Degree

Besides completing Common Core requirements, to earn a degree in the College of Liberal Arts, students must take general education courses (language arts, behavioral and social sciences, natural sciences, and general culture) as listed on the degree plans (see list at the bottom).

Effective with the 2022-2024 undergraduate catalog, the composition of the 28 hour PSY major is identical in both the Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees. Rather, the differences between the BS PSY and BA PSY degrees fall within the scope of liberal arts general education requirements as well as required support courses.

If a student's undergraduate catalog designation falls under 2016-2018, 2018-2020, or 2020-2022, then the requirements of the 28 hour PSY major can be different depending on whether the student is pursuing the BA or BS PSY degree. Please see links to the degree plans at the bottom of this page for each active undergraduate catalog designation.

The BS requires:
PSY 301

PSY 317L

PSY 420M
Area I: 3 hrs. from Clinical/social/developmental/evolutionary psychology
Area II: 3 hrs. from Cognition/language/neuroscience/perception
Area III: 3 hrs. from Multicultural/diversity/inclusion in the behavioral sciences

9 hours any additional Psychology (at least 6 hours must be upper-division)

The BS in Psychology was developed for students planning on going to medical school or into other professional health fields (physical therapy, occupational therapy, physician’s assistant, dentistry or optometry). The BS requires 25 hours of prescribed natural science and math courses taken at the natural science majors level, including calculus. The BS requires fewer hours in the foreign language area. The BS in Psychology is ONLY recommended for students planning on going to medical school or into other professional health fields. Students majoring in the Psychology BS must have a strong background in math and enjoy science.
The foreign language requirement also differs from the BA track. The BS requires only courses in foreign language or culture, or a combination of both. The options to complete this requirement may be found at the provided link.

The BA requires:
PSY 301

PSY 317L

9 hours any additional Psychology (at least 6 hours must be upper-division)

The BA in Psychology is best for students planning on going into the work force after the BA, law school, MBA program, or graduate school in psychology or other fields (social work, educational psychology, public affairs, information technology). The BA requires intermediate proficiency in one foreign language (check here for more information). The BA also allows for more elective courses, which could be used to develop the skills necessary to be useful for career goals or post-graduate study. Examples of this would be business, education, additional foreign language, rhetoric and writing or communications courses. If a student plans to be a psychologist, this would be the better degree option.

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Major Requirements for Bachelor’s of Science
There is little difference in the major courses for a BS in Psychology and a BA in Psychology.
The BS requires:
PSY 301
PSY 420M
6 hours Clinical/Social/Developmental/Evolutionary Psychology
6 hours Cognition/Language/Neuroscience/Perception Psychology
9 hours any additional Psychology (at least 6 hours upper-division)
The BS in Psychology was developed for students planning on going to medical school or into other professional health fields (physical therapy, occupational therapy, physician’s assistant, dentistry or optometry). The BS requires 25 hours of prescribed natural science and math courses taken at the natural science majors level, including calculus. The BS requires fewer hours in the foreign language area. The BS in Psychology is ONLY recommended for students planning on going to medical school or into other professional health fields. Students majoring in the Psychology BS must have a strong background in math and enjoy science.
The foreign language requirement also differs from the BA track. The BS requires only 2 courses in foreign language or culture, or a combination of both. The options to complete this requirement can be found here.
Major Requirements for Bachelor’s of Arts
Major Requirements for Bachelor’s of Arts
The BA requires:
PSY 301
PSY 420M
21 hours from any Psychology courses, including at least 18 upper-division courses
The BA in Psychology is best for students planning on going into the work force after the BA, law school, MBA program, or graduate school in psychology or other fields (social work, educational psychology, public affairs, information technology). The BA requires intermediate proficiency in one foreign language (check here for more information). The BA also allows for more elective courses, which could be used to develop the skills necessary to be useful for career goals or post-graduate study. Examples of this would be business, education, additional foreign language, rhetoric and writing or communications courses. If a student plans to be a psychologist, this would be the better degree option.
Additional Requirements:
At least 18 hours of Psychology coursework must be taken in-residence at UT (including PSY 420M, which must be taken in-residence).
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Interactive Degree Audit (IDA)

IDA is the interactive degree audit system for students pursuing degrees at UT Austin. Using IDA, you may request and view your degree audit online. IDA provides you with a report of your progress toward completion of the requirements for a specific program. If there have been any changes to your record since you last ran an audit, you must rerun an audit for those changes to be included in the audit.