The advising center is staffed by knowledgeable and friendly student peer advisors during our drop-in hours. They are all trained psychology majors who can answer many of your questions. Faculty/staff advisors are typically also on duty during these times, so you can always ask to see one.  If you want to be seen by a faculty/staff advisor, you are welcome to make an appointment through Navigate. 

Our terrific student advisors can answer lots of questions:

• psych major requirements
• questions about psych classes
• How to use SPIRE and understand your ARR
• general questions about general education requirements and classes
• general questions about college (CNS) requirements (e.g., foreign language requirement or course requirements for the BS in psych)
• opportunities in the major -- being a TA or a research assistant (RA), general questions about internships or study abroad
• Student advisors may refer you to a faculty/staff advisor or another resource office for detailed questions.

Most students will not need to visit often with the college academic dean, with a few exceptions:

• If you are pursuing the BA in psychology and have questions about the foreign language requirement, you can find these answers at CNS advising. In particular, if you have high school language credits that you would like to have evaluated for fulfillment of the college language requirement, this is done in the dean's office.
• Otherwise you will need to go to the dean's office for issues with complex questions about general education requirements or college requirements, probation, academic discipline, or dean's holds (e.g., 10 semester holds).
• The academic dean's office handles petitions for late adds or late drops from classes, requests to repeat a class more than once, or requests to take more than 19 credits per semester.  These are initiated online at: http://www.cns.umass.edu/students/academic-advising/forms.

No but there is a mandatory Moodle training and quiz. You log in to your Moodle account and select the advising course to review the requirements. You will view three short videos about using SPIRE, visit the department website to review the major requirements, and then take a quiz. All freshman psych majors are required to complete the online training and pass the online quiz. 

Psychology Advising also offers individual meetings for freshmen to help you with information you will need prior to registration for your spring classes. These are not required but highly encouraged.

Go to:  https://www.umass.edu/pbs/undergraduate/undergraduate-requirements

Advancing Diversity in Research and Practice Program (ADRAP)

The Advancing Diversity in Research and Practice program’s mission is to promote diversity in the field of psychology by increasing the diversity of the next generation of researchers and practitioners in psychology, and by fostering interest in research and practice with diverse populations.

Developmental Disabilities and Human Services Program (DDHS)

The department has partnered with the Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services (DDS) to offer a letter of specialization in Developmental Disabilities and Human Services (DDHS). The DDHS specialization offers undergraduates across disciplines the opportunity to obtain the skills needed for careers in the disability and broader human services field.

Psychological Modeling Specialization

This program offers undergraduate students the chance to earn a letter of specialization in mathematical approaches to psychological research. The purpose of the program is to help students prepare for sophisticated research practices that they will encounter in graduate school and beyond.

Declaring the Minor

https://www.pbs.umass.edu/undergraduate/declaring-psychology-major-or-minor

Prior to graduation submit an online Declaration of Minor form.  
The Psychology minor can be declared after all your psychology course grades are finalized or when you are enrolled in your last semester.  
The minor will not appear on your SPIRE transcript until all courses have been successfully completed and graded.  Once you’re graded for your final course, you can find your minor posted on your unofficial transcript or under student services center on SPIRE. The minor must be declared prior to graduation.  Questions regarding the online form can be directed to Carolyn Cave in Tobin 503.

Psychology minor requirements

• Students who wish to pursue a minor in psychology need to complete 5 courses (a minimum of 3-credits per course) totaling at least 15 graded credits in psychology. 
• The psychology minor does not have specific course requirements, but prerequisites will not be waived for minors
• Psych 100 is a prerequisite for all psychology courses
• AP Psych credit cannot replace one of the 5 courses required for the minor
  • AP credit for Psych 100 satisfies the prerequisite but it will not count toward the minor, students with Psych 100 AP credit can enroll in 5 classes above Psych 100 to complete the minor
• Check SPIRE for course restrictions; restrictions will not be lifted for minors
• All courses counted toward the minor must have a grade of C or better. 
  • In Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2021 courses elected as pass/fail will be accepted toward the minor
• Practicum courses (Psych 398) will not count towards the minor  
• At least 9 of the 15 credits for the minor must be taken at UMass Amherst or UMass Amherst Continuing and Professional Education.
• No requirements for the minor may be taken pass/fail.
• Courses used towards the psychology minor may be used for other graduation requirements, such as gen eds.
• Seniors completing courses for the minor during their last semester will see the minor posted on their final UMass transcript. 
• Minors do not appear on your UMass diploma

NEW POLICY: APPLICATION OF COURSES TOWARDS MULTIPLE CREDENTIALS No more than two courses used to fulfill the requirements of any one credential may be applied towards the fulfillment of another credential, wherein “credential” is defined as an academic degree program (major), minor, or certificate. One course may only be applied to two credentials.
Link:  https://www.umass.edu/registrar/sites/default/files/UsingCoursesMultipleCredentials.pdf

NOTE:  DECLARATION OF MINOR FORMS ARE COMPLETED ONLINE AND NO LONGER GO TO THE REGISTRAR’S OFFICE.

Visit our Requirements link on the PBS website for more information
https://www.umass.edu/pbs/undergraduate/undergraduate-requirements

Students can major in psychology in two different ways, earning either BA or BS, with additional concentrations and specializations available to suit your interests.

Bachelor of Arts (BA)  The most common method is the Bachelor of Arts (BA), suitable for students interested in general psychology and taking a foreign language.
Bachelor of Science (BS)  Students with a strong science background, taking many science and math courses, can select the Bachelor of Science (BS) in one of two ways.

