Program Overview

School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences

The School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences offers a comprehensive undergraduate program in Psychology, providing students with a solid foundation in the scientific study of mental life.

Psychology (BS)

The Psychology program at UT Dallas approaches the field from a scientific perspective, applying behavioral science research methods to the study of the human mind and behavior. Students will have laboratory experiences in addition to lectures, reading, and demonstrations. Psychology students learn to evaluate evidence relating to theories of social behavior, personality development, perception, memory, brain processes, and other facets of human experience.

Bachelor of Science in Psychology

The undergraduate degree awarded through the Psychology program is a Bachelor of Science. Students may choose electives to obtain a broader grounding in psychology or a general education in the liberal arts. Students should note that it is possible to select clusters of electives that lead to particular concentrations in careers and graduate study.

Degree Requirements

• 120 semester credit hours
• Core Curriculum Requirements: 42 semester credit hours
• Major Requirements: 36 upper-division semester credit hours
• Elective Requirements: 42 semester credit hours

Core Curriculum Requirements

• Communication: 6 semester credit hours
  • COMM 1311 Survey of Oral and Technology-based Communication
  • RHET 1302 Rhetoric
• Mathematics: 3 semester credit hours
  • Choose one course from the following:
    • MATH 1306 College Algebra for the Non-Scientist
    • MATH 1314 College Algebra
    • MATH 2417 Calculus I
• Life and Physical Sciences: 6 semester credit hours
  • Select 6 semester credit hours from Life and Physical Sciences core courses
• Language, Philosophy and Culture: 3 semester credit hours
  • Choose one course from the following:
    • HUMA 1301 Exploration of the Humanities
    • LIT 2331 Masterpieces of World Literature
    • PHIL 1301 Introduction to Philosophy
    • PHIL 2316 History of Philosophy I
    • PHIL 2317 History of Philosophy II
• Creative Arts: 3 semester credit hours
  • Choose one course from the following:
    • AHST 1303 Survey of Western Art History: Ancient to Medieval
    • AHST 1304 Survey of Western Art History: Renaissance to Modern
    • AHST 2331 Understanding Art
    • ARTS 1301 Exploration of the Arts
    • DANC 1310 Understanding Dance
    • DRAM 1310 Understanding Theater
    • FILM 2332 Understanding Film
    • MUSI 1306 Understanding Music
• American History: 6 semester credit hours
  • Choose two courses from the following:
    • HIST 1301 U.S. History Survey to Civil War
    • HIST 1302 U.S. History Survey from Civil War
    • HIST 2301 History of Texas
    • HIST 2330 Themes and Ideas in American History
    • HIST 2332 Civil War and Reconstruction
• Government / Political Science: 6 semester credit hours
  • GOVT 2305 American National Government
  • GOVT 2306 State and Local Government
• Social and Behavioral Sciences: 3 semester credit hours
  • PSY 2301 Introduction to Psychology
• Component Area Option: 6 semester credit hours
  • PSY 2317 Statistics for Psychology
  • or STAT 1342 Statistical Decision Making
  • or STAT 2332 Introductory Statistics for Life Sciences
  • AND one of the following:
    • PSY 2314 Lifespan Development
    • PSY 2364 Animal Communication
    • CGS 2301 Cognitive Science

Major Requirements

• Major Preparatory Courses: 6 semester credit hours
  • PSY 2301 Introduction to Psychology
  • PSY 2317 Statistics for Psychology
  • or STAT 1342 Statistical Decision Making
  • or STAT 2332 Introductory Statistics for Life Sciences
• Major Core Courses: 24 upper-division semester credit hours
  • NSC 3361 Introduction to Neuroscience
  • PSY 3360 Historical Perspectives on Psychology: Mind and Machines since 1600
  • PSY 3361 Cognitive Psychology
  • or PSY 4359 Cognitive Neuroscience
  • PSY 3392 Research Design and Analysis
  • PSY 3393 Experimental Projects in Psychology
  • PSY 3331 Social Psychology
  • PSY 3310 Child Development
  • PSY 4343 Abnormal Psychology
• Major Related Courses: 12 upper-division semester credit hours
  • Guided Electives; 3 semester credit hours of one of the following:
    • PSY 4394 Internship in Psychology
    • PSY 4395 Co-op Fieldwork
    • PSY 4V96 Teaching Internship
    • PSY 4397 Thesis Research
    • PSY 4V98 Directed Research
    • PSY 4V99 Independent Study
  • Plus any 9 semester credit hours of courses with PSY or CGS or CLDP or NSC prefixes or the following courses: SPAU 3301, SPAU 3303, SPAU 3304, SPAU 3340, SPAU 3343, SPAU 3344, SPAU 3345 or SPAU 4308.

Elective Requirements

• Free Electives: 42 semester credit hours
  • Electives are selected by students to explore areas of concentration in Psychology as well as explore interests outside the field. Both lower- and upper-division courses may count as electives but students must be sure to complete at least 51 semester credit hours of upper-division courses to qualify for graduation.

Fast Track Baccalaureate/Master's Degrees

UT Dallas undergraduate students with strong academic records who intend to pursue a master's degree in Human Development and Early Childhood Disorders or in Applied Cognition and Neuroscience at UT Dallas may consider an accelerated undergraduate-graduate plan of study. If accepted into the program, students may take up to 15 semester credit hours of graduate courses that may be used to complete the baccalaureate degree and also to satisfy requirements for the master's degree. Students must maintain a 3.000 grade point average and earn grades of B or better in graduate courses taken.

Faculty

• Professors:
  • Hervé Abdi
  • Peter F. Assmann
  • James C. Bartlett
  • W. Jay Dowling
  • Richard M. Golden
  • Margaret Tresch Owen
  • Karen J. Prager
  • Michael D. Rugg
  • John W. Santrock
  • Melanie J. Spence
  • Hanna K. Ulatowska
  • Marion K. Underwood
• Professor and Dean Emeritus:
  • J. Michael Coleman
• Professor Emerita:
  • Susan W. Jerger
• Clinical Professor:
  • John Stilwell
• Associate Professors:
  • Francesca Filbey
  • Shayla C. Holub
  • Daniel Krawczyk
  • Mandy J. Maguire
  • Candice M. Mills
  • Amy Pinkham
  • Pamela R. Rollins
  • Bart Rypma
  • Noah J. Sasson
• Assistant Professors:
  • Robert Ackerman
  • Chandramallika Basak
  • Heidi Kane
  • Kristen Kennedy
  • Jackie Nelson
  • Karen Rodrigue
  • Andrea Warner-Czyz
  • Gagan Wig
• Senior Lecturers:
  • Dawn County Brinkley
  • Meridith Grant
  • Karen Huxtable-Jester
  • Nancy Juhn