PsychologyIcon: Silhouette of person's head.

African american psychologist talking to young male client.

Application Deadline

  • Spring: December 8
  • Summer: April 12 (early sessions)
  • Fall: July 19

Class Begins

  • Spring: January 6, 2025
  • Summer: May 5, 2025 (early sessions)
  • Fall: August 19, 2024

Degree Awarded

Bachelor of Science
in Psychology

WSU College

College of Arts and Sciences

Explore the Human Mind

The human mind holds the keys to our unique motivations, desires, personalities, and everything that makes us who we are. What people think and feel drives their behavior and, in turn, has driven all of human history. Those who wish to better understand the complexities of the human mind can do so by immersing themselves in the fascinating field of psychology. 

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Transcript (pdf)

Why Major in Psychology?

Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and the mental processes that determine behavior. It uses rigorous methods of research to study feelings, thoughts, and conscious and subconscious phenomena and their influence on behavior. It also studies the behavioral effects of physical conditions, including brain chemistry, anatomy, abnormalities and ailments. Psychologists then apply the accumulated knowledge of this science to solve practical problems.

Find out more from a Psychology Outstanding Senior!

What You’ll Learn

WSU’s psychology bachelor’s program, offered fully online, is designed to give you a comprehensive understanding of psychological principles and the field’s use of the scientific methods. The ability to systematically identify and solve human problems is crucial skill in all workplaces and life situations. A psychology degree is an excellent stepping stone to graduate work in psychology, but also provides you with invaluable skills for a wide variety of career fields, including health care, social work, law, research and development, business, management, sales, marketing and administration.

WSU Online Psychology Degree Strengths

  • WSU’s psychology program, delivered online, has been consistently ranked in the top 25 online programs in the nation. The program’s renowned faculty from the College of Arts and Sciences are passionate about engaging with online students and providing them with a holistic educational experience tailored for the fully-online format.
  • Online students can gain valuable experience through conducting undergraduate research and acting as a tutor, grading teacher’s assistant or instructional teacher’s assistant.
  • Online psychology students have access to a wide variety of great resources and networking opportunities, including the Online Psychology Student’s Resource Room, the Global Campus Chapter of WSU’s Psychology Club, and Psi Chi, the Psychology National Honor Society.
  • Many online Psychology courses currently utilize Open Education Resources (OER), free online academic materials used in place of hard copy books. This can greatly reduce student costs while attending WSU. The program is working toward transitioning all online Psychology course requirements into using OER materials.

Infographic: Psychology degree.
Note: All career statistics come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook

Program of Study

All courses are available online

All WSU undergraduates must complete a minimum of 120 semester credits of which 40 credits must be at the 300 – 400 level. Students must also complete the University Common Requirements (UCORE). These can generally be satisfied with a direct transfer degree. For a list of direct-transfer agreements, visit WSU’s Transferring an Associate Degree web page.

Students must also fulfill the College of Arts and Sciences graduation requirements and the program requirements of the degree. Time to degree completion varies depending on semester of enrollment and course availability. Not all courses are available all semesters. Your academic advisor will help map out the best plan for you.

The major requires 35 credits in psychology course work, at least 15 of which must be from 300-400 level courses. Students must take at least 10 credits of Psychology at WSU and must maintain at least a C average in Psychology courses.

Students must also take BIOLOGY 102: General Biology, or transfer in an approved general biology course.

14 semester credits

  • PSYCH 105 [SSCI] – Introductory Psychology
  • PSYCH 210 – Psychology as a Science
  • PSYCH 311 [QUAN] – Statistics in Psychology
  • PSYCH 312 [M] – Research Methods in Psychology

Choose two courses – 6 semester credits

  • PSYCH 110- Introduction to Addiction Studies
  • PSYCH 265 – Biopsychological Effects of Alcohol and Other Drugs
  • PSYCH 328 [M]- Behavior Modification
  • PSYCH 372 [BSCI] – Biological Basis of Behavior
  • PSYCH 384 – Sensation and Perception
  • PSYCH 490 – Cognition and Memory
  • PSYCH 491 – Principles of Learning

Choose two courses – 6 semester credits

  • PSYCH 230 – Human Sexuality
  • PSYCH 306 – Industrial Psychology
  • PSYCH 308 – Organizational Psychology
  • PSYCH 309 – Diversity in Organizations
  • PSYCH 310 – Work, Stress, and Health
  • PSYCH 321 – Introduction to Personality
  • PSYCH 324 – Psychology of Gender 
  • PSYCH 326 – Principles of Self Control
  • PSYCH 350 – Social Psychology
  • PSYCH 470 – Motivation

Choose two courses – 6 semester credits

  • PSYCH 310 – Work, Stress, and Health
  • PSYCH 320 – Health Psychology
  • PSYCH 333 – Abnormal Psychology
  • PSYCH 348 – Forensic and Legal Psychology
  • PSYCH 361 – Principles of Developmental Psychology
  • PSYCH 363 – Psychology of Aging
  • PSYCH 440 [M] – Clinical/Community Psychology
  • PSYCH 464 – Behavior Disorders of Children and Adolescents

Choose one course – 3 semester credits

  • PSYCH 201 – Degrees and Careers
  • PSYCH 223 – Psychology of Happiness
  • PSYCH 301 – Seminar in Psychology (variable content)
  • PSYCH 401 [CAPS] [M] – Historical Development of Psychology
  • PSYCH 405 – Instructional Practicum Training
  • PSYCH 412 [CAPS] [M] – Psychological Testing and Measurement
  • PSYCH 497 – Instructional Practicum (Teaching Assistant)
  • PSYCH 498 – Research Participation (Research Assistant)
  • PSYCH 499 – Special Problems
  • Any course listed above, or a transfer course with a PSYCH prefix.

Students must complete the University Writing Portfolio, and two Writing in the Major courses. For online psychology students, the Writing in the Major requirement will be fulfilled with PSYCH 312 (required), and choose one course from PSYCH 328, 401, 412, or 440.

All students, including community college transfer students with an approved transferable AA degree from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Arizona or Hawaii, or students pursuing a second major in the College of Arts and Sciences, will be held to the following additional requirements:

  • Foreign Language: Complete 2 years of high school or 1 year of college in a single foreign language
  • Complete an Equity and Justice [EQJS] designated course
  • Additional 1 lab credit of [BSCI], [PSCI] for a total of 8 semester credits and 2 labs.

Please review the online WSU Catalog for additional information about specific degree requirements.