The CU Student's Guide to a Psychology Major

The CU Student's Guide to a Psychology Major Psychology is one of the most popular majors on University of Colorado Boulder's campus and it's not surprising why! It offers plenty of fun and stimulating classes throughout an undergraduate career as well as exciting opportunities. But just like any major, there are tips and tricks that help students get the most out it. As a sophomore majoring in psychology right now, I can offer some tips to maximize any incoming student's psychology experience! General Requirements Credits:

• A Bachelor’s degree at CU requires 120 credits overall and 45 upper division credits. In psychology, you need 31 credits of just psychology and 18 upper division psych credits.

• You must receive a C- or above in psychology classes for credits to count

Courses:

• The lower division classes you need are:

1. General Psychology
2. Biological Psychology
3. Cognitive Psychology
4. Social Psychology
5. A science sequence class (there are many options on how to satisfy this including, bio, physics, chem etc)

• The upper division classes are

1. Statistics and Research Methods in Psychology
2. Psychopathology or Behavioral Genetics
3. A lab methods course
4. A bunch of elective options!

Exemptions:

Many people receive exemptions from required courses because they have already taken similar classes in high school. In psychology, it is possible to be exempted from PSYC 1001 aka “General Psychology”. It’s the very first psychology course students take before moving on to classes like Bio Psych or Cognitive Psych. AP tests, International Baccalaureate (IB), and precollegiate classes are some ways students may have credits to be exempt.

Advisors One of the first people you'll meet upon you entry into CU is your advisor! This person can be your best friend or a distant acquaintance depending on how you use them. Personally, I never talked to my advisor enough and regret it! Here's some tips on how to get the most out of your advisor.

1. Talk to them! It's not an advisors job to hound you about your progress so far. They'll send you the occasional email notifying you about upcoming deadlines and maybe a "Howdy! Welcome back to school" at the beginning of the year. It's up to you to make time to talk to them with any questions or concerns you have.
2. No question is too small! If it's something quick you can always email your advisor and if not, make an appointment! At CU there is a separate website to make advisor appointments. https://aac.colorado.edu/Default.asp
3. Hidden Opportunities. Your advisor knows about a lot of the opportunities available in their department so chatting with them may lead you to things you didn't even know existed! Your advisor is also trained to help you with your needs so the programs he/she tells you about will be well suited for your interests. Also, sometimes your advisor can even get you into classes you might be having trouble getting into.
4. Do your homework. While your advisor is knowledgeable about their area, they can't read your mind! Come in to your appointment with questions in mind and things to talk about so that your advisor can offer helpful tips.
5. Classes. Ask your advisor which classes you will enjoy and to help you make a 4 year plan to graduation. Before the next semester, it might be helpful to go over your goals with him/her and create a rough schedule.

Instructors Instructors are everywhere! They are, of course, an essential part of your academic career at CU and to do well, you must understand them and know how to deal with them.

1. "Figure out" your instructor. Every instructor is different. They have their own styles and methods of teaching thus their classes will be different too. In order to do well in the class, you should figure out your particular teacher's attitudes and cater yourself to it. For example, if you have to write papers you should know what your professor looks for in a paper such as quick, clear arguments or descriptive sentences. Also, know if your teacher is laid back or strict. Then you'll know how much you can get away with!
2. Treat them with respect. I’ll tell you the same thing every elementary school teacher you ever had told you, treat those around you with respect! Especially your teachers; they’re the ones holding your grade hostage. You won’t like every one of your professors but it’s important to remember that hassling a teacher won’t make them come around to your point of view…ever. Instead, try reasoning with them logically when you have a problem and be patient and kind. It’s their job to help you understand the material, chances are they are not on a personal vendetta to ruin your life and will do whatever they can to help you do well in school.
3. Meet your instructor personally. A lot of the time your instructor becomes just someone you see twice a week and gives you a grade at the end of the semester. In reality, this person should be someone you know well. Especially if you really enjoy the instructor, you should get to know them face-to-face. Other than being someone interesting to talk to, they can also become someone important in your undergraduate career for recommendation letters or as a mentor for programs like UROP (See below for UROP).
4. Psych teachers are the best. It seems that every where I go psych teachers are the most fun. The ones at CU are definitely a blast. They each have their own little quirks and if you ask around, people will say that they are pretty entertaining too.

Classes

Most would agree that psychology classes are incredibly interesting. Learning about the human mind and reasoning behind phenomena you see everyday usually is! There are many aspects to doing well in a class and some unique ones for psychology in particular.

