New Students

Welcome to Stony Brook University and the Department of Psychology! The Department of Psychology is dedicated to quality education and research. Our faculty are nationally and internationally renowned researchers, and have received awards for their excellence in teaching at university, state, and national levels. As an undergraduate student, you will have opportunities to learn from our faculty and work directly with them to conduct research.

For many students, it is a big adjustment coming to a large research university! At times classes can seem overwhelming. We encourage you to utilize the resources available to you on campus to be as successful as you can be in your courses. Faculty are available during office hours, and the Academic Success and Tutoring Center offers tutoring and academic success services to all Stony Brook undergraduates. 

As a new Freshman, we recommend that you take lower-level classes in preparation for the major and general education (SBC) requirements. Whenever possible, we encourage you to look for major courses that also satisfy general education requirements (i.e. the Biology course required for BA students fulfills the SBC requirement SNW, so no additional SNW course is required to meet the university general education SNW requirement).  During your first semester, consider enrolling in PSY 103, and during second semester, one or two of the 200-level survey courses. These courses will serve as prerequisites for the higher-level courses that you will enroll in during Junior and Senior years.  Students enrolled in the BS degree program should consider beginning the required math and science sequences during the freshman or sophomore years.   While we look forward to meeting you, it is generally not necessary to meet with a department major advisor during your first year here when making your schedule since you will be enrolling in general coursework. General advisors are available in Undergraduate College Advising to work with you to determine which general education courses and university degree requirements you must satisfy in order to graduate.

As a new transfer student, we recommend that you first check the transfer equivalency database to determine whether your transfer coursework has a direct course equivalency at Stony Brook. If a course isn't listed and you believe it's relevant to your major, visit the respective department (e.g., Psychology for PSY courses, Biology for BIO courses, Math for MAT courses, etc.) to inquire about Stony Brook equivalency. Checklists for the BA and BS in Psychology majors are available online, and you may make an appointment with an advisor to ensure that you are completing courses required for your degree program. General advisors are available in Academic and Transfer Advising Services to work with you to determine which general education courses and university degree requirements you must satisfy in order to graduate. 

We invite you to take a few moments to explore the webpages of the department curricula, research activities, and  news to get an idea of the exciting opportunities waiting for you while you obtain your degree.