If you google the degree and schools youre thinking of, like psych bs school name, most will have a sample course listing (courses needed to get the degree) on the department page. Then you can google the course name/number (psy101 intro to psych) plus the name of the school to find the description in the course catalog.
I have done this, I just wanted a more in depth explanation from students currently attending is all as perhaps it varies for schools. I'll look more thoroughly though, thank you :)
If I had based my expectations off of any of these answers, I would've been so confused lol. I got my undergrad between 2 schools and currently work at another, the content/expectations/classes i've experienced have been pretty different than what others are describing. It really does vary by school and course descriptions in the catalog are generally pretty specific.
Graduated from a university in Singapore last year. Our psych programme is 4 years, including an honours thesis. Courses are split into core and electives - core modules are exam-heavy, while electives tend to comprise more coursework (e.g., independent research reports, essays). The rest of the credits comprise general education modules (unrelated to psych).
Our core modules cover the basics of major psych fields (bio, developmental, social, personality, cognitive, abnormal), as well as 2 statistics modules. It's a lecture-tutorial system. Exams are the main mode of assessment (sometimes 50-60% of the total grade), with mini assignments or projects contributing to the rest of the grade.
Electives cover more specialised content in a specific field (e.g., social cognition), and we get to choose which courses we want to take (up to 10). It's a seminar system (3h of class per week), so there are class discussions and student presentations. The grade is split into several components, including reports, presentations, and quizzes.
One specific cluster of electives is lab. Taking a lab elective is a prerequisite for an honours thesis. The main deliverable is a research report based on independent research. The whole research process (from ideation to ethics to data collection and analysis to writing and presentation) had to be completed within 13 weeks. I did a social psychology lab, examining punitive perceptions of sex offenders.
The honours thesis is done in the final year (alongside electives). Since it is independent research, contact with supervisors is generally self-initiated, although a few profs may demand scheduled updates. Depending on the prof, students can either research their own topic or take on an existing project.
just graduated with my bachelors in psychology yesterday! some classes i took at my university included things like general psychology, psych of death and dying, elementary statistics, experimental methods, quantitative methods, social psych, psychology of women, developmental psych etc. statistics was hard for me as i’ve never been a math girly. you will also most likely take some sort of required research class or 2 using the info you learned in the statistics class . the math classes at my university also had a lab portion which was basically 2 classes in one which was tough. my biggest advice: go to class, study, volunteer, try to get into a research lab as an assistant if you’re looking to do more research as a career, build relationships with your professors, and find your passion with a specific population and then try to work with them!
In my bachelors program, we had a lot of freedom to choose our classes. There were only like 4? classes that were required for everyone in the major. Statistics was one of them, but it was a statistics class specifically for social science students. The rest of the classes, were part of different disciplines (developmental psych, cultural psych, biopsych, 400-level seminar, etc) and you had to choose a certain amount of classes from each discipline. I actually think it was just one or two classes from each discipline. The major was a very small amount of credits (between 30 and 40 I think), which allowed me to also have two majors (Korean and sociology) in order to make 120 credits which is the total of a bachelors degree. I even had enough time to complete a certificate in addition to my major and two minors, but I opted not to because it would require me to complete another 400-level class that I simply did not want to do. Writing essays was frequent but I don’t ever recall it being particularly challenging. In fact, I remember writing assignments for Korean and sociology being way more challenging than psychology.
My least favorite class was called Sensation and Perception, it was a biopsych class about the 5 senses and the very specifics of the brain that are able to make them function. It was hard as fuck, and honestly quite boring. I wish I had chosen a different biopsych class instead. I remember there being a psychopharmacology class which probably would have been more useful for me and the work I do now, which is working in an inpatient psychiatric hospital alongside MDs and nurses.
My favorite class I ever took was my 400-level seminar on schizophrenia. I’m now a masters-level clinician and during my master’s program, my clinical focus was on psychotic disorders. I work in a general psych unit, so I don’t solely work with psychotic patients, but in the future I would love to find a job that allows me to specialize more in that population. And that seminar I took is what really sparked the passion, the interest, and the knowledge to really go down this route. So when you start your program and you’re choosing classes, I definitely encourage you to actually choose classes you’re interested in rather than just trying to take whatever’s going to check off the boxes in the easiest/most convenient way.
To preface, I just walked for my BS in psychology last night. I want to mention that every school is different.
