Psychology Summer Minor Guarantee

Increase your employment marketability in a wide variety of careers by earning your Psychology Minor in just two summers!

About the Psychology Minor

Taking a psychology minor provides an interesting exposure to novel and exciting ideas that students would not otherwise encounter and can be of great use to students who are majoring in other fields. For example, students taking a pre-med curriculum find a psychology minor useful for understanding the social and psychological aspects of medical care or as preparation for a career in psychiatry. Students in management and economics find coursework in social psychology, decision-making and organizational and industrial psychology to be of particular use to their careers. Other fields where a psychology minor is beneficial are forensics, the military, human resource management, and advertising and sales.

Holding a psychology minor enables you to be more competitive in the job marketplace to prospective employers.

What are the benefits of earning a Psychology Minor?¹

• Learn how to effectively learn and to communicate with others.
• Learn to think about behavior from an experimental perspective, one that allows for both creative and skeptical interpretations.
• Learn to critically question and evaluate what you read and hear.
• Develop empathy for others when you analyze their actions.
• Reflect on how you think and how other people think.
• Develop ways to apply psychological principles to understand and improve your personal relationships, how you work with others, and to contribute to your community.
• Study the latest findings on how the brain affects our behavior.

How long does it take to complete?

You can complete the entire Psychology Minor in just two summers! Or, you can take some courses in the summer and some during the regular year - it's up to YOU.

Coursework - How it works!

*Most upper-division psychology courses require successful completion of PSY 001.

Group A, B and C Course Work

Group A: Cognition, Brain, and Behavior: PSY 160-169, PSY 180-189, or any upper-division COGS course
Group B: Social-Personality, Development: PSY 130-139 or PSY 150-159
Group C: Applied Psychology: PSY 120-129, PSY 140-149, or PSY 170-179
*Please confirm current Group A/B/C information here 

Declaring the Minor

You are encouraged to declare your minor as soon as possible. The general criteria for the minor declaration is available on the SSHA Advising website with links to the form you will need to submit. If you have any questions regarding declaring the Psychology Minor, please email ssha.advising@ucmered.edu.

FAQ

What courses are planned to be offered in Summer Session?

Psychology 130, 140, 142, 145, 159 and 180 are planned to be offered in Summer Session.
Additional upper-division Psychology courses will be offered but are to be determined.
Psychology typically offers 12-14 different upper-division courses each summer.

Do you need any prerequisites before you begin the Psychology Minor during Summer Session?

Prior to enrolling in PSY 010, you must successfully complete PSY 001 and MATH 005. Students who have not completed  PSY 001 and MATH 005 before Session C in Summer Session should discuss strategies for completing the minor during Summer Session with an advisor.

Do you have to take all of the classes during the summer?

No, students can take the courses at any time, but specific courses are guaranteed to be offered during Summer Session so students can complete the minor over two Summer Sessions.

Do you have to complete the minor if you start it?

No, it is entirely your decision.

How to Enroll

You can enroll directly into the courses through the UC Merced Schedule of Classes. 
 

1. Dunn, D. S., & Halonen, J. S. (2017). The psychology major's companion: Everything you need to know to get where you want to go. New York, NY: Worth. ISBN:978-1-319-02143-6