The Psychology Minor is an excellent complement to nearly any major. Students who complete a minor in psychology learn about factors that influence human, and non-human animal, behavior. Knowledge about human behavior is useful in just about any applied setting or career path.
Overview
The Psychology Minor consists of 18 credits in psychology and at least 9 of these must be at the advanced level (i.e., 300-level or above), taken at UWM. According to the College of Letters and Science, students must have a combined GPA of 2.0 or higher in psychology classes to meet requirements of the minor. If you are a transfer student, your GPA is calculated twice – once based solely on grades in psychology classes taken at UWM and again based on grades in all of the psychology classes you’ve taken (i.e., here at UWM and elsewhere). You must be at or above a 2.0 in each case. If you would like to calculate your GPA to determine whether you’ve met this threshold, you can use this online tool: https://web.uwm.edu/registrar/tools/gpa
Minor Checklist
Requirements for the Psychology Minor are summarized in our Minor Checklist, which can be used to track progress in the in minor and provides a list of classes that you can take to meet the minor requirements. When you declare the Psychology Minor, you will be assigned an advisor from the department. This person can help you navigate the requirements and provide additional guidance about psychology (e.g., graduate school, career paths).
IMPORTANT: If you believe that you have met all of the requirements outlined in the Minor Checklist, but PAWS is indicating otherwise, please contact Prof. Deborah Hannula (hannula@uwm.edu). Sometimes, the accounting in PAWS is incorrect. In this case, Prof. Hannula will review your transcript, make sure requirements have been met, and request an audit, which will remove the incorrect messaging in PAWS.
Requirements
The College of Letters and Science requires that students attain at least a 2.0 GPA on all credits in the minor attempted at UWM. In addition, students must attain a 2.0 GPA on all minor credits attempted, including any transfer work.
The undergraduate minor consists of 18 credits in psychology, at least 9 of them at the advanced level (300 or above) taken in residence at UWM, including the following core courses:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PSYCH 101 | Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Personality | ||
| Psychological Statistics | ||
| Current Topics in Psychology: | ||
| Introduction to Conditioning and Learning | ||
| Social Psychology: Psychological Perspectives | ||
| Physiological Psychology | ||
| Child Psychology | ||
| Select any four additional psychology courses, at least three of which must be at the 300 level or above | 12 | |
| Total Credits | 18 | |
Please note: If you are considering a potential major in Psychology, it is recommended highly that you take PSYCH 210 and PSYCH 325 as these are required for the major.
They are also required for enrollment in some of our advanced classes (e.g., Advanced Laboratory Classes). To enroll in Psych 325, you must complete both Psych 101 (Introductory Psychology) and Psych 210 (Psychological Statistics) with grades of C or better.
Declare the Psychology Minor
You can declare the psychology minor, online, here: https://uwm.edu/psychology/undergraduate/declare-major-minor/
As indicated above, you will have an opportunity to choose a faculty member in psychology to serve as your minor advisor. Ideally, this will be someone with expertise matched to your interests, but you are welcome to choose anyone you’d like from this list: https://uwm.edu/psychology/undergraduate/resources/advising-resources/
Questions?
If you have questions about the process of declaring the minor, the requirements, or just need some help, please contact Prof. Deborah Hannula (Director of the Undergraduate Program in Psychology) – hannula@uwm.edu