Major & Minor Requirements

Major Requirements

What follows is a summary of requirements. Because PNP includes two concentrations and involves courses in many departments, there is no simple way to list major requirements. The PNP Major Checklists are available as a PDF file above.  If you print a copy of the checklist, you can more easily trace your way through various options and the requirements for each. Majors are encouraged to print a copy of the checklist to facilitate keeping track of their progress through the major.

The 6-Units Rule:  A maximum of 6 units total from the following category of courses—approved University College courses; approved transfer courses; and approved study-abroad credits may be counted toward the PNP major requirements.  (The student, of course, may complete more than 6 units.  However, only 6 can be used to satisfy the requirements for the major.)  All approvals must be obtained prior to registering for the course.

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Majors are strongly encouraged to complete prerequisites prior to enrolling in upper-level courses unless they have received an explicit waiver from the instructor.

    Philosophy: 100, 102, 120, or 125
    Psychology: 100B or AP score of 5
(Prerequisites are specific for the class of 2016 on.  Phil 131 or 233 will not count towards meeting the prerequisite.)

Choose one of the following:

PNP Sequence (NS/SS)
PNP 200: Intro to the Cognitive Sciences (SS) and
PNP 201: Inquiry in the Cognitive Sciences (NS) OR Psych 301 (NS)

OR

Mind, Brain, Behavior Sequence (FYP) (NS/SS)
*FYP 120: Intro to Mind-Brain (NS)
*FYP 122: Intro to Mind-Brain II (SS) OR PNP 200 (SS)

These requirements must be met by students in both the CN and LCC concentration.

  • 6 credits of upper-division Philosophy courses (which have a lower-division Philosophy courses as a prerequisite), from a PNP-approved list

    • Prerequisite: *Phil 100: Logic & Critical Analysis; Phil 102 Intro to Scientific Reasoning; Phil 120: Problems in Philosophy (TH) or Phil 125: Great Philosophers (TH)

    • Upper division: Two courses at the 300 or 400 level. *You must take either PNP/Phil 315: Philosophy of Mind; or PNP/Phil/Ling 306: Philosophy of Language; and another from the approved list.

  • 6 credits of upper-division Psychology courses from a PNP-approved list.

    • Prerequisite: Psych 100B: Introduction to Psychology (SS)

    • Upper division: Two courses at the 300 or 400 level. Unless you have completed MBB 120 with a grade of B- or higher, you must take PNP/Psych 360: Cognitive Psychology, or PNP/Ling 408/Psych 433: Psychology of Language; and another from the approved list.

  • Phil 3001: Philosophy of Medicine
  • PNP/Phil 301G: Symbolic Logic (LA)
  • PNP/Phil 306G: Philosophy of Language (LA)
  • PNP/Phil 307: Metaphysics and Epistemology (TH)
  • Phil 3113 Theory of Knowledge
  • PNP/Phil 315: Philosophy of Mind (TH)
  • PNP/Phil 316: Mind and Morals (TH)
  • PNP/Phil 321G: Philosophy of Science (TH)
  • Phil 322: Philosophy of Biology
  • Music 3221: Music Cognition
  • Phil 339F: Philosophy of the Arts (TH)
  • Phil 3481: Introduction to Metaphysics (TH)
  • PNP/Phil 349C: Descartes to Hume (TH)
  • PNP 3581/Phil 358: Conceptual Foundations of Modern Science (TH)
  • Phil 361 Philosophy of Emotions
  • PNP/Phil 366: Art and the Mind-Brain (TH)
  • Phil 390: Philosophical Writing (TH) (WI) **(upon approval of subject matter, see PNP office for each semester)
  • PNP/AMCS 4023: Models of Social Science (SS)
  • Phil 403: Mathematical Logic I (TH)
  • Phil 404: Mathematical Logic II (TH)
  • PNP/Phil 405: Philosophical Logic (LA)
  • PNP/Phil 4051: Philosophy of Logic (TH)
  • Phil 4061: Topics in the Philosophy of Language (TH)
  • PNP/Phil 4065: Advanced Philosophy of Language (LA)
  • PNP 4101/Phil 410: Theories of Perception (TH)
  • PNP/Phil 4141: Advanced Epistemology (TH)
  • PNP/Phil 4142: Advanced Metaphysics (TH)
  • PNP/Phil 418: Current Controversies in Cog Science (TH)
  • PNP/Phil 419: Philosophy of Psychology (TH)
  • PNP/Phil 4210:Topics in Advanced Philosophy of Science (TH)
  • PNP/Phil 4212: Philosophy of Neuroscience (TH)
  • Phil 423: Philosophy of Biological Science (TH)
  • PNP/Phil 426: Theories of Concepts (TH)
  • PNP 4332: Cognition and Computation (SS)
  • PNP 495: PNP Seminar (SS) **(upon approval of subject matter)
  • PNP 496: PNP Seminar (SS) **(upon approval of subject matter)

