Permission Courses

Permission courses (numbered 60-87) are limited in size and require permission. To ensure that all students approaching their senior year have access to these courses, the Department has designated the first days of May as a sign-up period for all of the following year's permission courses. In this way, students can assure themselves access to these courses. Psychology majors are expected to complete PSYC 1, PSYC 10, and PSYC 11 prior to their culminating course.  Neuroscience majors are expected to complete PSYC 6, PSYC 10 (or equivalent), and two of the core courses in the neuroscience major prior to their culminating course.  This is in addition to any specific course prerequisites listed.

Permission Requests

Permission requests for the 2024-2025 academic year will be accepted beginning May 1, 2024 via the Permission Course Request Form. Please do not submit permission requests prior to this date.

The Department will review all requests and grant permission based on availability. Although senior majors usually receive preference in all of these courses, they are not guaranteed permission in their first-choice course because more senior majors may apply than the room in a given course permits. For that reason, we also ask for alternative choices. Students who have submitted requests by May 8 will be notified of their permission status by May 10 for the Fall term, May 18 for the Winter and Spring terms, or within two weeks of submitting the permission course request.

If you are granted permission for a course but choose not to enroll in that course, your slot will be given to another student. You will need to submit another request for permission; the courses that still have available slots are likely to be more limited than in the initial enrollment period.

Students who do not obtain permission to enroll in Culminating courses that are needed to fulfill their major requirements risk not graduating. Special waivers will not be granted to students who fail to obtain needed permissions during this enrollment period. Students who wish to change their major to Psychology during their senior year will need to obtain permission to enroll in a culminating course before being allowed to declare.

Although our labs and seminars are typically populated by seniors, we realize that some students who will be juniors next year will want to enroll in these courses. These students should also request permission during the first week of May. However, they should realize that because these courses are a graduation requirement, priority will typically go to seniors and juniors may be placed on waitlists until closer to the start of each term.