Psychology

Psychology is an impacted ("capped") major. Due to very high demand, special restrictions on declaration of the major are in effect. Transfer students must apply during their first semester. Non-transfer students must apply prior to exceeding 80 units of post-high school coursework. See the department website for details.

Psychology aims to describe, understand, and predict the behavior of living organisms. The major at Berkeley covers the many factors that influence behavior - from sensory experience to complex cognition, from the role of genetics to that of social and cultural environments, from the processes that explain behavior in early childhood to those that operate in older ages, and from normal development to pathological conditions.

Lower Division Prerequisites* for the Psychology Major

*(prerequisites are lower division requirements that must be completed before declaring the major)

• Psychology 1* (or AP Psychology, score of 4 or better)
• Two courses* in biological science: Biology 1A-1B (or AP Biology, score of 4 or better will count toward ONE of the two courses), Biology 11; Integrative Biology 31; Molecular and Cell Biology 31, 32, 50, 61, 63, 64 or equivalent
• One course* in evolution: Molecular and Cell Biology 41, 41X, or Integrative Biology 35AC; Anthropology 1
• Two courses* in social science: Anthropology 3 or 3AC, Linguistics 5, Political Science 1, 2 or 4 (or AP American Government, score of 4 or better), Sociology 3 (only one course may be taken in any one department)
• One quantitative course*: Mathematics 54, 55; Statistics 2, 20, or 21 (or AP Statistics, score of 4 or better)

Note: Completion of the lower division courses is required for declaration of major.* Also, admission to the major is restricted and is based on grade-point average. Prerequisite courses must be taken on a letter-graded basis, with a grade of C- or higher in each course.