Undergraduate Courses

Adding a Course that Requires Approval

Some of our courses require special approval due to enforced prerequisites, instructor approval, and/or department approval to enroll. To identify special approval courses, look for a "D" or "O" next to the course number on TritonLink.

• "D" =  Department Approval: Students must obtain clearance from the department using the EASy system.
• "O" = Major students only: The course is restricted to Major students only.

EASy System

Please allow 7 business days to process EASy requests. We do not rush EASy processing due to a student's enrollment appointment. Our office processes EASy requests as they are received in the system.

The following courses have additional steps to enroll in:

• PSYC 111A/B: These courses permit those students who have applied and been accepted into the Psychology Honors Program priority to enroll. Students who are accepted into the program will be given authorization to enroll in the course the first week of the WI23 quarter by the Psychology Honors Staff Advisor. EASy requests will not be approved. Students who are not part of the Psychology Honors Program but are interested in PSYC 111A will need to email the instructor (and Cc: ug-advisor-psyc-g@ucsd.edu) on the first day of WI23 classes detailing their Statistics background and reason for wanting to take the class. All individual EASy requests prior to the first day of WI23 classes will be denied.
• PSYC 116A/B/C: Students will need to obtain clearance from the instructor after an application and interview process.The 2024-2025 PSYC 116 Cohort Application is no longer accepting submissions as the deadline was April 21st. If you submitted an application and have any questions about your application and overall timeline, please reach out to Dr. Ariel Lang at ajlang@ucsd.edu.
• PSYC 117: Students will need to obtain clearance from the instructor after an application and interview process. Please visit the PSYC 117 course website for more information. Note: It is common for students not to get authorized for this class until the first week of classes.
• PSYC 118: Students will need to obtain clearance from the department using the EASy system. PREREQUISITES: upper-division standing, at least C in PSYC 60 (or equivalent).
• PSYC 175: This is a seminar course that requires a solid understanding of statistics and research methods. PREREQUISITES: upper-division standing, PSYC 60 (or equivalent) and PSYC 70 (or equivalent). Students who earned a B or greater in Stats and Research Methods will receive priority consideration for course approval. Experience reading and evaluating scientific papers and interest in self-exploration and well-being preferred. Students interested in this course must have completed the survey listed on the Schedule of Classes by the deadline (November 20th, 2024 by 5pm PST) in order to be considered for course enrollment.
• PSYC 193 (lecture-based): See "(Quarter) PSYC 193/193L and Other Prerequisites" drawer below. Will require an EASy request.
• PSYC 193L (research course): See "(Quarter) PSYC 193/193L and Other Prerequisites" drawer below. Will require an EASy request.
• PSYC 195, or AIP 197): Check the appropriate pages on our website before enrolling, and/or discuss their plans with the Advising Office first.
• PSYC 196: Students will need to obtain clearance from a faculty research mentor and the department using the EASy system before enrolling in the course.

For students who are interested in the above courses, our office encourages students to enroll in a full load of courses (12+ units) during their 1st and 2nd pass. IF the student is authorized for one of these courses, students can change their class schedule at that time.

Important Information About Research Labs: 

• SP25 graduating seniors needing a research lab to graduate will be prioritized.
• If you only need one additional research lab course to graduate then you are allowed to submit an easy request for 1 lab course (i.e. PSYC 193L OR PSYC 118). Any additional requests will be denied.
• If you need two research lab courses to graduate, then you may submit two easy requests. Our office will pre-authorize you for a second research course starting February 20th.
• Pre-authorizations cannot be switched to different PSYC 193L/PSYC118 sections.
• You must specify the PSYC 193L section in your EASy request; incomplete requests will be returned.
• Requests will be denied if you're already enrolled in or have completed the research lab requirement.
• PSYC 71: No EASy request is required; you can enroll if you meet the major code and prerequisites.
• PSYC 193L/PSYC 118: An EASy request is required for department approval (approval is not guaranteed). You must meet the major code and prerequisites.
  
