If you have any suggestions or concerns regarding the program, please let us know by completing the survey.

 

1. When can I apply for a Psychology major?

 Please see the Undergraduate Major Declaration page for detailed information.

 

2. When can I apply for a double-major in Psychology?

The double-major program for Psychology will only be offered for students who have registered to the university in Fall 2019 or later. Current students who have registered prior to 2019 will not be able to apply for the double-major program.

To apply for a double-major, first, you need to be placed in a major program. Eligible students need to be in their 3rd, 4th, or 5th semester.

Please also check for the other requirements from the Double Major Diploma Programs page.

 

3. When can I apply for a Psychology minor?

Once students declare their major, they can apply for a minor program, by the beginning of their 6th semester, the latest.

The Psychology minor program will no longer be accepting students who have registered to the University in 2019 or later.  Currently-registered students can still apply to the program. Students who have already started their Psychology minor may either continue to receive their degree without making any changes, or they may switch to the Decision and Behavior program if they wish to do so. 

Please see the Minor Programs page for more detailed information regarding minor program applications and the Minor FAQ page for further questions about the program.

 

4. When can I apply for the Decision and Behavior minor?

Once students declare their major, they can apply for a minor program, by the beginning of the 6th semester at the latest.

Please see the Minor Programs page for more detailed information regarding minor program applications.

 

5. What is the difference between the Psychology minor and the new Decision and Behavior minor?

The Decision and Behavior minor is more interdisciplinary, although psychology is still at its core.

 

6. Can I switch from Psychology minor to Decision and Behavior minor?

Yes.  Students who would like to switch their minor program can do so by dropping their current minor program and registering to the other one afterward.

 

7. Can I switch from other majors to the Psychology major?

Yes, but students are allowed to switch their majors only once. Please see the Changing the Diploma Program for requirements to switch majors.

Please get in touch with the FASS Dean’s office for applying to change your major to Psychology.

 

8. Can I take psychology courses before declaring my major in Psychology? After I declare my major, do those courses count towards my major?

Yes.

 

9. Can I complete Psychology Major and Minor simultaneously?

No, the minor courses are a subset of the Major courses. Academically, it is not meaningful to complete a minor together with a major program.

Please explore the other interesting minor programs at Sabancı University.

 

10. What are the required courses for the Psychology major program?

Please see the Program Requirements - Undergraduate page for program requirements according to your entrance year.

Note! There have been updates in the prerequisite requirements of most of the PSY coded courses, you may check the courses and their pre-requisites in the course catalog and excel table with pre-requisites. Since this year is a transition year, pre-requisite override applications are going to be accepted and evaluated on an individual basis. Please include a brief explanation in your online override application during the course registration period.

 

11. What courses should I start with if I am considering the Psychology major?

We generally suggest taking introductory courses such as PSY 201 (Mind and Behavior) or/and PSY202 (Research Methods and Statistics for Psychology I) first. They will give you introductory knowledge in different disciplines in psychology and research methods.

Then, take the core courses. Don’t miss the courses representing the major fields of psychology: Developmental Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Social Psychology, and Introduction to Neuroscience. Later on, you can move on to more specialized and advanced courses with 3XX and 4XX codes. It is highly recommended to take at least 1 or 2 4XX-level courses before you graduate.

Please see Program Requirements - Undergraduate page for more details.

Please, see the sample course plan excel file with a sample course program.

 

12. Why are statistics courses required for a Psychology major?

Statistical knowledge is a must in any psychology training. Learning statistics is essential for data analysis, understanding psychology literature, and survey development.

In Fall 2019, the new research methods courses were introduced: PSY 202 and PSY 304, Research Methods and Statistics for Psychology I, and II. The earlier PSY 303 will no longer be offered. PSY 202 has been added to the "required courses" pool in the PSY major and minor programs. The students who haven't taken PSY 303 before are going to complete PSY 202 instead. For major students, PSY 304 is now offered as an alternative to MATH 306 Statistical Modelling.

 

13. Can I participate in research in order to increase my grades?

Yes. For the majority of psychology courses, it is possible to participate in research studies and get bonus points that will be counted towards your final grades.

If you are registered for any such courses, you will receive a login for your account in the Research Points System (Sona), where you can find the information about the currently-available studies and make appointments. Please, read the manual about Research Points here.

 

14. I am a FENS student and want to take a psychology course to complete ECTS Basic Science requirements. Which psychology course should I take?

Please, check out the basic science program requirements of FENS programs.

