FAQ's for First Years

Please check the requirements for your preferred major before enrolling in classes. The following classes must be completed:

• Lower-division Requirements (see Psychology Major requirements for acceptable courses)*:
  • 2 (B.A. majors) or 3 (all other majors) Natural Science courses (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, or Neuroanatomy)
  • 1 Research Methods course + 1 (B.A. majors), 2 (B.S. majors), or 3 (Cognitive & Behavioral Neuroscience majors) additional Formal Skills courses (Calculus courses for all B.S. majors, Calculus or Logic for B.A. majors)
  • 1 Programming course
  • 1 Statistics course
• Research Requirements:
  • 2 lower or upper-division research courses (for B.S. majors only; see individual major for details)
• Upper-division Requirements (upper-division Major GPA of at least 2.0 is required for graduation):
  • 4 Psychology** Core courses (101-108; please see individual major requirements)
  • 8*** Psychology Elective courses (distributed according to individual major requirements and numbered 110-193; PSYC 195 and AIP 197 may each be used once toward Elective requirements)

*Business Psychology majors have additional lower-division Business Fundamentals courses as well as specific sets of courses from which to choose for their upper-division coursework.

**Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience majors require a mix of Psychology and Cognitive Science classes in both Core and Elective areas. Please see the major sheet for a list of accepted courses.

***Business Psychology majors must complete 3 courses from a Business Psychology course list, 3-4 courses from a Business Management course list, and 1 additional Psychology class.

We encourage you to research the major options listed on our website and compare them to your graduate school and career goals. You should also look at classes that are of interest to you. Students may change major tracks within Psychology at any time. For more help choosing a major and classes, please see our Career Guide.

You may need to declare your major on TritonLink. You can switch between the degree tracks in the future.

First year students will begin their studies in Psychology by taking foundation-building lower-division courses outside of the Psychology Department. In your first year, you should work to complete the majority of lower-division requirements in Formal Skills (Mathematics/Logic), Natural Science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics), and Computer Programming. Later, you'll take Statistics, Research Methods, and lower-division Management courses (for Business Psychology majors only). See our Psychology Major pages for specific courses we accept. When you are enrolling in Fall courses, you should consider your major and college requirements together and look for classes that may fulfill both.

Lower-division General Psychology classes will not count toward a Psychology degree but may fulfill your college requirements. The only lower-division Psychology courses that will count toward Psychology Major requirements are PSYC 60 (Statistics), PSYC 70 (Research Methods), PSYC 71 (Laboratory in Psychological Research Methods), PSYC 81 (Laboratory in Brain, Behavior, and Evolution), and PSYC 99: Independent Study.

Please see our Courses page as it outlines when and how students may ask for authorization for upper-division psychology courses.

Please put yourself on the waitlist for the full class(es) and look for alternative courses. Chances are good that space will open up for you in lower-division classes that will fulfill college, university, and/or major requirements.

• Choose the correct number of courses for your major:
  • B.A. majors may choose any two of the Natural Science courses listed on your major sheet (Natural Science course offerings are the same for each of our Psychology majors).  
  • B.S. majors other than Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience may choose any three of the Natural Science courses listed on your major sheet (Natural Science course offerings are the same for each of our Psychology majors). 
  • Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience majors must complete COGS 17 and any two of the additional Natural Science courses listed on their major sheet.
• Choose the right courses for you:
  • We recommend students take Biology, Chemistry, or Physics classes numbered 10 or above, as they are intended for non-science majors. Courses numbered under 10 are intended for Biology, Chemistry, or Physics majors or students planning to attend Medical School.
  • You may not receive academic credit for both CHEM 4 and 11, and you may not receive major credit for more than one of BILD 12, COGS 17, or PSYC 2.
  • You may not use any courses from UC San Diego not listed on our major sheets toward your Psychology Major Natural Science requirements. This includes Environmental Science courses, Marine Biology courses, and additional Biology, Chemistry, and Physics courses not listed on our major sheets. You may not use courses in Anthropology, Astronomy, or Geology.
  • There is no "best" Natural Science course for each student. Keep in mind your future career and graduate school goals when choosing classes. 
• Your natural science courses do not need to be all from the same department or each from a different department. However, if your college requires Natural Science courses, it is recommended that you follow their requirements if acceptable courses overlap with your Psychology Department requirements.

This depends on two things: your math placement exam and your graduate school and career plans.

Students planning to earn a Psychology B.A. do not need to complete any calculus courses unless required by their college or indicated by their career or graduate school plans. Students planning to earn one of our Psychology B.S. degrees must complete at least two quarters of calculus (MATH 10 or 20 series) and may be required to complete more by their college. Students planning to earn our Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience degree will need to complete one full year of Calculus (MATH 10 or 20 series) AND a Research Methods course.

Students are encouraged to enroll in the appropriate level of calculus for their future graduate school and career plans. See your major and college advisors, and the Career Services Center, for additional assistance with choosing a math series. Please contact the Math Placement office for placement information.

