Program Overview
The University of New Mexico offers an online Bachelor of Arts (BA) Degree completion program in Psychology. Special features of the Psychology Accelerated Online Program include:
- A guarantee that psychology Accelerated Online Program students will never get closed out of a psychology Accelerated Online Program course.
- Curriculum that has been developed and is taught by regular faculty members in the UNM Psychology Department (i.e., not part-time instructors or adjuncts). Many of the faculty teaching in the program have over a decade of experience teaching online.
- Courses that are offered in an 8-week format and have undergone a rigorous quality peer review process.
- A program that was developed specifically for a diverse student population and incorporates cultural and ethnic diversity elements throughout the curriculum.
- Five start dates a year.
- A high-quality educational experience with very affordable tuition rates.
Why Major or Minor in Psychology?
People have many different reasons for choosing to major or minor in Psychology. Some are fascinated with behavior - they love to watch the world around them and are curious to learn about why people behave as they do. Some want to learn more about themselves and become healthier people. Some plan to start an educational path on their way to pursuing an advanced degree and future psychologist licensure. Others are planning to go into one of the many professions where a psychology background can be helpful: business, teaching, medicine, nursing, law, social work, engineering, and human factors, counseling, child development, biology, and administration.
What Can I Do with a BA in Psychology?
Individuals who study psychology are interested in the emotional, cognitive, social, and biological aspects of human behavior. They may serve in health service provider fields providing mental health care in hospitals, clinics, schools, or private settings. They may also be employed in applied settings, such as business, industry, government, or nonprofits, provide training, conduct research, design systems, and act as advocates for psychology. Common career paths in psychology include:
Common Employers of Psychology Graduates
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Department of Justice (probation, parole)
- Veterans Administration
- Children, Youth, and Families Department (New Mexico)
- Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation (community mental health centers, state psychiatric hospitals, facilities for the mentally impaired)
- Senior citizens’ centers
- United Way agencies (go to www.uwcnm.org)
- Nonprofit organizations
- Religiously-affiliated service organizations
- Hospitals
- National Institute of Education
- National Institute of Mental Health
- Universities and colleges
What Will I Learn in UNM's BA Psychology Program?
Like students in other science disciplines, our students learn to formulate hypotheses and ask critical questions to test their validity. They examine research methods that vary with the topic under study. For example, students may learn about gathering information through controlled laboratory experiments or by administering personality or intelligence tests. Students also may become familiar with the use of neuroscience methods (EEG, MRI, fMRI) to study brain-behavior relationships. Finally, students will learn the importance of observation, interviews, questionnaires, clinical studies, and surveys. Students apply their knowledge to a wide range of endeavors, including health and human services, management, education, law, and sports. In addition to working in a variety of settings, psychology graduates usually specialize in one of a number of different areas.
Our faculty and staff in the Department of Psychology are here to help you learn and to help you pursue the study of psychology as you approach your personal and career goals. Our faculty holds doctoral degrees from major universities and represents a broad range of specializations. Among the main research interests represented in the department are:
- Addictive Behaviors
- Biological Bases of Behavior
- Clinical Psychology
- Cognitive Psychology
- Cross-Cultural Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Evolutionary Psychology
- Health Psychology
- Learning and Memory
- Neuropsychology
- Neuroscience
- Quantitative Psychology
The UNM BA in Psychology Degree Completion Program does not alone qualify a graduate for licensure as a psychologist. If you have questions about psychology licensure requirements, please contact the licensing board in your state.
Disclosures
All online and distance education is protected by federal regulations and policies. For details on how, refer to the following resources: State Authorization, Disclosures, Accreditation and Complaint Resolution.
Admissions
Tuition and Fees
The total cost per credit hour is $442.18 and is comprised of $394.80 base tuition + $10.52 college differential + $36.86 upper-division course premium. There is a student technology fee charged each semester. It is $150 in the Fall, $150 in the Spring, and $20 in the Summer. There may be additional costs, depending on the class. Additional costs are often for textbooks, supplemental course materials, and proctoring fees.
To complete an undergraduate degree, students are required to fulfill general education and college-specific requirements.
About the Program
The Psychology Accelerated Online Program offers all of the courses associated with the major requirements needed to complete the BA in an online, eight-week format. To qualify, students must have already completed a majority of UNM general education curriculum, as well as college and minor requirements. These hours can be completed at UNM and/or transferred from another institution. A student with an associate's degree or at least 60-70 transferable college-level credit hours is ideally positioned for eligibility. Please see the information provided in the Degree Requirements tab.
