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²ÊºçƵµÀ College
²ÊºçƵµÀ College

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 (M or W or F)
  • PSY 101 is available to all ²ÊºçƵµÀ students! We have 96 seats in Fall 2026. 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: 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 and second years
  • Only Spring labs are open to first-year students, as PSY 101 is a prerequisite
  • Students can take any number of labs each quarter, e.g.: 2 in Q1, 2 in Q2; 1 in Q1, 3 in Q2
  • Fall 2026 labs: 200 (Health), 201 (Brain & Behavior)
  • Spring 2027 labs: 202 (Cognitive Neuroscience), 203 (Learning & Comparative), 206 (Psychopathology), 207 (Social), 208 (Cognitive)
  • Labs that may be of particular interest to NEUR majors are italicized above

Non-Majors

PSY 2XX Topics Seminar 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 2026 topics courses:
    • PSY 217 (Neuroscience of Consciousness)
    • PSY 219 (Mental & Brain Health)
    • PSY 225 (Psychology of Stress & Resilience)
    • PSY 230 (Comparative Cognition)
  • Spring 2027 topics course:
    • 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 PSY and NEUR majors.
  • For PSY 3XX core courses, non-majors can join the waitlist and will be admitted if seats are available close to the start of the semester. They can also fulfill the Group 3+ (DCA) requirement by taking a course in the natural sciences.