A National Survey of Undergraduate Psychology Degree Options and Major Requirements

Abstract

We examined the catalogs of a random sample of 292 national and regional universities and liberal arts colleges to collect curricular data on the prevalence of focused specialty versus general degrees in psychology and on the course requirements for the various degree options. We analyzed the data by type of degree and institution. Requirements for the various psychology majors were in general agreement with recommendations by the curriculum committee of the recent St. Mary's Conference. We also found that a substantial number of schools offer options other than general degrees. Given trends such as rising undergraduate enrollments and concern for career relevance and job preparation, we believe that the number of these alternative degree options may increase in the future.