Psychology Major

You may choose from the following courses.

STAT UN1010 may be able to be used toward this requirement, with DUS approval.

You may choose from the following courses. 

*Please note that PSYC UN1920 The How-Tos of Research does not count towards the Research Methods requirement, it does count towards the Special Elective requirement of the new psychology major. 

Majors are strongly advised to complete first the statistics requirement and then the research methods requirement by the spring term of their junior year. Be sure to verify the specific prerequisites for Research Methods courses, most of which require prior completion of a statistics course. 

These are courses numbered in the 2400s, 3400s, or 4400s, as well as UN1010.

Courses filling this requirement include: 

These are courses numbered in the 2600s, 3600s, or 4600s.

Courses fulfilling this requirement include: 

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 below 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. 

For students completing the 30-point major: No more than 9 points (minus any transfer credits) from Barnard psychology courses may be applied as credit toward the major.

For students completing the 11-course major: A maximum of 5 courses counted toward the major may be from outside Columbia (i.e., Barnard and/or transfer courses).

The table of approved Barnard psychology courses indicates which courses have been approved for specific requirements of the Psychology major. Courses not on the approved list may only be applied toward a specific requirement with prior written approval from a program advisor. All Barnard PSYC courses not on the approved list for a specific requirement may be counted as electives, up to the 5-outside-courses limit.

For students completing the 11-course major: Some courses offered outside of Psychology departments can count toward major requirements (e.g., courses taken in the Statistics Department; cognate courses offered through Philosophy, Business, Law, etc.). A maximum of 2 such non-PSYC courses may be applied toward the major. Courses offered in the Barnard Psychology or Neuroscience departments do not count toward this limit.

For students completing the 30-point major: No more than 9 transfer credits (or a combination of transfer and Barnard credits) will be accepted toward the psychology major.

For students completing the 11-course major: No more than 3 transfer courses from outside institutions can be applied toward the psychology major. Any transfer courses thus applied count toward the limit of 5 courses from outside the Columbia psychology department (i.e., other Columbia departments or the Barnard psychology department).

Approval of transfer credits on a student's Entrance Credit Report toward general requirements for the bachelor's degree does not grant approval of these credits toward the psychology major. Approval of transfer credits to fulfill psychology requirements must be obtained in writing from a psychology program advisor using the Major Requirement Substitution Form. To be approved for the major, a course taken at another institution should be substantially similar to one offered by the department, the grade received must be a B- or better, and the course must have been taken within the past 8 years. As noted below, if two courses overlap in content, only one will be applied towards the major. With the exception of approved Barnard courses, students should consult their Program Advisor (DUS) before registering for psychology courses offered outside the department.

Students who have completed an introductory psychology course at another institution prior to declaring a psychology major should submit a Major Requirement Substitution Form to verify whether or not this course meets departmental standards for major transfer credit. If transfer credit toward the major is not approved, the student must enroll in PSYC UN1001 or PSYC BC1001 to complete this major requirement.

Beginning in Fall 2019, the Psychology Department will accept a score of 5 on the AP Psychology exam, or a score of 7 on the Higher Level IB Psychology exam, to meet the Science of Psychology requirement. The AP/IB Psychology exam does not count as a course or toward a student’s 30 points (or 11 courses) required for their program; students placing out of the Science of Psychology requirement in this way will need to take an additional elective course to fulfill the required number of courses or points for their program.

The College Board Advanced Placement (AP) statistics scores do not satisfy the statistics requirement.  Students who have completed AP statistics may opt to take a more advanced statistics course to fulfill this requirement with the approval of one of the directors of undergraduate studies.

Students will not receive credit for two courses — one taken at Columbia and one taken at Barnard or transferred from another institution — whose content largely overlaps. For example, PSYC UN1001 The Science of Psychology overlaps the content of introductory psychology courses offered at many other institutions, including Barnard; only one such course will receive credit. Similarly, PSYC UN2630 Social Psychology and PSYC BC1138 Social Psychology have overlapping content; only one will receive credit. Please consult the Table of Overlapping Courses to check for overlap between Barnard and Columbia courses.

Beginning in Fall 2018, PSYC UN1010 Mind, Brain, & Behavior will no longer be offered. Students who have already taken UN1010 should not take UN2430 as the content of the courses overlap significantly.