BA/BS in Psychology, General

Psychology here is treated as a science of behavior and mental processes that applies scientific methods to describing, forecasting and explaining human conduct. The major prepares students well for further study in psychology, medicine, law and similar professions, and gives a wide liberal arts base for other paths. Students are expected to understand the main concepts, theories, historical trends and empirical findings of the field, and to grasp research methods covering study design, analyzing data and reading results so they can run their own studies with attention to ethics in human and animal research. They also practice scientific reasoning and learn to write up research and literature reviews following APA conventions. The major consists of eleven four-unit courses: an introductory general psychology prerequisite, a statistics course and nine principal courses. Students also satisfy BU Hub and College of Arts & Sciences requirements.