• Bachelor of Science (BS) in General Psychology: Provides a broad exploration of psychology
• Bachelor of Science (BS) Neuroscience Track: Provides an exploration of the brain sciences.

You can download a checklist of the major requirements for the General Psychology BA/BS.

Specialized Programs  The department also offers additional specializations including Honors, Diversity, Disabilities, and Modeling. Click to view our specialized programs.

Psychology minor requirements:

• Students who wish to pursue a minor in psychology need to complete 5 classes totaling at least 15 graded credits in psychology.
• All courses counted toward the minor must have a grade of C or better (no exceptions). 
• Practicum courses (Psych 398) are not counted toward the minor. 
• At least 9 of the 15 credits for the minor must be taken at UMass Amherst or UMass Amherst Continuing and Professional Education.
• AP Psych credit may not be used toward the minor.
• No requirements for the minor may be taken pass/fail.
• More information on declaring the minor.

You can find more information at each of these links.  

• General information:  https://www.umass.edu/pbs/undergraduate/ras-tas-internships-independent-studies
• RA opportunities:  https://www.umass.edu/pbs/undergraduate/ra-ta-internships-independent-study/research-assistantships-available
• TA opportunities:  https://www.umass.edu/pbs/undergraduate/ra-ta-internships-independent-study/teaching-assistantships-available
• Internships:  https://www.umass.edu/pbs/undergraduate/ras-tas-internships-independent-studies/internship-possibilities

Research Assistantships

• See a current listing of available psychology research assistantships.
• Most students begin their exploration of research by participating in the ongoing research of a faculty member or graduate student. 
• Course credit is pass/fail.
• To register for research credit, arrange an RA with a researcher and then submit the RA 398B contract.
• Students may also participate in research in a more advanced and independent role through Independent Study Opportunities, see below. 

Independent Studies

• Advanced students who wish to pursue study of a subject outside the context of a class can do that by arranging independent readings or independent research with a faculty sponsor. 

• Independent Readings in Psychology (Psych 396A) allows students to engage in scholarly research on a specific topic. The student must work with a faculty sponsor and develop a detailed plan of study together with the sponsor. The particular readings along with the nature of the paper that will be the culmination of the project should be detailed in the plan of study.
  To register for independent readings, secure a faculty sponsor and fill out the Psych 396A contract together.

• Independent Study – Research (Psych 496A) allows students to engage in research in a psychology laboratory. This letter-graded research experience is generally appropriate for students who have prior research experience and who are ready to embark upon research that is relatively independent (a full study or a portion of a more extensive project). Students must find a lab to work in and a faculty sponsor. Together with the faculty sponsor, a plan of study is developed that describes the nature of the research, which includes information about the research report that will be submitted at the conclusion of semester.
• To register for independent study research, secure a faculty sponsor and fill out the Psych 496A contract together.

Teaching Assistantships

• See a current listing of available psychology teaching assistantships.
• Students may earn pass/fail course credit.
• Requirements and expectations differ according to each instructor.
• To register for a teaching assistantship, apply with the instructor.
• Once accepted, submit the teaching assistantship 398A contract.

Internships

• The Department of Psychology strongly encourages students interested in pursuing either jobs or graduate study in the applied areas of psychology (such as Clinical or Counseling Psychology, Psychiatry or Psychiatric Nursing, School or Educational Psychology, Human Resources, Social Work, Applied Behavior Analysis, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health or Substance Abuse Counseling) to gain practical experience through internships for course credit.
• Students negotiate directly with community sites to arrange to do internships with them. Students may arrange to do internships in any setting that will allow them to engage in activities that advance their intended careers. As a starting point for identifying potential internship sites, students should click on this link: View a list of sites where psychology students have interned in the past. Students should also explore options available through Career Services by going to http://www.umass.edu/careers/internships-co-ops/finding-internship-and-co-op-opportunities.
• After securing an internship position, to receive course credit for it, students should process the internship contracts available in Handshake, found on the Career Services website.  The process is also described below. The requirements for earning internship course credit are as follows:
  • Receiving a satisfactory end–of–term evaluation from the intern’s on-site direct supervisor;
  • Completing 40 hours of work on-site for each credit received;
  • Submitting weekly reports to faculty sponsor;
  • Submitting an 8–10-page final paper on “What I Learned from My Internship” by the second day of final exams; 
  • Submitting a completed Internship Site and Supervisor Final Assessment form by the second day of final exams.
• Internships may be taken as either PSY 398 or UMass 298. 
  PSY 398 is a three-credit course and students with a GPA of 2.5 or better may register for it. 
  UMass 298 is a variable credit course and and a GPA of 2.0 or better may register for it. 
  Students may take both PSY 398 and UMass 298 concurrently in a single term, provided they complete the required hours of on-site work for each of the sites.
• Internships require faculty sponsors, who review interns’ weekly reports, receive interns’ final papers and final Site Assessments, and handle any issues that arise during the course of the internship. Any member of the UMass faculty may sponsor a PBS student for an internship taken as UMass 298, and any member of the UMass PBS faculty may sponsor a PBS student for an internship taken as PSY 398.  Dr. Erik Cheries (echeries@umass.edu) serves as the internship liason for PBS students taking both UMass 298 and PSY 398.  You may speak to him about questions or concerns regarding the internship process.   

To request a syllabus or syllabi from the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, from prior semesters, email Sandy Kalmus.  Include any information that would be helpful such as year, instructor, class title and course number. If you require syllabi from other departments, please contact them directly.