Frequently Asked Questions

No. Completing an Advanced Placement Psychology course in high school provides a good foundation for college level Psychology classes, but it is not the equivalent of completing Psy 101. Students wishing to major or minor in Psychology, or those students wishing to enroll in Psychology classes that have Psy 101 as a prerequisite, must complete college level Psy 101.

Note: A score of 3 or above on the Advanced Placement Psychology Exam will earn the student 4 elective units toward graduation and the Registrar’s Office will accept that Psychology AP class as fulfilling the Behavioral Science portion of the Social and Behavioral Science General Education Requirement.

No, the following classes do not have a Psy 101 prerequisite: Psy 305 Statistics, Psy 327 Health Psychology, Psy 407 Life Span Development, Psy 422 Substance Abuse, Psy 439 Industrial-Organizational Psychology, and Psy 450 Special Topics.

Yes, but it is always best to get your Psychology Advisor’s preapproval.  You may substitute up to 28 units from other colleges to meet the requirements for the Psychology Major.

Only classes taken at the University of La Verne or those classes evaluated by the Undergraduate Psychology Program as being the equivalent to those classes required in the major will be applied toward graduating with a degree in Psychology. To have transfer classes evaluated as the equivalent to La Verne’s required classes in Psychology, students are required to file a  Request for Course Substitution with their Psychology Academic Advisor.

Note: Psychology courses completed more than 7 years from the time of either transfer to ULV or return to ULV after a leave, will not be accepted without a Program review, including a proposed academic plan to ensure currency of course knowledge.

While Psy 101 Principles of Psychology establishes the foundation for all other classes in Psychology, some Psychology classes require Psy 101 as a prerequisite and others do not. Although some classes are recommended for those students just starting out in Psychology (e.g., Psy 312 Psychological Disorders and Psy 407 Life-Span Development), most other classes can be taken as a student’s schedule permits. The only sequence that must be followed is that Psy 305 Statistics must be completed (with a final grade of B- or higher) prior to Psy 395 Computer Data Analysis and Psy 390 Research Methods, which must be taken before Psy 404 Experimental Psychology, the capstone class for graduation.

Yes, the Psychology Major Checklist only lists examples of Psychology Elective Courses. Other Psychology Elective classes may be added to the Schedule of Classes that do not appear on the Checklist. Consult with your Psychology Advisor to determine which elective classes best fit in your program.

After you register for Psy 497 Internship, you will receive a letter instructing you to locate an internship by reviewing the options compiled by the Undergraduate Psychology Program in the Internship Binder located in Hoover 100.

You can also check out Handshake, University of La Verne’s career network and recruiting platform that helps all students discover new career paths, amazing jobs and internships, and connect with great companies and nonprofits organizations.

Your Psychology Advisor is an excellent resource and a good person to assist you in your search. The Career Center has materials on a vast array of career and graduate school options. Psi Chi also devotes several meetings to exploring these options. Finally, Psy 102 Psychology as a Career will be an essential course for understanding the various paths one can take in Psychology as well as how and when to get started on those paths.

The Undergraduate Psychology Program has a Research Mentorship Program and accompanying webpage that lists faculty who are actively seeking research assistants to volunteer in their labs, you can visit the Undergraduate Psychology Program’s Research Mentorship Page.

Beyond this, you can walk up to the second floor hall of the Hoover Building and survey the research that surrounds you. Psychology Faculty are active in the field with many of them looking to take on research assistants. Research opportunities require commitment and persistence. Email faculty members that share your interests or drop by their office to learn about additional opportunities.

While students are required to contact their advisor at least once per semester (in order to receive your Academic Advising Code for registration), you are encouraged to contact your Psychology Advisor anytime you have questions or concerns.

Psy 404 Experimental Psychology must be taken as the capstone class prior to graduation.

Psy 101, classes designated as Area of Emphasis, and Psy 404 Experimental Psychology may not be taken as Directed Study.

Yes, an Independent Study Course must be initiated and written by the student and the course must deal with material not covered in any approved catalog course. A Psychology instructor must approve of the student’s comprehensive written plan and timetable.

Since is it a University policy that all courses used to fulfill the Major must be taken for a grade and a challenged course can only receive a Credit grade, no Psychology class used to fulfill the Psychology Major can be challenged.

