Bachelor of Arts in Psychology Roadmap

120 Total Units Required
Minimum Number of Units in the Major: 41

This roadmap is a suggested plan of study and does not replace meeting with an advisor. Please note that students may need to adjust the actual sequence of courses based on course availability. Please consult an advisor in your major program for further guidance.

Plan of Study Grid
First Semester		Units
ENG 114	Writing the First Year: Finding Your Voice (A2) ¹	3
GE Area A ²		3
GE Area C		3
Complementary Studies or SF State Studies or University Elective - Take Two ³		6
	Units	15
Second Semester
GE Area A		3
GE Area B: Physical Science (B1) and Laboratory Science (B3) ⁴		3-4
GE Area B: Quantitative Reasoning (B4) (PSY 171 Recommended) ⁵		3
GE Area C		3
GE Area E		3
	Units	15-16
Third Semester
PSY 200	General Psychology (Major Core, D1)	3
GE Area B: Life Science (B2) and Laboratory Science (B3) ⁴		3-4
GE Area D: U.S. History (D2)		3
Complementary Studies or SF State Studies or University Elective - Take Two ³		6
	Units	15-16
Fourth Semester
GE Area C		3
GE Area F ^±		3
U.S. and California Government		3
Complementary Studies or SF State Studies or University Elective - Take Two ³		6
	Units	15
Fifth Semester
PSY 303	Psychology: The Major and the Profession (Major Core)	1
PSY 371	Psychological Statistics (Major Core) ⁶	3
Basic Area Courses – Take Two ⁷		6-8
GE Area UD-B: Upper-Division Physical and/or Life Sciences		3
Complementary Studies or SF State Studies or University Elective ³		3
	Units	16-18
Sixth Semester
PSY 400	Introduction to Research in Psychology (Major Core)	3
Basic Area Courses – Take Two ⁷		6-8
GE Area UD-C: Upper-Division Arts and/or Humanities		3
Complementary Studies or SF State Studies or University Elective ³		3
	Units	15-17
Seventh Semester
PSY 305GW	Writing in Psychology - GWAR (Major Core)	3
PSY 690	Future Directions for Psychology Majors (Major Core)	1
Basic Area Course – Take One ⁷		3-4
Major Elective – Take One ⁸		3-4
GE Area UD-D: Upper-Division Social Sciences		3
Complementary Studies or SF State Studies or University Elective ³		3
	Units	16-18
Eighth Semester
Basic Area Course – Take One ⁷		3-4
Major Elective – Take Two ⁸		6-8
Complementary Studies or SF State Studies or University Elective ³		4
	Units	13-16
	Total Units	120-131

¹

ENG 114 can only be taken if you complete Directed Self-Placement (DSP) and select ENG 114; if you choose ENG 104/ENG 105 through DSP you will satisfy A2 upon successful completion of ENG 105 in the second semester; multilingual students may be advised into alternative English courses.

²

To avoid taking additional units, it is recommended that you meet the SF State Studies (AERM, GP, ES, SJ) requirements within your GE or major.

³

Complementary Studies

Bachelor of Arts students must complete at least 12 units of Complementary Studies from courses with a prefix other than PSY, and not cross-listed with PSY. (Note: Students may not use an alternate prefix that is cross-listed with the primary prefix for the major.)

Students who complete two majors or a major and a minor automatically complete the Complementary Studies requirement. Additional ways to complete Complementary Studies for students in the Psychology major include 12 units of languages other than English, 12 units from an approved Study Abroad program, 12 units from partial completion of a certificate, or 12 units from any combination of courses in Anthropology, Biology, Child and Adolescent Development, Criminal Justice Studies, Computer Science, Counseling, Education, Ethnic Studies, Philosophy, and Sociology, or a coherent group of courses approved by a major advisor as complementary to the major. All of the units must be separate from units counted in the major. Courses that fulfill the complementary studies requirement may be lower or upper-division units, resident or transfer units, or units taken in approved study abroad programs. Consult with your major advisor for assistance.

Students who have earned AA-T or AA-S degrees may use courses from community colleges to fulfill the Complementary Studies requirement provided the course has a prefix other than Psychology. Students should consult with a major advisor about how transfer units and/or SF State units can best be applied to this requirement in order to ensure degree completion within 60 units.

