Major in Psychology

If you are pursuing an undergraduate degree in psychology at NIU, you must choose to get a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree or a Bachelor of Sciences (B.S.) degree. Course requirements are the same for the B.A. and B.S. degrees, but there are substantial differences between the degrees with respect to required course work outside of the department.

To declare psychology as your major, meet with an advisor and then complete the "Major Request" form.

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Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

Check the NIU Catalog for university and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences requirements for a B.A. degree.

Download or print a B.A. advising worksheet (PDF).

Department Requirements

  • PSYC 101 University Experience in Psychology (1 credit)
  • PSYC 102 Introduction to Psychology (3 credits)
  • PSYC 305 Research Methods (3 credits)
  • PSYC 306 Advanced Research Methods (3 credits)
  • One of the following laboratory classes (4 credits):
    • PSYC 410 Research Laboratory in Experimental Psychology: Perception
    • PSYC 411 Research Laboratory in Experimental Psychology: Animal Cognition
    • PSYC 412 Research Laboratory in Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory
    • PSYC 413 Research Laboratory in Psychopathology
    • PSYC 414 Research Laboratory in School Psychology
    • PSYC 431 Research Laboratory in Neuropsychology
    • PSYC 433 Research Laboratory in Social and Personality Laboratory
    • PSYC 434 Research Laboratory in Industrial-Organizational Psychology
    • PSYC 464 Research Laboratory in Developmental Psychology
  • 21 psychology elective hours:
    • 15 must be in 300-400 level courses; No more than 6 of the 21 hours may be in 100-200 level courses; 3 credits of 485 will count towards electives.

Additional Requirements

  • Two years of college-level foreign language credits (or four years of high school foreign language).
  • STAT 100 Basic Statistics (3 credits) or STAT 200 Elementary Statistics (4 credits) or UBUS 223 Introduction to Business Statistics (3 credits)

Bachelor of Sciences (B.S.)

Check the NIU Catalog for University and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences requirements for a B.S. degree.

Download or print a B.S. advising worksheet (PDF).

Department Requirements

  • PSYC 101 University Experience in Psychology (1 credit)
  • PSYC 102 Introduction to Psychology (3 credits)
  • PSYC 305 Research Methods (3 credits)
  • PSYC 306 Advanced Research Methods (3 credits)
  • One of the following laboratory classes (4 credits):
    • PSYC 410 Research Laboratory in Experimental Psychology: Perception
    • PSYC 411 Research Laboratory in Experimental Psychology: Animal Cognition
    • PSYC 412 Research Laboratory in Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory
    • PSYC 413 Research Laboratory in Psychopathology
    • PSYC 414 Research Laboratory in School Psychology
    • PSYC 431 Research Laboratory in Neuropsychology
    • PSYC 433 Research Laboratory in Social and Personality Laboratory
    • PSYC 434 Research Laboratory in Industrial-Organizational Psychology
    • PSYC 464 Research Laboratory in Developmental Psychology
  • 21 psychology elective hours:
    • 15 must be in 300-400 level courses; No more than 6 of the 21 hours may be in 100-200 level courses; 3 credits of 485 will count towards electives.

Additional Requirements

  • Laboratory science/mathematical/computational skills sequence (12-16 credits)
  • [Students selecting a sequence that does not include STAT 200 (4) or STAT 300 (3) or UBUS 223 (3) will also be required to take one of these courses or STAT 100 (3) as a co-requisite for PSYC 305 (with a grade of C or better).]
  • See "College Requirement for the B.S. Degree" in the Other Graduation Requirements section of the catalog.

Contact Us

Department of Psychology
Psychology-Computer Science Building, room 400
815-753-0372
askpsyc@niu.edu 

Director of Undergraduate Studies
Katja Wiemer, Ph.D.
katja@niu.edu