Special Elective
For students entering Columbia in Fall 2020 or later, one course must be taken to fulfill the integrative/applied Special Elective.
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.
The following courses are pre-approved to count toward the Special Elective requirement. If you would like to count a course that does not appear on this list, please contact your Program Advisor prior to enrolling.
Psychology Department Special Electives
- PSYC UN1910
- Research Ethics in Psychology
- 4 pts
- PSYC UN1920
- The How-Tos of Research
- 4 pts
- PSYC UN1930
- Behavioral Data Science
- 4 pts
- PSYC UN1950
- Neuroscience Methods: Cells and Circuits
- 4 pts
- PSYC UN1990/PSYC UN1991
- Global Behavioral Science
- 4 pts
- PSYC UN2255
- Machine Intelligence Lecture
- 3 pts
- PSYC UN2290
- Educational Psychology
- 3 pts
- PSYC UN2460
- Drugs and Behavior
- 3 pts
- PSYC UN2636
- Industrial/Organizational Psychology
- 3 pts
- PSYC UN2660
- Stigma and Belonging in a Diverse Society
- 3 pts
- PSYC UN2800
- Learning in the Age of AI
- 3 pts
- PSYC UN2821
- Cognition in Context
- 3 pts
- PSYC S2830
- Clinical Psychology
- 3 pts
- PSYC UN2840
- Individual Differences
- 3 pts
- PSYC UN3496
- Neuroscience and Society
- 3 pts
- PSYC UN3615
- Children at Risk
- 4 pts
- PSYC UN3623
- Topics in Clinical Psychology
- 4 pts
- PSYC UN3625
- Clinical Neuropsychology
- 3 pts
- PSYC UN3820
- The Science of Well-Being and Human Potential
- 4 pts
- PSYC UN3830
- Psychology and the Internet
- 4 pts
- PSYC UN3840
- Seminar on Law and Psychology
- 4 pts
- PSYC UN3930
- Senior Thesis Advanced Research Seminar
- 3 pts (required for special elective credit)
- PSYC UN3950
- Supervised Individual Research
- 3 - 4 pts
- PSYC GU4612
- Frontiers of Justice
- 4 pts
- PSYC GU4836
(Previously numbered GU4236) - Machine Intelligence
- 4 pts
- PSYC GU4885
- Philanthropy & Just Societies
- 3 pts
- PSYC GU4890
- Laboratory in Justice Data Science
- 4 pts
- PSYC GU4920
- Computational Psychology
- 4 pts
- PSYC GU4930
- Fundamentals of Human Brain Imaging
- 4 pts
- PSYC GU4940
- Qualitative Research: Participatory Inquiry in Psychology
- 4 pts
Barnard Psychology Special Electives
- PSYC BC1088
- The Science of Living Well
- 4 pts
- PSYC BC2151
- Organizational Psychology
- 3 pts
- PSYC BC2156
- Intro to Clinical Psychology
- 3 pts
- PSYC BC2175
- Addictive Behaviors (overlaps with PSYC 2460 Drugs & Behavior)
- 3 pts
- PSYC BC2177
- Psych of Drug Use and Abuse
- 3 pts
- PSYC BC2178
- Forensic Psychology
- 3 pts
- PSYC BC3088
- The Science of Well-Being and Human Potential
- 4 pts
- PSYC BC3155
- Psychology and Law
- 4 pts
- PSYC BC3156
- Political Psychology
- 4 pts
- PSYC BC3368
- Psych of Creativity
- 4 pts
- PSYC BC3373
- Health Psychology
- 4 pts
- PSYC BC3377
- Behavioral Science Interventions
- 4 pts
- PSYC BC3382
- Adolescent Psych
- 4 pts
- PSYC BC3465
- Field Work & Research Seminar: Toddler Center
- 4 pts
- PSYC BC3466
- Field Work & Research Seminar: Toddler Center
- 4 pts
- PSYC BC3473
- Clinical Field Practicum
- 4 pts
- NSBV BC3387
- Topics in Neuroethics
- 4 pts
- NSBV BC3405
- The Neuroscience of Psychological Trauma
- 3 pts
Africana Studies at Barnard (AFSB) Special Electives
- AFRS BC3160
- Fanon's Psychology of the Oppressed
- 4 pts
Anthropology Special Electives
- ANTH GU4132
- Mental Health and Illness in Post/Socialism
- 4 pts
Chemistry Special Electives
- CHEM GU4102
- Chemistry of the Brain
- 4.5 pts
Comparative Literature and Society
- CLPS GU4225
- Sex and Psychoanalysis
- 3 pts
- CLPS GU4260
- Digital Psychoanalysis
- 3 pts
Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology Special Electives
- EEEB 4015
- Animal Communication: A Primate Perspective
- 3 pts
Economics Special Electives
- ECON BC3048
- Behavioral Economics (intermediate microeconomics - ECON BC3035 or the equivalent is a prereq)
- 3 pts
Center for Study of Ethnicity and Race (CESR) Special Electives
- CSER UN3905
- Asian Americans and the Psychology of Race
Music
- MUSI UN2320
- Music Cognition
- 3 pts
Philosophy Special Electives
- PHIL UN2655
- Cognitive Science and Philosophy
- 3 pts
- PHIL V2400
- Psychology & Philosophy of Human Experience
- 3 pts
- PHIL GU4561
- Probability and Decision Theory
- 3 pts
Political Science Special Electives
- POLI UN3921
- American Politics Seminar - section: Political Psychology
- 3 pts
Political Science at Barnard
- POLS BC3609
- Political Psychology and International Relations
- 3 pts
Center for Science and Society Special Electives
- LINGW UN3103
- Language, Brain and Mind
- 3 pts
- EAAS UN3844
- Culture, Mental Health and Healing in East Asia
- 3 pts
Statistics Special Electives
- STAT UN2102
- Applied Statistical Computing
- 3 pts
- STAT GU4243
- Applied Data Science
- 3 pts