1. Are you a morning person or not? This is an important question to ask yourself when you are getting ready to register for classes. There is something magical that happens after graduation from high school where the average students hates doing anything before 10am even though they woke up every morning for high school at 6am. Don’t sign up for an 8am class if you can’t handle it! I did this my first semester of college and regretted it 2 weeks in because I ended up missing class to sleep in and played catch up all year. If morning classes seem like something you could legitimately do, then go crazy. Otherwise, stop! Sign up for a later class.
2. Show up to class. I’m not the ideal person to preach about this because my attendance history is nowhere near perfect but I can say from experience that attendance helps! No matter how boring or useless the class is, the professor will mention something that day that is worth hearing guaranteed. Sometimes it’s just a fact that helps you put it altogether and other times it’s a direct answer to the exam that only students in class will know. I’ve had plenty of professors who have done this, most of them have been psych teachers. Also, you are paying a pretty penny as tuition for every class. Not showing up is a huge waste.
3. Every assignment counts. College classes are different from high school in the amount of assignments given and grading style. You might have gotten an assignment every day in high school biology and an exam every 4 weeks but at CU you’ll get only a few assignments every month and maybe 4 exams overall. In other words, you hardly have any work to turn in at all WHICH MEANS every assignment you do turn in is worth way more. Even missing one assignment can affect your grade drastically. My advice is to do your best on everything you turn in and since you’re not turning in much anyway, it shouldn’t be too hard!

Things I wish I Knew In High School

• Figure out what you want to do…quickly! Although teachers and counselors tell you that it’s ok to take a little while in college to figure out what your interests are exactly, I’ve found that those who don’t figure it out pretty early miss out on a lot of opportunities. The psychology website at CU recommends that you declare your major by the beginning of second semester freshman year. Knowing what you want to do really helps because you can immediately start catering your classes toward it. Since fulfilling requirements for majors takes quite a few semesters, the quicker you start taking those classes, the quicker you can get out of college and save big bucks from tuition you didn’t have to pay. There’s also other things you may miss out on with Open Option. For example, my freshman year I worked in a psych lab which I never would have considered had I not known I wanted to be a psych major. But of course, you should take this advice with a grain of salt. There are ways to explore other subject areas while working on finishing your major. Take that astronomy class you’ve always wondered about as an elective and see if you like it! Most of the time your “just for fun” classes end up fulfilling a core credit anyway! If you are really unsure which direction to go, try taking the
• Don't overload yourself. While it may be tempting to get a lot of your core classes out of the way quickly, it's better to take your time and do well. If you’re anything like me, you look at the classes and ask “how hard could it be?” then take as many as possible. Restrain yourself! I’ve personally found that taking more than 5 classes in a semester becomes hard to handle. I learned this the hard way my freshman year when I decided to take 6 classes plus extra curricular things and my GPA (and amount of sleep) suffered as a result.
• College GPAs are a big deal. A low GPA can hinder you from entering certain programs or applying for scholarships. Later on it can even impact what graduate schools you are eligible to apply for. Work hard, keep your GPA up.
• Get involved. One of the best things I did for myself once I got to college was join some groups. Not only does it give you academic experience, but it also does wonders for your self esteem and social life! Getting involved in any sort of group or organization is a one way ticket to new friends and meaningful connections.

The Bonuses (How to get an edge)

• Honors Program
• Ask your advisor about the honors program for psychology. It looks good on your resume and Graduate schools definitely like it.
• Lab work
• If you are interested in graduate school, look into being a Research Assistant at a psychological lab. There are plenty at CU that are always looking for undergraduates to train. You can find links and contact information to many of them here.
• Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program
• UROP is a great way to get lots of experience with research in psychology and GET PAID! There are several types of UROP grants and different applications for each. Find more information at the website.
• Volunteering
• Volunteering is one way to get real world experience for psychology. There are countless places you can volunteer. Talk to your advisor to find out a few psych places on campus and in the area. A few sites on campus include:
• Chinook Clubhouse
• Maslin House
• Psi Chi
• Psi Chi is the Psychology Club at CU Boulder. There are some strict guidelines for being eligible but they offer fun activities each week and have lots of informational speakers. Check it out.
• Pre-Collegiate Credits
• Having credits before even entering college can heighten your year standing. For example, if you come into college with 30 credits already, then you are automatically a sophomore even in your first year. This means that you can sign up for classes that normally only sophomores can. In addition, the more credits you have, the earlier your registration date will be thus you will be able to sign up for classes without worrying about being put on a waitlist.

Notes about Psychology as a Major Every major has some aspect that makes it seem almost impossible to complete. For psychology, it comes in the form of a class called Statistics and Research Methods in Psychology. It’s an upper division class that is the woe of many students going through it. In fact, many students drop out of the major just because of this class. BUT CALM DOWN! The class really isn’t so bad. Chances are that the ones that drop out probably were not very serious about their interest in psychology anyway. Truthfully, the class is quite manageable and for me, even enjoyable. If students are having a hard time, the professor can refer them to tutors who will work with them one on one. If you put effort into it, it is very possible to do well in the class.

Psychology as a major does not require as many credits as other science majors. It is often less time consuming and the degree is quicker and easier to finish. Costs for textbooks and equipment are also drastically lower as compared to the hard sciences or engineering. While this is one convenience, simply obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree in psychology will not be enough to make a living. A Master’s Degree or Doctorate is recommended to make some real money.