The Bachelor’s Degree

The Psychology department offers five concentrations within the major (listed below). Requirements for each concentration are linked.

Advising

The Psychology department has a team of advisors ready to assist students in achieving their academic and career preparation goals. Refer to the department website for resources to help you succeed in achieving your academic goals. All Psychology majors and minors should consult with the department advisor before registering for courses. The advisor helps students with the following issues:

  • Course scheduling (e.g., planning courses to take for upcoming semesters)
  • Petitions (e.g., waive a required course or request for upper-division credit)
  • Progress toward degree
  • Appeals (e.g., Appeal of Academic Suspension or Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Form)

All Psychology majors should consult with their faculty advisor on the following issues:

  • Graduate school counseling (e.g., choosing the right graduate degree and program, the application process)
  • Career counseling (e.g., what job opportunities are there post-BA?)
  • Internship possibilities (e.g., should I do an internship? What internships are available?)

Assessment of Learning within the Discipline

All Psychology majors are required to complete, at program entry and exit, an assessment designed to evaluate scientific critical thinking skills, as well as a broad range of content knowledge and skill application within the discipline. PSY 301 Orientation and Entrance Assessment is a non-credit course used to track assessment completion at entry. Students must register for PSY 301 during their first semester of enrollment as Psychology majors. Students who do not complete the entrance assessment during their first semester will not be allowed to register for additional Psychology course work until the assessment has been completed. Students will complete the assessment a second time as part of the required, credit-bearing, capstone course PSY 471 Senior Seminar. Exit assessment scores are used for Psychology Department curriculum review and planning, and do not impact progress toward graduation.

Course Waiver Policy

Lower-division courses

Because academic work at the University of Illinois is considered to be a continuation of the student’s previous education, students who have earned a grade of B or better (grades of B- or lower will not be accepted) in a lower-division psychology course beyond an introductory psychology course at another institution (and have taken the course within the past six years) may petition to use it to waive the required course in a Psychology concentration. A waiver based on lower-division course work does not reduce the total number of credit hours required in the major.

Degree Requirements

Psychology majors are required to take a minimum of 36 hours in Psychology. Eight of these hours must be PSY 302 Research Methods In Psychology (or its equivalent) and PSY 471 Senior Seminar. It is strongly recommended that PSY 302 be taken during the first semester and that PSY 471 be taken during the final semester. Students must save graded writing assignments from their courses for further use in PSY 471. The additional 28 hours will vary depending on the concentration selected or the individualized concentration designed by each student. All Psychology majors must declare their concentration selection by completing a Change of Curriculum form and submitting it to Records and Registration. Only two courses taken to complete the major can be cross-listed with other departments.

Ethical Conduct

The Psychology department supports and adheres to the UIS Academic Integrity Policy (which can be found online at uis.edu/academicintegrity/). Students aware of cheating or plagiarism by others should report it to their advisors, another member of the department faculty, or the department chairperson. Possible sanctions for students who have been found to violate the Academic Integrity Policy are outlined in the policy.

Grading Policy

Psychology majors and minors must earn a grade of C or better in all Psychology courses to use them for completion of degree requirements (grades of C- or lower will not be accepted).

Transfer Policy

Upper-division courses

Students must take at least 16 hours of psychology credit from UIS. Students who have earned a grade of C or better (grades of C- or lower will not be accepted) in upper-division psychology courses at other institutions within the past six years may, in consultation with an academic advisor, use those upper-division credits to reduce the total number of credit hours required for the Psychology major at UIS.