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01-02 LS&A Bulletin

Biopsychology and Cognitive Science

effective date of concentration: Spring Term, 2001 | previous requirements

May be elected as a departmental concentration program

Prerequisites to Concentration. Students planning to concentrate in psychology should elect an introductory psychology course (Psychology 111, 112, 114, or 115) by the end of the sophomore year. Students who receive a grade lower than "C" in Psychology 111, 114, or 115 are ineligible for a concentration in psychology.

After Introductory Psychology, students must complete a minimum of 34 credits in post-introductory courses, including the required Psychology courses and cognate courses listed below.

  1. Core course requirement: Two courses, one from each group:
    1. Biopsychology: Psych. 330 or 335. 
    2. Cognitive Psychology: Psych. 340 or 345. 
  2. Advanced courses in biopsychology and cognitive psychology requirement: Four additional upper-level natural science courses in Psychology selected from the following: Psych. 330, 335, 338, 340, 345, 347, 348, 400, 431, 432, 433, 436, 439, 443, 448, 500, 530, 531, 541, 542.  With permission from the concentration advisor, other courses such as special seminars may be substituted.
    Psych. 330, 335, 340, or 345 may be used only if they are not also used toward the Core Course requirement above; i.e., a total of six courses are required to satisfy both the Core Course and Advanced Course requirements.
  3. Advanced Lab requirement:
    1. Option 1: Two courses from the following: Psych. 302, 331, 332, 341, 342, 343, Biol. 308 or 226 or 429.
    2. Note: Omly one biology laboratory may be used toward the Biopsychology and Cognitive Science concentration.
    3. Option 2: One regular lab from Option 1 and one three-credit independent research course (408 or 505), or Honors 510 and 511 if a concentration advisor determines that it provides a natural science research experience.
  4. Psychology as a social science requirement. One course selected from the following: Psych. 350, 360, 370, 380, 390. With the approval of the concentration advisor, a social science psychology course that is not on the above list may be substituted.
  5. Statistics: One course. Statistics 350 is recommended, but Statistics 425 and 426 may be substituted by students interested in a stronger mathematical foundation. Other courses, as appropriate, may be substituted with approval of a psychology concentration advisor.
  6. Cognate course requirement. One course selected from the following list (or an approved substitute): Cell and Developmental Biology 570; Biological Anthropology 467, 568; Biology 208, 222, 225, 305, 307, 310 (or 311 or 412), 320, 381, 390, 404, 422, 425, 492, 494, 523, 534; Biological Chemistry 415; EECS 281, 492; Linguistics 315, 514, 555; Philosophy 345, 450, 482; Statistics 401, 406, 407. Other courses can be used as a cognate if they are approved by a concentration advisor.

Honors Concentration. The department offers Honors work both at the introductory and advanced levels. Underclass Honors students may elect Psychology 114 or 115 as prerequisite to more advanced work. Students interested in an Honors concentration in psychology may obtain information and application material from the LS&A Honors Program Office, 1228 Angell Hall, or the Psychology Undergraduate Office, 1044 East Hall. Applications for the psychology Honors sequence of courses are usually reviewed only in the winter term of the sophomore year or the fall term of the junior year. Students wishing to pursue Honors by petition must file a statement of intent at least one full term prior to graduation. Details and deadlines are available in the Psychology Undergraduate Office.

Honors candidates pursuing either the Psychology or the Biopsychology and Cognitive Science concentration complete the regular statistics and advanced laboratory requirements for concentration, as differentially detailed above. In addition, Psychology concentrators must elect one course from each of the five groups, while Biopsychology and Cognitive Science Honors candidates must meet their group course requirements plus cognates from the categories listed in 2. However, courses in these groups differ from those above for both A.B. and B.S. candidates. Contact the Honors advisor or Psychology Undergraduate Office for details. Honors candidates pursuing either concentration also, if admitted to the Honors sequence of courses, elect Psychology 312, 510, and 511 as part of the necessary approved credits. Psychology 312, elected in the winter term of the junior year, emphasizes research methodologies as well as an extensive literature review to insure that students have an adequate basis upon which to initiate a senior Honors project. Enrollment in Psychology 510 and 511 during the senior year acknowledges a student's intention to complete the senior Honors thesis, which involves the design and execution of an acceptable research project and written report describing and analyzing this research. Satisfactory completion of Psychology 510 may substitute for one of the advanced laboratory requirements, as detailed above in 2 (Psychology) or 3 (Biopsychology and Cognitive Science), but one regular lab must be elected.

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