Psychology B.A. (PSYC-BA-001; PC25)
Did you enroll at the University during or after Fall 2026? These major requirements do not apply to you. Please find your major requirements in our Majors Effective Fall 2026.
The B.A. in Psychology provides broad exposure to the foundational sub-fields of the discipline. Supplemented by training in experimental methods and with options from Philosophy, this major provides insight into the mind and brain and showcases how Psychology interacts with other fields and with our everyday life.
Major Requirements
- All courses taken for the major must be letter graded completed with a D or better. Exceptions for PSYC-195P, and AIP-197 which are only offered on a P/NP grading option and major lower-division natural science, formal skills, and computer programming.
- A course may only fulfill one major course requirement.
- Excluded from credit towards the major are graduate seminars (-2XX).
- A maximum of three upper-division (UD) courses toward the major may be taken outside of UC San Diego.
- A grade-point average of at least 2.0 in the upper-division (UD) major courses is required for graduation.
Lower-Division (LD) Requirements (24 units)
Experimental psychology uses scientific tools and concepts: knowledge of formal systems such as logic or calculus, probability theory, computer science, chemistry, biology, physics, and statistics. Accordingly, students in upper-division (UD) courses must have an adequate background in these topics.
Lower-division (LD) courses for the major should be completed by the end of the sophomore year. These requirements will guarantee an adequate background for the topics of the upper-division (UD) psychology courses.
2 Natural Science Courses (choose two of the following)
- BILD-001, BILD-002, BILD-003, BILD-010, BILD-012**, BILD-020, BILD-026 (BILD-022 is NOT accepted)
- CHEM-004^, CHEM-006A, CHEM-006B, CHEM-006C, CHEM-011^, CHEM-012, CHEM-013
- COGS-017**
- PHYS-001A, PHYS-001B, PHYS-001C, PHYS-002A, PHYS-002B, PHYS-002C, PHYS-010, PHYS-011
- PSYC-002**
^Only one of CHEM-004 or CHEM-011 can be taken for credit.
**Only one of BILD-012, COGS-017, or PSYC-002 may be counted towards this requirement.
2 Formal Skills Courses
- PSYC-070 (preferred) or COGS-014A
- And choose one:
- MATH-010A or MATH-020A
- PHIL-010 or PHIL-012
1 Computer Programming Course (choose one of the following)
- COGS-018*
- CSE-003, CSE-006R, CSE-008A, CSE-011, CSE-012
- CSS-001*
- ECE-015*
- MAE-005, MAE-008*
- BILD-062^
*Students who plan to pursue research careers in Psychology or related fields will find these courses critical to their success.
^Students who take BILD-062 need to send a VAC message to Psych Advising to apply it to their degree audit.
1 Statistics Course (choose one of the following) - Statistics must be taken for a letter grade.
- PSYC-060 (preferred)
- BENG-100
- BIEB-100
- COGS-014B
- ECON-120A
- MATH-011, MATH-181A, MATH-183, MATH-186
Upper-Division (UD) Requirements (48 units)
4 PSYC Core Courses (choose four of the following)
- PSYC-100, PSYC-101, PSYC-102, PSYC-104, PSYC-105, PSYC-106, PSYC-108
8 PSYC Elective Courses (choose eight of the following)
- PSYC-100 through PSYC-193
- Note: Research courses are not approved to count as UD Psych Elective courses in any of the Psych BA/BS Majors: PSYC-071, PSYC-081, PSYC-099, PSYC-113, PSYC-114, PSYC-115, PSYC-117, PSYC-118, PSYC-121, PSYC-140, PSYC-193L, PSYC-194, PSYC-196, PSYC-199.
- PHIL-137 or PHIL-149 (choose up to one)
*Students are allowed to use one 4-unit PSYC-195P and/or one 4-unit AIP-197 (must be pre-approved through Psychology) toward the upper-division (UD) PSYC Elective requirement, send a Virtual Advising Center (VAC) message to have this course applied to your degree audit.
*PSYC-099s/-199s do not count toward upper-division (UD) PSYC Core or PSYC Elective requirements for any Psychology major.
*Graduate courses (-2XX) are not generally accepted for credit towards the major, but petitions for exceptions will be considered.