Courses
Psychology offers a broad array of courses across many different areas within the field. To help our students get the most out of our courses, we have designed a structured course progression.
Students start with an Introductory Course, followed by Foundational Courses that provide a more in-depth survey of one of the major sub-areas of psychology, and eventually choose Advanced Courses in various specialized areas (which have Introductory and Foundational Courses as prerequisites). In addition to these, students will gain hands-on experience with research by taking Methods Courses, and take a Sophomore Tutorial that provides an intimate learning opportunity to develop critical thinking and writing skills. Many students also work in a research lab for credit, and have the option of pursuing an honors thesis in their senior year.
Students may also have to take additional courses specific to their track. The Requirements Chart shows the full course requirements for each concentration track in Psychology!
Once you declare a concentration or secondary field, you can always check which of your courses are counting for concentration credit by accessing your Academic Advising Report (AAR) on my.harvard. But if you ever have questions about what's counting, just e-mail the Undergraduate Office at psychology@wjh.harvard.edu to ask!
Useful Course Lists
Some requirements can be fulfilled, optionally or only, by multiple pre-approved courses, and the Department maintains lists of these courses for student reference.
At a minimum, all students should take the Introductory Course Psychology 1, Introduction to Psychological Science as early as possible. Students who received a qualifying score on the AP or IB psychology exam can choose to begin with a Foundational Course.
Students planning to complete the Life Sciences (Cognitive Neuroscience and Evolutionary Psychology) Track should also take one of the following courses in their first year: Life and Physical Sciences A, Life Sciences 1A, Life Sciences 1B, or Life Science 50A.
All courses taken for concentration credit must be taken for a letter grade - with the exception of PSY 985, PSY 991, and approved Freshmen Seminars, which are only graded SAT/UNSAT. If you have questions about other courses, please contact the Undergraduate Office.
You will need to send a request to the Undergraduate Office to count SAT/UNSAT courses towards your concentration - please e-mail the UGO to do this!
Because of the interdisciplinary nature of many of our courses, this numbering system is not always applicable to every Psychology course. Use this page as a rough guide to assess the different course areas, but for more detailed course information, please consult the syllabus, or contact your Concentration Advisor or the Undergraduate Office!
Number of Digits
- TWO, e.g. PSY 15: Foundational Courses
- THREE, e.g. PSY 971: Tutorial Courses
- FOUR, e.g. PSY 1501: Undergraduate/graduate lecture and seminar courses
Four-Digit Course Numbers
- The first digit, 1, indicates an undergraduate course (2000-level courses are primarily for graduate students but may allow advance undergraduates, and 3000-level courses are limited to graduate students).
- The second digit indicates area in psychology (for 1000-level only). This breakdown is as follows...
0 = General Psychology | 5 = Social/Applied Psychology |
1 = Learning/Behavior | 6 = Developmental Psychology |
2 = Behavioral Neuroscience | 7 = Personality/Motivation |
3 = Cognition/Memory | 8 = Experimental Psychopathology |
4 = Sensation/Perception | 9 = Methods/Statistics |