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Bachelors

Psychology, BA

Stony Brook University
New York , United States
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Degree
Bachelors
Major
Anthropology | Cognitive Science | Psychology
Area of study
Social Sciences
Course Language
English
About Program

Program Overview

Psychology, BA

Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences

Minors of Particular Interest to Students Majoring in Psychology

  • Africana Studies (AFS)
  • Women's and Gender Studies (WST)

Overview

The study of psychology provides an understanding of the biological, cognitive, social, and clinical origins of behavior, thought, and emotion, and the methods that psychologists use to investigate these. Knowledge of psychological principles and the ability to evaluate theories and research are essential in our rapidly changing society.


Degree Requirements

Completion of the major for either a B.S. or a B.A. in Psychology requires 58 to 67 credits. All courses required for either the B.S. or B.A. degree must be passed with a letter grade of C or higher.


Study within Psychology

For both degree programs, 34 to 35 credits in psychology to be distributed as follows:


Core Program

  • PSY 103 - Introduction to Psychology (3 credits)
  • One of the following statistics courses:
    • PSY 201 - Statistical Methods in Psychology (3 credits)
    • AMS 102 - Elements of Statistics (3 credits)
    • AMS 110 - Probability and Statistics in the Life Sciences (3 credits)
    • AMS 310 - Survey of Probability and Statistics (3 credits)
    • BUS 215 - Introduction to Business Statistics (3 credits)
    • ECO 320 - Mathematical Statistics (4 credits)
    • POL 201 - Introduction to Statistical Methods in Political Science (3 credits)
    • SOC 202 - Statistical Methods in Sociology (3 credits)
    • Another statistics course approved by the department
  • PSY 310 - Research and Writing in Psychology (4 credits)

Survey Courses in Psychology

One course from Group A, one from Group B, and a third course from Group A or B:


Group A
  • PSY 220 - Survey in Developmental Psychology (3 credits)
  • PSY 230 - Survey in Abnormal and Clinical Psychology (3 credits)
  • PSY 240 - Survey in Social Psychology (3 credits)
Group B
  • PSY 250 - Survey in Biopsychology (3 credits)
  • PSY 260 - Survey in Cognition and Perception (3 credits)

Five PSY Courses

For the B.A. student:


  • One course numbered 200 or higher, excluding PSY 201, PSY 273, PSY 283, PSY 310, PSY 399, PSY 447, PSY 475, PSY 476, PSY 487, PSY 488, PSY 495-PSY 496, the discontinued PSY 300, and 200-level survey courses used to satisfy requirement #2.
  • Four more courses from among advanced courses numbered PSY 301 to PSY 383, excluding PSY 310.

Upper-Division Writing Requirement

For students pursuing the Stony Brook Curriculum (SBC), a course that satisfies the "Write Effectively within One's Discipline" (WRTD) learning objective must be completed in order to graduate. This WRTD requirement will routinely be satisfied by completing PSY 310. However, in special cases, co-registration for the 0-credit PSY 459 while completing a substantial paper or writing sample in another Psychology course will satisfy the WRTD requirement. A student must obtain the permission of the course instructor prior to registering for PSY 459.


Courses Outside the Psychology Department

In addition to the 34 to 35 credits in psychology, students must also complete 24 to 32 credits of courses outside the Department. This requirement differs in some aspects between the B.S. and B.A. degrees.


