Major in Psychology, Mind, Brain, and Behavior Concentration

Program Overview

The Mind, Brain, and Behavior Concentration prepares students for graduate programs in cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and related fields. Students acquire a strong science and quantitative background through coursework in psychology, chemistry, biology, and statistics, and are encouraged to participate in undergraduate research. The program culminates in a capstone seminar and the completion of at least 42 upper-division credits.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

The Mind, Brain, and Behavior Concentration prepares students to be competitive candidates for graduate programs in cognitive psychology, cognitive neuroscience, behavioral neuroscience, and sensation and perception. Many students considering a career in medicine or an allied health profession also choose to complete this concentration. Students acquire a stronger science and quantitative background compared to the other concentrations in psychology. Students are encouraged to participate as undergraduate research assistants and work with a faculty member on a research project.

Outline:

Freshman Year:

• Semester 1:
• CO 150 College Composition (GT-CO2) - 3 credits
• MATH 117 College Algebra in Context I (GT-MA1) - 1 credit
• PSY 100 General Psychology (GT-SS3) - 3 credits
• PSY 192 Psychology First-Year Seminar - 1 credit
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion - 3 credits
• Elective - 0-1 credits
• Total Credits:
15
• Semester 2:
• LIFE 102 Attributes of Living Systems (GT-SC1) - 3 credits
• MATH 118 College Algebra in Context II (GT-MA1) - 1 credit
• MATH 124 Logarithmic and Exponential Functions (GT-MA1) - 1 credit
• PSY 252 Mind, Brain, and Behavior - 3 credits
• PHIL - 3 credits (Social and Behavioral Sciences)
• CO 150 and PSY 100 must be completed by the end of Semester 2.
• Total Credits: 15

Sophomore Year:

• Semester 3:
• CHEM 107 Fundamentals of Chemistry (GT-SC2) - 3 credits
• CHEM 108 Fundamentals of Chemistry Laboratory (GT-SC1) - 3 credits
• PSY 250 Research Design and Analysis I - 3 credits
• Select one course from the following:
• STAT 301 Introduction to Applied Statistical Methods
• STAT 307 Introduction to Biostatistics
• STAT 315 Intro to Theory and Practice of Statistics
• Historical Perspectives - 3 credits
• Total Credits:
14
• Semester 4:
• PSY 210 Psychology of the Individual in Context - 3 credits
• PSY 292B Seminar: Mind, Brain, and Behavior - 1 credit
• Select one course from the following:
• ETST
• PSY 305 Psychology of Religion
• PSY 327 Psychology of Women
• PSY 328 Psychology of Human Sexuality
• PSY 437 Psychology of Gender
• WS
• Any additional AUCC 1C course
• Arts and Humanities - 3 credits
• PSY 210, PSY 250, PSY 252, and the STAT requirement must be completed by the end of Semester 4.
• Total Credits: 16

Junior Year:

• Semester 5:
• PSY 350 Research Design and Analysis II - 3 credits
• Select one course from the following:
• PSY 352 Learning and Memory
• PSY 452 Cognitive Psychology
• PSY 454 Biological Psychology
• PSY 456 Sensation and Perception
• PSY 458 Cognitive Neuroscience
• Select one lab from the following:
• PSY 453 Cognitive Psychology Laboratory
• PSY 455 Biological Psychology Laboratory
• PSY 457 Sensation and Perception Laboratory
• PSY 459 Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory
• Select at least five credits from the following:
• DSCI 235 Data Wrangling
• or DSCI 4
• MATH 125 Numerical Trigonometry (GT-MA1)
• MATH 126 Analytic Trigonometry (GT-MA1)
• MATH 141 Calculus in Management Sciences (GT-MA1)
• MATH 157 One Year Calculus IA (GT-MA1)
• MATH 159 One Year Calculus IB (GT-MA1)
• or MATH 4
• STAT 158 Introduction to R Programming
• or STAT 4
• Electives - 2 credits
• CHEM 107, CHEM 108, and LIFE 102 must be completed by the end of Semester 5.
• Total Credits: 15
• Semester 6:
• BMS 300 Principles of Human Physiology - 4 credits
• Select one course from the following, not previously taken:
• PSY 352 Learning and Memory
• PSY 452 Cognitive Psychology
• PSY 454 Biological Psychology
• PSY 456 Sensation and Perception
• PSY 458 Cognitive Neuroscience
• Select one lab from the following, not previously taken:
• PSY 453 Cognitive Psychology Laboratory
• PSY 455 Biological Psychology Laboratory
• PSY 457 Sensation and Perception Laboratory
• PSY 459 Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory
• Advanced Writing - 3 credits
• Electives - 3 credits
• BMS 300 and PSY 350 must be completed by the end of Semester 6.
• Total Credits: 15

Senior Year:

• Semester 7:
• Select one course from the following:
• or BC 4
• or BMS 4
• or BZ 4
• or CHEM 4
• or CS 4
• or PH 4
• Select one course not previously taken from the following:
• PSY 352 Learning and Memory
• PSY 452 Cognitive Psychology
• PSY 454 Biological Psychology
• PSY 456 Sensation and Perception
• PSY 458 Cognitive Neuroscience
• Select 1 lab course not previously taken from the following:
• PSY 453 Cognitive Psychology Laboratory
• PSY 455 Biological Psychology Laboratory
• PSY 457 Sensation and Perception Laboratory
• PSY 459 Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory
• or BC 4
• or BMS 4
• or BZ 4
• or CHEM 4
• or CS 4
• or DSCI 4
• or MATH 4
• or PH 4
• or STAT 4
• Electives - 2-7 credits
• Total Credits:
15
• Semester 8:
• PSY 493 Capstone Seminar - 4 credits
• Select one course not previously taken from the following:
• PSY 352 Learning and Memory
• PSY 452 Cognitive Psychology
• PSY 454 Biological Psychology
• PSY 456 Sensation and Perception
• PSY 458 Cognitive Neuroscience
• Electives - 9 credits

Other:

• Students must have a C or better in each of the following courses: PSY 100, PSY 192, PSY 210, PSY 250, PSY 252, PSY 350, PSY 493, and the two lecture-lab pairs in psychology (for the AUCC 4A, 4B requirement).
• Maximum of 12 credits allowed toward graduation for any combination of PSY 295, PSY 296, PSY 384, PSY 484, PSY 486, PSY 487, PSY 488, PSY 495A-PSY 495F, PSY 496A-PSY 496F, PSY 498A-PSY 498F, PSY 499A-PSY 499F.
• At least 42 credits must be upper-division (300- to 400-level).