Major Requirements

All students must obtain a grade of C or higher in all principal and required related courses.

  • Prerequisite: PS 101 or equivalent.
  • Design and Statistics Requirement: PS 211 (Experimental Design in Psychology), PS/NE 212 (Introduction to MATLAB Programming for Research), or MA 115 and MA 116 (Statistics I & Statistics II). PS 211 and PS/NE 212 do not count toward principal psychology courses.
  • Principal Course Requirements: PS 231: Physiological Psychology
    • Please note:
      1. NE 101 (Introduction to Neuroscience) will count in place of PS 231 (Physiological Psychology) only if a student took NE 101 prior to declaring their psychology major, or was a previous neuroscience major who switched to psychology, or is a current neuroscience/psychology double major.
      2. All students who are psychology majors, and do not fall into one of the categories above, need to take PS231.
      3. Students will not be awarded credit for both courses. Students may receive credit for PS 231 or NE 101, but not both.
  • Students must complete eight principal courses in addition to completing the physiological psychology requirement. Four of these courses must be selected from among courses at the 300 level or higher and one of the four must be an experimental course selected from CAS PS 323, 324, 325, 326, 327, 328, and 329.  Please note that students will not receive credit for more than one of the following experimental psychology courses: PS 324, PS 325, PS 326. 

Principal courses in psychology are those courses listed in the Boston University Undergraduate Programs Bulletin and numbered at the 200 level or higher (excluding CAS PS 211 and PS/NE 212). In addition, the choice of principal courses must include at least two courses from each of the broad content groups listed below. Group A consists of courses in perception, physiological psychology, learning, and cognition. Group B consists of courses in developmental, personality, social, and abnormal psychology.

Group A Group B
  • PS 222 Perception and Behavior
  • PS 234 Psychology of Learning
  • PS 333 Drugs and Behavior
  • PS 336 Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
  • PS 337 Systems of the Brain
  • PS 338 Neuropsychology
  • PS 339 Cognitive Neuroscience
  • PS 241 Developmental Psychology
  • PS 251 Psychology of Personality
  • PS 261 Social Psychology
  • PS 370 Psychology of the Family
  • PS 371 Psychopathology (formerly Abnormal Psychology)
Group A
  • PS 222 Perception and Behavior
  • PS 234 Psychology of Learning
  • PS 333 Drugs and Behavior
  • PS 336 Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
  • PS 337 Systems of the Brain
  • PS 338 Neuropsychology
  • PS 339 Cognitive Neuroscience
Group B
  • PS 241 Developmental Psychology
  • PS 251 Psychology of Personality
  • PS 261 Social Psychology
  • PS 370 Psychology of the Family
  • PS 371 Psychopathology (formerly Abnormal Psychology)

It is possible to transfer a maximum of three courses toward the eight principal courses required for completion of the psychology concentration. Approved psychology courses taken outside of Boston University are considered transfer courses. Please note that courses taken through Boston University’s Summer Term Program are not considered transfer courses. Prior departmental approval of all transfer courses in psychology is required (Please contact Dr. Joanne Hebden Palfai, Director of Academic Affairs, with any questions).

Requirement Checklists