Only if calculus is required by your college or a future graduate program. If you are a Psychology B.S. student, you will need to complete at least two quarters of calculus in order to earn your degree. If you are a Cognitive & Behavioral Neuroscience student, you will need to complete at least three quarters of calculus in order to earn your degree.

Students in the Psychology B.A. degree track will not need to take Calculus. If you are planning to earn a Psychology B.A., you will take PSYC 70 (Research Methods) or COGS 14A and your choice of any one of the following classes: PHIL 10 (Introduction to Logic), PHIL 12 (Scientific Reasoning), MATH 10A or 20A (Calculus).

Take the course that best fits your schedule and meets your needs. Students who plan to go into Psychological research in the future may benefit from MatLab or Python courses (preferred courses listed on our major sheets).

We recommend all Psychology Majors take PSYC 60 (Statistics). If you are unable to take PSYC 60, you may choose from MATH 11 or COGS 14B. Courses that are not accepted for our majors are SOCI 60 and POLI 30.

Students with backgrounds in Engineering, Mathematics, or Economics may be able to use upper-division courses toward this requirement; if you are planning to double major or minor in one of these departments, or switch from one of these departments to Psychology, see the Psychology Advising Office for individual assistance.

Remember, we do not actually suggest that First Years take Statistics until later in their academic careers.

You should wait until at least your second quarter to take PSYC 60: Statistics. However, it is recommended that you wait until your second year to enroll. PSYC 70: Research Methods has a prerequisite of Statistics.

No. AP Statistics is not equivalent to PSYC 60: Statistics, and it will not count toward the Psychology major. You will still need to take an approved Statistics course listed on the Psychology Major pages.

No. AP Psychology is equivalent to PSYC 1: Psychology, which is not a course acceptable toward Psychology Major credit.

Check your UC San Diego Academic History. If your course is showing up in the list of transferred courses but only has the designation “LD” in the right-hand column, your course has only transferred in as lower-division credit.

• If you believe your transfer course should count toward your Psychology Department requirements, check Assist.org or the AP credit chart for equivalency first. If your class is listed on Assist.org, please send the appropriate department’s advising office a message via the Virtual Advising Center or New Student Online Advising Site noting the class and that it’s listed on Assist.
• If your course is not listed on Assist, you will need to fill out an Undergraduate Student Petition form (found on TritonLink or our website) and drop it off at the department corresponding to your original course.

You may take any* lower-division courses for Psychology Major requirements for Pass/No Pass except for Statistics. Statistics must be taken for a letter grade. Upper-division courses taken for Psychology Major credit must be taken for a letter grade.

*Business Psychology majors must also take MGT 16 and MGT 18 for a Letter Grade.

TritonLink is UCSD’s online enrollment and registration system. You can check your course history, enroll in classes, and find important forms here as well as take care of many critical tasks. We will be teaching students how to interpret Degree Audits and Academic Histories, among other topics, at our department Orientation sessions in September.

• Your Academic History, found on TritonLink, will list all of the courses that you take at UC San Diego. Your transfer record (near the top of the page) will list any AP test scores or community college courses that approximate exactly to UC San Diego's classes on the right-hand column. Classes that don't approximate are listed as "LD". Classes that do will have a letter-and-number course listed below the "LD", such as "PSYC 60" or "MATH 10A".
• Your Degree Audit can also be found on TritonLink. Click on Degree Audit on the left side of TritonLink, and then click on the "View Audit" button. This will be your guide to finishing your requirements at UCSD.

We currently do not schedule advising appointments with students.  

The Psychology Department will advise incoming first-year students beginning fall quarter during our drop-in advising hours.

***We recommend that all incoming First Years plan to participate in our online Orientation. Please register now.***

Yes. We only answer advising questions during those hours. Incoming first year students are welcome to visit our advising office beginning the first week of fall classes.

Yes, our Honors Program is a two year research commitment, starting in Winter of your Junior year. You may apply for the program in November of your Junior year, and we recommend that you have at least a 3.3 overall GPA and a B in Statistics to apply. There is nothing you need to do in your first year for this program. Please come to an information session usually hosted during spring quarter to learn more details.

The possibilities are endless! Consider Research Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Counseling Psychology, Social Work, Human Resources, Academic Advising, Event Management, Market Research, Medicine, and many other careers. Many of these careers require advanced degrees, but some do not. Visit our Career Advising page for some ideas about various career options and how to get started.

Yes, you may earn a Psychology Minor if you switch majors. Our minor requires seven Psychology courses, of which two may be lower-division. Natural Science, Formal Skills, and Programming courses do not count toward the minor. All seven courses used for the Psychology Minor must be taken in a Psychology (PSYC) Department. Courses taken in other departments, such as COGS, MATH, etc., may not be applied to the minor.

There is only a General Psychology minor available; we do not have a minor in Cognitive & Behavioral Neuroscience or a minor in Business Psychology.