 Credit Hours

Departmental approval is required for students to enroll in more than one psychology capstone course.

Choose one of the following:

Sociocultural Competency: 0 Credit Hours

Choose one of the following: 3

Total: 44 Credit Hours

Footnotes

1 The General Education program contains a set of requirements each student must fulfill. Some credits may be fulfilled by courses required within the major.

2 Some sections of this course may meet the sociocultural awareness requirement depending on the content; when this course does meet the requirement it will be listed in the notes section of the course listing in MyMadison.

3 One sociocultural competency course is required. Credit for this course may be counted under one of the other major categories.

Recommended Schedule for Majors

The following program sample is intended as a guide. Courses must be taken in the sequence outlined; however, the semester during which a particular course is taken depends on a number of factors, including readiness to take 200-level math, the semester the psychology major is started and other majors or minors the student is completing.

Students are encouraged to meet regularly with their psychology academic adviser to plan their personal course schedule. Because of course sequencing requirements, even with the most compressed program, a minimum of five semesters (or four semesters and summer school) is required to complete the psychology major.

First Year

First Year Total: 30 Credit Hours

Second Year

Second Year Total: 30 Credit Hours

Third Year

Third Year Total: 30 Credit Hours

Fourth Year

Fourth Year Total: 30 Credit Hours

Footnotes

1 Any MATH course numbered 205 or above is an acceptable prerequisite for the psychology major.

2 Any MATH course numbered 205 or above is a prerequisite for PSYC 210 and PSYC 212 . MATH 220 is recommended.