For the B.A. Student

One 3-4 credit course from each of the 4 categories below:


1. Mathematics
  • Choose one from the following:
    • MAT 118 - Mathematical Thinking (3 credits)
    • MAT 122 - Overview of Calculus with Applications (3 credits)
    • MAT 123 - Precalculus (3 credits) (or MAT 119/MAT 123)
    • MAT 125 - Calculus A (3 credits) (or MAT 130/MAT 125)
    • MAT 126 - Calculus B (3 credits)
    • MAT 131 - Calculus I (4 credits)
    • MAT 132 - Calculus II (4 credits)
    • Any higher AMS, CSE, or MAT course approved by the department.
2. Biology
  • Any one-semester BIO course. Note: ANT 101, HAN 200, or HAN 202 may be used as a substitute to fulfill this requirement.
3. Philosophy
  • Any one-semester PHI course
4. Social Sciences
  • Any one-semester ANT, HIS, POL, or SOC course except SOC 201 or SOC 202 or POL 201.
5. A 12-credit (minimum four courses) concentration in one of the course subjects listed below

At least two courses must be upper-division (numbered between 300 and 499). Practica, research, and internship courses do not satisfy this requirement. The concentration requirement may also be satisfied by an approved minor or a second major in any department or program.


  • Africana Studies (AFS)
  • Anthropology (ANT) (see Note 1)
  • Applied Mathematics and Statistics (AMS)
  • Biology (BIO) (see Note 1)
  • Computer Science (CSE)
  • Economics (ECO)
  • History (HIS)
  • Linguistics (LIN)
  • Marketing (MKT) (requires completion of two required courses: BUS 348 - Principles of Marketing and BUS 448 - Marketing Strategy; one elective from: BUS 334 - Integrated Marketing Communications or BUS 302 - Social Media Marketing Strategy or BUS 378 - Marketing Ethics, Public Policy, and Social Change; and another elective from: BUS 359 - Consumer Behavior or BUS 358 - Marketing Research or independent study in research BUS 487)
  • Mathematics (MAT) (see Note 1)
  • Philosophy (PHI) (see Note 1)
  • Political Science (POL) (see Note 1)
  • Sociology (SOC) (see Note 1)
  • Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WST)
  • Writing (requires completion of WRT 305 - Writing for the Health Professions or WRT 380 - Advanced Research Writing: Theories, Methods, Practices plus three other upper-division writing courses)

Notes

  1. Transfer students must take at least 12 credits of psychology in residence at Stony Brook.
  2. No more than six credits from among PSY 273, PSY 283, PSY 447, and PSY 487 may be taken in one semester. Other restrictions on applying these courses toward graduation requirements exist; consult the Undergraduate Psychology Office and see also Course Credit and Grading Option Limits in the "Academic Policies and Regulations" chapter.
  3. Students interested in a major in Psychology should meet with a Psychology Department Undergraduate Advisor (Room B-109). Additional meetings should be scheduled periodically to review progress toward fulfilling Department requirements.
  4. Psychology courses may be repeated only ONE time.

Psychology Honors Program

The Psychology honors program features:


  • A faculty mentor and
  • Collaborative research with faculty which results in a senior thesis.

Departmental majors with a 3.50 g.p.a. in psychology courses, with a 3.20 cumulative g.p.a, and with the agreement of a faculty mentor to supervise the student's independent project may apply to enroll in the Psychology honors program at the end of their junior year. The student, after asking a faculty member to be a sponsor, must submit a proposal to the Psychology Department describing the research project that is to be the subject of the honors thesis. If the project is approved by the Department, the student may enroll in PSY 495 and PSY 496 in the fall and spring semesters of the senior year, respectively. The student's major paper or research project must be completed no later than two weeks prior to the end of the second semester and submitted to the Department. If the honors program is completed with distinction and the student has achieved a 3.5 g.p.a. in all psychology courses taken in the senior year, honors are conferred.


Conferral of honors in Psychology requires the following:


  • A cumulative g.p.a. of 3.00 and a 3.50 g.p.a. in psychology.
  • Successful completion of a senior thesis while enrolled in PSY 495 and PSY 496, see below.

The Psychology honors program is followed for two semesters. During the senior year, they enroll in PSY 495 (first semester) and PSY 496 (second semester) Senior Honors Seminar.