To earn an undergraduate degree from the University of New Mexico, the following requirements must be met:
- A minimum of 30 hours of coursework completed at UNM (UNM Residency Requirement)
- 50% of the Major completed at UNM
- 25% of the Minor completed at UNM
Once admitted all students seeking to declare a major within the College of Arts and Sciences will first be admitted as a Pre-major. Pre-major status applies to students who must satisfy prerequisites or meet department conditions before transitioning to Major status. The following are the general requirements to transition:
- A minimum of 26 credit hours; 23 credit hours must be in courses acceptable toward graduation
- A UNM GPA of 2.0 or better
- Demonstrated academic achievement by satisfying the completion of the following University General Education areas:
- Communication
- Mathematics and Statistics
- Second Language
- Completion of introductory coursework specified by each department. See the Psychology Department's section of the catalog for details.
There are no additional requirements for admission to the Psychology program. For more information on degree and admission requirements, please refer to the UNM Catalog.
To begin the application process for any accelerated online program, use the Albuquerque Campus Application. In the Academics section, you will be prompted to select your Intended Field of Study; for this program, select Psychology – Online (not available to freshmen).
Degree Requirements
To graduate with a BA degree in Psychology, a student must complete a minimum of 120 credit hours. UNM requires 31 credit hours distributed between seven areas to complete the UNM General Education Curriculum. The university also requires completion of a 3 credit hour U.S. and Global Diversity and Inclusion requirement. Students may transfer coursework from other accredited institutions to fulfill these requirements. The Psychology Accelerated Online Program is designed for students who have completed an associate's degree or have at least 60-70 transferable college-level credit hours. See program details for more information.
The College of Arts and Sciences requires a minimum of 90 credit hours taught within its departments. Students in the College of Arts and Sciences must declare a major and a minor, or two majors, or special curricula approved by the College. Half of the major must be completed at the University of New Mexico. A quarter of the minor must be completed at the University of New Mexico. A list of minors in an accelerated format can be found on our AOP Online Minors page.
For individuals seeking a second bachelor’s degree in Psychology, the coursework will focus on fulfilling the Psychology major requirements and the accompanying requirements required for a minor. UNM requires a minimum of 30 new hours for a second award.
The major requirements for completing the BA degree in Psychology total 36 credit hours. Special course sections are scheduled for Accelerated Online Program students and offered on a cyclical basis. Look for the courses in the current schedule of classes with a course comment that reads "Limited to managed online program students only." Psychology Accelerated Online Program students will never get closed out of a psychology Accelerated Online Program section.
Below is a listing of all of the courses offered for the Accelerated Online Program.
| Course Number | Course Name | Credit Hours |
| PSYC 1110 | Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 2110 | Social Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 2120 | Developmental Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 2220 | Cognitive Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 2250 | Brain and Behavior | 3 |
| PSYC 2270 | Psychology of Learning and Memory | 3 |
| PSYC 2320 | Health Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 2510 | Statistical Principles for Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 302 | Psychological Research Techniques | 3 |
| PSYC 331 | Psychology of Personality | 3 |
| PSYC 332 | Abnormal Behavior | 3 |
| PSYC 342 | Evolution, Brain, and Behavior | 3 |
| PSYC 344 | Human Neuropsychology | 3 |
| PSYC 374* | Cross-cultural Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 443 | Psychology of Emotion | 3 |
| PSYC 454 | Positive Psychology | 3 |
*This course also fulfills UNM’s U.S. & Global Diversity & Inclusion undergraduate requirement.
The UNM BA in Psychology Degree Completion Program does not alone qualify a graduate for licensure as a psychologist. If you have questions about psychology licensure requirements, please contact the licensing board in your state.
Additional Course Information
UNM operates on a semester calendar of Summer, Fall, and Spring. Course schedules are available during each semester's registration period. Registration opens in early April for the Summer and Fall Semesters and early November for the Spring Semester.
View information for the current schedule of registration dates.
If you are interested in learning more about other online course offerings, in addition to the ones associated with the Psychology accelerated online program, see the current schedule of all online classes. Please note that the special tuition rate is only applied to courses associated with the Accelerated Online Programs.
Program Goals
The broad mission of the Department of Psychology is the discovery and dissemination of knowledge. From the perspective of any psychology department, the knowledge being sought concerns the individual organism, and most typically the behavior of the individual person. Our broad learning goals for the undergraduate degree reflect this mission.
Student Learning Objectives
- Stu
All online and distance education is protected by federal regulations and policies. For details on how, refer to the following resources: State Authorization, Disclosures, Accreditation and Complaint Resolution.
dents can identify how we become aware of ourselves, how we learn to interact with others, and how we influence others and how they influence us. - Students can identify how psychologists study human behavior and how this knowledge can be used to explain, predict, and influence behavior.
- Students identify and critically evaluate psychological research methods.
- Students analyze empirical data.
- Students assess the significance and importance of research reports.
- Students communicate clearly and effectively in a written format.
