Approved Barnard Courses

The Columbia Psychology Major (for students who entered Columbia Fall 2020 or later) requires the completion of at least 11 courses, including one in each of categories 1-8 below.  You may complete up to 5 of these courses outside of the Columbia Psychology dept.  Barnard courses are considered to be outside of the Columbia Psychology Department.  For the new Psychology Concentration which requires 7 courses, 3 can be taken outside of the Columbia Psychology dept.

You will not receive credit for courses that overlap substantially with other courses you have taken in our department. Please refer to the table of Overlapping Courses for a partial list of Barnard courses known to overlap with our courses.

The table below lists the eight requirements of the Columbia Psychology Major.  Under each you will find a list of all Barnard courses pre-­­approved as meeting that requirement. The same courses may be used for the comparable requirements of the concentration. Barnard courses listed as elective courses may only be applied toward the total point requirements of the major or concentration, not toward any of the specific requirements.  All Barnard PSYC and NSBV courses are approved as Columbia Psychology Dept electives for the major or concentration, even if they do not appear on the list below.

1. The Science of Psychology: PSYC UN1001, S1001, or BC1001.

2. Statistics: PSYC UN1610 (recommended), or STAT UN1001, UN1101, or UN1201.

3. Research Methods: Any course numbered in the UN1400's.

**Barnard Lab courses do not count towards the Research Methods requirement of the Psychology Major or Concentration.**

If you took a Barnard Lab course prior to Fall 2019 with the plan of using it toward the Laboratory requirement of the Psychology Major, please consult with your Major advisor.

4. Group I. Perception & Cognition: 2200's, 3200's, or 4200's

Barnard has update some of their course numbers from 1000 level courses to 2000 level courses. They are the same courses but with updated course numbers. We have included both the old course numbers and the new course numbers in the list below. 

5. Group II. Psychobiology & Neuroscience: 2400's, 3400's, or 4400's

Barnard has updated some of their course numbers from 1000 level courses to 2000 level courses. They are the same courses but with new course numbers. We have included both the old course numbers and the new course numbers in the list below. 

6. Group III. Social, Personality, & Abnormal: 2600's, 3600's, or 4600's

Barnard has update some of their course numbers from 1000 level courses to 2000 level courses. They are the same courses but with updated course numbers. We have included both the old course numbers and the new course numbers in the list below. 

7. Seminar Requirement: 3000-­­ or 4000-­­level seminar of at least 3 credits. (Not UN3910, UN3920, UN3930, or UN3950)

8. Special Elective Courses: 

The Special Elective encompasses a wide range of courses: those that cut across and connect different sub-disciplines within psychology; those that integrate psychology with other disciplines; those that apply psychology to real-world problems; those that dig deeper into advanced statistics and methods topics; and those that offer hands-on experience with psychology research.

9. Elective Courses: The following courses may be used to reach the 11-course requirement, but have not been approved for any of the above specific requirements of the major

All Barnard PSYC and NSBV courses can count as an elective for the PSYC concentration or major (up to each program's limits on Barnard/transfer courses). If you are interested in taking a new Barnard course that is not yet on this list and you would like it reviewed to see which requirements (if any) it might count toward, please send a syllabus to your DUS for review before enrolling in the course

Research courses (e.g., UN3950) must be taken for 3 or 4 points in order to count toward the major. No more than 4 points of Supervised Individual Research (PSYC UN3950) may be taken in any one term. A maximum of 2 research/thesis/fieldwork courses may be applied toward the major: this limitation includes PSYC UN3950, UN3920, and UN3930, as well as BC3466, BC3473, BC3592 and BC3599. (See here for further restrictions on applying Barnard courses toward the psychology major.)

For students completing the old (pre Fall 2020) 30-point major: no more than 8 points total of research and field work courses (see list above) may be applied toward the major. 

*Courses marked with (*) overlap with courses within the Columbia Psychology Department. Credit towards the major cannot be received for any courses that overlaps with a course previously taken. Please refer to the table of overlapping courses. 

For students completing the old major or concentration:  The old Columbia Psychology Major (for students who entered Columbia prior to Fall 2020) requires the completion of at least 30 points, including one course in each of categories 1 – 7 below. You may complete up to 9 points toward the old Psychology Major (or 5 points toward the old Psychology Concentration) with a combination of approved Barnard or transfer credits.