Pre-Psychology Major

Admission to the Psychology major leading to the BA degree is contingent upon prior completion of the pre-major requirements with:

1. At least a 2.75 UC grade-point average earned in the 5 pre-major courses
2. No course with a grade lower than a C-
3. Not more than one course with a C-
4. No course taken P/NP

Pre-major Requirements

1. PSY 1, 3, 5, 7: 15 units
2. Math 34A: 4 units

Admission to Psychology courses numbered 110 or higher is contingent upon completion of all pre-major requirements. Upon satisfactory completion of the psychology pre-major, you are required to complete a change of major petition available in the Psychology Undergraduate Office. Admission to the full major will be granted only after this petition has been approved. Students are required to complete the pre-major and meet the GPA requirement for admission into the Psychology major prior to the completion of 144 total units.

Please note: If you were declared Pre-Psychology prior to July 2004, two science courses were required for the pre-major. Please contact the Undergraduate Advisor for a list of these sciences.

Pre-Biopsychology Major

Admission to the Biopsychology major leading to the B.S. degree is contingent upon prior completion of the pre-major requirements with:

1. At least a 2.75 UC grade-point average earned in the 5 pre-major courses
2. No course with a grade lower than a C-
3. Not more than one course with a C-
4. No course taken P/NP in pre-major and preparation for the major.
1. Pre-major requirements:
   Psychology 1,3, 5, 7 and Math 34A: 19 units
2. Preparation for the major
   A 2.0 grade-point average is required in these courses

MCDB 1A-AL, MCDB 1B, EEMB 2 and either MCDB 1BL or EEBM 2L: 11 units
Chemistry 1A-AL, 1B-BL, 1C-CL and Chem 6A-B and Chem 109A-B: 24 units
Physics 6A-AL, 6B-BL, 6C-CL: 12 units
Math 34B: 4 units

Students are required to complete the pre-major (Area I above) and petition for admission to the Biopsychology major prior to completion of 144 units. Transfer students who have completed the entire pre-major prior to transfer must earn a 2.0 or higher UC GPA in at least two upper-division Psychology courses numbered 100-109 before they can be admitted to the full major.

Admission to Psychology courses numbered 110 or higher is contingent upon completion of all pre-major requirements.

Tips for Pre-Psychology Students

• AP Psychology fulfills the Psy 1 requirement. AP Statistics fulfills the Psy 5 requirement.
• Although Psy 5 is the preferred pre-major statistics course, these UCSB courses are considered equivalent: SOC 3, COMM 87, PSTAT 5, EEMB 30.
• Upon completion of Psy 1, students in the pre-major may begin making progress toward their upper-division requirements by taking the survey courses numbered 100-109.
• You can submit a change of major petition during the quarter in which you are enrolled in your last pre-major course(s). When grades are posted, the petition will be processed.

Psychology Department Equalization of Grading Policy

In order to ensure that grading procedures are consistent across all courses required for entrance into the major, the Psychology Department utilizes a grading policy that is applied to all pre-major courses (Psych 1, 3, 5 & 7). This policy ensures that all students will be evaluated consistently across different classes and different instructors.

According to this policy, approximately 10-15% of the class can receive a grade of A- or higher, approximately 40-45% of the class can receive a grade of B- or higher, and approximately 80-85% of the class can receive a grade of C- or higher. Thus, the final distribution of grades in this course will be based on these guidelines and on overall student performance. This means that your final grade will be based both on your absolute performance and on your performance relative to other students in the course.

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