⁴

Consider taking a class combined with a laboratory or a separate lab to fulfill B3 if not already satisfied.

⁵

To determine the best B4 course option, students should complete the online advising activity at mathadvising.sfsu.edu. Questions? Contact Gator Smart Start.

⁶

Students should not take Basic Area 1 courses in the same semester that they are taking PSY 371.

⁷

Basic Area Courses (18-21 units)

Choose two courses from each of the following Areas:

Area 1: Basic Psychological Processes (6 units)

PSY 432 Cognitive Development: Language, Thinking, and Perception (3 units)

PSY 490 Introduction to Data Science for Psychology (3 units)

PSY 491 Learning (3 units)

PSY 492 Perception (3 units)

PSY 493 Motivation (3 units)

PSY 494 Cognitive Psychology (3 units)

PSY 495 The Psychology of Human Memory (3 units)

PSY 498 Cognitive Neuroscience: Psychological Models (3 units)

PSY 531 Psycholinguistics (3 units)

PSY 581 Physiological Psychology I (3 units)

PSY 582 Physiological Psychology II (3 units)

Area 2: Psychological Development and Individual Differences (6-7 units)

PSY 430 Adolescent Psychology (3 units)

PSY 431 Developmental Psychology (3 units)*

PSY 433 Social, Emotional, and Personality Development (3 units)

PSY 435 Developmental Psychopathology (3 units) (UD-D)

PSY 436/SXS 436 The Development of Gender Identities (4 units) (UD-D)

PSY 442 Health Psychology (3 units)

PSY 451 Theories of Personality (3 units)

PSY 452 Psychopathology (Abnormal Psychology) (3 units)

PSY 521 Introduction to Clinical Psychology (3 units)

Area 3: Social, Cultural. Organizational and Community Contexts (6-8 units)

PSY 440 Social Psychology (3 units)

PSY 441 The Psychology of the Family (3 units)

PSY 455 Cross-Cultural Perspectives in Psychology (3 units)

PSY 456/SXS 456 Psychology of Human Sexual Behavior (3 units)

PSY 461 Introduction to Industrial/Organizational Psychology (3 units)

PSY 462 Personnel Psychology (3 units)

PSY 463 Human Factors in Technology (3 units)

PSY 464 Psychology of Career Pursuit (3 units)

PSY 465 The Psychology of Work-Life Stress (3 units)

PSY 466 Training and Development in Organizations (3 units)

PSY 472 Introduction to Legal Psychology (3 units)

PSY 474 Psychology of Social Justice (3 units) (SJ)

PSY 475 Psychology of Policing (3 units)

PSY 525 Community Psychology (3 units)

PSY 540 Decision Making: A Perspective from Social Psychology (3 units)

PSY 547 Social Conflict and Conflict Resolution (3 units)

PSY 558 Field Services Seminar (2 units)

and PSY 559 Psychological Field Service (1-3 units)

PSY 645 Group Processes (3 units)

⁸

Electives (9-12 units)

Choose 3 elective courses from courses in Areas 1–3 not used to satisfy the Basic Area Course requirement and/or from the following additional upper-division psychology courses:

PSY 300 Current Issues in Psychology (3 units)

PSY 320/SXS 320 Sex and Relationships (3 units) (UD-D, GP)

PSY 330 Child Development (3 units)^*(UD-B)

PSY 443 The Science of Happiness (3 units)

PSY 450/SXS 400/SOC 400 Variations in Human Sexuality (3 units) (UD-D, SJ)

PSY 571 Intermediate Psychological Statistics (3 units)

PSY 668 The Psychology of Leadership (3 units) (GP)

PSY 680 Peer Advising in Psychology (3 units)

PSY 685 Projects in the Teaching of Psychology (1-4 units)

PSY 693 Proseminar I (3 units)

PSY 694 Proseminar II (3 units)

PSY 697 Senior Project Preparation (3 units)

PSY 698 Senior Project in Psychology (3 units)

PSY 699 Independent Study in Psychology (1-4 units)

*

Students may not use PSY 330 as an elective if they have taken PSY 431.

±: Given catalog rights, fall 2023 transfer students do not need to complete an Area F course.