Major and Minor Requirements

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  3. Major and Minor Requirements

Major Requirements

The major in psychology requires a minimum of 9.75 units of credit: 8.75 units of psychology courses plus STAT 113. Required psychology courses are PSYC 101WL or 101NL and PSYC 205.

Six additional courses fulfill the minimum requirements for the major and must include at least one course from each of the following distribution themes: Biological/Evolutionary, Social/Cognitive, and Applied. At least one course (1.0 unit or more) must be a seminar or one of the independent project options offered. In addition, at least two courses must include a laboratory section after completing the research methods course. One of the laboratory courses must be from the Biological/Evolutionary theme and one must be from either the Social/Cognitive theme or the Applied theme. A single course may count toward both a distribution theme and the laboratory or seminar requirement.

Honors

Honors are awarded on the basis of quality point standing in psychology (see Honors in the Curriculum section of this Catalog) and successful completion of PSYC 498 and 499 (SYE: Senior Project) with a grade of at least 3.5 in PSYC 498 and 499; an “X” grade may be given in PSYC 498. There are two options for independent projects that students can pursue, depending upon the nature and duration of the project.

PSYC 403/404 Independent Project

  • This is a flexible course designation used with any non-honors-eligible independent project.
  • Non-SYE independent projects are more flexible and do not require an application or review by a committee. 

PSYC 498/499 SYE: Senior Project 

  • This is the course designation for the honors-eligible 2-semester SYE Senior Project course sequence.
  • All SYE projects require the following:
    • substantial independent, integrative, and creative elements,
    • an application due by the end of the Spring semester junior year,
    • formation of a project-specific review committee,
    • an oral proposal presentation at the end of the Fall semester of senior year,
    • and final presentation and final written products due at the end of the Spring semester of senior year.
  • Students who have not made sufficient progress during the first semester may not be able to continue the project or may be re-registered for PSYC 404 Independent Project for the Spring semester. Only students with SYE projects approved by the project’s review committee will be eligible to receive departmental honors.
If you are interested in pursuing an independent project of any sort, please contact the faculty you would like to work with directly! Details about the SYE application process for Spring 2024 are forthcoming.

Minor Requirements

The minor in psychology requires a minimum of 7.5 units of credit: 6.5 units of psychology courses plus STAT 113. Required courses are PSYC 101WL or 101NL and PSYC 205. 

Four additional courses fulfill the minimum requirements for the minor and must include at least one course from each of the distribution themes discussed above. At least one course must be a seminar or one of the independent project options (at least 1.0 units) offered by the Psychology Department. In addition, at least one course must include a laboratory section after completing the research methods course. A single course may count toward both a distribution theme and the laboratory or seminar requirement.

Other Important Information

PSYC 205: Research Methods and courses with laboratory at the 300- and 400-level are worth 1.25 units and must be taken at St. Lawrence. Some courses with a laboratory section can be taken without the laboratory. These courses are worth 1.0 unit and fulfill the same distribution theme as the course with lab.

To receive laboratory credit in a course, other than PSYC 101WL: Introductory Psychology, a student must earn a passing grade for both the laboratory and lecture components of the course. A failing grade for the laboratory component will result in the student being re-registered into a non-laboratory (lecture) section; the student will need to complete another course with laboratory to fulfill the requirement.

Once a student matriculates at St. Lawrence, only 1.0 unit of transfer credit taught by a non-St. Lawrence psychology professor may count toward the minimum number of required units in the major. If a matriculated St. Lawrence student wishes to take a course at another college or university for transfer credit, the student and the department chair should agree in advance on the appropriateness of the course(s) and which of the requirements, if any, will be satisfied.

A transfer student and the student’s advisor should confer with the department chair about the student’s transferred psychology courses and which requirements remain to be filled.

Students earning a 4 or 5 on the advanced placement exam in Psychology may earn credit for PSYC 101NL: Introductory Psychology without lab and may enroll in an upper-level Psychology course.