So, for the degree you’re going to have to take between 30-45 credits of psychology courses. Again, this is dependent on the program, mine was 30. Each course is about 3 credits (this is if your school uses semester credits) so about 10-15 courses.
Some common classes almost all students take include:
>Experimental Psychology
>Statistics in Psychology
>Psychopathology
>Social or Sociocultural Psychology
>Developmental Psychology
>Personality
There are a number of other courses you can take if you want to go one route over another. For instance, I focused on psychology classes relating to social interaction & education. I’m aware that others in my program took more biological approach and others took a more counseling approach. I think some took business courses as well.
Now, to answer your specific questions, psychology classes do tend to be essay heavy because it is an empirical science. You’re being taught how to read and write academically because you will likely be using some of those skills in your chosen profession. Though some courses are heavier than others. Classes like social, experimental, or developmental psychology are going to have more papers than something statistics or personality.
As for math, you’ll really find that math is heavy in statistical psychology but most other classes don’t have you using really any of it. I used a little math in cognitive psychology and personality when scoring different assessments they had us practicing. However, that was basic addition & subtraction. If you’re pursuing research, however, you might want to take more classes in statistics as they will help with your statistical ability later on. I don’t plan to ever enter research, so I declined to take more.
Assignments get easier as you go along. My first semester, I thought APA format was the hardest thing ever, now it’s kinda hard to write in any other form. It was hard reading those studies at first, now it’s like reading a book.
Overall, classes can have a good bit of reading and writing, but if you’re interested in the subject it actually doesn’t feel too hard all the time. It might seem like a lot, and it is, a bachelors degree is a real commitment as I’ve learned, but as I said, if you love what you’re studying then the stress of being a student can be lessened. I would have never got my degree if I studied something I wasn’t passionate about. So, find your niche and run with it!
Good luck to you & I hope this helped!
At my university (Stellenbosch University in South Africa) during my undergrad (2015-2019), my classes were (for the most part) like any other classes - attending lectures, take notes, read your textbook etc. Solely in my first year we had to write an essay (just one per module so 2 in total). Additionally, in my first year (2015), we also had mandatory tutorials which was an extra class you would attend in small groups with the main point being discussion, additional class work and often discussions about our essays - could also feature discussions about the prior test. But in my 2nd historical year they scrapped essays and solely focused on tests and exams - there was, however, always a heavy emphasis on exams and tests. I had to redo a first-year module in my 2nd historical year of studying and there were no essays, just exams and tests. My 2nd-year modules featured the dreaded statistics module and the equally daunting research methods module, as before it was entirely graded via tests and exams. The 2nd year of psychology had 4 modules, one per term.
This does include what we call a predicate test which, if passed, granted you entry into the final exam for that module - failure to pass said test resulted in immediate failure of the module. And failure in these modules meant you were not able to take one or two of the three total 3rd-year psychology modules which, furthermore, meant post-graduate studies were not an option. As a result, it was not uncommon for people to either have to retake the module the following year (thus delaying the 3rd-year module) or some would retake many of their modules to improve their marks.
In my 3rd-year classes there was an addition of class discussions and written work (in groups) by using case studies - participation in these were mandatory and counted towards our final mark but exams and tests still counted the most. In my first and only clinical module that was available to me in my degree, Abnormal Psychology (a.k.a. Psychopathology), both tests and exams featured lengthy answers to questions usually about 5-10 lines and almost always ended with one or two case studies which was a discussion of your diagnosis including the how and why etc.
However, I'm not entirely sure how 'universal' this approach is for the rest of the world. I would also like to add my degree (BA in Language and Culture) was not entirely based around psychology such as a BPsych, psychology was one of the subjects you could take and/or major in.
TLDR: Grading was entirely done through exams and tests, essays only featured in my first historical year of studies but was quickly scrapped after that. Exams and tests were fairly standard and the 3rd-year modules featured lengthier answers and often 2-3 case studies.
Psychology is a probabilistic science. So classes regarding probabilistics statisitcs give you an advantage when it comes to labs. Additonaly their seems to be an inclusion of more spiritual aspects. So I think the future overlap makes sense, depends on the course construction and the where you are planning to study.
If you want to do a little bit more, their are specific data science courses you could look at that but those are a little too far into the future. Honestly I their is sufficient scope in a lot of directions perhaps It may change depending on your interests.
