Entrance Requirements
The psychology bachelor’s degree is open to all UIS students and transfer students who have met the entrance requirements for admission to UIS. In addition, all students wishing to be admitted to the Psychology Major must first successfully complete PSY 201 Principles of Psychology (or equivalent) with a grade of C (2.0) or better. Students who achieve scores of four and above on the Advanced Placement Psychology Examination or who achieve a score of 50 or higher on the Introductory Psychology CLEP test will receive proficiency credit for PSY 201.
Students at UIS with 30 or more credit hours and a cumulative grade-point average of at least 2.50 on a 4.0 scale qualify for full admission to the Psychology Major. Students with a GPA between 2.00 and 2.49 can be granted conditional admission to the major, which permits enrollment in up to 12 semester hours of 300-level psychology courses during the first semester. The final decision on admission to the major for conditionally admitted students is made after completion of 12 hours of psychology courses at UIS. Those 300-level courses must be completed within two semesters of the conditional admission.
Beginning in the fall of 2009, psychology majors and minors must earn a C or better in all psychology courses to use them for completion of degree requirements. If your first term of enrollment at UIS was prior to fall 2009, you are not subject to this requirement. This requirement is triggered by your enrollment at UIS, not your declaration of major, or any other event. Please note: a C- is lower than a C.
Please note: A grade of C or better is neccessary in all pre-requisite courses. Students who do not earn a C or better in all neccessary pre-requisites for advance couses will not be given departmental approval for those advanced courses.
Transfer students are admitted with a minimum of 30 semester hours, and work towards the Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology after meeting the requirements in the UIS Transfer Guidelines.
Majors are expected to have completed all math general education requirements and one introductory psychology course before beginning upper-division psychology courses. Students who have obtained scores of 4 and above on the Advanced Placement Psychology examination can receive proficiency credit for the introductory psychology course.
If you would like more information about psychology as an academic major at UIS, or about enrolling in psychology courses for the next semester, please contact the office support staff for help with scheduling an appointment with a faculty adviser.
