As a Transfer Student
Overview
 Welcome to Northern Illinois University!
 This is a general overview of the course requirements
within the major of Psychology
 Please refer to the “Informational Overview” An
Undergraduate Major in Psychology” booklet (red).
Academic Advising Appointments
 It is recommended that you make an appointment with
academic advisors within the next couple of weeks and
throughout the school year
 Academic advising is available by appointment
 During the school year: with any major faculty
 During the summer: Assigned academic advisor
 Make appointments by going to Rm 400 in the Department of
Psychology and sign-up on the bulletin boards located across the
main office
 Academic Advising is also available via email
 Email address on Psychology Department Home Page:
PsycAdvising@niu.edu
Bachelor Degree Required
Credit Hours
BACHELOR DEGREE REQUIRED CREDIT HOURS
Other Courses (~20 hours)
Psychology Major Courses (~40
hours)
General Education Courses (~60
hours)
Degrees in Psychology
B.A.
B.S.
 4 semesters of FOREIGN
LANGUAGE
 Choice of 3 credit groups –
MATH, CSCI, CHEM, BIO &
PHYS combinations
B.A. and B.S.
 40 upper division credit hours
 50 hours max in Major count towards 120 credits
B.A. in Psychology
 Languages that require 4 semesters
 Chinese, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Latin,
Polish, Russian, or Spanish
 Languages that require 2 semesters
 Arabic, Burmese, Indonesian, Korean, Portuguese, Tagalog,
Thai
 4 years of HS language with a “C” or better meets
your requirement
 Contact Foreign Languages: (815) 753-1501
B.S. in Psychology
1. Group 1:
 MATH 210 and 211
 STAT301
 1 CSCI course:

CSCI 210, 230, 240 or 250
OR
2. Group 2:
 MATH 229 and 230
 STAT 350
 1 CSCI course:

CSCI 210, 230, 240 OR 250
OR
3. Group 3:
 MATH 211
 STAT 301
 1 lab sequence from the
following:


BIOS 104 and one of:
BIOS 205/BIOS 207
combo, BIOS 213, or BIOS
357
or

CHEM 210/lab 212 &
CHEM 211/lab 213
or

PHYS 210 & 211
Psychology Major
 STATS 208 or STAT 301 or STAT 350
 Must get a C or better
 PSYC 305 (Research Methods)
 7 Psychology Electives (21 hours; not including PSYC
102):
 2 can be Lower Level: 100-200
 5 Upper Level: 300-400
 PSYC 219 does NOT count as a psychology elective
 Can take all upper level courses
 2 Lab Courses
Psychology Transfer Courses
 Transfer Courses:
 PSYC courses transfer as lower level classes – 102 plus 2
other PSYC classes can be counted toward major – others
come in as graduation credit, but not as PSYC electives
 myNIU will translate into specific courses (e.g.
PSYC102) or as PSYC101TR (transfer elective in
psychology)
Psychology Major
 Laboratory Courses:
 Requires PSYC305 + appropriate elective course








Experimental Psychology: Perception Lab
Experimental Psychology: Conditioning and Learning Lab
Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory Lab
Clinical Psychology Lab
Physiological Psychology Lab
Social & Personality Lab
Industrial-Organizational Lab
Developmental Psychology Lab
 These fill-up quickly, so register for them as soon as you can
 4 credit hours
 E.g., The prerequisites for the Clinical Psychology Lab course
(PSYC 413) are PSYC 305 and either PSYC 315, or PSYC 316, or
PSYC332
The Sequence:
1.
Complete your “Gen Eds” if you don’t have an
associates degree
2.
Complete STAT 208 with a “C” or better (Or Stat
301)
3.
Complete PSYC 305
4.
Complete 2 Laboratory Classes
All the PSYC classes are closed –
What do I do?!!
 Create and register for a full schedule
 See if you can get on a waiting list for PSYC 305 or lab
courses in the main office
 Contact professors in your preferred PSYC classes or
attend first day of class to ask for permission to join
class
 DON’T PANIC – there is next semester
Psychology Programs
 Special Programs:
 PSYC 489: Coop/Internship

Contact the University Career Services Office to get a list of
available options and discuss with advisor
 PSYC 485: Independent Study
 Choose a faculty member and contact the faculty member
 Fill out application if necessary
 Obtain permission to register for this course
 Especially useful for those interested in graduate training
Psychology Programs
 Student Organizations:
 SPA (Student Psychological Association)

Open to everyone
 PSI CHI
 At least 8 credit hours of Psychology at NIU
 GPA of 3.0 overall at NIU
 GPA of 3.25 in Psychology courses at NIU
 Honors Program
 Need to make the decision EARLY so that you have enough time
to complete all of the requirements


6 hours in honors psychology courses at upper-division level
Senior year complete a research thesis
 Meet with an advisor to discuss requirements
Additional Useful Information:
 GPA requirement in PSYC = 2.00
 For honors: Overall = 3.00 and PSYC = 3.50
 “D” still counts toward graduation – can retake
class to replace grade up to 13 months from end
of semester
 PSYC electives = any PSYC course OTHER THAN
102, 219, 305
 Can NOT double dip
 Any course taken for general education requirements
can not be counted toward psych electives

E.g., PSYC 224 for social sciences gen. ed.
Minor Requirements:
1.
2.
3.
Minor Declaration
PSYC 102
18 credit hours of elective – 12 hours must be 300-400
level (6 PSYC elective courses – 4 must be upper level)