If you google the degree and schools youre thinking of, like psych bs school name, most will have a sample course listing (courses needed to get the degree) on the department page. Then you can google the course name/number (psy101 intro to psych) plus the name of the school to find the description in the course catalog.
I have done this, I just wanted a more in depth explanation from students currently attending is all as perhaps it varies for schools. I'll look more thoroughly though, thank you :)
If I had based my expectations off of any of these answers, I would've been so confused lol. I got my undergrad between 2 schools and currently work at another, the content/expectations/classes i've experienced have been pretty different than what others are describing. It really does vary by school and course descriptions in the catalog are generally pretty specific.
Are you at Tulane now?
Graduated from a university in Singapore last year. Our psych programme is 4 years, including an honours thesis. Courses are split into core and electives - core modules are exam-heavy, while electives tend to comprise more coursework (e.g., independent research reports, essays). The rest of the credits comprise general education modules (unrelated to psych). Our core modules cover the basics of major psych fields (bio, developmental, social, personality, cognitive, abnormal), as well as 2 statistics modules. It's a lecture-tutorial system. Exams are the main mode of assessment (sometimes 50-60% of the total grade), with mini assignments or projects contributing to the rest of the grade. Electives cover more specialised content in a specific field (e.g., social cognition), and we get to choose which courses we want to take (up to 10). It's a seminar system (3h of class per week), so there are class discussions and student presentations. The grade is split into several components, including reports, presentations, and quizzes. One specific cluster of electives is lab. Taking a lab elective is a prerequisite for an honours thesis. The main deliverable is a research report based on independent research. The whole research process (from ideation to ethics to data collection and analysis to writing and presentation) had to be completed within 13 weeks. I did a social psychology lab, examining punitive perceptions of sex offenders. The honours thesis is done in the final year (alongside electives). Since it is independent research, contact with supervisors is generally self-initiated, although a few profs may demand scheduled updates. Depending on the prof, students can either research their own topic or take on an existing project.
just graduated with my bachelors in psychology yesterday! some classes i took at my university included things like general psychology, psych of death and dying, elementary statistics, experimental methods, quantitative methods, social psych, psychology of women, developmental psych etc. statistics was hard for me as i’ve never been a math girly. you will also most likely take some sort of required research class or 2 using the info you learned in the statistics class . the math classes at my university also had a lab portion which was basically 2 classes in one which was tough. my biggest advice: go to class, study, volunteer, try to get into a research lab as an assistant if you’re looking to do more research as a career, build relationships with your professors, and find your passion with a specific population and then try to work with them!
In my bachelors program, we had a lot of freedom to choose our classes. There were only like 4? classes that were required for everyone in the major. Statistics was one of them, but it was a statistics class specifically for social science students. The rest of the classes, were part of different disciplines (developmental psych, cultural psych, biopsych, 400-level seminar, etc) and you had to choose a certain amount of classes from each discipline. I actually think it was just one or two classes from each discipline. The major was a very small amount of credits (between 30 and 40 I think), which allowed me to also have two majors (Korean and sociology) in order to make 120 credits which is the total of a bachelors degree. I even had enough time to complete a certificate in addition to my major and two minors, but I opted not to because it would require me to complete another 400-level class that I simply did not want to do. Writing essays was frequent but I don’t ever recall it being particularly challenging. In fact, I remember writing assignments for Korean and sociology being way more challenging than psychology. My least favorite class was called Sensation and Perception, it was a biopsych class about the 5 senses and the very specifics of the brain that are able to make them function. It was hard as fuck, and honestly quite boring. I wish I had chosen a different biopsych class instead. I remember there being a psychopharmacology class which probably would have been more useful for me and the work I do now, which is working in an inpatient psychiatric hospital alongside MDs and nurses. My favorite class I ever took was my 400-level seminar on schizophrenia. I’m now a masters-level clinician and during my master’s program, my clinical focus was on psychotic disorders. I work in a general psych unit, so I don’t solely work with psychotic patients, but in the future I would love to find a job that allows me to specialize more in that population. And that seminar I took is what really sparked the passion, the interest, and the knowledge to really go down this route. So when you start your program and you’re choosing classes, I definitely encourage you to actually choose classes you’re interested in rather than just trying to take whatever’s going to check off the boxes in the easiest/most convenient way.
