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Psychotherapy session, woman talking to his psychologist

Whether you want to become a social worker, a psychologist, a mental health therapist, or bring your interest in human psychology to a career in marketing, business administration or human resources – earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology at UWM at Waukesha could be your next best step.

Earn your bachelor’s degree at UWM at Waukesha and save. It’s a smart investment! 

  • Save money on tuition by earning your general education courses during your freshman and sophomore years at associate degree rates – less than $3,000 per semester! Your junior and senior years will be billed at bachelor’s degree rates.
  • Enjoy small classes and more one-on-one attention from exceptional faculty. 
  • Be part of a close-knit student community on a convenient, easy-to-navigate campus. 
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Are you curious about the social, psychological and biological causes of human behavior? Are you interested in understanding what makes people tick? Do you want to help people heal and make better choices for themselves and others? Do you want to help make the world a better, healthier and happier place? Then a psychology major may be right for you. 

The courses in the BA in Psychology program emphasize the scientific method, active learning and lifelong career skills in writing, analysis and problem-solving.  

Our students take a variety of courses across psychology topics, including neuroscience, health psychology, social psychology, abnormal psychology, personality and more. 

The major requires a minimum of 32 credits in psychology, including these specific required courses: 

CGS PSY 202 / Psych 101 – Introductory Psychology  
CGS PSY 210 / Psych 210 – Statistical Methods 
CGS PSY 254 / Psych 254 – Behavioral Neuroscience 
CGS PSY 225 / Psych 325 – Experimental Psychology 
CGS PSY 330 / Psych 230  Social Psychology  OR  
CGS PSY 250 / Psych 260 Life Span Developmental Psych  

The remaining courses in the major include a minimum of 15 upper-level credits with at least one laboratory course. In the lab courses, you will run multiple experiments, collect and analyze data quantitatively, write up the results in standard journal format, and present the research results. 

To reach the minimum 120 credits required for a bachelor’s degree, students must also satisfy other degree requirements and may have room for electives. Since many classes can count toward more than one requirement and requirements can change, students should work closely with their advisor to choose classes. The current degree requirements for a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology include courses in the natural sciences, humanities, social sciences, English, math, arts, cultural diversity, international topics and a world language other than English. 

A psychology degree is flexible. While many students go on for additional schooling for careers in counseling or therapy, just as many use their degrees in fields like: 

  • Marketing and sales 
  • Human resources 
  • Real estate 
  • Business administration 
  • Development and fundraising 
  • Social media management 
  • Corporate training 
  • Law and criminal justice  

Psychology students often choose professions that require a high level of social and emotional intelligence and interpersonal communication skills. 

There are a variety of options to explore as you approach your junior year of college, and it is at the graduate level where students specialize in the type of support they want to provide to clients. For example, if you wish to become a school counselor, a master’s degree in school counseling would be a good choice. Clinical psychologists typically hold a PhD or a PsyD – both doctoral level degrees. And art or music therapists train in a specialized master’s program for one of those professions. 

For students who aspire to become a counselor, therapist, clinical psychologist or social worker, additional education beyond the bachelor’s degree is required to get a license. 

Note: Psychiatrists are medical doctors who typically will earn a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in neuroscience or psychology on a pre-med plan before applying to medical school. UWM does not offer the BS in psychology online or at the Waukesha campus, just the BA degree. 

Students who plan to go on to a master’s or doctoral program in psychology can expect that research or other similar hands-on experience will be required to gain entry to most graduate programs. 

Talk to your advisor about opportunities to build your resume before graduation.

Apply at apply.wisconsin.edu 

Select the Waukesha campus as your campus of choice. 

Apply as a first-year student, or as a transfer student if you have previous college credit. 

We’re here to help!

To talk to an advisor, contact us at: wak-psychology@uwm.edu