Psychology Undergraduate Program
Psychology is an interdisciplinary program that examines both the social and scientific bases of behavior, and as a premier research institution, UC Davis is home to many leading researchers in the field. In humans, animals and computer models, and from neurons to relationships to cultures, the science of psychology is focused on understanding how, when and why we do what we do. Psychology majors from UC Davis are prepared to enter fields such as business, government or personnel work, or to pursue higher levels of education.
Major and Minor Options
The Psychology program offers 3 major degree types and 1 minor for undergraduate students. The main objective of all of our undergraduate programs is a broad introduction to the scope of contemporary psychology. The Bachelor of Arts (AB) program looks at psychology through a liberal arts lens. The Bachelor of Science (BS) programs offers two science-oriented perspectives of psychology: biology and math/statistics.
- Psychology AB (General Emphasis)
- Psychology BS (Biology Emphasis)
- Psychology BS (Quantitative Emphasis)
- Psychology Minor
Five Major Areas of Emphasis
- Perception, Cognition, and Cognitive Neuroscience involves the study of awareness and thought, and includes topics such as perception, learning, memory and consciousness.
- Biological Psychology involves the study of the biological correlates of behavior and includes topics such as physiological psychology, sensory processes, health psychology and animal behavior.
- Social-Personality Psychology involves the study of the individual in his or her social environment and includes topics such as personality theory, abnormal psychology, individual differences, developmental psychology and social psychology.
- Developmental Psychology includes imaging the developing brain, children's psychological understanding or theory of mind (e.g., knowledge about people's thoughts, beliefs, desires and emotions), children’s language development and children's social development.
- Quantitative Psychology includes experimental design and the analysis of variance, regression analysis and multivariate analysis.
Learning Goals
I. Knowledge about the Science and Application of Psychology
A. Characterize the nature of psychology as a discipline
Understand why psychology is a science
Understand the primary objectives, assumptions, and methods of psychology
Understand the history of psychology (e.g., the recognition of historical figures, important theoretical foundations and conflicts)
B. Demonstrate Knowledge in Selected Content Areas
Biological bases of behavior and mental processes (e.g., physiology, comparative psychology, motivation, emotion, and evolution)
Developmental changes in behavior and mental processes
Learning and cognition
Personality and social psychology, including sociocultural issues
Abnormal behavior (ex. mental illness, substance abuse, neurodevelopmental disorders, brain disease, and trauma)
II. Research Methods in Psychology
A. Understand the variety of research methods used in psychology:
How different research designs address different kinds of research questions.
The strengths and limitations of different research methods
Issues in cross-cultural research (e.g., translation of measures, experimenter bias)
Distinguish the features of designs that permit causal inferences from features of those that do not permit these inferences
Understand internal and external validity
B. Evaluate the conclusions drawn from psychological research
Interpret statistical results
Distinguish between statistical significance and practical significance
Understand the APA ethics code regarding the treatment of human and nonhuman animals.
III. Critical Thinking Skills in Psychology
A. Evaluate the quality of information
Distinguish between empirical evidence and speculation
Evaluate the credibility of claims about behavioral claims
Identify claims that arise from myths, stereotypes, or untested assumptions
Evaluate popular media reports of psychological research