91²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ

91²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ
91²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ

Psychology Department

Navigating Introductory Course Options in Psychology

First Course

PSY 101 (Foundations in Psychological Science), 1 unit: Fall only

  • No prerequisites
  • Meets Group 3 (but not Group 3+ Data Collection & Analysis requirement)
  • Each section includes twice-weekly Lectures (T/Th), plus a once-weekly Concept Lab and a once-weekly Applied Lab
  • PSY 101 is available to all 91²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ students! We have 128 seats in Fall 2025. Some seats are reserved for intended psychology and neuroscience majors, but there are plenty of seats available for non-majors.

Second Course Options

Recommendations for the second course in the sequence differ for majors and non-majors:

Psychology & Neuroscience Majors

PSY 20X (Intro Methods Labs), each 0.25 units; Fall & Spring

  • Prerequisite/corequisite: PSY 101
  • Meets Group 3+ Data Collection & Analysis (DCA) requirement
  • Each lab meets once weekly (80 min) for half the semester (either 1st or 2nd quarter)
  • Seats are reserved for psychology and neuroscience majors only
  • Majors are encouraged to take all 4 required labs (PSY major) or 2 required labs (NEUR major) in their first year, or in their second year at the latest
  • Fall 2025 labs: 201 (Brain & Behavior), 202 (Cognitive Neuroscience), 209 (Decision Science)
  • Spring 2026 labs: 200 (Health), 204 (Educational), 207 (Social), 208 (Cognitive)
  • Students can take any number of labs each quarter, e.g.: 2 in Q1, 2 in Q2; 1 in Q1, 3 in Q2
  • Labs that may be of particular interest to neuroscience majors are italicized above.

Non-Majors

PSY 2XX Content-Area Topics Courses, each 1 unit; Fall & Spring

  • No prerequisites
  • Meets Group 3 (but not Group 3+ DCA requirement)
  • Most seats in these courses are open to non-majors.
  • Fall 2025 topics courses:
    • PSY 225 (Psychology of Stress & Resilience)
    • PSY 232 (Socialization of the Child)
    • PSY 234 (Diversity & Human Development)—section newly added!
  • Spring 2026 topics courses:
    • PSY 218 (Neuroscience & Ethics)
    • PSY 220 (Disinformation & Propaganda)
    • PSY 227 (Science Communication)
    • PSY 234 (Diversity & Human Development)
    • PSY 242 (Human Sexuality)
PSY 20X labs and 3XX core courses ARE NOT recommended for non-majors. All seats in these courses are reserved for majors.
  • To meet Group 3+ (DCA): We encourage non-majors to take PSY 3XX non-core courses with a lab component (prerequisite: PSY 101); see options below. Non-majors can join the waitlist and are likely to be admitted if they contact the instructor.
    • Fall 2025: PSY 334 (Cognitive Neuroscience), 363 (Human Development in Adolescence)
    • Spring 2026: PSY 326 (Altruism & Self-Interest)
  • Non-majors can also fulfill the Group 3+ requirement by taking another course in the natural sciences.