Cluster Requirements

The department offers seven psychology clusters, all of which satisfy the social science divisional requirement. AP and transfer courses cannot be applied to cluster requirements.

Links to the psychology department's clusters can be found below. You can also search for clusters on the main cluster search page.

Psychology as a Social Science (S1PSY006)

This cluster offers a sampling of social, personality, motivational, clinical, and other social science aspects of psychology.

Note: Students who receive AP credit or other transfer credit for PSYC 101 may request a Cluster Exception to waive the PSYC 101 requirement and take three courses from the approved list for this cluster. Students who receive a grade of B- or higher in PSYC 101A may request a Cluster Exception to waive the PSYC 101 requirement and either A) take three 4-credit courses from the approved list, or B) take two 4-credit courses from the approved list plus a 2-credit independent study course in addition to PSYC 101A.

Psychopathology (S1PSY001)

Students learn about child and adult mental disorders, including their characteristics, causes, and treatments. Students also examine the role of psychological factors in the development of healthy and unhealthy behavior, including medical disease and addiction.

Psychology of Motivation (S1PSY003)

This cluster explores the psychological forces that affect the energization and direction of human action. Courses are concerned with research and theory about basic motivational principles, and the utilization of these principles in various applied fields.

Social Psychology (S1PSY004)

Social psychology examines how people perceive and interact with others. The courses in this cluster cover a wide range of social phenomena, including attitudes, social motivation, relationships, behavior in groups, and social cognition.

Organizational Psychology (S1PSY005)

(No longer available after Spring 2023.) This cluster examines how organizations function, with an emphasis on social factors, motivation, and personality.

Personality Psychology (S1PSY008)

Students in this cluster explore how personality affects behavior in everyday life. The emphasis in this cluster is on "normal" as opposed to "abnormal" functioning.

Social and Emotional Development (S1PSY009)

This cluster examines psychological theories and research pertaining to children's social and emotional development. Students in this cluster learn about normative and atypical development in children and adolescents, and consider different developmental processes in varying social contexts.