Psychology Advising
Your psychology advisor is meant to be a resource for you to help you navigate the major, and to help you think about what you might do after graduation. Typically, advisors can help you:
- Understand how to progress through psychology major courses toward graduation
- Identify careers that would be related to your skills and interests and connect you to other career resources
- Provide you with information about how to find graduate programs in psychology that connect to your career goals
- Provide advice for dealing with difficult classes
Your psychology advisor will not:
- Provide you with advice on meeting your general education requirements. If you need help with this, you can visit HSS Advising in Armstrong Hall 111.
- Provide advising forms, such as applications for graduation. You can find the links for commonly requested forms here.
- Place you with jobs or internships. You can use the Handshake search engine found on MSU’s Career Development Center webpage to search for employers and find job and internship opportunities. The Career Development Center will also help you find work areas that fit with your skills and values, develop your resume, prepare for interviews, and more.
How do I get an advisor?
When you declare a psychology major, you are assigned a faculty advisor, and their name is listed at the top of your degree audit report. You can also request or change your advisor anytime using the major button.
What should I do to prepare for a meeting with my advisor?
- Make an appointment with your advisor. Scheduling an appointment with your advisor ensures they will have the time to meet with you, and that they can prepare for the meeting.
- Print or save an up-to-date copy of your degree audit report (which you can download from e-services; see below for instructions on how to do this.)
- Use your degree audit to identify the courses that you have remaining, and use the course schedule to identify a potential schedule for the upcoming semester. Be sure to check course descriptions and possible pre-requisites in the academic catalog. Write down any questions you have that you would like to ask your advisor.
- Make sure to show up on time for your meeting!
Common Questions
- How do I find my degree audit report? This page explains how to find your report, and how to easily print or save it. We recommend reviewing your degree audit report regularly and bringing an updated copy to any meeting with your advisor.
- How do I use my degree audit report to track my courses and plan towards graduation? This page explains how to interpret the symbols on your degree audit, and how to use the graduation planner tool to determine what courses you have left to complete.
- When can I register for classes? This page explains how to use e-services to find when your registration window opens. It is important to register as soon as your window is open to ensure you have the best selection of courses.
- This Current Students page on the Registration and Academic Records section of the website contains many more links to other information related to grades, transcripts, and course planning. You can also use OneStop to quickly contact the Registration and Academic Records office with any questions that you have.
Program Requirements and Courses for the Psychology Major
To be admitted to the psychology major, students need to have a cumulative GPA of 2.7, and have completed Psyc 101 with a grade of C- or better. This admission should happen automatically if you meet these requirements when you declare your psychology major, but you can always check if you are admitted to the major by emailing psychology@mnsu.edu (please include your TechID in the email) or dropping by the department office in AH 103. Students must be admitted to the major in order to enroll in upper-level (300- or 400-level) courses.
There are several prerequisite courses for this major, including some for several core courses, that should be taken early in the major. Please view the course list in the academic catalog to learn more about what is required for the major. For any questions regarding requirements and courses for the Psychology major, contact your faculty advisor. If you are considering the Psychology major and have questions about prerequisite requirements, reach out to the Department of Psychology.
The psychology major provides students with a broad background in several areas of psychology. These courses are suitable as preparation for graduate study in a range of areas, and also effectively prepare students to directly enter a career after graduation. Talk with your advisor to learn more about how to prepare to search for jobs or apply to graduate school.
Choosing a Minor
If you know what type of career or graduate school program you want to pursue after graduation, then we recommend selecting a minor that will develop the skills you need in that field.
For example, students interested in neuroscience should minor in biology or chemistry; students interested in industrial-organizational psychology should minor in HR management or business; students interested in the fields of counseling or social work should minor in gender and women’s studies, social welfare, or child development.
Most employers value skills in communication and information analysis, so a minor in communication, technical communication, marketing, database technologies, or critical thinking could help to build broad skills that can apply to a range of jobs. Students who are passionate about solving social problems could consider a minor in sociology, gender, and women’s studies, or non-profit leadership, to apply to a range of job types or future graduate schooling.
Another great way to choose a minor is to think about the courses or topics that you enjoyed in your general education courses, and select a minor in those areas. A minor can help prepare you for jobs or for graduate school, but a specific minor is never required to enter a graduate program or for a career, so the best advice is to choose something that you are interested in and that you do well in.
