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Degrees Granted by the Department
Psychology B.A. and Psychology B.S.
B.A. stands for "Bachelor of Arts" whereas B.S. stands for "Bachelor of Science." Across
programs and universities, a B.A. degree indicates a focus on arts and humanities whereas
a B.S. degree suggests a concentration on science. In the Department of Psychology at
Carnegie Mellon, you can earn a B.A. in Psychology, a B.S. in Psychology, or a B.S. in
Cognitive Science. The distinction between the B.A. and the B.S. in Psychology is that the
B.S. requires an additional 18 units of science courses (fulfilled by two courses beyond the
College's Science and Technology General Education requirement; both courses must
come from the same content area of science, e.g., biology). The B.S. in Cognitive Science
has a quite different structure of requirements. Its focus is upon the study of the human
mind as illuminated by psychology, linguistics, artificial intelligence, philosophy, and
neuroscience. Please see the
university course catalog for a listing of requirements for
each of the degrees offered by the department, or see the Courses by clicking
HERE.
Cognitive Science B.S.
The Psychology Department offers a B.S. degree in Cognitive Science. The field of
cognitive science has grown out of increasingly active interaction among psychology,
linguistics, artificial intelligence, philosophy, and neuroscience. All of these fields share
the goal of understanding intelligence. By combining these diverse perspectives, students
of cognitive science are able to understand cognition at a deep level. Because this major
is administered by the Psychology Department, it focuses on human cognition and the
experimental study of the human mind as illuminated by the techniques of the above five
disciplines, with an emphasis on computer science forming an important part.
Unified double major in psychology and biology
This unified major is intended to reflect the interdisciplinary nature of current research in
the fields of Psychology and Biology, as well as the national trend in some professions
to seek individuals broadly trained in both the social and natural sciences. Students
entering from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences will earn a Bachelor of
Science in Psychology and Biological Sciences. Students entering from the Joint Science and Humanities Scholars
(SHS) program complete the SHS educational core and choose either departmental
order for their diploma.
Double majoring if your primary major is in another department or college:
Additional Major - Psychology B.A.
To complete and additional major in Psychology, a student must fulfill all of the Psychology
major requirements within the department. In other words, the breadth requirement,
a total of two natural science courses, (including any taken to meet the college gen
ed requirement under modeling), computing requirement, three survey courses at the
200-level, two research methods courses, and two advanced courses. These courses must
include at least 81 units, plus calculus prerequisites and the 36-201 statistics sequence
or equivalent and 36-309. Students will be assigned a department advisor to help plan
their program of studies in Psychology
Additional Major - Psychology B.S.
Completion of all of the above requirements, plus an additional 18 units of science courses
(fulfilled by two courses beyond the College's General Education requirement; both courses
must come from the same content area of science, e.g., biology). Students will be assigned
a department advisor to help plan their program of studies in Psychology.
Additional Major - Cognitive Science
To complete a double major in Cognitive Science, a student must fulfill the major
requirements as listed for the Cognitive Science major. These include the programming
requirement (15-121), the Mathematics and Statistics prerequisites, the Artificial Intelligence
Core, the Cognitive Psychology Core, the Cognitive Science breadth requirement, and the
Supplementary Science requirement. Students will be assigned a department advisor to help
plan their program of studies in Cognitive Science.
The Minor in Psychology
The minor in Psychology is available to all students across the university. There are
currently four major areas in the Psychology department.
1. Cognitive Psychology
2. Developmental Psychology
3. Social-personality Psychology
4. Cognitive Neuroscience
A number of sets of courses can form meaningful survey/research methods/advanced
course groupings within these areas. You can find more detailed information about major
requirements in the Course Catalog:
http://www.cmu.edu/esg-cat
Psychology focus for BHA students:
The Honors Program
The Honors Program provides recognition of outstanding performance by students in
Psychology or Cognitive Science. Participation enables students to pursue their own
research ideas through completion of an honors thesis. The honors thesis is completed
during the senior year. By completing a thesis, the student earns 18 unites of credit and
qualifies for graduation with "College Honors." To qualify for the Honors Program, the
student must maintain a quality point average of at least 3.50 in the major and 3.25 overall,
and be invited by the college to become a participant. You can find more detailed
information about major requirements in the
Course Catalog.
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