PSY & CD STUDENTS WHO HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED

Congratulations on your acceptance as a student in the Psychology & Child Development Department. Below are some questions commonly asked by new students.

How do I get academic advising?

Getting advising helps you graduate on time and make choices that will help you build your career.

Please visit the Psychology and Child Development Department Office (Building 47, Room 24) during your first few weeks at Cal Poly to be assigned a PSY or CD faculty advisor to help you with your academic and career planning. Be sure to talk with your academic advisor on a regular basis. All faculty have scheduled office hours each week where you may drop by without an appointment. The department chair is also available to help and has drop-in office hours.

Another source of advice is Peer Advising, a group of students who provide academic advising during the school year. Their office is in Building 47, Room 21P (805-756-2077).

The College of Liberal Arts also has an advising web page. Wendy Spradlin serves as a general academic advisor for all students in the college. Ms. Spradlin's office is in Building 47, Room 25G (805-756-6200). Every summer, incoming students receive an invitation to attend the Summer Advising Program, a one-day advising event held in the second week of July.


How do I sign up for classes?

You will be registering through the new PASS (Plan A Student Schedule)/CPReg system, accessible via the Cal Poly Portal.  This system will be operational by the time you register for your Fall 06 Classes.  Keep checking the portal over the summer for updates and new procedure instructions.

There are a number of details you should know as you prepare to enter the University. Many of your questions can be answered as you work through the following websites: http://ola.calpoly.edu and http://www.cla.calpoly.edu . Both of these sites are designed to assist you in course selections. These sites will also address general education class suggestions, advanced placement credit and entry level math ELM/ English placement test EPT information.  While these sites are lengthy and somewhat complex, they are designed to help you create your schedule of classes, and will be a useful tool throughout your Cal Poly career. These must be viewed prior to contacting your faculty or academic advisor.


What do I take my first quarter?

Child Development Freshman

We suggest that for your first quarter you take CD 130, CD 203, PSY 201 or 202 (same course, different format), FSN 210, any cultural pluralism course (see the newsprint class schedule for a listing of courses that count for this requirement). You can look at the Child Development courses by clicking here. For a flow chart that visually illustrates the order in which CD classes should be taken, click here.

See the Cal Poly catalog for GE requirements and your newsprint class schedule for a listing of courses that satisfy these. Generally, you'll want to start out with 100-200 level courses. Suggestions include: ANT 201, or ES 110, or GEOG 150, or SOC 105 (D4.a Area requirement); HIST 202, HIST 204, or LS 211 (Area D.1a); a physical science elective (Area B.1a); Area F elective; Art/Dance/Music/Theatre elective (Area C.2); Math, Statistics, or English 114. See p. 70 of the catalog for assistance in selection.

If you have taken an advanced placement test, don't take the equivalent Cal Poly course until you find out whether you have placed out of it.


Child Development Transfer Students

The Evaluations Office completes an evaluation for all new transfer students that tells you how your classes will transfer to Cal Poly. However, you may have to enroll before you receive this. So, if you see lower level (100-200) courses that look like courses you have already taken, don't enroll in them at first; check with your advisor for possible substitutions. You can look at the Child Development courses by clicking here.

In terms of major and support classes, you should take CD 102 and CD 128 (fall) and sequence of CD 309 (fall), CD 310 (winter) and CD 311 (spring). These are the core of the program and each is offered only once a year. If you have already taken a course about program planning for infants and toddlers, it could count for CD 128. You may also need to take FSN 210, BIO 302, PSY 201 or 202, CD 130, CD 203, CD 209, CD 230, PSY 323, and other courses in the CD major. Click here for a flow chart that visually illustrates the order in which CD classes should be taken.

If you haven't received your evaluation, you will have to make some judgments as to which general education courses you should take (see the Cal Poly catalog for GE requirements). If you are not yet GE certified, you should continue to take courses with that goal in mind. Whether or not you are certified, you will need to complete BIO 302, one C.3 course, one D.2 or D.4b course, one area F course, and one cultural pluralism course (which in some cases will double-count for C.3 or D4.b). Your newsprint class schedule includes a listing of courses that satisfy the general education and cultural pluralism requirements.


Psychology Freshman

We suggest that for your first quarter you take PSY 201 or 202 since it is a prerequisite for most other psychology courses. PSY 201 and 202 are both introductory psychology courses, but they are taught in different ways. PSY 201 is taught by a single instructor in three hours of lecture per week with about 50 to 200 students. PSY 202 is a team-taught class with two hours of lectures per week in a large auditorium plus one hour per week in a small group session. If you have taken the Psychology AP test and scored a 3 or better, you do not have to take this course, and you will receive 6 additional units of free electives.

After fulfilling the PSY 201/202 requirement, you should take the following courses in any order, at least one each quarter: PSY 252, PSY 254, PSY 256, PSY 304, and STAT 217. You can look at the Psychology courses by clicking here. For a flow chart that visually illustrates the order in which Psychology classes should be taken, click here.

See the Cal Poly catalog for GE requirements and your newsprint class schedule for a listing of courses that satisfy these. Generally, you'll want to start out with 100-200 level courses. Suggestions include: ANT 201, or ES 110, or GEOG 150, or SOC 105 (D4.a Area requirement); HIST 202, HIST 204, or LS 211 (Area D.1a); a physical science elective (Area B.1a); Area F elective; Art/Dance/Music/Theatre elective (Area C.2); Math, Statistics, or English 114. See p. 70 of the catalog for assistance in selection.


Psychology Transfer Students

The Evaluations Office completes an evaluation for all new transfer students that tells you how your classes will transfer to Cal Poly. However, you may have to enroll before you receive this. So, if you see lower level (100-200) courses that look like courses you have already taken, don't enroll in them at first; check with your advisor for possible substitutions. You can look at the Psychology courses by clicking here.

If you have already taken an introductory or general psychology course, you have a number of choices for additional courses. Click here for a flow chart that visually illustrates the order in which Psychology classes should be taken and click here for a chart of concentration choices.

The two sequences that you should be sure to make progress on during your junior year are the Research Methods sequence (STAT 217, PSY 329, PSY 333), and the Fieldwork (internship) sequence (any cultural pluralism course, PSY 323, PSY 453, PSY 454).

If you haven't received your evaluation, you will have to make some judgments as to which general education courses you should take (see the Cal Poly catalog for GE requirements). If you are not yet GE certified, you should continue to take courses with that goal in mind. Whether or not you are certified, you will need to complete BIO 302, one C.3 course, one D.2 or D.4b course, one area F course, and one cultural pluralism course (which in some cases will double-count for C.3 or D4.b). Your newsprint class schedule includes a listing of courses that satisfy the general education and cultural pluralism requirements.

If you have taken an advanced placement test, don't take the equivalent Cal Poly course until you find out whether you have placed out of it.

Will I need to take any entrance or placement exams?

Yes, all entering students are required to take proficiency exams in some subject areas. Check the Cal Poly Catalog or Academic Programs web page for details.


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