Planning to Study Abroad
If you are interested in studying abroad during your time at UCLA, it’s recommended that you begin by exploring different program types on the UCLA International Education Office (IEO) webpage. Typically, students will participate in a UCEAP program if they want to earn degree credit for the coursework they complete abroad. Please contact an IEO study abroad advisor if you have any questions about specific program eligibility requirements and/or identifying the program that is the best fit for you.
The Psychology Undergraduate Advising Office recommends that students finish their major preparation courses and declare their major prior to studying abroad. This is to ensure you meet the major declaration deadline for your major.
Please read below to learn more about taking courses abroad for the Psychology, Psychobiology, or Cognitive Science majors. If you have further questions that are not addressed below, you may request to meet with a Psychology Undergraduate Advisor to discuss completing major coursework abroad and/or how studying abroad may impact your major progress. Note that Psychology Undergraduate Advisors cannot provide information about whether or not potential courses taken abroad will count towards the major, as most coursework has to go through an official petition process.
If you plan to take courses abroad for other degree requirements (e.g. GEs or non-major requirements), you will need to contact your college counseling unit to inquire about their course petition process.
Psychology Major
Elective Major Requirement
In general, courses that are taken abroad are pre-approved to count towards the Psychology major as an elective if the following criteria are met: 1) the course is UC-transferable, 2) is upper division, 3) worth at least 4 quarter units, 4) is a PSYCH course (in terms of the subject area). No petition is needed for Psychology major electives. Once you complete the course and the credit is posted to your DAR, you can contact the Psych Advising Office via Message Center to request that an advisor makes this adjustment on your DAR.
Core Major Requirement
If you are looking to take courses abroad for a specific Psychology major core requirement (Column A or B), please note that these need to be reviewed by the department via petition. For example, if you find a Developmental Psychology course you want to count as Psych 130 (Column B), you can submit a petition to have it reviewed for that course/requirement specifically.
An advisor will not be able to review courses and provide approval for this purpose. Petitions for courses take up to 20 business days to review and require a course syllabus or as much detailed course information as you can obtain (description, reading materials, course objectives, exam methods, etc.). Please contact the Psych Advising Office via Message Center to learn more about the petition process.
You can also provide the course titles that you are considering taking abroad and the program you are attending so an advisor can check to see if they have been petitioned from that program before. Otherwise, all core courses for the Psychology major must be reviewed by the department.
Psychobiology Major
Physics and/or Organic Chemistry Abroad
UCEAP offers two Summer Physics programs where students can satisfy part of UCLA’s introductory physics series abroad. The completion of both Physics classes through one of the UCEAP Summer Physics abroad programs is pre-approved to satisfy Physics 5A and 5B* for the Psychobiology major. Once you complete the program and the Physics credit is posted to your DAR, you can contact the Psych Advising Office via Message Center to request that an advisor substitute these courses in for Physics 5A/5B on your degree audit.
UCEAP also offers a Dublin Summer Chemistry program, where students can take organic chemistry abroad. Please review the program’s website to see the UCLA chemistry course equivalents.
*As of Summer 2023
Core and/or Elective Major Requirement
If you are looking to take courses abroad for a specific Psychobiology major requirement (core and elective), please note that these need to be reviewed by the department via petition. For example, if you find a Behavioral Neuroscience course you want to count as Psych 115, you can submit a petition to have it reviewed for that course/requirement specifically.
An advisor will not be able to review courses and provide approval for this purpose. Petitions for courses take up to 20 business days to review and require a course syllabus or as much detailed course information as you can obtain (description, reading materials, course objectives, exam methods, etc.). Please contact the Psych Advising Office via Message Center to learn more about the petition process.
In general, if a course is UC-transferable, is upper division, worth at least 4 quarter units and is related to the major, then it can be petitioned for approval. You can reference the course titles and descriptions for the Psychobiology major courses as a starting point for finding related courses abroad. You can also provide the course titles that you are considering taking abroad and the program you are attending so an advisor can check to see if they have been petitioned from that program before. Otherwise, all courses for the Psychobiology major must be reviewed by the department.
Cognitive Science Major
Core and/or Elective Major Requirement
If you are looking to take courses abroad for a specific Cognitive Science major requirement (core and elective), please note that these need to be reviewed by the department via petition. For example, if you find a Cognitive Psychology course you want to count as Psych 120A, you can submit a petition to have it reviewed for that course/requirement specifically.
An advisor will not be able to review courses and provide approval for this purpose. Petitions for courses take up to 20 business days to review and require a course syllabus or as much detailed course information as you can obtain (description, reading materials, course objectives, exam methods, etc.). Please contact the Psych Advising Office via Message Center to learn more about the petition process.
In general, if a course is UC-transferable, is upper division, worth at least 4 quarter units and is related to the major, then it can be petitioned for approval. You can reference the course titles and descriptions for the Cognitive Science major courses as a starting point for finding related courses abroad. You can also provide the course titles that you are considering taking abroad and the program you are attending so an advisor can check to see if they have been petitioned from that program before. Otherwise, all courses for the Cognitive Science major must be reviewed by the department.