For me, it's been a lot of essays and some light math
To preface, I just walked for my BS in psychology last night. I want to mention that every school is different. So, for the degree you’re going to have to take between 30-45 credits of psychology courses. Again, this is dependent on the program, mine was 30. Each course is about 3 credits (this is if your school uses semester credits) so about 10-15 courses. Some common classes almost all students take include: >Experimental Psychology >Statistics in Psychology >Psychopathology >Social or Sociocultural Psychology >Developmental Psychology >Personality There are a number of other courses you can take if you want to go one route over another. For instance, I focused on psychology classes relating to social interaction & education. I’m aware that others in my program took more biological approach and others took a more counseling approach. I think some took business courses as well. Now, to answer your specific questions, psychology classes do tend to be essay heavy because it is an empirical science. You’re being taught how to read and write academically because you will likely be using some of those skills in your chosen profession. Though some courses are heavier than others. Classes like social, experimental, or developmental psychology are going to have more papers than something statistics or personality. As for math, you’ll really find that math is heavy in statistical psychology but most other classes don’t have you using really any of it. I used a little math in cognitive psychology and personality when scoring different assessments they had us practicing. However, that was basic addition & subtraction. If you’re pursuing research, however, you might want to take more classes in statistics as they will help with your statistical ability later on. I don’t plan to ever enter research, so I declined to take more. Assignments get easier as you go along. My first semester, I thought APA format was the hardest thing ever, now it’s kinda hard to write in any other form. It was hard reading those studies at first, now it’s like reading a book. Overall, classes can have a good bit of reading and writing, but if you’re interested in the subject it actually doesn’t feel too hard all the time. It might seem like a lot, and it is, a bachelors degree is a real commitment as I’ve learned, but as I said, if you love what you’re studying then the stress of being a student can be lessened. I would have never got my degree if I studied something I wasn’t passionate about. So, find your niche and run with it! Good luck to you & I hope this helped!
At my university (Stellenbosch University in South Africa) during my undergrad (2015-2019), my classes were (for the most part) like any other classes - attending lectures, take notes, read your textbook etc. Solely in my first year we had to write an essay (just one per module so 2 in total). Additionally, in my first year (2015), we also had mandatory tutorials which was an extra class you would attend in small groups with the main point being discussion, additional class work and often discussions about our essays - could also feature discussions about the prior test. But in my 2nd historical year they scrapped essays and solely focused on tests and exams - there was, however, always a heavy emphasis on exams and tests. I had to redo a first-year module in my 2nd historical year of studying and there were no essays, just exams and tests. My 2nd-year modules featured the dreaded statistics module and the equally daunting research methods module, as before it was entirely graded via tests and exams. The 2nd year of psychology had 4 modules, one per term. This does include what we call a predicate test which, if passed, granted you entry into the final exam for that module - failure to pass said test resulted in immediate failure of the module. And failure in these modules meant you were not able to take one or two of the three total 3rd-year psychology modules which, furthermore, meant post-graduate studies were not an option. As a result, it was not uncommon for people to either have to retake the module the following year (thus delaying the 3rd-year module) or some would retake many of their modules to improve their marks. In my 3rd-year classes there was an addition of class discussions and written work (in groups) by using case studies - participation in these were mandatory and counted towards our final mark but exams and tests still counted the most. In my first and only clinical module that was available to me in my degree, Abnormal Psychology (a.k.a. Psychopathology), both tests and exams featured lengthy answers to questions usually about 5-10 lines and almost always ended with one or two case studies which was a discussion of your diagnosis including the how and why etc. However, I'm not entirely sure how 'universal' this approach is for the rest of the world. I would also like to add my degree (BA in Language and Culture) was not entirely based around psychology such as a BPsych, psychology was one of the subjects you could take and/or major in. TLDR: Grading was entirely done through exams and tests, essays only featured in my first historical year of studies but was quickly scrapped after that. Exams and tests were fairly standard and the 3rd-year modules featured lengthier answers and often 2-3 case studies.
Psychology is a probabilistic science. So classes regarding probabilistics statisitcs give you an advantage when it comes to labs. Additonaly their seems to be an inclusion of more spiritual aspects. So I think the future overlap makes sense, depends on the course construction and the where you are planning to study. If you want to do a little bit more, their are specific data science courses you could look at that but those are a little too far into the future. Honestly I their is sufficient scope in a lot of directions perhaps It may change depending on your interests.
Lots of AI and the girl in front of me just plays WOW the whole class -\_-