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Four-Year General BA in Psychology

March 23, 2011

 

FOUR-YEAR GENERAL BA in PSYCHOLOGY


This list is for students
who take any on-campus daytime courses
(i.e., courses with start times earlier than 3 p.m.)
throughout their UW studies

Note: Four Year General Psych Majors who only enrol in Distance Education or evening courses (i.e., courses with start times at 3 p.m. or later) throughout their studies, click here for your requirements.

Monitor your progress on a regular basis and think ahead about future course availability. It is your responsibility to ascertain that all requirements for graduation have been met.The information provided on this website is supplementary to the information provided in the Undergraduate Calendar.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
FOUR YEAR GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY

Four Year General Psychology requires a minimum of 20.0 academic course units including:

  • 7.0 PSYCH labelled units
  • 4.0 units to complete the BA Breadth Requirements
    (or the Faculty of Arts Group Requirements if admitted to the Faculty of Arts prior to Fall 2008)
  • 9.0 units of Unspecified Electives (for some people, one of these courses will be Math 103)

(Example: 1.0 academic units = 2 term courses worth .5 credit weights each)

See below for details about these requirements:

Psychology Course Requirements:

7.0 PSYCH Labelled Units are Required Including: NOTES
101 Introductory Psychology (or Psych 121R) For those who took Psych 120R (no longer offered), see comments below.

4 of the 5 Discipline Core Content Courses:

207 Cognitive Processes
211 Developmental Psych
253 Social Psych (or Psych 220R)
257 Psychopathology (or Psych 323R)
261 Physiological Psych

  1. Before choosing which 4 courses to take, review the prerequisites for the third year courses that you plan to take.

  2. Complete this set of requirements by the end of year 2 (particularly if you hope to be in Honours Psych by year 3).

  3. Most students prefer not to take both Psych 207 and 261 in the same term.

2 Analytic and Methodological Courses:

291 Basic Research Methods (Fall)
292 Basic Data Analysis (Winter)
  1. Take Psych 291 and 292 in the first year of being a Psychology Major (normally year 2). This is particularly important if you to be in Honours Psych eventually.

  2. Click here for details about the Math prerequisite for enrolment in Psych 292. If Math 103 is required, plan on taking Math 103 and Psych 291 in the same term.
4 Advanced Psych Courses from the following: Psych 304 through 380 (excluding Psych 323R), 420, 439, 481, 482:

See Question 1 of FAQ for a complete list of the Advanced Psych courses.

3 Psych Electives at any level

For those who took both Psych 120R (no longer offered) and Psych 121R, Psych 120R counts as a Psych elective for this academic plan.

Additional Notes Regarding the Psychology Course Requirements:

  1. Check the prerequisites for the above Psych courses in the UG Calendar

  2. See the Psych UG website for availability of Psychology courses.

  3. Students in year 1 (i.e., up to 5.0 units in total) should not take more than 1 Psych course per term. We strongly recommend Psych 101 in 1A and 1 second year Psych Course (e.g., one of the Discipline Core Courses above) in 1B.

  4. Students in Year 2 and 3 (i.e., 5.0 to 15.0 units in total) should not take more than 3 Psych courses per term.

  5. If you take more than 7.0 units in Psychology, put the extra Psych courses in the 'unspecified elective' section below.

  6. The following four courses are 'cross-listed' as Psychology courses and therefore are considered to PSYCH labelled courses regardless of the rubric that the student enrolled in:
    - GERON/HLTH/ PSYCH 218 (Psych of Death and Dying)
    - PHIL/PSYCH 256 (Intro to Cognitive Science)
    - PHIL/PSYCH 446 (Cognitive Modelling) - no longer offered
    - PHIL/PSYCH 447 (Seminar in Cognitive Science)
    As a result, all 4 courses count towards the course requirements for the Psychology Major and the final grades will be included in the cumulative Psychology average.

Faculty of Arts Course Requirements (4.0 units for Psych Majors):

Normally these requirements are completed by the end of third year in case students want the option of switching to the Three-Year General Psych program.

For those admitted to the Faculty of Arts for the first time Sept. 2008 or later, you must complete the 'BA Breadth Requirements':

Click here for details.

Notes regarding the "Social Science" requirement:

  • Any 2 of the Psychology courses (1.0 units) taken for the Psych Major will also satisfy 1.0 of the 2.0 units required in the "Social Science" category of the BA Breadth Requirements. You must complete at least 1.0 units in the Social Science category from a discipline(s) other than Psychology.
  • As a result of that overlap in requirements (i.e., Psych req'ts versus BA Breadth req'ts), you will only require 4.0 units overall to satisfy the BA Breadth Requirements instead of the normal 5.0 units.

