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FAQs
Major/Minor
Changing Majors
Pass / No Credit in My Major
Declaring My Major
GPA in Major
Honors in Psychology
Minor Requirements
Credits That Must Be Taken At Hunter
Registration
Closed Courses
Foreign Credits
Permits
Registration
Repeating a Course
Statistics in Another Department or At Another School
Transfer Students
Statistics in Another Department or At Another School
Transferred Courses
Credits That Must be Taken at Hunter
Advising
Active Involvement in the Department
Advising Appointments
Faculty
Grades
Graduation and Career
Career Opportunities for BA's and MA's
Graduate School Information
Major/Minor
Changing Majors
Q: What if I declared another major before, but now I want to be a Psychology Major?
A: You can switch your major by completing the Major, Minor, Certificate Declaration & Change Form. Select the replace option and follow the prompts to indicate the major you wish to drop, then select the major you wish to add.
Pass / No Credit (formally known as CR/NC)
Q: I'm a Psychology Major. May I take a Pass/No Credit grade in any of my major courses?
A: No, non-letter grades, such as P/NC cannot apply toward the psych major. (This rule applies to all Psychology majors, as of Jan 1998).
Declaring My Major
Q: How do I declare my major?
A: Read the Declaring the Major section of this site, or speak with a department advisor to discuss the curriculum. Make sure to have your transcripts in hand.
GPA in Major
Q: Do I have to maintain a minimum grade point average (GPA) in psychology to graduate?
A: Yes. The minimum GPA is 2.0. Based on the new curriculum (implemented 2017 Fall Term) all psychology courses, including lab sciences, are calculated into the major GPA. DegreeWorks is the primary tool used for degree audits and GPA calculations. DegreeWorks will showcase a block specifically for the major, which will list all of the requirements; courses that meet the major requirements will automatically be plugged into categories in order of completion.
- Courses completed on an e-permit or with non-letter grades of CR/NC cannot be applied to the major requirements.
- Courses completed abroad or approved for an e-permit will only count towards the student's general elective credits; such credits will not count towards the major requirements or major electives.
- Only 200 and 300-level courses taken in residence may be applied to the major.
Honors in Psychology
Q: How do I graduate with Departmental Honors?
A: Departmental Honors in Psychology requires the student to work under the supervision of a full-time faculty mentor for a full year through successful completion of both PSYCH 396 and PSYCH 398.
See the Honors Program section of this website.
Minor Requirements
Q: I transferred to Hunter. Must I take all of my minor courses here at Hunter?
A: No, but you must complete half of your minor (and your major) courses at Hunter.
Credits that must be taken at Hunter
Q: I took a lot of Psychology courses at my previous school. Do I have to take more Psychology courses at Hunter to graduate with a Psychology Major?
A: One-half of your major courses (and one-half of your minor courses) must be taken at Hunter, regardless of the number of transferred Psychology credits.
Registration
Closed Courses
Q: All the Psychology courses I need or want to take are closed. Isn't there some way I can get into a closed course?
A: The "good news" is that sometimes courses are added to the schedule after the schedule has been printed, so you may actually have more choices than you think.
Even if a course is closed, keep trying to register online. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, someone will have dropped the course and there might be a spot open. This is especially true during the drop/add/change-of-schedule period.
Since psych classes are popular and the rooms are filled to capacity, no one can be added to a closed course. There are no overtallies.
To maximize your chances of getting the courses and sections you want, be sure to register as early as possible. However, some courses and sections close early, so have some back-up choices ready.
Permits
Q: How do I get a permit to take a course at another school?
A: Although it may be possible to take a course "On Permit" at another school, such courses may not be used to fulfill major requirements. Psychology courses taken on permit may ONLY be used as general elective credits, not as psychology credits.
Q: Can any psychology course be taken on permit at another school?
A: You may not take Psychological Statistics or Experimental Psychology on permit, nor any other course you want to use to fulfill major requirements.
If you have failed a course at Hunter, you may not take that course again on permit; permits are issued very sparingly. For example, no class with a Hunter number above PSYCH 248 may be taken on permit at a 2-year college. Because of prerequisite conflicts, most often, a permit will be permitted only for courses numbered below Hunter's PSYCH 248. Remember, these courses do NOT fulfill major requirements.
Permits are sometimes approved for upper level courses that are not offered at Hunter. See the advisors about any questions pertaining to permits.
Registration
Please read the Registration section of this site. Most of your questions will have already been answered there in detail.
