Course Information

PSY 1 and PSY 10A students are required to fulfill a research requirement. Students’ participation exposes them to the psychological research process, and it provides an essential portion of the subject pool for researchers at UCSB.

Please visit the Support Services tab of this website to view the Research Requirement Handout with information on:

• How to use a Sona account
• Participation dates for the quarter
• Directions on writing the alternative paper to fulfill the research requirement

Sona is the system used for online research participation scheduling in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences (PBS):

• Sona Systems

Students wishing to participate in the Subject Pool must be 18 years of age or older, or have a parental consent form on file. Please email psych-subpool@ucsb.edu to obtain the form.

Special Needs

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that students with special needs have equal access to program information. If you are a special needs student requiring assistance in signing up for Subject Pool experiments, you may email the Subject Pool Coordinator at psych-subpool@ucsb.edu or visit the PBS Main Office located in Psychology East 1814.

Concurrent Enrollment and Foreign Students

If you are a concurrent enrollment student (a student taking UCSB classes through University Extension), or a foreign student, your name will not appear on the class list for PSY 1 or PSY 10A. Please email the Subject Pool Coordinator, or visit the PBS Main Office in Psychology East 1814, to obtain an account and login information for the Sona System.

Stevie Bullock

Research Participation Pool Coordinator

(805) 893-3182

stevie.bullock@psych.ucsb.edu

Psychology East, Room 1815

Petitioning for UC/CSU Credit:

Once a student has taken a UC or CSU course that has been deemed a reasonable substitution to a Psychology course by Psychological & Brain Sciences (PBS) Faculty, a student must follow this process in order to receive credit:

1) Transfer the course to UCSB Registrar (not the PBS department).

2) Confirm grade is posted on GOLD and is appearing on the “Unofficial Transcript”.

3) Submit this petition form to request major credit.

Even if a course is pre-approved, the course is not automatically updated as a UCSB equivalent on GOLD. This form must be submitted to PBS for “PSY” credit to be awarded.

If a course is not pre-approved, a copy of the course syllabus (not a catalog description) must be emailed to advising@psych.ucsb.edu for evaluation by PBS Faculty. Course evaluation is facilitated by the Undergraduate Advising team.

To inquire about UC or CSU pre-approved courses, please email advising@psych.ucsb.edu.

For a Pre-approved Course:

Classes can be awarded credit to a major requirement “Area” or specifically to a PSY # course. Within UC legal repeat standards (and with no new units earned), students can retake an equivalent course for a better grade at another UC, if needed. Unit values and transfer eligibility will be awarded by the Registrar and Admissions, not PBS.

For a Course That Has Not Been Pre-approved:

PBS Faculty members will need to evaluate the course for “PSY” catalog credit. Submit a proper course syllabus to the Undergrad Advisors (see above). Students with pending petitions will be notified as soon as the Faculty replies with their evaluation. Please expect one to two weeks for a response.

Best practice is to submit a syllabus before taking the course to ensure the credit will apply to the major. A student can take courses prior to Faculty evaluation, but there is no guarantee that an unapproved course can receive credit for PBS units. Contact the UC or CSU campus instructor (or department) to request a copy of the syllabus. (Note: At public institutions, syllabi are considered public records and often can be found online).

Enrolling at Other UC Campuses (Summer Sessions):

UCSB students can take UC Summer Sessions courses on other UC campuses by simply registering online. This system wide courtesy is commonly referred to as “open enrollment” or “cross-campus enrollment.” UCSB students can sign up for these courses by using their UCSB Net ID to verify they are UC Visiting Students. From there, a student can create a new student account for that campus.

While in high school, students can begin preparing for the Psychological & Brain Sciences and Biopsychology majors by taking AP courses. Our department accepts AP scores of 3 or higher in: Psychology, Statistics, and Calculus. Please check the Advanced Placement Chart for a list of corresponding AP to UCSB courses.

University Registrar policy states that once AP credit is earned, a student is not allowed to take that equivalent course at UCSB. AP scores do not have UC GPA value. Therefore, courses fulfilled by AP credit are not included in UC GPA calculation.

Many students use Summer School to their advantage. Students can use Summer School sessions in a variety of ways. Some use the time for general education and/or elective courses while others take pre, prep, or major classes. Planning will help students identify which courses are most helpful for them to take while enrolled in summer school. Students may take units at any institution, but for instructions on signing up for UC summer sessions, please visit the UCSB Summer Sessions website. 

Please note: Transfer students interested in Biopsych BS would benefit by completing their pre-major courses over the summer to qualify for PSY 10A by Fall and PSY 10B by Winter and make the Full Major by the end Winter of their first year at UCSB.