Psychology Major (B.A.)

The psychology major provides students with a broad education, while also allowing some specialization. The program exposes students to the scientific study of behavior and encourages an increased understanding of the behavior of humans and animals.

Students who wish to declare psychology as a major after enrolling in the University should consult with the department's academic counselor for application procedures and criteria.

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.

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:

1. The honors-in-major program with an honors project; honors seminar, and research presentation (PSYC 799 Senior Honors Thesis);
2. a 4-credit capstone designated independent study project (PSYC 795 Independent Study);
3. PSYC 793 Internship;
4. 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.

• Demonstrate fundamental knowledge and comprehension of the major concepts, theoretical perspectives, historical trends, and empirical findings in psychology.
• Understand basic research methods in psychology including design, data analysis, and interpretation; and utilize this knowledge to conduct their own psychological research, with an appreciation of the ethical issues involved in human and non-human research.
• Engage in scientific reasoning and problem solving so that they can evaluate the quality and implications of scientific research.
• Write empirical research reports and literature reviews in American Psychological Association style and present findings from scientific research.