Q: Do I have to come to the Psychology Department to register?
A: Students enroll through CUNYFirst. Some courses within the psychology major require permission from an advisor, such as PSYCH 248.
Q: Which courses require approval?
A: Only students taking the following courses must first obtain approval:
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PSYCH 201 -- Independent Study in Psychology *
- PSYCH 248 -- Statistical Methods in Psychology
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PSYCH 295.61 -- Special Topics in Neuroscience **
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PSYCH 306 and 307 -- Seminar in Psychological Services **
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PSYCH 395 -- Independent Research in Psychology *
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PSYCH 396 and 398 -- Honors in Psychology *
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Or any other course that specifies "Departmental Consent Required"
Repeating a Course
Q: How will repeating a course affect my grade point average (GPA)? What courses may I repeat?
A: Any course in which you received a grade of D, F, WU or NC may be repeated. If you repeat a course in which you received an F and get a C or better, only the C will be used to compute your GPA. If you repeat a course in which you received a D, both the D and the new grade will be used to compute your GPA (both grades will be averaged into the GPA). Remember, with the new curriculum, no classes to be applied to the major may be taken on a CR/NC basis.
In all cases, both grades will remain on your transcript.
Statistics in Another Department or At Another School
Q: If I've taken a statistics course in another department or at another school, do I still have to take PSYCH 248, Statistical Methods in Psychological Research?
A: Probably. The statistics courses offered by many math departments are NOT equivalent to PSYCH 248. If you have questions about other statistics courses you have taken, ask the Undergraduate Advisor in Room 611HN. PSYCH 248 may not be taken on permit.
Transferred Courses
Q: How do I know if the Psychology courses I took at another college before I came to Hunter will count toward my Psychology Major at Hunter?
A: Transferred courses which were given a Hunter College equivalence number starting with the prefix PSYCH can be counted toward the major (although they will not be included in your GPA). Psychology courses for which there is no equivalence number cannot be used for the major. If you want to check whether your courses can receive an equivalence number, please see an advisor. Be sure to bring all of your transcripts with you, and a copy of the course description from your previous college's catalog.
Credits that must be taken at Hunter
Q: I took a lot of Psychology courses at my previous school. Do I have to take more Psychology courses at Hunter to graduate with a Psychology Major?
A: One-half of your major courses (and one-half of your minor courses) must be taken at Hunter, regardless of the number of transferred Psychology credits.
Advising
Active Involvement in the Department
Q: The Psychology Department is large. Classes are so big, but I'd like to get to know the professors. Is there any way I can become involved and be more than a number?
A: Absolutely! Come to the department info-sessions and workshops. Subscribe to the psych-l mailing list. Join the Psychology Club and Psi Chi. Take courses such as Independent Study (PSYCH 201), Independent Research (PSYCH 395), Honors (PSYCH 396/398), and the Seminar in Psychological Services (PSYCH 306/307). Talk to your professors about your interests and their research. These possibilities are all discussed during info-sessions, which are held every semester.
Advising Appointments
Q: Do I have to make an appointment to see an Undergraduate Advisor?
A: Yes. Advising sessions are held via appointment, which you can book directly through the Navigate app or website for students.
Faculty
Q: How do I contact an individual faculty member?
A: The Faculty Page contains the office locations, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of all full-time Psychology faculty. To contact a faculty member, try calling or stopping by during the professor's office hours.
Grades
Q: How do I find out what grade I got in a Psychology course?
A: You may do the following:
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Check your DegreeWorks worksheet. DegreeWorks is your online advising system that breaks down your entire B.A. requirements.
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Check CUNYFirst Student Center. Grades can be found in the following tabs within Student Center:
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Grades
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Unofficial Transcript
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Request an Official Transcript
Graduation and Career
Career Opportunities for BA's and MA's
Q: What can I do with a BA or an MA in Psychology?
A: Career opportunities exist in a number of fields. Attend the meeting on careers presented by the Department of Psychology. Come in to the advising office for information. Visit the Hunter College Career Development Services as they have countless materials that go over resume and cover letter writing, internship guides, part-time and full-time job postings and more.
Graduate School Information
Q: Where can I get information about graduate schools, and what should I do if I want to attend graduate school in Psychology or a related field, such as Counseling?
A: Each semester, the Department of Psychology holds info sessions related to graduate school. You should attend any or all that you can. Visit websites on the world wide web; schools have applications posted there along with information about their programs. Review the specific program's admission requirements as it can be used as a checklist to ensure you are a competitive candidate.
