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Psychology Minor Program (PSYC-MN-001)

NOTICE: The Psychology Minor will no longer be available for students to declare after Wednesday, August 2, 2023.

The Psychology Department will no longer offer the Psychology Minor (PSYC-MN-001) effective at 11:59 PM on Wednesday, August 2, 2023. Students must have submitted a Psychology Minor request through the TritonLink Major/Minor tool by the August 2023 deadline to be considered for the Psychology Minor. At this time, the Psychology Minor is no longer available to declare in the Triton Student System (TSS), and students will not be able to request it. Due to the system's setup, we will not be able to make any exceptions for late requests.

  • If a student is currently declared a Psychology Minor, they will be able to complete the Minor without issue. There is no need to contact our department.
  • If a currently declared Psychology Minor drops the Minor, they will not be able to re-add the Minor.
  • Incoming first-year and transfer students are not eligible to declare the Psychology Minor.
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Minimum Criteria

  • A grade-point average of at least a 2.0 in the psychology minor is required for graduation.
  • The psychology minor consists of seven 4-unit Psychology courses numbered PSYC-001 through PSYC-070, PSYC-100 through PSYC-193 (total of 28 units). Note: Psych Research lab courses are not open to Psych Minor students.
  • A minimum of five courses (20 units) must be upper-division (UD).
  • At least four upper-division (UD) courses must be taken at UC San Diego for a letter grade.
  • All seven courses used in the Psych Minor must be taken in a Psychology Department. Courses labeled COGS, MATH, STAT, etc. may not be used in the Psych Minor.
  • If PSYC-060 (Statistics) is chosen as one of the lower-division (LD) courses, it must be taken for a letter grade.

Guidelines for Minor Application

  • You are not required to finish your minor as declared in your initial request in the Major/Minor tool.
  • Courses listed on your Psych Minor application are not guaranteed to be offered nor are students guaranteed enrollment in a course they list on their application.
  • If you earned a score of 4 or 5 on the AP psychology exam and have PSYC 1 credit posted to your UCSD Academic History, it can satisfy one lower-division course requirement for the minor. 
  • You can only overlap up to 2 upper-division (UD) courses between your major and PSYC minor. Both departments must pre-approve the UD courses you plan to overlap. 
  • The following courses may each count for one (P/NP) course toward your minor requirements. Courses must be at least 4 units.

Course Distribution Options

The Psychology Minor needs to be completed using one of the course distributions from the list below. Students may choose which distribution they wish to complete.

  • 2 lower division, 5 upper division psychology courses
  • 1 lower division, 6 upper division psychology courses
  • 7 upper division psychology courses

Example: 2LD / 5UD Minor application

This is an example of a Psychology Minor application using 2 LD and 5 UD courses. Note: Your application may look different, this is just an example.

Minor 2LD 5UD example

List any lower division courses not yet completed as such:

  • Subject code: PSYC
  • Course No: LD
  • Title: Psychology Elective
  • Institution: UCSD
  • Units: 4.00

Example: 1LD / 6UD Minor application

This is an example of a Psychology Minor application using 1 LD and 6 UD courses. Note: Your application may look different, this is just an example.

Minor 1LD 6UD Example

List any lower division courses not yet completed as such:

  • Subject code: PSYC
  • Course No: LD
  • Title: Psychology Elective
  • Institution: UCSD
  • Units: 4.00

List any upper division courses not yet completed as such:

  • Subject code: PSYC
  • Course No: UD
  • Title: Psychology Elective
  • Institution: UCSD
  • Units: 4.00

Example: 7 UD Minor application

This is an example of a Psychology Minor application using 7 UD courses. Note: Your application may look different, this is just an example.

Minor 7UD courses application example

List any upper division courses not yet completed as such:

  • Subject code: PSYC
  • Course No: N/A
  • Title: Not Using LD Courses for the Minor
  • Institution: UCSD
  • Units: 4.00

Courses taken outside of UC San Diego

  • Submit your psychology minor application as though you do not have classes from other institutions. Submit your course petition(s) to the department ASAP. Remember that if you submit a minor application listing a class taken elsewhere and have not yet petitioned it, your application will be denied.
  • The Psychology Department allows students to transfer no more than three upper-division (UD) Psychology classes toward the Psychology Major and Minor.
Note: All seven courses used in the Psychology Minor must be taken in a Psychology Department. Courses labeled COGS, MATH, STAT, etc., may not be used in the Psych Minor.

A complete list of UC San Diego Psychology courses is located on the courses page.