SBC Courses

This table illustrates major courses that can also be used to fulfill SBC requirements. (See Note 1 & Note 2)


SBC Category Required Major Courses Optional Major Courses (see Note 3)
ARTS
GLO
HUM
LANG (see Note 4)
QPS AMS 102, AMS 110, MAT 118, MAT 122, MAT 123, MAT 125, MAT 126, MAT 131, MAT 132, POL 201, PSY 201, SOC 202
SBS PSY 103
SNW ANT 101
TECH
USA
WRT
STAS
EXP+ PSY 444, PSY 273, BUS 487
HFA+
SBS+ PSY 220, PSY 230, PSY 240, PSY 250, PSY 260, PSY 334, PSY 347
STEM+ AMS 310, PSY 250, PSY 260
CER PSY 103
DIV (see Note 5) PSY 240, PSY 342
ESI PSY 310 BUS 358, PSY 382, WRT 305, WRT 380
SPK PSY 310
WRTD PSY 310 PSY 382, PSY 459

Note 1:

Some course information may be subject to change. Please contact your major advisor for additional consultation.


Note 2:

For majors that require study in a related area or completion of a minor, visit the respective program's "Major SBC Courses" page to view expanded SBC options.


Note 3:

Denotes any course in which students can choose from more than one option. These may include, but are not limited to, major electives, concentration/track/specialization courses, or calculus/physics/chemistry sequences.


Note 4:

CEAS majors, the Athletic Training major, the Respiratory Care major, and the Clinical Laboratory Sciences major are exempt from the LANG learning objective. Students enrolled in the major in Social Work are exempt from the LANG learning objective, but are required to enroll in and pass with a letter grade of C or higher the first semester of an elementary foreign language course numbered 111, or satisfy through alternate methods.


Note 5:

Students are responsible for completing the general education requirements published in the Bulletin that was current as of the first semester of matriculation (or rematriculation). The following student groups must satisfy the DIV learning objective as part of their degree requirements:


  • Freshmen who matriculate in the Fall of 2019 or later
  • Transfer students who matriculate in the Spring of 2020 or later
  • Students who rematriculate in the Fall of 2019 or later

Sample Course Sequence

Freshman

Fall Semester Credits Spring Semester Credits
First Year Seminar 101 1 credit First Year Seminar 102 1 credit
WRT 101 3 credits WRT 102 3 credits
PSY 103 3 credits PSY Group A or PSY Group B 3 credits
SOC or ANT or POL course 3 credits MAT course 3 credits
SBC 3 credits LANG Part 2 3 credits
LANG Part 1 3-4 credits 3 credits
Total 16-17 credits Total 16-18 credits

Sophomore

Fall Semester Credits Spring Semester Credits
PSY Group A or PSY Group B (see note) 3 credits PSY Group A or B course 3 credits
Course for outside concentration (#1) 3 credits PSY 200 and above elective 3 credits
Statistics course 3 credits BIO Course 3-4 credits
SBC 3 credits SBC 3 credits
SBC 3 credits SBC 3 credits
Total 15 credits Total 15-16 credits

Junior

Fall Semester Credits Spring Semester Credits
PSY Upper-division elec. (PSY 301 to PSY 382) 3 credits PSY Upper-division elec. (PSY 301 to PSY 382) 3 credits
Course for outside concentration (#2) 3 credits Upper-division course outside concentration (#3) 3 credits
PSY Upper-division elec. (PSY 301 to PSY 382) 3 credits PSY Upper-division elec. (PSY 301 to PSY 382) 3 credits
Upper-division elective 3 credits Upper-division elective 3 credits
SBC 3 credits SBC 3 credits
Total 16 credits Total 15 credits

Senior

Fall Semester Credits Spring Semester Credits
PSY 310 4 credits Upper-division elective 3 credits
Upper-division outside concentration (#4) 3 credits Upper-division elective 3 credits
Upper-division elective 3 credits Elective 3 credits
Upper-division elective 3 credits Elective 3 credits
SBC 3 credits SBC 3 credits
Total 16 credits Total 15 credits
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