Psychology text

Undergraduate Minor inPsychology

Program summary

Explore aspects of human behavior that are relevant in almost any career field with course work developed by Penn State faculty. This versatile online psychology minor is a useful enhancement to many majors.

Credits and costs

18 Credits$626/$671 per credit

Enhance Your Penn State Degree

Add a minor to get even more value out of your education.

Gain Specialized Knowledge

Earning a minor enables you to complement your major, pursue a personal interest, or explore a different field of study.

Psychology is a broad and diverse field that seeks to understand, explain, and predict human behavior. A background of study in psychology can benefit students from many different majors, helping you to learn more about how and why people behave as they do.

In this program, you will have the opportunity to study with highly regarded faculty from Penn State's College of the Liberal Arts, one of the premier institutions in the world to study and work in the liberal arts disciplines. Penn State World Campus has partnered with Penn State’s Department of Psychology to offer a psychology minor designed to give you broad exposure to psychology as a scientific and professional discipline while complementing your primary major.

You can select your course work from several fields of study, including biological, clinical, cognitive, developmental, industrial-organizational, and social psychology. You also have the opportunity to choose courses that emphasize theory or application of psychological principles.

This minor is open to all interested undergraduate World Campus students who meet the prerequisites, and is most useful if you are majoring in business, labor and employment relations, or law and society.

Courses

The 18-credit course work, including the required introductory psychology course, allows you to choose a set of courses that match your specific area of interest.

The minor comprises 7 credits of core courses and 11 credits of elective courses, with 6 elective credits taken at the 400 level.  

Required Courses (7 credits)

  • 3
    credits

    Introduction to general psychology; principles of human behavior and their applications.

    • GS

      The credits earned in this course may be applied toward the Social and Behavioral Sciences (GS) requirement.

  • 4
    credits

    Introduction to methods of psychological research, with special attention to hypothesis formation and testing, threats to validity, and data presentation.

    • Prerequisite

      PSYCH 100 and PSYCH 200 or STAT 200

Electives (select 11 credits)

At least 6 of the 11 credits need to be at the 400 level in PSYCH.

  • 3
    credits

    Developmental principles; physical growth; linguistic, intellectual, emotional, and social development from infancy to maturity.

    • Prerequisite

      PSYCH 100

  • 3
    credits

    Introduction to Social Psychology discusses how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by other people (real or imagined). The course will provide an overview of the field, potentially covering such topics as: attitudes, persuasion, person perception, automatic vs. conscious thought, the self, prosocial behavior, aggression, interpersonal attribution, conformity, obedience, culture, groups, prejudice and discrimination from a psychological perspective.

    • Prerequisite

      PSYCH 100

  • 3
    credits

    Personality psychology involves examining theories of human nature and evaluating them in an empirical fashion.

    • Prerequisite

      PSYCH 100

  • 3
    credits

    Applying psychological knowledge to develop and maintain effective personal adjustment and well-being and positive social relations.

    • Prerequisite

      PSYCH 100

  • 3
    credits

    This course is an introduction to cognition, an area of psychology that investigates the ways in which we acquire, store, create and use knowledge.

    • Prerequisite

      PSYCH 100

  • 3
    credits

    An introduction to biopsychology, emphasizing the structure and function of the human brain.

  • 3
    credits

    This course focuses on some of the topics and questions people most commonly ask about psychology: What are the different psychological disorders, and what are they like? How do clinicians diagnose someone with a disorder? What do therapists actuallydoin therapy?

    • Prerequisite

      PSYCH 100

  • 3
    credits

    Personnel selection, training, accident prevention, morale, and organizational behavior.

  • 3
    credits

    Physical, cognitive, and personality development during adolescence.

  • 3
    credits

    Psychological influences on human sexual behavior such as love, sexual orientation, gender, intercourse, contraception, sexually transmitted diseases, dysfunctions, and paraphilias.

  • 3
    credits

    Application of social psychological theories and research methods to field settings and to the study of social issues.

  • 3
    credits

    Overview of the field with an emphasis on how psychological research contributes to an understanding of health and behavior.

    • Prerequisite

      PSYCH 100 and 6 additional credits of PSYCH

  • 3
    credits

    Causes, dynamics, symptoms, and treatment of neuroses, psychoses, personality disorders, and other psychological disorders of adulthood.

    • Prerequisite

      PSYCH 100 and (PSYCH 238 or PSYCH 243 or PSYCH 270)

  • 3
    credits

    Background in personnel testing, performance measurement, selection strategies, with emphasis on validity and measurement reliability.

  • 3
    credits

    Survey of theory and research with respect to attitudes, morale, and motivation of employees and management.

    • Prerequisite

      PSYCH 100; PSYCH 200 or STAT 200

  • 3
    credits

    Review of research and application of behavior principles in the areas of management and supervision.

Course Availability

If you're ready to see when your courses will be offered, visit our public LionPATH course search (opens in new window) to start planning ahead.

Costs and Financial Aid

Undergraduate Tuition

Undergraduate tuition is calculated based on the number of credits for which you register and the number of total credits you have accrued at or transferred to Penn State.

Tuition is due shortly after each semester begins and rates are assessed every semester of enrollment.

2023–24 Academic Year Rates

Tuition rates for the fall 2023, spring 2024, and summer 2024 semesters.

How many credits do you plan to take per semester?If you have 59 or fewer creditsIf you have 60 or more credits
11 or fewer$626 per credit$671 per credit
12–19$7,602 per semester$8,206 per semester

Undergraduate students taking more than 19 credits will be charged the flat tuition rate plus the regular per credit hour rate for each credit above 19. 

2024–25 Academic Year Rates

Tuition rates for the fall 2024, spring 2025, and summer 2025 semesters.

How many credits do you plan to take per semester?If you have 59 or fewer creditsIf you have 60 or more credits
11 or fewer$632 per credit$678 per credit
12–19$7,678 per semester$8,288 per semester

Undergraduate students taking more than 19 credits will be charged the flat tuition rate plus the regular per credit hour rate for each credit above 19. 

Financial Aid and Military Benefits

Some students may qualify for financial aid. Take the time to research financial aid, scholarships, and payment options as you prepare to apply. Military service members, veterans, and their spouses or dependents should explore these potential military education benefits and financial aid opportunities, as well.

How to Apply

Admissions Help

Please work with your adviser if you have questions about adding a minor. You can find your adviser's contact information in your student portal or by calling advising at 814-863-3283.

Admission Requirements

To be eligible for admittance into the psychology minor, you must:

  • be a current Penn State undergraduate student in your fifth semester and be in a bachelor's degree major
  • maintain a grade of C or better in all courses for the minor
  • have a major code that does not match this minor code (PSY)

Adding a Minor

If you have achieved fifth-semester standing (60 credits completed), you can apply for admission to the minor. To begin, please follow these steps:

  1. Talk with your academic adviser about incorporating the minor into your major and to develop a semester-by-semester plan for meeting requirements.
  2. You can apply for the minor by adding it in LionPATH (minor code: PSY). You should do this as early as possible, but you can apply up to the late drop deadline of your graduating semester.
  3. You will receive a confirmation email once you declare the minor in LionPATH.

Technical Requirements

Review the technical requirements for this program.

Contact Us

To learn more about the Psychology Minor, offered in partnership with the Penn State College of the Liberal Arts, please contact:

World Campus Advisers
Phone: 814-863-3283
Email: [email protected]