Department of Psychology

Major Requirements

36 credits in Psychology
A minimum of 36 credits in Psychology is required for the major. At least 15 credits must be earned in upper-division (300- or 400-level) Psychology courses. Transfer students must complete at least 15 credits in Psychology at the UH Manoa campus.
Major GPA requirement of at least 2.5
A minimum major GPA of 2.50 is required for graduation with a degree in Psychology. Major GPA is calculated on the basis of all Psychology course grades, plus other course grades meeting degree requirements (e.g., SOCS 225). A grade of C- or below does NOT count toward the required 36 credits, but DOES lower a studentís major GPA. Students should consult a Psychology advisor immediately if their major GPA falls below 2.50.
PSY 100 is a prerequisite for all psychology courses at the UH Manoa campus (except PSY 170)
PSY 100 cannot be taken concurrently with other Psychology courses (except PSY 170). Students entering the UH system from Fall 2001 onwards may apply PSY 100 credits toward the 36 required credits in Psychology OR toward the General Education Diversification Social Sciences (DS) requirement.

One course in the Advanced Topics series
These courses are numbered 4X9 (e.g., 429, 439, 449, etc.). Note that 499 does not fulfill this requirement. Many of the 4X9 courses have a Writing Intensive (W) designation. Writing Intensive courses are limited to 20 students. Some 4X9 courses have pre-requisites or require instructor permission to enroll. Students may take more than one 4X9 course (e.g., a student may take 449 and 459). Students may also repeat a 4X9 course ONCE (e.g., a student may take two semesters of 449), provided that the content of the course is different.
At least 15 credits in courses numbered 300 level or above
Note: Students may take up to 15 credits of PSY 407 (Practicum), 408 (Teaching), and/or 499 (Research) to fulfill their major requirements. Only the first 3 credits of PSY 407 and the first 3 credits of PSY 408 can be applied toward the required 15 upper-division credits in Psychology. Any additional credits in PSY 407 and 408 will count as elective credits. In addition, PSY 408 (Teaching) can only be repeated one time for a total of 6 credits. Up to 9 credits of PSY 499 (Research) will count toward major requirements, and 3 of these 9 credits can be applied toward the 15 upper-division credits in Psychology. Continued enrollment beyond 9 credits in PSY 499 is strongly encouraged for students who plan to pursue graduate study in Psychology, as research experience is required for admission into most graduate programs.