 

15. What are the events organised by the Psychology Program? 

PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH SEMINARS are organized regularly by the Psychology program. These seminars offer an opportunity to get acquainted with and discuss the research conducted by local and international researchers in the field of psychology. They aim to encourage both intellectual and social exchanges between the students, guests, and faculty members. All interested students and faculty members are welcome to attend these seminars. 

The seminars are announced at psychology events page.

CROSS-CUTTING PANEL: Every semester, we organize a cross-cutting panel as a part of PSY201 Mind and Behavior where students can see Psychology faculty members discussing their research interests and methods.  The goal of the cross-cutting panel is to give students the opportunity to see that different fields in psychology share a common goal of understanding human behavior. Students can see the similarity and differences between a variety of approaches, research questions, and learn about the diverse practical applications of psychological theory. 

You are welcome to attend this event if you are not a psychology student! It’s an open event for those who are interested in psychology and curious to see Psychology faculty members, learn about their research, and ask questions. The Spring 2021 cognitive psychology cross-cutting panel will be held on March 1, Monday 10:40 - 11:30 and the social psychology panel will be held on April 19, Monday 10:40 - 11:30 at the zoom room announced.

HUMAN LIBRARY is an international non-profit project dedicated to diversity in our society, and developing dialogue between people from different social, professional, religious, and ethnic groups. Such a dialogue, in an informal and safe environment, helps to get rid of stereotypes causing discrimination and helps to raise understanding and acceptance of diversity in society. 

The Human Library event is organized annually by the Psychology program and CIP. It is a unique opportunity to learn more about different types of people who live among us. Human Library works the same way as a normal library; Readers fill a library card, choose a Book from a catalog and borrow it for reading. Then they return the Book back to the Library, and if they want, they take another one. The only difference is that the Book in Human Library is a real person, and reading is a conversation. Books are individuals from the social groups that often experience stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination and who are willing to share their personal history, experience and knowledge, and respond honestly to the questions of Readers. For the vast majority of Readers and Books – reading is a very inspiring and reciprocally enriching process.  After reading Books at Human Library you can get a better understanding of different people, including your own family members, friends, co-workers and even yourself.

You can read more at human library website. If you want to be a volunteer, look for announcements about Human Library organization, usually in the middle of Fall semester, or contact olesya.blazhenkova@sabanciuniv.edu. 

MAJOR FEST: The Psychology program is participating in the annual Major Fest, which is designed to help SU undergraduate students in their major and minor exploration journey. The event is held during the spring term and encompasses various activities such as program presentations, alumni panels, and career-related seminars. At Major Fest students have the opportunity to meet with faculty members, alumni and senior students from all undergraduate programs. All SU undergraduate students who have not made their program declarations yet are encouraged to attend the event.

This year the event is conducted online from the 20th to 22nd of April. For more information on the event you can contact majorfest@sabanciuniv.edu.

 

16.  What are the research opportunities for students? 

PROJ 201. In this course students are introduced to basic research environments and skills through working on a project with members from different faculties. They will conduct hands-on work, learn presentation skills and teamwork. Students team up as small groups and register to a project of their choice and work closely with the supervisor throughout the semester to fulfill the requirements of their chosen project. As the deliverables of the project work, students are expected to write a project proposal and make either a group presentation or design a poster explaining the project and its results.

Independent study I and II (PSY 398 and PSY 399). Under a close supervision of a Psychology faculty member, students develop research skills and gain hands-on experience in carrying out a research study. If you want to do an independent study project, you must first receive the approval of a supervisor faculty member prior to enrollment. Please bear in mind that this is a honor project, and faculty members have the right to select students based on their academic performance and other related factors. Contact psychology faculty members in advance, and ask if they want to work with you, and what are their research projects. If one agrees to work with you, you need to apply for a ‘Special Approval’ on bannerweb.

Özgür proje. Students are completely free to determine the topic for their Özgür projects: they can investigate campus-related issues, or regional or even global problems. Topics can include economics, political science, international relations, sociology and culture, arts, visual media, law, or of course psychology. The project should have a research component. Only undergraduate students can apply, preferably as a team. Please check and like the Facebook page for all the news and projects of the past years. Özgür Proje details in Turkish - English.

PURE. Sabancı University Program for Undergraduate Research (PURE) is intended for undergraduate students from all domestic and international universities who would like to pursue guided research projects. Undergraduate students at all levels can apply and they will be selected according to projects’ requirements and the background of the applicant. The goal of the program is to introduce undergraduate students to real research problems early in their studies. For more info read PURE web page.