School of Arts and Sciences
Department of Biology

BA/BS in Biopsychology

Biopsychology is an interdepartmental major for students interested in neurobiology and behavior, and is offered jointly by the Department of Biology and the Department of Psychology.

Program Requirements and Policies

  • Eleven courses of 3 semester-hour credits (SHUs) or more are required to complete the major. Six of these courses must be in biology and five must be in psychology.

  • No course may be taken Pass/Fail.

  • Biopsychology majors may not double major in either Biology or Psychology, or in any of the other majors housed in the Psychology Department.

  • If you have more than one major, please see Bulletin for rules on double-counting courses across majors.

  • If you have a minor, no more than two course credits used toward the minor may be used toward foundation, distribution, major, or other minor requirements.

Course Requirements

Biology Courses

  1. Biology 13: Cells and Organisms
  2. Biology 15: Cells and Organisms Lab
  3. Biology 41: General Genetics
  4. Biology 130: Animal Behavior
  5. One of the following courses:
    • Biology 75: Comparative Vertebrate Physiology
    • Biology 110: Endocrinology
    • Biology 115: General Physiology I
    • Biology 116: General Physiology II
    • Biology 117: Physiology of Movement
    • Biology 134: Neurobiology
  6. One elective in Biology that has a course number of 13 or higher

 Notes:

As of Fall 2023, A&S students taking Biology 13 must take both BIO 13 (lecture) and BIO 15 (lab) in the same semester, as they are linked courses. A&S students must add both courses to their SIS cart when enrolling in BIO 13 + 15. Students who took BIO 13 before 2023 already have lab automatically included in Bio 13.  Engineering students should note that the requirement to take the lab differs by major.

Psychology Courses

  1. One of the following courses:
    • Psychology 31: Statistics for Behavioral Science
    • Bio 132: Biostatistics
    • CEE 6/CH 136: Biostatistics 
    • CEE 156: Biostatics
    • CSHD 140: Problems of Research - Statistics
  2. Psychology 32: Experimental Psychology
  3. Psychology 103: Brain & Behavior
    • Note: Students may substitute PSY 25 for PSY 103, but must then take an additional third course selected from the below list of electives.
  4. & 10. Two electives in Psychology chosen from the following list:

    Psychology 22: Emotion
    Psychology 26: Animal Learning and Cognition
    Psychology 27: Perception
    Psychology 29: Human Neuropsychology
    Psychology 40: Physiological Psychology Lab
    Psychology 41: Perception and Cognition Lab
    Psychology 42: Emotion Lab
    Psychology 45: Laboratory in Functional Neuroimaging
    Psychology 46: Laboratory in Animal Cognition
    Psychology 48: Psychopharmacology Lab
    Psychology 49: Psychophysiology Lab
    Psychology 104: Advanced Seminar in Physiological Psychology
    Psychology 111: Psychiatric Medication in Children
    Psychology 112: Biological Bases of Psychopathology
    Psychology 116: Psychology of Fear
    Psychology 117: Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
    Psychology 122: Cognitive Aging
    Psychology 123: Psychopharmacology
    Psychology 126: Origins of Cognition
    Psychology 127: Behavioral Endocrinology
    Psychology 128: Advanced Seminar in Nutrition and Behavior
    Psychology 129: Cognitive Neuroscience
    Psychology 131: Neuropsychology
    Psychology 142: Seminar in Affective Neuroscience
    Psychology 144: Memory and Retention
    Psychology 146: Comparative Cognition and Behavior
    Psychology 154: Psychosis
    Psychology 156: Long Term Memory Processes
    Psychology 159: Emotion, Stress and Health
    Psychology 196: Various, but not all, special topics PSY 196 offerings (check the current list of course offerings for details regarding which PSY 196 seminars in a given semester have been approved for biopsych credit)