For those enrolled in the Faculty of Arts before Sept. 2008, you must complete the 'Faculty of Arts Group A & B Requirements' instead of the 'BA Breadth Requirements':

The easiest way to access those requirements is to check the 2006 2007 Undergraduate Calendar - click here.
(Close that file after using it so that you don't confuse the content with other calendars. Navigation between calendar years can be tricky.)

Notes regarding the Arts Group B requirement:

  • Any 2 of the Psychology courses (1.0 units) taken for the Psych Major will also satisfy 1.0 of the 2.0 units required in the "Arts Group B" category of the Arts Group Requirements. You must complete at least 1.0 units in the Arts Group B category from a discipline(s) other than Psychology.
  • As a result of that overlap in requirements (i.e., Psych req'ts versus Arts Group Req'ts), you will only require 4.0 units overall to satisfy the Arts Group Requirements instead of the normal 5.0 units.

9.0 units of Unspecified Electives are Required:

Notes Regarding the Unspecified Electives:

  1. 'Unspecified electives' generally means courses of your choice for which you have the appropriate background required for enrolment (e.g., prerequisites, antirequisites, corequisites taken into consideration). Space availability in courses depends on factors such as the course limit and whether or not spaces in the course have been reserved for particular target groups (e.g., Reserve Cap = First Year Students).

  2. If you take more than the minimum number of Psychology courses required for the degree, record the 'extra' Psych courses in the 'unspecified electives' category (see note below regarding the Psych average).

  3. If you are required to take Math 103 before taking Psych 292, Math 103 counts as an 'unspecified elective'.

  4. Minors and Options in a Second Area of Study

    If you are taking courses towards an Option or Minor, include those courses in the 'unspecified electives' unless the courses have already been slotted towards the Psychology course requirements or the Faculty of Arts requirements in the degree requirement checklist above.

    If you are planning to use any course to satisfy requirements in more than one academic plan (the Arts Group/Breadth Requirements are not academic plans), see the 'double counting restrictions' below.

    Is it necessary to have an Option or Minor (see FAQ #12 for the answer)? Note the 'double counting restrictions' below.

    For those pursuing the Minor or Option in Human Resources Management (HRM), click here for details.

  5. Prerequisites for studies beyond the Bachelor's degree:
    If there is a course(s) that you require for admission for future study, include the course(s) in the 'unspecified electives' unless the course(s) has already been slotted towards the Psychology course requirements or the Faculty of Arts requirements in the degree requirement checklist above.

Other Requirements for the Four Year General Psych Degree:

70% cumulative Psych average
Note: All Psychology courses taken will count in the Psychology average calculation even if the student took more than the minimum number of Psychology courses required for the specific academic plan.
Exception to the Psych average calculation: Grades for Psychology courses that are officially "cleared" from the average calculations (e.g., because of a Faculty transfer or a 'Required to Withdraw' academic standing) will be excluded from the Psychology average calculation.

60% cumulative average overall
8.0 units above the 100 level
No more than 4 courses with 0.25 unit weight weights. Note: Courses with a 0.25 unit weight may be accumulated in pairs to equal 0.5 units to a maximum of 1.0 unit. Click here for further details.

Must satisfy the English Language Proficiency Requirement

Residency Requirements:
You must not exceed the amount of allowable transfer credits (including internal and external transfer credits) and you must satisfy the 'residency requirements' for both the Faculty of Arts and the Psychology Department. Click here for details.
 

Double Counting Restrictions:
  • If you plan to use Psychology courses that were taken for the Psychology Major to also satisfy Psychology course requirements in another academic plan (e.g., Minors or Options that are available in 'Cognitive Science', 'Peace and Conflict Studies', 'Sexuality, Marriage, and the Family', or 'Speech Communication'), please review the 'double counting' restrictions with an academic advisor in each of your academic plans because rules can vary.
  • 'Triple counting' is not allowed under any circumstances. This means that a single Psychology course cannot be used to satisfy Psychology course requirements in more than 2 academic plans.

COURSE SEQUENCE ADVICE

  • Psych Courses:
    • Students in year 1 (i.e., up to 5.0 units in total) should not take more than 1 Psych Course per term. Click here for further details.
    • Students in year 2 (i.e., 5.0 to 15.0 units in total) should not take more than 3 Psych courses per term.
  • Faculty of Arts Requirements - recommend that you spread these requirements over years 1 and 2. Normally these requirements are completed by the end of third year in case students want the option of switching to the Three-Year General Psych program.
  • Unspecified Electives - This is your opportunity to explore other areas of interest. Is it necessary to pursue a Minor or Option? Click here for details.
  • Course Load:
    • The normal course load is 2.5 units per term. For those seeking permission to do 3.0 units in a given term, see FAQ 36.
    • If you have paid employment during school terms, click here details.

QUESTIONS

Please direct questions to the Psychology Undergraduate Advisor.