  • Psych 300: Introductory Psychological Statistics (NS)
  • Psych 301: Experimental Psychology (NS)
  • PNP 3151/Psych 315: Introduction to Social Psychology (SS)
  • PNP 3211/Psych 321: Developmental Psychology (SS)
  • Psych 326: Introduction to the Psychology of Aging (SS)
  • PNP/Psych 330: Sensation and Perception (NS)
  • PNP/Psych 3401 Biological Psychology (NS)
  • PNP 3451/Psych 345: Genes, Environment & Human Behavior (SS)
  • PNP 3531/Psych 353: Psychology of Personality (SS)
  • PNP 3541/Psych 354: Psychopathology and Mental Health (SS)
  • Psych 357: Introduction to Clinical Psychology (SS)
  • PNP/Psych 358: Language Acquisition (SS)
  • PNP/Psych 360: Cognitive Psychology (NS)
  • PNP/Psych 361: Psychology of Learning (NS)
  • PNP/Anthro 362: The Biological Basis of Human Behavior (NS) (course no longer offered, as of SP16)
  • Psych 374: Drugs, Brain and Behavior (NS)
  • PNP/Psych 380: Human Learning and Memory (NS)
  • PNP/Psych 396: Psychological Dynamics of Empathy
  • PNP 408/Psych 433: Psychology of Language (SS)
  • Psych 4046: Developmental Neuropsychology (NS) (WI)
  • PNP/Psych 4047: History of Neuroscience (TH)
  • Psych 4182: Perception, Thought, & Action  (NS)
  • PNP/Psych 4301: Contemporary Topics in Cognitive Development (SS)
  • PNP/Psych 4302: Cognitive Psych Applied to Education (SS)
  • Psych 4351: Reading and Reading Development
  • Psych 4352: Reading and Reading Development (WI)
  • Psych 4512: Neurobiology of Learning and Memory
  • Psych 4593: Psychology of the Good Life
  • Psych 4625: Autobiographical Memory (SS)
  • Psych 4631: Introduction to Computational Cognitive Science
  • PNP/Psych 4651: History and Modern Systems of Psychology (TH)
  • Psych 4746: Biological Pathways to Psychopathology
  • PNP 495: PNP Seminar (SS)**(upon approval of subject matter)

Prerequisite: Bio 2960 or Psych 3401* and permission of instructor; Bio 3058 recommended.

Upper division: Two neuroscience courses at the 300 or 400 level. You MUST take:

  • Bio 3411: Principles of the Nervous System and
  • Psych 3604 Cognitive Neuroscience

[*Psych 3401: Biological Psychology CAN count towards the Depth Requirement in Psychology or Neuroscience, if taken as a prerequisite]

  • Prerequisite: Ling/Anthro 170: Introduction to Linguistics (LA) AND Anthro 150 Human Evolution; plus
  • 6 units for LCC from PNP-approved list.

Upper division: Two courses at the 300 or 400 level, chosen from those below.

