Major
	Psychology (BA, BS) from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Minor
	Psychology
Four-year Graduation Plan
	Yes
Honors
	Yes
Teacher Licensure
	Yes, in Social Science
Selective Admission
	Yes, for the BS
Links
	Web Site Courses General Catalog

Psychology is the academic field that studies behavior—both human and animal. It is a broad field with many areas of specialization. At The University of Iowa, the psychology department offers course work in five areas: behavioral and cognitive neuroscience, clinical psychology, developmental science, cognition and perception, and personality and social psychology.

• Why Study Psychology at Iowa?
• Admission
• Course Work
• Student Activities
• Careers
• Scholarships

Why Study Psychology at Iowa?
Psychology is one of Iowa’s most popular undergraduate majors. It provides a foundation for advanced study in psychology and related disciplines as well as in areas such as business, law, medicine, and communication.

The program involves a broad curriculum, training students in the study of individual behavior through human and animal studies. You'll have accesss to a comprehensive advising system that includes individual faculty and peer advisors and an academic coordinator of undergraduate education.

Many research laboratories in the Department of Psychology have openings for undergraduate research assistants. You may become involved in all aspects of research, from scheduling and running subjects to analyzing data. Depending on the lab, you may speak to clients, run infant test sessions, and even design your own research projects.

Working in a research lab is a great way to find out whether you might be interested in a research career. In addition, students considering graduate study in psychology are encouraged to have research experience while they are undergraduates, since most graduate schools weigh research experience strongly when making acceptance decisions.

Admission
Students majoring in psychology may earn a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science. Students are admitted to the BA program as soon as they declare the psychology major. Students who want to earn a BS degree enroll in the BA program until they have completed 30 semester hours (s.h.) of course work with a grade-point average (GPA) of at least 2.67. There is no limit to the number of qualified students admitted to the BS program.

Course Work
BA and BS degrees require a minimum of 120 s.h. of credit, including the credit for the major in psychology: 44–45 s.h. for BA students and 53–54 s.h. for BS students.

The major for the BA is designed for students who are interested in law, business, education, the allied health professions, or fields such as counseling, rehabilitation, and social work. The major for the BS emphasizes research and the natural sciences and is good preparation for graduate work in psychology and in related disciplines.

Several courses are required for both degrees:

• Elementary Psychology
• Biological Psychology
• Research Methods in Psychology
• A core statistics course
• Three lower-level psychology elective courses
• Three upper-level psychology elective courses

If you're a BA student, you'll also take these courses:

• One upper-level computer science or statistics course
• A concentration area of at least three courses in a discipline outside psychology

Earning a minor in a discipline that interests you is one good way to satisfy the concentration area requirement.

If you're a BS student, you'll also take these courses:

• Laboratory in Psychology
• Psychology Seminar
• An approved pair of natural sciences courses (chosen from biology, chemistry, and physics)
• One calculus course
• One advanced course in computer science, mathematics, or statistics

See Psychology in the UI General Catalog to learn more about the major and for information about graduating with honors or earning a minor in psychology.

Student Activities
You’ll have many opportunities to learn outside the classroom at Iowa. All students are encouraged to participate in community service and volunteer opportunities or in research projects with a faculty member. The Iowa Student Psychology Association sponsors speakers, films, career days, and student symposiums. The department also sponsors a chapter of the national honor society in psychology, Psi Chi, which is affiliated with the American Psychological Association.

Careers
Many vocational opportunities in psychology require advanced professional training, usually through a master’s degree (typically two years of graduate study) or a doctoral degree (typically four or five years of graduate study). Extensive knowledge of research methods is required. There are many fields at the master’s degree level, such as social work or counseling, that are a good fit for psychology majors.

Psychology graduates with a master’s degree have many opportunities to teach psychology in community colleges or high schools or to find employment in a business, school, or hospital.

Psychologists in academic settings teach and conduct research designed to increase our knowledge about behavior. Psychologists also work in governmental and industrial organizations, carrying out basic and applied research and providing professional advice.

Many clinical psychologists are employed in clinics or hospitals. Some work in private practice, where they diagnose and treat psychological disorders. Clinical psychology is sometimes confused with psychiatry, but the two are different; psychiatrists are medical doctors (MDs) with specialized training in the treatment of mental disorders.

Job opportunities in psychology for those with only an undergraduate degree are quite limited. For that reason, psychology majors who don’t intend to enroll in graduate school right after earning their bachelor’s degree frequently earn a second major in a discipline that has broad opportunities for employment, such as education, social work, business, journalism, or nursing.

Learn more about careers in psychology at the American Psychological Association web site.

Scholarships
Consult multiple sources for scholarship information, including the Office of Admissions, the Office of Student Financial Aid, and departmental web sites.