  

How Psych Research Lab EASy requests will be processed for SP25:

• February 7th: SP25 graduating seniors may submit an EASy request for PSYC 193L or PYSC 118
• February 10th: EASy requests for lab courses will be processed for SP25 graduating senior Psychology majors.
• March 3rd: EASy requests for lab courses will be processed for all Psychology seniors, including Summer, Fall, and non-graduating students with senior standing.

Note: Students with junior, sophomore, or freshman standing will not be considered for research lab courses during the spring due to limited seat availability. Priority will be given to graduating seniors. 

Research Lab-based Courses:

PSYC 71 (A00 Geller & B00 Steiner): Laboratory in Psychological Research Methods: This course provides hands-on research experience. Lecture topics will include experimental and nonexperimental designs, research ethics, data analysis, and causal inference. Students will design original research projects, collect and analyze data, and write a full APA-style report, including a brief literature review relevant to their design. This course builds on PSYC 70 by applying design principles to students’ own research questions and ideas.
PREREQUISITES: upper-division standing, COGS 14B or PSYC 60, and PSYC 70 or COGS 14A. Open to the following Psychology majors only: PC26*, PC28, PC29, PC30, PC31, PC32.

PSYC 193L (A00 and A01): Storytelling for Social Change (Aron): We face a grave and escalating climate crisis, and also ecological and political problems. Winning the policies and investments to leave fossil fuels in the ground and safeguard our towns and cities cannot be left to chancellors, CEOs, or politicians; it must be struggled for by powerful grassroots movements from below. Yet the grassroots movements are tiny. While many continue to think that we can mobilize more people by plugging their “information deficits”, for example with scientific understanding of global heating and climate impacts, it is clear that this kind of fear-inducing information is insufficient. Instead, a body of empirical literature and the wisdom of some movement organizers suggests that information needs to be packaged in narratives or stories to better connect with where people are at, and to help them imagine their role. This class aims to understand why narratives and stories are effective for mobilizing people. To do this, we will read works of climate and science fiction, including solar punk and afrofuturism, study classic texts on utopia, thrutopia, and sociological imagination, and examine empirical psychological  studies that have tested different interventions. The class will involve intensive discussion and group work, and students will undertake research projects.
PREREQUISITES: upper-division standing. Open to the following Department of Psychology majors only: PC26*, PC28, PC29, PC30, PC31, PC32, PC33, PC34, CG32. An EASy request is required. 

PSYC 193L (B00 and B01): Science of Mind and Sci-Fi Lab (Barner): What is thought, and how do we know other humans have it? How were linguistic and written symbols that express thought created in human history? How are these symbols acquired by children in human development? Can we study non-linguistic thought? We will explore the nature of thought and its relation to language and other external symbolic systems by investigating the development of symbolic systems in human learners and in human cultural history and by engaging in thought experiments guided by fictional readings in science fiction. Every week groups of 2-3 students will lead a discussion, each choosing one academic paper to discuss from the list. The goal of the class will be to work in small groups to write a hybrid fiction/non-fiction essay exploring a counterfactual that relates to symbolic thought and language.
PREREQUISITES: upper-division standing and PSYC 60 or equivalent. Open to the following Department of Psychology majors only: PC26*, PC28, PC29, PC30, PC31, PC32, PC33, PC34, CG32. An EASy request is required. 

