Psychological and Brain Sciences - Undergraduate

Chair: J. Taube, Professor

Professor Emeritus G. Wolford; Professors A. Clark, D. Coch, B. Duchaine, R. Granger, J. Haxby, J. Hull, J. Taube, P. Tse, T. Wager, T. Wheatley; Associate Professors L. Chang, C. Cramer, D. Kraemer, A. Soltani, K. Smith, M. van der Meer; Assistant Professors E. Finn, J. Manning, M. Meyer, K. Nautiyal, C. Robertson, A. Stolk, V. Störmer, M. Thornton; Senior Lecturers M. Herman, R. Santulli, J. F. Pfister; Lecturers K. R. Clark, L. Dwiel, K. Finn, J. Graham, G. Greenough, J. Jordan, J. Knotts, S. Winter, S. Wray; Adjunct Professors J. Sargent; Adjunct Associate Professor M. Funnell; Adjunct Assistant Professor M. Detzer;  Research Associate Professor Y. Halchenko; Research Assistant Professor W. Hudenko.

To view Psychological and Brain Sciences Undergraduate courses, click here.

To view Psychological and Brain Sciences Graduate requirements, click here.

To view Psychological and Brain Sciences Graduate courses, click here.

Requirements for the Psychology Major

Prerequisites: PSYC 1 and PSYC 10. Students must obtain a grade no lower than C in PSYC 1. Students who fail to obtain a C or better in PSYC 1 may still complete a major in Psychology in the event that they earn C or better in their next two Psychology courses. PSYC 10 may be taken concurrently with PSYC 1. As a course prerequisite to the major, PSYC 10 should be taken at or before the time of declaring the major; otherwise it must be taken in the first offering following sign-up for the major. Though we recommend against substituting, some other statistics courses are permitted as alternatives to PSYC 10 with permission, specifically: ECON 10, GOVT 10, MATH 10, QSS 15 and SOCY 10. MATH 10 credit by AP or IB is not an acceptable substitute.

Requirements: The minimum major consists of one required course (PSYC 11) and seven electives numbered above 20. At least two of these seven electives must be numbered in the 20s, one 50 or higher, and another 60 or higher; the 60 or higher requirement constitutes the Culminating Experience requirement in Psychology. Of the two courses in the 20s, one must come from the set PSYC 23, PSYC 24, or PSYC 25.  The second must come from the set PSYC 21, PSYC 22, or PSYC 28 unless the student has credit for PSYC 6, in which case any additional PSYC course in the 20s will meet this requirement. PSYC 38 is an acceptable alternative to PSYC 28, and may alternatively fulfill this requirement. PSYC 88 may not be used to satisfy the 60 or above requirement. With prior approval, credit for up to two electives may be transferred from another institution, but credit for courses numbered 50 and above must be obtained at Dartmouth. Transfer of credits must be approved by the Chair of the Departmental Undergraduate Committee and by the Registrar prior to taking the course(s).  Certain graduate courses may be taken by qualified and advanced undergraduates if permission is obtained from the course instructor.

The course numbers have meaning. Courses numbered 10 and below do not carry major credit. Courses numbered in the 20s are introductions to particular sub-areas in psychology. Courses in the 30s, 40s, and 50s are more advanced than 20s level courses and generally have a narrower focus. Courses in the 60s are advanced laboratory courses. Courses in the 80s are upper level seminars.

The Department recommends that majors take more upper level (50, 60, and 80 level) courses than the minimum requirement.

The Modified Major

The Psychology major cannot be modified. This includes both modified majors in which Psychology is the primary component (e.g., Psychology Modified with Economics) and those in which it is the secondary component (e.g., Economics Modified with Psychology). Students who seek to modify a major in another department with courses in Psychology may do so by using the option of a modified major without indication of the secondary department (e.g. Economics Modified).  Students who wish to have a more substantial study of Psychology noted on their transcript are encouraged to declare a Psychology minor.

Requirements for the Minor

The Minor will consist of 6 courses: PSYC 1 (prerequisite) plus five additional courses numbered 11 or above 20. Two of the five must be numbered in the 50s or above. While two of the six may be transfers, transfers cannot count toward the 50 or above requirement.

Requirements for the Major and Minor in Neuroscience

See section ‘Neuroscience’ in this catalog for information regarding these major and minor programs.

Honors Program

Qualified students majoring in Psychological and Brain Sciences have the opportunity to participate in an Honors Program that provides individualized advanced instruction and research experience in psychology.

Individuals may apply for honors work as early as the spring term of their junior year, but not later than the end of the second week of fall term of their senior year. Eligibility for honors is a 3.30 average in the major and a 3.0 average overall. Students interested in doing honors work should consult the Department website for information and the required permission checklist. 

To be awarded Honors at graduation, a student must fulfill the following requirements:

1. Satisfactorily fulfill all course requirements of the major and maintain at least a 3.30 major GPA.
2. By the last class day of the fifth week of the Winter term preceding the completion of the thesis, the student must submit a prospectus of their thesis work to the Departmental Undergraduate Committee. The prospectus shall include a brief description of the rationale for the research, methods used, analyses to be employed and implications of the expected results.
3. An acceptable thesis, based upon two terms of laboratory or field research that is carried out under the auspices of PSYC 89.01 and PSYC 89.02 and under the supervision of a department faculty member must be written. The Honors Thesis will entail an independent and individual project. Furthermore, the thesis must be read and approved by the student's Thesis Committee. The Thesis Committee must include a regular member of the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences faculty. The other individual, if not a regular member of PBS, must have an active academic appointment (e.g. Research Associate, Research Assistant Professor, Medical School faculty, faculty in other departments of the College, for instance). Either Committee member may serve as the primary advisor. The two members of the Thesis Committee may not be in the same laboratory. The Thesis Committee will read and evaluate the thesis and make recommendations to the Undergraduate Committee regarding the awarding of Honors or High Honors.
4. Honors students will present their research to departmental faculty and interested others during the latter part of the Spring term of their senior year.

Psychological and Brain Sciences Department Website

Please check the Department website at http://pbs.dartmouth.edu/ for further information, including updated course offerings, department events, and checklists to aid in planning a major, minor, or independent research.