Students declaring the Psychology Major before July 1, 2021 fall under these graduation requirements.  Look under the Academic Progress Tile and click My Academic Requirements.  If you Requirement Term (or Catalog Year) for the Psychology Major is before Fall 2021 then these are your requirements. If you declared your major under an earlier catalog and would like to switch to the newer requirements please consult with your University or CAS advisor to make the change.

 

A total of 12 psychology courses plus two ancillary quantitative courses are required. Psychology honors requires 13 courses including 369/370. Six psychology courses can be fulfilled with courses transferred into Loyola.

 

Students must take 101, 304, 306, 2 courses from Group A, 2 courses from Group B, 1 advanced laboratory course, and 1 capstone course as part of the 12-course major.  The remaining courses may be any psychology course except 100. 

 

When planning your course schedule with your Psychology Department Faculty Advisor, please consult the Psychology Major Checklist 2020-2021. The Psychology Course Matrix may also be of use in planning your course schedule.  You can also view Psychology Course Descriptions or look at many past Psychology Course Syllabi.

Students should take General Psychology (101)) their first year. Students should then begin to take Group A and Group B Lecture courses. It is recommended that students complete at least one of their Ancillary Quantitative Courses prior to beginning the 304-306 sequence. Note that PSYC 304 (Statistics) is a prerequisite for 306 (Research Methods). No other statistics course (including STAT 103) or a statistics course from another Loyola department can serve as a prerequisite for 306 if you are a Psychology Major. Students may not take 304 and 306 at the same time. Electives may be any 200 or 300 level psychology courses or NEUR 101.

Students should discuss the Ancillary Quantitative Requirement with their Psychology Faculty advisor as early as possible after declaring the major. It is expected that students will have completed at least one, and preferably both courses before beginning the 304-306 sequence. Thus, students should plan to take these courses during their first two years. Assuming a strong background in math, a computer science course is strongly recommended to prepare students for future academic and non-academic careers.

Psychology majors are to abide by Academic Council's double dipping policy which instructs that 21 credit hours must be unique to a major (seven 3 credit hour courses). There are two notable exceptions for the Psychology Department:

• Co-Majoring in Neuroscience. Neuroscience Majors/Minors may count any psychology courses they take that count towards the Neuroscience Major/Minor towards both majors.
• Co-Majoring in Social Work. Social Work Majors may count PSYC 101 and 304 and any other three PSYC classes approved by the School of Social Work towards both the Psychology and Social Work Majors.

Psychology majors are exempt from the “Societal and Cultural Knowledge” and “Quantitative Literacy” areas of the core. Additional information about the Core can be found here.

Six courses of the major can be fulfilled with courses transferred into Loyola. Please consult with your CAS Advisor to ensure that you have received transfer credit for courses taken at other universities.

Students able to maintain a cumulative 3.5 GPA and interested in psychology independent research, should discuss the possibility of participating in the Honors in Psychology program with their Psychology Faculty Advisor or ideally their psychology research mentor. For more information on the program please visit the Honors in Psychology Webpage under the Undergraduate Tab on the department website.  Questions about the program should be addressed to the program director, Dr. Jeff Huntsinger (jhuntsinger@luc.edu).

Loyola's psychology department offers countless opportunities for undergraduates to participate in research under the supervision of faculty members—an experience that is highly valued by employers and graduate schools. More information on Research in the department can be found under the Research Tab of the Psychology Department Website. Students can earn course credit for this research experience through independent studies and research courses, PSYC 397 (Independent Research) and PSYC 399 (Special Studies in Psychology). Qualified students may also plan and conduct psychological research by enrolling in the two-course honors sequence (PSYC 369 and 370). PSYC 397 and PSYC 370 count towards the Loyola's engaged learning requirement, while PSYC 399 does not. More information on Independent Study courses in Psychology are available on the Independent Research webpage or by clicking the hyperlinks for the individual courses above.

PSYC 390 is an intensive, work/academic experience that combines 100 hours (minimum) of supervised work at a psychology-related job site, arranged by the student prior to the start of the semester. PSYC 390 class meetings include class discussions and activities, reading and writing assignments, and an independent project. This is a unique and time-intensive opportunity that allows students to learn how psychology is applied in real-world settings. The course is open to psychology juniors and seniors. Students interested in the program should learn more by visiting the Internship in Psychology Webpage found under the Undergraduate Tab on the department website.  Questions about the program should be addressed to the internship coordinator (psyc-internship@luc.edu). Admission to the internship course is by application only. Applications are due midway through the SEMESTER BEFORE the internship is to be taken.