Oct 31, 2024  
2023-2024 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2023-2024 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Psychology, B.S.


A B.S. in psychology requires 45 or 46 credit hours (15 courses). Prior to declaring a Bachelor of Science with a major in psychology, students must complete the four-course foundation sequence of PSYC 1300 , PSYC 3301 , PSYC 4301 , and STAT 2331 . An approved alternate analysis course may be substituted for STAT 2331  with departmental permission. The foundation courses must be completed with a C or higher on the first attempt in order to declare the B.S. degree.

Research training, independent study and internship courses are available (PSYC 3099 , PSYC 3199 , PSYC 3299 , PSYC 3399 , and PSYC 4385 ) on a pass/fail basis. These courses will not count toward the required advanced elective hours for the major. To earn the B.S. degree, students must earn a C- or higher in all breadth and elective classes and have a major GPA of 2.500.

SMU Degree Requirements

An SMU undergraduate degree requires a minimum of 120 credit hours and must include completion of the University’s Common Curriculum , one major and a combination of electives and/or other majors or minors. Completion of certain majors requires more than 120 hours to finish the degree. The credit hours within this curriculum are distributed as follows:

Requirements for the Major


Psychology Breadth (15 Credit Hours)


Students choose one course from each of the five breadth areas in the department:

Advanced PSYC Electives (9 Credit Hours)


Students must also complete nine advanced hours (three courses) of psychology electives at the 3000 level and above .

Scientific Perspective (3-4 Credit Hours)


Students must take one lab-based science course for science or engineering majors taken as part of the University Curriculum, or major elective, chosen from the following:

Advanced Analysis (3 Credit Hours)


In addition to the Psychology Foundation statistics course, B.S. students need to complete one additional advanced STAT elective at the 3000 level and above , or other advanced analysis course approved by the Psychology Department.

Experiential Learning (3 Credit Hours)


B.S. students need to complete three hours of Research Training with a faculty mentor in the Psychology Department. With departmental approval, students may substitute Research Training with the internship course.

Total for the Major Only: 45-46 Credit Hours