Global Education

To be eligible to study away, students in the Psychology major must successfully complete the following courses at Allegheny prior to studying away:

• FS-101, FS-102 OR SWS-105 *wording TBD 
• PSYCH 110 or equivalent 
• At least one 100-level course beyond PSYCH 110
• PSYCH 206
• Strongly recommended: PSYCH 207 (note: this cannot be transferred in!)
• Recommended: if possible, students should try to complete at least one upper-level (300/400-level) course before leaving, and it is strongly suggested that this be an SPP-designated course because those are also not transferred in

It is recommended that students in the Psychology major study away in the Fall or Spring semester of their Junior year. In some cases, students may study away during the Spring semester of their Sophomore year, or during the Fall semester of their Senior year. Please see the How Studying Away Counts Towards The Major section for more detailed guidelines for each of those possibilities.

Allegheny’s graduation requirements state that a student’s final 16 semester credit hours before graduation must be taken in academic residence on campus, therefore study away during the second-semester senior year is not allowed without the permission of the Dean’s Exemption Committee.

Psychology majors must complete their Junior Seminar at Allegheny. Junior Seminars are offered during the Fall and Spring semesters (though note that a Junior Seminar for NEURO majors may only be offered once a year), therefore students who study abroad in their Junior year must take their Junior seminar in the term they remain on campus that year. Junior Seminars are planned a year in advance, so please consult your advisor as soon as possible to discuss what semester would be best for you.

• Please note: We assign students to Junior seminars based on a preference form that is to be completed by all rising Juniors in late March. This form will be sent out via email, but any Sophomore should make sure to ask their advisor about this form if they plan to study away during any semester of their Junior Year.

Psychology majors must complete their Senior Project at Allegheny. For students not double-majoring, the Senior Project may be completed as a one-semester or two-semester project. Therefore, studying away during the Fall semester of the student’s Senior year is theoretically possible. However, for students who wish to do an empirical project (i.e., one that involves data collection), the department strongly recommends a two-semester project, which makes studying away during the Senior year more challenging. Alternatively, students may complete an integrative review project (“library comp”), which can more reasonably be completed in one semester.

• Please note: We assign students to Senior Project readers based on a preference form that is to be completed by all rising Seniors in late March. This form will be sent out via email, but any Junior should make sure to ask their advisor about this form if they plan to study away during the Spring semester of their Junior year, or the Fall semester of their Senior year.

The following courses in the Psychology major cannot be taken during a study-away program: 

• PSYCH 207
• Upper-level SPP (Structures of Power and Privilege) course – note, these are special upper-level courses marked as such in the Bulletin (examples include Psych of Prejudice, Clinical Psych, Legal Psych, Psych of Violence, Gender and Families)
• Junior Seminar
• Senior Project

• Students who wish to study away during the Spring semester of their Sophomore year should have sufficient coursework to declare a Psychology major before departure. Ideally, they have completed at least 16-20 credits for the major, including PSYCH 110, another 100-level class or two, PSYCH 206, and possibly PSYCH 207 before departing. They may then focus on the remaining 100-level course(s) or upper-level courses during their time abroad. As rising Juniors, these students should check in with their academic advisor while studying abroad to complete a departmental form to be considered for Junior Seminar placement upon their return.
• Students who wish to study away during the Fall semester of their Junior year should have completed at least 20-24 credits for the major, including PSYCH 110, another 100-level class or two, PSYCH 206, PSYCH 207, and possibly an upper-level course. They may then focus on the remaining 100-level course(s) or upper-level courses during their time abroad.  Students must be sure to take their Junior Seminar in the semester during which they are at Allegheny (in this case Spring of Junior Year) – the Junior Seminar Preference Form will ask students about any study away plans so this can be considered during Junior Seminar assignments.
• Students who wish to study away during the Spring semester of their Junior year should have completed at least 24-28 credits for the major, including PSYCH 110, another 100-level class or two, PSYCH 206, PSYCH 207, an upper-level course and their Junior Seminar before departing. They may then focus on the remaining 100-level course(s) or upper-level courses during their time abroad. Students must be sure to take their Junior Seminar in the semester during which they are at Allegheny (in this case Fall of Junior Year) – the Junior Seminar Preference Form will ask students about any study away plans so this can be considered during Junior Seminar assignments.
• Students who wish to study away during the Fall semester of their Senior year should have completed most of their coursework for the major (i.e. at least 28-32 credits), including PSYCH 110, another 100-level class or two, PSYCH 206, PSYCH 207, one or two upper-level courses (ideally including their SPP course), and their Junior Seminar before departing. They may then focus on the remaining 100-level course(s) or upper-level courses during their time abroad.  Students must be sure to be able to complete any remaining credits and their Senior Project during the Spring semester of their Senior year. Students wishing to study away during their Fall semester of Senior year should indicate any study away plans on the Senior Project Reader Preference Form sent out in March of their Junior year.

There is no limit on the number of credits from study away that can transfer back towards the Psychology major, but students should complete at least one 100-level course at Allegheny, in addition to PSYCH 207, their upper-level SPP course, the Junior Seminar, and Senior Project.

• Australia: James Cook University
• Denmark/Sweden: DIS**
• England: Lancaster University
• England: Queen Mary University London**
• Ireland: University College Cork**
• Ireland: University College Dublin**
• Italy: John Cabot University**
• Spain: Seville – Business and Society (prerequisite of 4 terms of Spanish)
• Spain: Seville – International Business & Society (no Spanish requirement)
• Spain: Communications, New Media + Journalism English in Seville (no Spanish requirement)

Note: ** indicates programs that are in the process of being added to Allegheny’s sponsored program list and likely will be added to the catalog for Fall 2024.

Even though the program titles may not suggest this, all programs in Spain offer Psychology courses that may be eligible for Allegheny course credit pending review by the chair