  • PNP/Phil 301G: Symbolic Logic (LA)
  • PNP/Phil 306G: Philosophy of Language (LA)
  • PNP/Ling 309: Syntactic Analysis (LA)
  • PNP 3111/Ling 311: Introduction to Semantics (LA)
  • Ling 312: Phonetics (LA)
  • PNP/Ling 313: Phonological Analysis (LA)
  • PNP 3171/Ling 317: Introduction to Computational Linguistics (LA)
  • PNP/Ling 320: Historical and Comparative Linguistics (LA)
  • Span 3202: Debating Cultures. How Spanish Works
  • PNP/Anthro 3383: Cognition and Culture (SS)
  • Anthro 3386: Language, Culture and Society (SS)
  • Ling 339 Introduction to Sociolinguistics (SS) (SD)
  • Ling 341: Linguistic Diversity in the United States
  • PNP/Psych 358: Language Acquisition (SS)
  • PNP/Anthro 362: The Biological Basis of Human Behavior (NS)
  • Anthro 3660: Primate Ecology, Biology and Behavior
  • PNP 3662/Anthro 3661: Primate Biology (NS)
  • PNP/Antro 3681/AFAS 368: Language and Society in Africa (SS)
  • PNP/Ling 3701/Span 370: Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics (LA)
  • PNP/Anthro 3881: Disability and Culture (SS)
  • PNP/Ling 396: Linguistics Seminar (TH)
  • Ling 4012/Sphr 401: Anatomy and Physiology of Speech and Hearing
  • PNP/Anthro 406: Primate Ecology & Social Structure (NS)
  • PNP/Phil 4065: Advanced Philosophy of Language (LA)
  • PNP 408/Psy 433: Psychology of Language (SS)
  • Psych 4099: Human Evolutionary Psychology (SS)
  • PNP/Anthro/Ling 4122: Language and Gender (SS)
  • Span 413: Linguistics and Language Learning
  • Drama 4140: Topics in Embodied Communication
  • PNP 4192/Anthro 4191 Primate Cognition (NS)
  • PNP/Educ 4315: Culture, Language, and the Education of Black Students (SS)
  • Ling/Sphr 433 Acoustical Phonetics & Speech Perception
  • Ling 4341/Sphr 434: Normal Language Development
  • Psych 4351: Reading and Reading Development
  • Psych 4352: Reading and Reading Development (WI)
  • Psych 4415: Cognitive Neuroscience of Language (SS)
  • Psych 4631: Introduction to Computational Cognitive Science
  • PNP/Ling/Span 466: Second Language Acquisition (LA)
  • PNP/Span 467: Grammer and Vocabulary Acquisition (LA)
  • PNP/Ling/Span 469: Reading and Writing in a Second Language (TH)

If PNP is your first major, you are required to complete a capstone sequence. This is typically done in your senior year; last semester of junior year, at the earliest.  A capstone can take the following forms:

    (A) PNP 390: PNP Reading Class (2 unit) PLUS PNP 495: PNP Seminar (3 units)

    (B) PNP 390: PNP Reading Class (2 unit) PLUS 3 units of PNP 500 Independent Study or the equivalent course in an affiliated discipline.

    (C) PNP 499: Study for Honors (6 units).

Independent Studies must be approved in advance. Please see Independent Study in PNP for details.

Honors projects must be approved in advance, by the PNP Honors Coordinator. For details please see Honors web page.

Only Core Philosophy and Core Psychology prerequisites can be taken pass/no pass.
Otherwise, only courses taken for a letter grade can be counted toward the major.
A grade of C- or better is required for major credit.

Courses taken in summer school do not in normal circumstances count towards the PNP major. In exceptional circumstances they can count, but only subject to PNP administrative approval. Petitions are more likely to succeed for lower-level courses that are prerequisites for the major, rather than for upper-level courses satisfying the core, concentration-specific, or depth requirements. Requests should include details of petition.

Second Major Requirements

PNP may be taken as a second major, in which case the requirements include I-IV above. Although not required to satisfy the Capstone requirement (requirement V), second majors are encouraged to do so. This option might be of particular interest to students with a first major in one of the allied disciplines. However, PNP can be combined with any first major: recent PNP graduates have had first majors in Drawing and Printmaking, Computer Science and Engineering, Economics, and French.

Minor Requirements

Minors must complete 15 units, of which 9 must be at the 300-level or above. The minor is composed of a 6 unit introductory sequence (PNP 200 & 201 or FYP 120 & 122), followed by:

  • 3 units in Philosophy (PNP/Phil 315, Philosophy of Mind or PNP/Phil 306G, Philosophy of Language)
  • 3 units in Psychology (PNP/Psych 360, Cognitive Psychology or PNP 408/Psych 433, Psychology of Language)
  • 3 units in Neuroscience (PNP/Bio 3411, Principle of the Nervous System or PNP/Psych 3604, Cognitive Neuroscience)

Note that no more than 3 units counted towards a minor in PNP may be transferred or earned abroad.

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