Psychology is the coolest major and subject (coming from an unbiased Psychology major).

I’ve kind of always been interested in Psychology as a subject, but it never occurred to me that I could major in it. Wanting to go to vet school, I couldn’t find a connection between psychology and becoming a vet. That was until I discovered Barnard’s Dog Cognition lab headed by Dr. Alexandra Horowitz, one of the biggest names in canine psychology, and everything fell into place. Psychology is not just a major for people who want to become a psychologist or a social worker, but it is a widely applicable field for both careers and life. Psychology is kind of a stepping stone between Neuroscience and Sociology, where you get to learn about the chemical pathways in the human brain, the hard science behind how people think, and why people act the way they do in social situations. It has helped me understand more about the way the world works. 

If you’re interested in majoring in Psychology or have any specific questions, Barnard has a handy-dandy course catalog that you can peruse.

Major requirements:

The Barnard Psychology major requires 13 to 14 classes, with only three of them specified. The rest, you either have partial or complete freedom in choosing.

  • PSYC BC1001: Introduction to Psychology 
  • PSYC BC1101: Statistics Lecture and Recitation 
  • PSYC BC1020: Behavioral Research Methods and Analysis 
  • Three core PSYC lecture courses (at least one from each group)
    • Group 1
      • PSYC BC2107: Psychology of Learning 
      • PSYC BC2110: Perception 
      • PSYC BC2115: Cognitive Psychology 
      • NSBV BC1001: Introduction to Neuroscience
    • Group 2
      • PSYC BC2125: Personality 
      • PSYC BC2129: Developmental Psychology 
      • PSYC BC2138: Social Psychology 
      • PSYC BC2156: Clinical Psychology 
  • Two PSYC lab courses
    • PSYC BC1010: Intro Lab Experimental Psychology
    • PSYC BC2106: Psychology of Learning Lab 
    • PSYC BC2109: Perception Lab 
    • PSYC BC2114: Cognitive Psychology Lab 
    • PSYC BC2124: Psychology of Personality Lab
    • PSYC BC2128: Developmental Psychology Lab
    • PSYC BC2137: Social Psychology Lab
    • PSYC BC2155: Clinical Psychology Lab
    • NSBV BC2001: Neuroscience Lab
  • Either one or two additional courses, bringing the total to 8 PSYC courses worth 3 or more credits each
  • One course from a cognate discipline
    • Anthropology
    • Cognitive Science
    • Computer Science
    • Economics
    • Linguistics
    • Philosophy
    • Sociology
  • Two lecture courses in outside sciences, one with a lab
    • Astronomy
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Environmental Science
    • Physics
  • One Senior Requirement taken during the final two semesters, which includes a Capstone Project written in either
    • PSYC/NSBV 3000-level seminar
    • Independent Study course (3 or 4 credits)

Minor requirements:

The Barnard Psychology minor requires only six classes (how doable!).

  • PSYC BC1001: Introduction to Psychology
  • PSYC BC1101: Statistics (lecture and recitation)
  • One PSYC lecture course chosen from Groups 1 or 2
    • Group 1
      • PSYC BC2107: Psychology of Learning 
      • PSYC BC2110: Perception 
      • PSYC BC2115: Cognitive Psychology 
      • NSBV BC1001: Introduction to Neuroscience
    • Group 2
      • PSYC BC2125: Personality 
      • PSYC BC2129: Developmental Psychology 
      • PSYC BC2138: Social Psychology 
      • PSYC BC2156: Clinical Psychology 
  • One PSYC laboratory course, or PSYC BC1020 Behavioral Research Methods and Analysis 
  • Two PSYC lectures or seminar courses of your choice

Class recommendations:

As a second-semester sophomore who only recently decided to pursue a Psychology major, I have not taken that many Psychology courses, but of the few my friends and I have taken, these have stood out:

  • PSYC BC2177: Psychology of Drug Use and Abuse (E’mett McCaskill): She uses real-life examples, studies, and cases to analyze and diagnose, making the whole class very interesting, especially for people who want to go into healthcare. She is a fairly easy grader, and as long as you go to class and pay attention, you probably won’t have any issues.
  • PSYC BC2138: Social Psychology (Isabelle Portelinha): The material itself is not very difficult, but Portelinha goes into great depth and explains everything very thoroughly. The exams are either multiple-choice or open-ended, and you can choose which style you prefer for each exam. It is fascinating to be able to understand the reasoning behind common choices people make or phenomena we experience in social situations.

Advice:

  • Once you have completed at least nine credits of PSYC courses and are a second-semester sophomore, you can apply to join Psi Chi, the Psychology honors society, which can help with networking and grant eligibility.
  • Barnard is a great place to get started doing research. It’s unpaid, which is lame, but you can apply through Barnard’s SRI program to potentially get funding for the summer.

Image via Bwog Archives