Dec 05, 2025  
2025-2026 Pitzer College Catalog 
    
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2025-2026 Pitzer College Catalog

Psychology Combined Major

Psychology

The psychology curriculum is designed to encourage students to view psychology and human behavior across multiple levels, using a variety of theoretical and empirical models. We offer our students a solid foundation in methodology, history, traditional, and non-traditional approaches, and we urge critical thinking.

Goals for the Psychology Major

Overview of Goals

The psychology curriculum is designed to encourage students to view psychology and human behavior across multiple levels, using a variety of theoretical and empirical models. We offer our students a solid foundation in methodology, history, traditional, and non-traditional approaches, and we urge critical thinking:

  1. Research training-Students will understand and apply basic research methods in psychology, including research design, data analysis, writing, and interpretation.
  2. Integrating experiential and scientific knowledge-Students will be able to integrate hands-on work in communities and social service organizations with the major concepts, theoretical perspectives, empirical findings, and historical trends in psychology.
  3. Diversity-Students will recognize, understand, and respect the complexity of sociocultural and international diversity.
  4. Life-long learning-Students will develop an interest in life-long learning and an interest in psychological issues in all areas of their personal and professional lives.
  5. Communication skills-Students will be able to effectively communicate about the complexities of psychological research.
  6. Ethical considerations-Students will be able to weigh evidence, tolerate ambiguity, act ethically, and reflect other values that are underpinnings of psychology as a discipline.
  7. Social responsibility-Students will recognize and understand the connection between their psychology training and social issues, and will use this knowledge in their efforts to improve the world in which we live.
  8. Skepticism-Students will respect and use skeptical inquiry in interpreting, understanding, and applying psychological research.

Pitzer Advisers: M. Banerjee, D. Brown, S. Guillermo, T. Justus, M. Rodriguez, N. Rodriguez.
 

Major Requirements

A major in psychology requires a minimum of 11 credits. Students electing a combined major that includes Psychology in its title must complete all requirements for the Psychology major but are only required to complete three additional courses, rather than five, representing three of the content areas within psychology. The psychology field group will allow a maximum of two (2) courses to overlap with any additional major, including combined and self-designed majors.

Combined majors in psychology must meet the following requirements either through satisfactory completion of regular course work (normally at one of The Claremont Colleges) or through other means approved by the psychology faculty. Individual psychology major requirements (e.g., Intro, Stats, Research Methods, Developmental psychology, etc.) must be fulfilled by completing regular course work, and cannot be fulfilled via independent study; however, independent study courses can count as additional courses towards the number of courses required of the major. Furthermore, students should take all of their major requirements on a letter-grade basis.

An AP score of 4 or 5 on the AP Psychology exam will be granted one elective course credit toward graduation, but will not be counted toward a psychology major requirement.

Students considering graduate work should consult with their advisers early in their academic careers about courses that are necessary or advisable in addition to the requirements for the major. It is strongly recommended that students considering graduate work engage in the ongoing research projects of faculty members in Psychology.

Required Courses

○ PSYC 111P PZ -Physiological Psych Practicum   (with PSYC 111 PZ -Physiological Psychology  )

○ PSYC 130P PZ -Stereotype Prejudice Practicum  (with PSYC 130 PZ -Stereotyping and Prejudice  )

○ PSYC 151P PZ -Exprm Child Psychology Practicum  (with PSYC 151 PZ -Experimental Child Psychology  )

○ PSYC 180P PZ -Study of Lives Practicum  (with PSYC 180 PZ -Study of Lives  )

○ Another course approved by your academic adviser

Additional Information

Some things to keep in mind as you plan your major:

  • The semester after taking Introduction to Psychology, students interested in majoring in psychology should take:
  • Or two courses that serve as an introduction to one of the content areas within psychology; examples are listed below:
  • Students intending to major in psychology should take Psychological Statistics preferably before the start of the 2nd semester of their sophomore year. Students should then take PSYC 092 PZ  -Research Methods + PSYC 092P PZ  -Research Methods Practicum as soon as possible after taking PSYC 091 PZ   -Psychological Statistics;
  • PSYC 091 PZ   -Psychological Statistics, PSYC 092 PZ  -Research Methods and  PSYC 092P PZ  -Research Methods Practicum  should be taken before taking a specialized research practicum course.
  • Students hoping to enter the Psychology Honors Program as Seniors should be advised that they must take their required specialized research practicum course before the end of their Junior year; students planning to take a semester abroad should take this into account as they plan their major.

Psychology Honors

During the spring semester of the junior year, the psychology faculty may invite selected students to submit a research proposal for a senior thesis. Criteria for selection include an overall GPA of 3.50, a Claremont Colleges psychology courses GPA of 3.70 and successful completion of PSYC 091 PZ  , PSYC 092 PZ  , PSYC 092P PZ  and one research practicum course in psychology prior to the end of the spring semester of the junior year. At the end of the fall semester, students in PSYC 112 PZ  will be expected to present pilot data to the psychology faculty and will be continued in the Honors Program only IF the quality of the data and presentation is acceptable. In addition, students must pass PSYC 112 PZ  with a B (3.0) or better to receive a recommendation from the psychology faculty to continue. The student must then enroll in PSYC 191 PZ -Senior Thesis in Psychology  in the spring semester of the senior year. Students engaged in senior thesis research are expected to be on campus during the entire senior year. Students who may be eligible for senior thesis research and who are interested in semester abroad experiences should plan to take Psychological Statistics  , Research Methods  + Research Methods Practicum  , and their specialized research practicum course prior to their senior year. Students who complete an acceptable senior thesis and earn an A or A- on the thesis may be considered for graduation with honors in psychology, provided that their academic performance continues to meet the aforementioned criteria. Students who participate in the senior thesis program will present their research to students and faculty at the end of the year.

Psychology Courses

Anthropology

Cognitive Science

Organizational Studies

Psychology