Students are encouraged to plan their major or minor based on the catalog requirements (see links to handouts below) and to be self-reliant in planning and completing their degree. In addition to the links here, you may obtain information about the Psychology major, including information About Graduate Study from the Psychology Advising Bulletin Board (located 3rd floor, King Hall, across from north elevators).
Information about careers and graduate programs in Psychology is also available at the American Psychological Association (APA), Association for Psychological Science (APS), and the Western Psychological Association (WPA) websites.
Advisement Appointments
For help with selecting your classes, checking your progress toward graduation, or completing a graduation application, please schedule an appointment with an advisor in the NSS Advisement Center by calling (323) 343-5284 or visiting their office in King Hall, D-Wing, Room 1044.
Each Spring and Fall semester, the Psychology Department also has Faculty Advisors available who also assist students with selecting classes, checking progress toward graduation, and completing a graduation application. Faculty Advisors also help students with planning for graduate school and career goals. To make an appointment, please visit the Psychology Department in King Hall, C-Wing, Room 3104.
Major Specific Admission Requirements
The Psychology major has 'Major Specific Admission Requirements.' Effective Fall 2018, supplementary admission criteria will be used for incoming freshman, transfer students, and current students interested in changing majors to psychology. Please see below.
» If you are interested in applying to Cal State LA as an incoming freshmen or transfer student, please review the information regarding Major Specific Admission Requirements for the psychology major. If you have questions about these requirements, you can contact the Office of Admissions at (323) 343-3901, send an email to admission@calstatela.edu or visit the Student Information Center located in Student Affairs, Room 101.
» Current Cal State LA students interested in changing majors to psychology: please review the requirements and application.
Forms and Handouts
Semester Catalog Forms
- MAJOR Program Plan 2021 and prior (semester requirements for the degree)
- MAJOR Program Plan as of 2022 (semester requirements for the degree)
- MINOR Program Plan (semester requirements for the degree)
- Sample 4-year Roadmap
- Sample 2-year Roadmap
Additional Forms
- Requirements and application for changing majors to Psychology
- Handout: What can I do with a Psychology degree?
- Handout: Viewing your Academic Requirements Report on GET
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Resource: Social Psychology Network's Online Psychology Career Center
Quicklinks
Roadmaps and Program Plans
Program plans and roadmaps (see links to handouts under the Forms and Handouts menu above) serve as a critical tool in the advisement of new and continuing students. The roadmaps are not meant to cover every possibility, but are simple guides to help students progress in a timely manner towards graduation. Entering freshmen and transfer students should choose the "Roadmap" that best fits their situation and study needs.
Permits
A permit allows you to add courses that require department consent and/or may be required if you have taken a prerequisite course but GET does not allow you add the class. The department will verify that you have completed all prerequisites before issuing your permit. A permit does not guarantee a seat in the class! It is still your responsibility to add the class once your enrollment date begins.
Note to New Transfer Students: Permits may also be needed for PSY courses with a prerequisite you may have already completed. If your transcripts have not yet been evaluated, you will get an error each time you try to add the class on GET. If this is the case, bring your unofficial transcripts to the Psychology office, we will verify the prerequiste, and then post a permit that will allow you to add the class (if seats are available).
Checking your Cal State LA Email
The Department and University send important information via the campus email system. For example, the Department will send you notices about class cancellations, job or volunteer opportunities, or upcoming events. You will want to continuously check your Cal State LA email account or opt to have your messages forwarded to an email account you check more frequently.
Transferable Courses
Courses from the community college that are transferable to Cal State LA include PSY 1500 (Introductory Psychology) and PSY 1700 (Introduction to Physiological Psychology). General Psych 1 and General Psych 2 are examples of courses that will transfer to the major at Cal State LA. All students are required to complete College Algebra as a prerequisite for PSY 3020.
Lower-division courses completed at the community college cannot fulfill upper-division Psychology requirements. For example, if you take a lower division abnormal psychology course at a community college, it will not count for our upper division abnormal psychology course. Check ASSIST.ORG for more information on transferable courses.
Applying for Graduation
All Cal State LA students are required to apply for graduation one semester before their graduation date (e.g., if you are planning to graduate in Spring, you must file your graduation application the previous Fall; see the Schedule of Classes or the Quicklinks above for application dates). You can obtain a Graduation Application from Admin. 409; pay the Graduation Application fee at the University Cashier's window; then turn in your paid and stamped Graduation Application to the Psychology Dept. office (KH C3104). We advise students to make an appointment with an advisor for a "Grad Check" at least two weeks before the application deadlines.