How to Major in Psychology
The Psychology Department is impacted, students that want to declare Psychology as their major, second major or minor must apply. To apply students must meet all prerequisites, as listed below:
To declare Psychology as your Only Major, you will need an Overall GPA of at least 2.5.
To declare Psychology as your SECOND Major, you will need ALL FOUR of your GPAs (Overall, CSULB, Psychology, and other major GPA) to be at least a 2.5.
To declare Psychology as your MINOR, you will need ALL FOUR of your GPAs (Overall, CSULB, Psychology, and other major GPA) to be at least a 2.5.
Plus a grade of C or better in:
PSY 100 – General Psychology
PSY 210 – Intro Statistics*
PSY 220 – Psychology Research Methods**
. . . or their equivalents
*Yes we accept SOC 250, HDEV 250, and CLA 250 for PSY 210. We do NOT accept Stat or Math 108.
**We do not accept any other research methods courses at CSULB, students need to take PSY 220 or a community college equivalent (found on assist.org).
-When applying to the Psychology major (or minor) please attach your Academic Requirements report from MyCSULB to the application. When submitting Academic Requirements report, be sure to run a “what-if” report for the Psychology BA or Psychology Minor. Then be sure to click “Expand All” before printing. Please HIGHLIGHT your GPA(s) and PSY 100, 210, and 220. Please do not submit your transcript – only the academic requirements report.
-All Degree Objectives must be completed by 144 total units, students adding or changing majors/minors after 90 units may need to complete additional paperwork.
Please consult the undergraduate handbook or Assist.org for community college equivalencies. Students from 4-year colleges and universities will need to have their potentially equivalent courses approved by the undergraduate advisor.
Students who complete these prerequisites are guaranteed admission to the major if they meet these requirements.
Students also need to have completed PSY 301 with a passing grade (D or better) no later than the end of their first year in the major, or they will be dropped from the major. (PSY 301 is also prerequisite for registering for 400-level Psychology courses.)
Please note: Students will be allowed to apply to impacted majors only twice at CSULB. This means that students who either transfer to CSULB as Psychology majors or apply while at CSULB, and subsequently lose their major status, will be allowed to reapply to the Psychology major only once more.
How to Become a Psychology Major If You Are Currently Attending CSULB
To apply to be a major:
1) Pick up an application from the Peer Advising office in Psy 206 or print one out below. Be sure to fill the form out completely.
2) When applying to the Psychology major (or minor) please attach your Academic Requirements report from MyCSULB to the application. When submitting Academic Requirements report, be sure to run a “what-if” report for the Psychology BA or Psychology Minor. Then be sure to click “Expand All” before printing. Please HIGHLIGHT your GPA(s) and PSY 100, 210, and 220. Please do not submit your transcript – only the academic requirements report.
3) Submit your applications and transcripts (with PSY 100, 210, and 220 highlighted) to the Peer Advising Office in Psy 206 (Click here to see their hours). You may do this any time peer advising is open. Summer and Winter hours are limited. You must submit your application to the peer advising office in PSY 206. No exceptions.
4) The Peer Advisers will review the application to make sure it is complete and give you a dated receipt.
5) You will be notified of your acceptance into the major approximately one to two weeks after the receipt of your application. You will receive an email from Enrollment Services once your major status has been changed. These emails will go to the email account you have registered on MyCSULB, make sure you check that email account.
Download an admissions application
How to Become a Psychology Major if you are Transferring to CSULB
Eligibility Requirements for Transferring as a Psychology Major
1. A grade of “C” or better in PSY 100 (General Psychology), PSY 210 (Statistics) and PSY 220 (Research Methods), or their equivalents. (Please consult the Community College Equivalency list in the Department Handbook or Assist.org) for California community college equivalencies.
2. Completion of a minimum of 60 semester units of degree credit, including all lower-division General Education requirements, with a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5. Eligible applicants may be selected for admission on the basis of cumulative grade point average and space available. (That GPA may be considerably greater than the current 2.5.) Questions about transferring to CSULB as a psychology major should be sent to CSULB’s Admission‘s department.
SOAR (Student Orientation, Advising and Registration)
It is highly recommended that new transfer students attend a COLA (College of Liberal Arts) SOAR session, typically offered during the summer and during the winter sessions.
The SOAR program not only allows attending transfer students to register earlier than those who do not attend, but also the Psychology department provides advising and registration assistance at the COLA sessions. Please register for SOAR as soon as possible, as these sessions fill up quickly.