Degree Requirements
Minimum Credit Requirement: 128 credits
Minimum Residency Requirement: 32 credits must be taken at UNH
Minimum GPA: 2.0 required for conferral*
Core Curriculum Required: Discovery & Writing Program Requirements
Foreign Language Requirement: Yes
All Major, Option and Elective Requirements as indicated.
*Major GPA requirements as indicated.
Major Requirements
Students majoring in psychology must complete 44 credits with a minimum grade of C- in each course and a 2.0 overall average in all major requirements.
Course List Code | Title | Credits |
PSYC 400 | Psychology Freshmen Advising Seminar (Required for first semester freshmen) | 1 |
PSYC 401 | Introduction to Psychology | 4 |
PSYC 402 | Statistics in Psychology | 4 |
PSYC 502 | Research Methods in Psychology | 4 |
| 8 |
PSYC 511 | Sensation and Perception | |
PSYC 512 | Psychology of Primates | |
PSYC 513 | Cognitive Psychology | |
PSYC 521 | Behavior Analysis | |
PSYC 522 | Behaviorism (offered in Manchester only) | |
PSYC 531 | Psychobiology | |
| 8 |
PSYC 552 | Social Psychology | |
PSYC 553 | Personality | |
PSYC 561 | Abnormal Behavior | |
PSYC 571 | Pioneers of Psychology (offered in Manchester only) | |
PSYC 581 | Child Development | |
| 8 |
PSYC 705 | Tests and Measurement | |
PSYC 710 | Visual Perception | |
PSYC 712 | Psychology of Language | |
PSYC 713 | Psychology of Consciousness | |
PSYC 716 | Cognitive Neuroscience | |
PSYC 720 | Animal Cognition | |
PSYC 722 | Behaviorism, Culture, and Contemporary Society | |
PSYC 731 | Brain and Behavior | |
PSYC 733 | Drugs and Behavior | |
PSYC 735 | Neurobiology of Mood Disorders | |
PSYC 736 | Attention Disorders | |
PSYC 737 | Behavioral Medicine | |
PSYC 741W | Special Topics (examples:Fundamentals of Substance Abuse, Neuroscience of Memory, Fundamentals of Cognitive Science, Neurobiology of Spatial Cognition & Memory) | |
| 8 |
PSYC 705 | Tests and Measurement | |
PSYC 755 | Psychology and Law | |
PSYC 756 | Psychology of Crime and Justice | |
PSYC 757 | Psychology of Happiness | |
PSYC 758 | Health Psychology | |
PSYC 762 | Counseling | |
PSYC 780 | Prenatal Development and Infancy | |
PSYC 783 | Cognitive Development | |
PSYC 785 | Social Development | |
PSYC 791 | Special Topics (examples: Culture and Human Development, Autobiographical Memory, Emotion & the Embodied Mind, Sport & Performance Psychology, Ecopsychology, Socio & Moral Judgement Development. Scientific Study of Groups & Bias) | |
or PSYC 791W | Special Topics |
PSYC 793 | Internship | |
Total Credits | 45 |
Note: Most offerings have one or more prerequisite courses. Students (with the help of their adviser) are expected to select breadth courses that will later enable them to select depth courses appropriate to their interests and career goals.
The Discovery Program capstone requirement, taken during the senior year, may be fulfilled by completing one of the following options:
- The honors-in-major program with an honors project; honors seminar, and research presentation (PSYC 799 Senior Honors Thesis);
- a 4-credit capstone designated independent study project (PSYC 795 Independent Study);
- PSYC 793 Internship;
- Capstone-designated 700-level course.
The psychology department does not accept other departments' statistics courses toward the psychology major. Students who have taken a statistics course other than PSYC 402 Statistics in Psychology must pass a competency exam in order to declare the major and/or register for PSYC 402 Statistics in Psychology.
Major department courses may not be used to satisfy Discovery category requirements except for PSYC 402 Statistics in Psychology, which may be used to satisfy the QR Discovery requirement and the major requirement. PSYC 401 Introduction to Psychology cannot be used to fulfill a Social Science; PSYC 571 Pioneers of Psychology cannot be used to fulfill a Historical Perspective. In the case that Psychology is a second major, major courses can be counted toward the Discovery requirements.
Transfer Students
Transfer students who elect to major in psychology must complete at least 24 credits in the program at UNH to qualify for the degree in psychology. Transfer students must earn a total of 44 approved credits for completion of the psychology major. The distribution of these credits will be determined by the department's academic counselor. Transfer students should note that courses are allotted only the number of credits granted by the original institution (after adjustments for semester-hour equivalents). Thus, students transferring from an institution at which courses carry less than four credits each must make up for any credit deficit created by acceptance of transfer credits into the psychology major. Only courses taken in a psychology department can be transferred into the psychology major. Of the four 700-level courses required for the major, at least three must be taken at UNH.
Additional Notes
Specific course selections should be discussed with advisers. Exceptions to the requirements for the major require compelling circumstances and a petition to the department.
Psychology majors planning to go on to graduate study in psychology are advised to include PSYC 705 Tests and Measurement among their courses.
Candidates for a degree must satisfy all of the University Discovery Program requirements in addition to satisfying the requirements of each individual major program. Bachelor of arts candidates must also satisfy the foreign language proficiency requirement.