The University of La Verne Course Catalog for your year will include a section on Grades, outlining the process for both requesting re-evaluation of a final grade and appealing a final grade.

Psychology classes most often have a waitlist. If a particular class is closed during the registration period, register for the waitlist. If an enrolled student drops the class prior to the first day of class, the registration will notify the first person on the waitlist that a seat has opened and provides a 24 hour period for that student to enroll. If that waitlist student does not enroll within the allotted time period, the next student on the waitlist will be notified with the same notification. This continue until all seats are filled. Once the first day arrives, the waitlist notification system closes and students wishing to add a closed class may seek instructor permission to add by attending the first class. It is the instructor’s prerogative to grant permission to register for the class after submitting a Capacity Override through the registration system.

Special Topics may include Human Sexuality, Positive Psychology, Sports Psychology, Psychology of Women, Attitude Change and Persuasion, and others. You may take Psy 450 with as many different Special Topics as you like and apply two towards meeting the (optional) Elective requirement in the Psychology Major.

The answer to this depends on the type of graduate education that you wish to pursue. Beyond good grades and a strong performance on standardized tests like the GRE, many graduate programs like to see a strong record of student involvement in research or clinically-oriented experiences (or sometimes both!). This question that should be discussed with your advisor who can consult with you based on your particular interests. In addition, information on this is provided in Psy 102 (Psychology as a Career).

Opinions may differ on the value of completing two majors. Completing two majors in many cases requires extra time in college, which, in turn, adds additional expense. Your time and money may be better spent moving forward with course work leading to a Master’s Degree. Achieving better grades and “nailing” the GRE would probably lead to a greater likelihood of achieving graduate school admissions than having a double major. Also, a double major may indicate that you had a hard time making up your mind instead of having a determined focus in one field of study. Again, opinions may differ on this subject, ask several faculty members in both programs/departments and then bring what you learned to your Psychology Advisor for further discussion.

Congratulations on completing Psy 101! As a second semester freshman, you may consider psychology courses that do not require completion of Written Communications (RCS 111) as a pre-requisite. These courses include: Psy 305 Statistics, and Psy 407 Life-Span Development. Please note that the completion of RCS 111 is a pre-requisite for all major courses, Area of Emphasis, Advanced Topics, and Elective Psychology courses, with the exception of Psy 407.

Yes, students that successfully complete 16 units per semester as well as 4 or 5 units during each January Interterm can complete all required course work in 3.5 years. If interested, your Psychology Advisor will be the best resource in helping you plan this out.

Departmental honors for graduation are granted to undergraduates who demonstrate a high level of achievement in their majors. Students are encouraged to work toward departmental honors.

Departmental honors will be determined by the Registrar’s Office automatically based on the following criteria:

• Minimum of 3.0 overall GPA (both La Verne and transfer courses)
• Minimum of 3.6 GPA in the major area ( with a minimum of eight courses taken in the major at the university).
• All major courses, with the exception of challenges, must be taken for letter grades

Yes. Review the Study Abroad website for details on semester or yearlong programs and shorter Study Tours Abroad of a week or more during November, January Interterm, Spring Break, and summer.

Make certain that you have discussed your study abroad or study tour plans with your Psychology Advisor to ensure that you will be able complete your GE and Major requirements by your scheduled graduation date.

The sooner you prepare for graduate school, the better. If you want to make yourself more competitive for graduate school, then it is recommended that you pursue a job or volunteer positions in the field(s) of your interest. Students interested in more research-oriented graduate schools (i.e., most PhD programs) should pursue research positions, and students pursuing a more clinically-oriented graduate training (e.g., MFT or PsyD) should pursue clinically-oriented positions (e.g., Behavioral Technician at an Applied Behavior Analysis company, crisis counseling positions).

In rare circumstances, particularly when a senior needs a particular class to graduate and no other options are available, a student may appeal to the Director of CAPA to be permitted to register for a CAPA class.

Yes, it is possible to have a statistics class or any other class from another University of La Verne Department or another college substitute for a requirement in the Psychology Major with a minimum grade of B- or better. But, the same procedure applies whereby the student should request preapproval or after the class is completed to have it evaluated as the equivalent to the Undergraduate Psychology Program’s course.