PSYC 193L (C00 and C01): Health Sciences Research (Brown): The goal of this course is to give you a useful, structured research experience in a field of health sciences research of your choice. You will develop an understanding of major models of study common in mental health research and have direct experience in research laboratories. In small group discussions with classmates, you will learn how team science produces new knowledge and has impact. As part of your research experience, you will learn how to review relevant scientific literature, and the design and methods within a specific research setting. Students with satisfactory performance will have the opportunity to continue their research with health sciences faculty for additional terms and are prioritized if they are able to do so.
PREREQUISITES: This course requires an application to be submitted under a health sciences lab through the Spring 2025 Psychology Common Application. The Spring 2025 PSYC 99/199 Common Application is accepting submissions by no later than Friday, February 21, 2025. Note: All first-time placements in health sciences labs are required to enroll in PSYC 193L: Health Sciences Research. After successfully completing PSYC 193L: Health Sciences Research, students will have the option to enroll in PSYC 199 during the following quarter. Students who are invited to work with a researcher in Health Sciences will need to enroll in Dr. Brown's PSYC 193L: Health Sciences Research for Spring 2025. Upon successful completion of PSYC 193L with Dr. Brown, you will become eligible for PSYC 99 or PSYC 199 in the following quarter. Please plan accordingly for PSYC 193L in Spring 2025. Open to the following Department of Psychology majors only: PC26*, PC28, PC29, PC30, PC31, PC32, PC33, PC34, CG32. An EASy request is required only if you are approved for the course via the Spring 2025 Common Application.

* The Psychology minor also uses the PC26 code, but it is to signify the student’s minor code. Psych minor students are not eligible for Psychology research lab courses as they are for Psych majors only.

PSYC 193 Lecture-based Courses: 

PSYC 193 courses require department approval via an Enrollment Authorization (EASy) request unless otherwise stated below. Please confirm that you meet all the listed prerequisites for the course (see below) and submit an EASy request, if applicable. 

Note: PSYC 193 is not the same as PSYC 193L. PSYC 193 is an elective psychology course. 

PSYC 193 (A00): Belief in Weird Things (Brashier): This course explores why people believe in myths, fake news, superstitions, astrology, conspiracy theories, alternative medicine, and alien life. You will learn to use skeptical and scientific thinking to evaluate “weird” (and not so weird) claims.
PREREQUISITES: upper-division standing. 

PSYC 193 (B00): Neuroscience of Decision-Making (Gremel): During this course, we examine how modern behavioral neuroscience theories and techniques are used to probe how the brain does decision-making. 
PREREQUISITES: upper-division standing, PSYC 106 or instructor approval.

PSYC 193 (C00): Emotions in Animals (Harris): Do dogs display jealousy when they lose their owner's affection? Are humans the only animal that experiences empathy and compassion? What are the nonverbal displays of emotions in different animals (e.g., victory squeal in dolphins)? In discussing these types of topics, we will seek to understand how and why some animal species developed particular emotions, as well as how similar emotions function in different species. This is a small seminar-style course that focuses on emotions in several nonhuman animal species, including contrasting/comparing such states with emotions in humans. Given that there are no long formal lectures, students are required to read the articles before class and come prepared to participate in discussing the assigned readings.
PREREQUISITES: upper-division standing, PSYC 153 not required but highly preferred. Students interested in this course must complete the survey at https://go.ucsd.edu/4aqkkn7. EASy requests will not be approved. 

PSYC 193 (D00) Data Science for Psychology Research (Lin): This course aims to prepare undergrads who are interested in pursuing research in grad school with practical skills, including how to code online experiments using JavaScript, how to conduct power analysis, check data quality, perform statistical analysis such as linear mixed modeling and exploratory factor analysis using R, and how to optimize stimulus selection and analyze large dataset using method such as artificial neural network in Python.
PREREQUISITES: upper-division standing.

PSYC 193 (E00): Learning in Humans and Machines (Long): What does it take to build a human mind?  In some ways, the gap between humans and machines appears to be growing smaller by the day with advances in multimodal large language models. Yet these models are trained on vastly different types and wildly different amounts of data, diverging from the everyday experiences of young children, who, in contrast, are remarkably efficient learners.  What can child development teach us about building human-like AI, and (what) can we learn about human development from advances in modern computational models? This discussion based course will examine advances in our understanding of infant and child learning and how they intersect with both computational and theoretical perspectives on the essential learning mechanisms necessary for building human intelligence. The course is structured as an intensive writing and discussion based course.
PREREQUISITES: upper-division standing.

