Pre-requisite coursework

The psychology bachelor’s degree is open to all UIS students and transfer students who have met the entrance requirements for admission to UIS.  In addition, all students wishing to be admitted to the Psychology Major must first successfully complete PSY 201 Principles of Psychology (or equivalent) with a grade of C (2.0) or better. Students who achieve scores of four and above on the Advanced Placement Psychology Examination or who achieve a score of 50 or higher on the Introductory Psychology CLEP test will receive proficiency credit for PSY 201.

Full and conditional admission

Beginning in the spring of 2010, students at UIS with 30 or more credit hours and a cumulative grade-point average of at least 2.50 on a 4.0 scale qualify for full admission to the Psychology Major. Transfer GPA is used for students entering UIS with 30+ transferable hours. Institutional GPA at 30 hours is used for all other students. Students with a GPA between 2.00 and 2.49 can be granted conditional admission to the major, which permits enrollment in up to 12 semester hours of 300-level psychology courses during the first semester. The final decision on admission to the major for conditionally admitted students is made after completion of 12 hours of psychology courses at UIS. Those 300-level courses should be completed within two semesters of the conditional admission. The 2.5 GPA requirement is for entrance to the major. There is no required GPA to maintain the Psychology major. The Psychology department follows the campus guidelines for progress toward degree.

Grade requirements

Beginning in the fall of 2009, psychology majors and minors must earn a C or better in all psychology courses to use them for completion of degree requirements. If your first term of enrollment at UIS was prior to fall 2009, you are not subject to this requirement. This requirement is triggered by your enrollment at UIS, not your declaration of major, or any other event. Please note: a C- is lower than a C.

Please note: A grade of C or better is neccessary in all pre-requisite courses. Students who do not earn a C or better in all neccessary pre-requisites for advance couses will not be given departmental approval for those advanced courses.