The Department of Psychology provides students with the opportunity to pursue a minor in Psychology, of which they can choose from three different tracks: Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, Industrial/Organizational, or Personality and Social.

Please see our Psychology Minor Requirements page on our Major Homeroom for information on how to declare a minor in psychology, as well as an overview of the requirements for each of the three minors.

Complementary Minors to the Psychology Major

A minor can be beneficial for a variety of reasons: (1) it allows students to get better acquainted with another discipline, (2) provides another look into psychology from a different angle, (3) to help prepare for a future career. The minors listed below are ones that further train students to work with people and those that may be more helpful for students interested in industrial/organizational psychology, research, and the helping professions.

Note that there are many minors that are not included on this list! To explore additional minors and other academic interests, please see the Academic Programs page.

Some things to keep in mind with a minor:

  • You must have a grade point average of 2.0 in the courses required for your minor (including transfer courses) in order to be awarded the minor at graduation.
  • Courses in the minor may not be used for the major. However, courses in the minor can be used to satisfy preparation for the major and General Education requirements.
  • A minimum of six upper division units must be completed at San Diego State University.
  • Credit/No Credit courses may not be used for upper division minor courses unless they are only offered as Credit/No Credit.
  • Courses numbered 296, 496, or 596 may not be used for the minor without permission from the department chair.

Biology: 16-22 units
The Biology department offers a minor in General Biology, along with optional emphases in 5 areas (Cellular and Molecular Biology, Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, Marine Biology, and Plant Biology). The courses allow students to conduct innovative and relevant research in the interrelated fields of biology, teach and disseminate information about concepts and processes that inform our understanding of the living world, and use our knowledge, skills, and expertise to make a positive impact on both society and nature.

Business: 18-24 units
The Fowler College of Business offers 8 different minors: Accounting, Business Administration (general), Entrepreneurship, Finance, Information Systems, Management, Marketing, and Real Estate. Obtaining a minor in Business Administration provides a general overview of business, while the specialized minors are intended to give students a structured introduction to a specific area of Business Administration. It is a good option for students whose career plans include self-employment or small business management.

Child Development: 19 units
The courses in this minor help prepare students to become early childhood educators and professionals who work with children, families, schools, and communities. The focus of the department is on the study of social-emotional development as the underlying foundation for all other areas of development including physical, cognitive, motor, and language.

Communication: 21 units
Students minoring in Communication learn about the different ways in which communication has been conceptualized and investigated, as well as the ways in which members of the communication discipline have used their knowledge and scholarship to engage a variety of social problems. Students are given opportunities to study how effective communication enhances well-being and relationships, promotes civic engagement, and allows for effective participation in a global community.

Computer Science: 23 units
Students minoring in Computer Science learn about analytical and problem-solving skills, software design and programming skills, as well as effective writing and presentation skills needed to work in a collaborative computer science environment. Students are given the opportunity to design, implement, and evaluate a computing-based solution to meet a given set of computing requirements in the context of the program’s discipline.

Counseling and Social Change: 18 units
The focus of this minor is to facilitate individual, group, and systems change in diverse social contexts. The courses introduce students to skills and concepts used to understand and create such change, and to professional career paths, such as school and community counseling, clinical psychology, social work, family therapy, and school psychology. The minor provides immersion in theory and experience-based practice.

Cultural Proficiency: 15 units
The Cultural Proficiency minor is an interdisciplinary program of study allowing students to develop a broad understanding of the components of diversity in society, which include race and ethnicity, culture, gender, sexuality, religion, language, social class, and aging and disability. This minor is of relevance to any career that involves diverse populations of people, such as business, industry, education, social welfare, health and medicine. The Minor in Cultural Proficiency is an option for students who want to explore key concepts related to power, identity, and difference, and to understand how historical and structural relations of power and difference shape social relations. Administered by the Division of Academic Achievement and Student Engagement (DAESA) the minor integrates theoretical and practical approaches to the study of diversity. It is designed to enable students to transform the worlds they live in now and will move into after graduation.

Gerontology: 18 units
The curriculum of this minor is designed to combine two basic kinds of expertise: (1) increased knowledge of the physiological, psychological, and sociological processes of aging, and (2) the development of in-service skills to address the social needs which accompany these processes.

Leadership Development: 15 units
In this minor, students explore a variety of leadership theories and foster critical thinking related to leadership styles and practices. Central to the minor is increasing students’ self-awareness through the exploration of strengths, values, beliefs, culture, and identity. The curriculum considers ethical approaches to leadership, relational leadership, and a social change perspective.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Plus Studies: 15 units
LGBTQ+ Studies is an interdisciplinary program, not affiliated with any one department. This minor prepares students for a large variety of careers. Students can work in LGBT non-profit agencies, law, local and national politics, health care settings, counseling centers, journalism, news media, theatre, film, fine arts, and education. Most jobs and careers today welcome and benefit from employees with expertise in diversity, including knowledge and experience on LBGTQ issues.

Public Administration: 21 units
The primary purpose of the public administration program is to provide knowledge and skills for students who wish to prepare themselves for management careers in government, community agencies, private non-profit organizations, planning and consulting firms and private sector organizations that work in partnership with the public sector.

Public Health: 18 units
A public health minor provides students with an introduction to public health concepts, theories, and methods. Students can choose to take courses focused on epidemiology, environmental health, occupational health, health services administration, and behavioral science. This minor serves as a good foundation for students interested in working in health and human services, clinics, hospitals (or similar), specifically with an interest in the medical field, healthcare and/or counseling.

Religious Studies: 15 units
A minor in Religious Studies offers a way to combine your major interests with the academic study of religion. Anyone who is interested in the beliefs, behavior, and values of other people would benefit from this minor.

Social Work: 24 units
Social work is deeply committed to the relief of human distress and inequality, and to the assistance of people in the meeting of their social, psychological, and economic needs.

Sociology: 18 units
A minor in Sociology is a useful accompaniment to many majors on campus because we all live in a socially organized society and engage in daily social interaction.

Sports and Society: 15 units
The minor in sports and society examines the dynamic ways that exercise, leisure, play, recreation, and sport are shaped by community, culture, history, and society. The minor provides students with the intellectual tools necessary to understand their endeavors’ sociocultural context and critically examine the complex ways sport is intimately connected to cultural practices, political lives, and social institutions.

Statistics: 15 units
Statistics is the field at the heart of the scientific method of discovery. Statistical principles are used in designing experiments and surveys to collect information. Statistical procedures are applied to summarize information, draw conclusions, and make decisions. This minor includes a combination of courses in applied statistical methods, computer-oriented data analysis, probability, and mathematical statistics, which can be tailored to a student’s major, academic, or professional interests.

Women’s Studies: 18 units
Women’s Studies explores who women were, who women are, and who they might be. It also investigates how women’s lives and relationships are affected by society’s values, traditions, and institutions. Content areas include concepts of self and family, theories of sex differences, history, cultural contributions, and the study of society’s institutions. The emphasis is on developing critical analytical skills while increasing the awareness of objective conditions in women’s lives throughout the world.