PSYC 193 (F00): Molecular Basis of Social Behavior (Bambah-Mukku): Social behaviors are key to organismal and societal well-being, especially in mammals. This course will explore mechanistic insights into the neurobiology of social behavior that modern molecular genetic methods have provided. We will rely on the primary literature to discuss key experimental approaches in molecular neuroscience that have provided ways to uncover how sex, hormones and development control specific neural circuits underlying social behaviors in animal models.
PREREQUISITES: upper-division standing. Previous completion of one of the following is highly recommended but not required: PSYC 102 or PSYC 106 or PSYC 171. 

Adding a Course without Listed Prerequisites

• If you are a PSYC student and have 0-84.9 units (completed^ + work-in-progress*):
  • The department cannot clear you to enroll in ANY upper-division (UD) PSYC courses.
  • You should be enrolling in lower-division major requirements, college requirements, and university electives.

• If you are a PSYC student, have 85-89.9 units (completed^ + work-in-progress*) and in good academic standing:
  • Please submit an EASy request after second pass (March 3rd) for our office to review up to two EASy requests for PSYC Core courses (PSYC 100-108). 
  • EASy requests will be automatically denied for the following reasons:
    
    • If you have below 84.9 completed + work-in-progress units.
    • If you are not in good academic standing (cumulative 2.0 GPA).
    • If have already been authorized for two psychology cores. 
    • If you are requesting authorization for psychology elective courses. 

• If you are a PSYC student who will reach upper-division standing (90 units) with your completed units^ and work-in-progress* courses:
  • You should be able to enroll in upper-division psychology courses on your own as long as you meet the course pre-requisite. Do not submit an EASy request or it will be denied.

• If you are a PSYC Transfer student and are not able to enroll on your own due to transfer transcript delays:
  • If you are not able to enroll in a PSYC course on your own through WebReg, and you meet all the course prerequisites, submit an EASy request. Be sure to include why you are having trouble enrolling in the course and upload your unofficial transfer institution transcript.

• If you are an Upper-Division student, but are not a Psychology/CBN Major and would like to add a course without a required major code:
  • The department cannot clear you for the course as it is closed to major students only.

• If you are an Upper-Division student who is a Psych Minor (PC26), and would like to add a class without a required Major code (e.g., PC25, PC28, PC32, etc.):
  • The department cannot clear you for the course as it is closed to major students only. The PC26 code is for both the Psych Major and Psych Minor. If you see a notation that a PSYC course is only open to the following major codes and it lists PC26, it refers to the PC26 Psych BS major only. PC26 Psych minors are not included.

• If you are a PSYC student and would like to add a class without a required prerequisite course (e.g., PSYC 60, etc.):
  • If you completed the prerequisite at a california community college and have not sent your official transcripts to Admissions then you will need to submit an EASy request and upload an unofficial transcript which shows you completed the course. 
  • If you are currently enrolled in the prerequisite course (i.e. PSYC 60) and wish to enroll in PSYC 70 the following quarter then you may submit an EASy request. 

• If you are a Graduate Student, requesting to enroll in undergraduate level psychology courses: 
  • Please submit an EASy request after second pass (March 3rd). 

EASy System - please allow 7 business days to process EASy requests. We do not rush EASy processing due to a student's enrollment appointment. Our office processes EASy requests as they are received in the system.

^Completed units: a student's unit count from courses they have already completed (AP, transfer, UCSD) and received a final grade. 

*Work-In-Progress: a student's unit count from courses they are enrolled in from the current term at UCSD (note: Summer courses are not included in the work in-progress unit count for Fall enrollment).

