Welcome to Psychology

1. Welcome to Psychology As a Transfer Student

2. Overview • Welcome to Northern Illinois University! • This is a general overview of the course requirements within the major of Psychology • Please refer to the “Informational Overview” An Undergraduate Major in Psychology” booklet (red).

3. Academic Advising Appointments • It is recommended that you make an appointment with academic advisors within the next couple of weeks and throughout the school year • Academic advising is available by appointment • During the school year: with any major faculty • During the summer: Assigned academic advisor • Make appointments by going to Rm 400 in the Department of Psychology and sign-up on the bulletin boards located across the main office • Academic Advising is also available via email • Email address on Psychology Department Home Page: PsycAdvising@niu.edu

4. Bachelor Degree Required Credit Hours

5. Degrees in Psychology B.A. • 4 semesters of FOREIGN LANGUAGE B.S. • Choice of 3 credit groups – MATH, CSCI, CHEM, BIO & PHYS combinations • B.A. and B.S. • 40 upper division credit hours • 50 hours max in Major count towards 120 credits

6. B.A. in Psychology • Languages that require 4 semesters • Chinese, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Polish, Russian, or Spanish • Languages that require 2 semesters • Arabic, Burmese, Indonesian, Korean, Portuguese, Tagalog, Thai • 4 years of HS language with a “C” or better meets your requirement • Contact Foreign Languages: (815) 753-1501

7. B.S. in Psychology • Group 1: • MATH 210 and 211 • STAT301 • 1 CSCI course: • CSCI 210, 230, 240 or 250 OR • Group 2: • MATH 229 and 230 • STAT 350 • 1 CSCI course: • CSCI 210, 230, 240 OR 250 OR • Group 3: • MATH 211 • STAT 301 • 1 lab sequence from the following: • BIOS 104 and one of: • BIOS 205/BIOS 207 combo, BIOS 213, or BIOS 357 or • CHEM 210/lab 212 & CHEM 211/lab 213 or • PHYS 210 & 211

8. Psychology Major • STATS 208 or STAT 301 or STAT 350 • Must get a C or better • PSYC 305 (Research Methods) • 7 Psychology Electives (21 hours; not including PSYC 102): • 2 can be Lower Level: 100-200 • 5 Upper Level: 300-400 • PSYC 219 does NOT count as a psychology elective • Can take all upper level courses • 2 Lab Courses

9. Psychology Transfer Courses • Transfer Courses: • PSYC courses transfer as lower level classes – 102 plus 2 other PSYC classes can be counted toward major – others come in as graduation credit, but not as PSYC electives • myNIU will translate into specific courses (e.g. PSYC102) or as PSYC101TR (transfer elective in psychology)

10. Psychology Major • Laboratory Courses: • Requires PSYC305 + appropriate elective course • Experimental Psychology: Perception Lab • Experimental Psychology: Conditioning and Learning Lab • Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory Lab • Clinical Psychology Lab • Physiological Psychology Lab • Social & Personality Lab • Industrial-Organizational Lab • Developmental Psychology Lab • These fill-up quickly, so register for them as soon as you can • 4 credit hours • E.g., The prerequisites for the Clinical Psychology Lab course (PSYC 413) are PSYC 305 and either PSYC 315, or PSYC 316, or PSYC332

11. The Sequence: • Complete your “Gen Eds” if you don’t have an associates degree • Complete STAT 208 with a “C” or better (Or Stat 301) • Complete PSYC 305 • Complete 2 Laboratory Classes

12. All the PSYC classes are closed – What do I do?!! • Create and register for a full schedule • See if you can get on a waiting list for PSYC 305 or lab courses in the main office • Contact professors in your preferred PSYC classes or attend first day of class to ask for permission to join class • DON’T PANIC – there is next semester

13. Psychology Programs • Special Programs: • PSYC 489: Coop/Internship • Contact the University Career Services Office to get a list of available options and discuss with advisor • PSYC 485: Independent Study • Choose a faculty member and contact the faculty member • Fill out application if necessary • Obtain permission to register for this course • Especially useful for those interested in graduate training

14. Psychology Programs • Student Organizations: • SPA (Student Psychological Association) • Open to everyone • PSI CHI • At least 8 credit hours of Psychology at NIU • GPA of 3.0 overall at NIU • GPA of 3.25 in Psychology courses at NIU • Honors Program • Need to make the decision EARLY so that you have enough time to complete all of the requirements • 6 hours in honors psychology courses at upper-division level • Senior year complete a research thesis • Meet with an advisor to discuss requirements

15. Additional Useful Information: • GPA requirement in PSYC = 2.00 • For honors: Overall = 3.00 and PSYC = 3.50 • “D” still counts toward graduation – can retake class to replace grade up to 13 months from end of semester • PSYC electives = any PSYC course OTHER THAN 102, 219, 305 • Can NOT double dip • Any course taken for general education requirements can not be counted toward psych electives • E.g., PSYC 224 for social sciences gen. ed.

16. Minor Requirements: • Minor Declaration • PSYC 102 • 18 credit hours of elective – 12 hours must be 300-400 level (6 PSYC elective courses – 4 must be upper level)