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Undergraduate Requirements

In the Fall of 2009 requirements for the Psychology major changed. Whether you must meet the old or the new requirements depends on when you first enrolled in college and where you first enrolled in college. On this page you can find answers to the following questions.

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Which set of requirements apply to you?

Undergraduate majors in Psychology are subject to the old requirements if they

  • first enrolled at the University of Maryland before the Fall 2009 semester or
  • first enrolled at any other University of Maryland System institution or Maryland community college before Fall 2009 or
  • were already a Psychology major in the Fall 0f 2009

The old requirements and the organization of psychology courses under the old requirements can be found here.

Undergraduate majors in Psychology must meet the new requirements if they

  • first enrolled at the University of Maryland or any other University of Maryland System institution or Maryland community college beginning in Fall 2009 or
  • first enrolled in any out-of-state college or university and were not Psychology majors before Fall 2009

The new requirements and the organization of psychology courses under the new requirements can be found here.

What are the differences between the old and new requirements?

There are two primary differences between the old and the new requirements.

  • Students who are subject to the new requirements must complete PSYC 300, Research Methods in Psychology. PSYCH 300 is not a requirement for students who are subject to the old requirements although it is strongly recommended that these students take the class.
  • Under the old requirements, courses in Psychology were organized under “Areas”. Under the new requirements courses are organized under “Themes”. This change corresponds to the way the Psychology Department has restructured its educational programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Under the old requirements, majors were required to take at least one course from each of the four areas. Under the new requirements, majors are required to take at least two courses from each of the three themes. The total number of courses in Psychology that must be taken to complete the major is the same under both the old and new requirements.


The old requirements with courses organized under areas can be found here and the new requirements with courses organized under themes can be found here.

What is the difference between the requirements for the B.A. and the B.S. degree in Psychology?

Students who wish to graduate with a B.S. degree in Psychology must complete all of the requirements for the B.A. degree plus an additional number of credits/courses in math and science. Full details on the additional requirements for the B.S. degree can be found here.