• Enrollment Appointment Times
• 1st and 2nd Pass and unit enrollment limitations per pass
• Removing a "Hold" on your account
  • The Psychology Department will not provide a seat or "jump" the waitlist for a student due to a "Hold" on their account or its late removal.
• Enrollment and Registration Calendars
• Enrollment Help

Our office does not hold or guarantee seats to students nor do we "jump" students higher on a course waitlist. The seat/waitlist # students obtain during their registration appointment is what they have, regardless of class standing or graduation term. This also includes if a student accidentally drops themselves from a Psych course/waitlist or is dropped by the University for non-payment (or other reasons). Students will need to re-add themselves to the bottom of the Psych course waitlist (our office will not place you in the course or further up on the waitlist). 

There is no need to send a VAC message or come to drop-in Psychology Advising to ask if we will let you into a course or move you up the waitlist, as we will not.

If you need a specific PSYC course and/or a Psych Research lab, our office highly recommends using your 1st pass to enroll in the course. If there is not an open seat, you should consider adding yourself to the waitlist (TritonLink waitlist information).

• Students are not able to add themselves to a course waitlist until 2nd pass.
• Waitlists are automatically managed by the Registrar's office, and the department does not have the ability to override the list for any reason.
• As of the second pass you can be enrolled in and waitlisted for a total of 19.5 units.
• If adding a student to a class would increase the student's number of units to 22 or more, the automatic waitlist will bypass the student.
• Students may only waitlist for a single section of any course at one time.
• Students who drop or are administratively dropped from full classes must add themselves to the end of the waitlist. 
• Students who are on the waitlist for a course are encouraged to attend the course from the first day in case a spot in the course becomes available. In this case, the student should be as prepared as the students who are enrolled in the course.
• If you've been added to a course from the waitlist, allow 24 hours to be added to the course's Canvas page. If, after 24 hours you still do not have access, let the instructor know to ask ACMS to give you access to the course.

After the waitlists have stopped running automatically, students may be added to the class as space becomes available on a first come-first served basis using the EASy system Late Add request. TritonLink will not continue to update after Thursday night of the second week, so course waitlists may be inaccurate. 

To add a course after Friday of week 2, the course needs to have an open seat and you must have the instructor's permission. Students will use the EASy system to request a Late Add, instructor permission must be uploaded to the justification section. If a seat becomes available, our office approves enrollment on a first come-first served basis.

Prior to enrolling in a course late, please speak with the course instructor about whether you have missed too much course work. It is the student's responsibility to catch up on missed course material on their own; instructors are under no obligation to help students learn what they have missed. In addition, instructors are not obligated to allow students to submit homework nor take quizzes/exams that have already been due.

Please note, many instructors do not allow students to audit their courses.

The instructor must give permission for a student to audit a course. If permission is given, there must be an open seat in the course (course may not be full or have a waitlist). The instructor is not obligated or expected to provide any assistance, resources, or time outside the classroom to a student auditing a course. This includes but not limited to office hours (both instructor and TA), grading, or providing feedback on assignments. Students auditing a course are not allowed to be present on quiz or exam days to ensure the security and academic integrity of the quiz or exam. University policy on auditing a course.

Students may be able to petition courses taken elsewhere for Psychology major/minor credit. Please see our Petitions webpage for more information. This includes courses from other 4-year American and Study Abroad institutions. 

If this is in regard to a California Community College course, please review Assist.org first, as you may not need to submit a petition if the course has already been evaluated for transfer articulation.

If you were accused of academic misconduct, please visit the Academic Integrity website for detailed information on the process and support you can receive as a student.

• Report suspected academic misconduct
• If I'm accused of Academic Misconduct, what happens next?
• If I cheat what happens to my course grade and GPA?
• If I am caught cheating, will other people find out?
• Academic Senate Policy on Integrity of Scholarship

A student acting in the capacity of an instructional assistant (IA), including but not limited to teaching assistants (UGIA/TA), readers, and tutors, has a special responsibility to safeguard the integrity of scholarship. In these roles, the student functions as an apprentice instructor, under the tutelage of the responsible instructor. An IA shall equitably grade student work in the manner agreed upon with the course instructor. An IA shall not make any unauthorized material related to tests, exams, homework, etc. available to any student.