Best Psychology Programs in Kentucky for 2027

Before you enter the psychology major at the University of Kentucky, you complete Introduction to Psychology, a one-hour orientation and Experimental Psychology. The major core then adds Applications of Statistics in Psychology, Cognition, Brain and Behavior, Social Psychology and Cultural Processes and Developmental Psychology. You choose two electives or one four-hour lecture and lab, from Forensic Psychology to Behavioral Genetics, and finish with a capstone. The capstone can be a senior internship, a topic seminar or the two-semester Senior Honors Thesis, which needs a 3.6 psychology GPA and a faculty sponsor. Independent research courses and field internships with a site mentor and a faculty sponsor give you hands-on options along the way.

Pre-Major Courses

Introduction to Psychology, Orientation to Psychology and Experimental Psychology.

Statistics Course

Applications of Statistics in Psychology (4 hours).

Honors Thesis

PSY 495 and 496, a two-semester project with a faculty mentor and a poster presentation.

Field Internship

PSY 399 for one to three credits, with a psychology GPA of at least 2.5.

Program Sources: Psychology Major Requirements | University of Kentucky College of Arts & SciencesSenior Honors Thesis | University of Kentucky College of Arts & SciencesInternship Course Information | University of Kentucky College of Arts & Sciences

A single Culminating Undergraduate Experience course closes out the psychology BS at Louisville, and you pick it from a list that runs from Community Internships in Psychology to International Service Learning and Research, Honors Psychology Thesis and Undergraduate Psychology Research. The department core is Introduction to Psychology, Statistics for Psychology, Research Methods for Psychology, Brain and Behavior, Life Span Developmental Psychology, Cognitive Processes and Foundations of Psychopathology, followed by 18 hours of psychology electives numbered 300 or above. The College of Arts and Sciences adds a foreign language through the second semester. The degree can be completed 100% online, and current majors can start a Soaring Scholar accelerated BS/MS in Psychological Science with three graduate courses taken as an undergraduate.

Core Courses

Statistics for Psychology, Research Methods for Psychology, Brain and Behavior, Life Span Developmental Psychology, Cognitive Processes and Foundations of Psychopathology.

Culminating Experience

One CUE course such as an internship, service learning, research or an honors thesis.

Format

Can be completed 100% online.

Accelerated Option

Soaring Scholar BS to MS in Psychological Science, with one-on-one faculty mentoring.

Program Sources: Psychology (BS) | University of LouisvilleUndergraduate | College of Arts & Sciences

Whether you finish with a BA or a BS at NKU depends on what you add to the shared 46-credit core. The core covers Statistical Methods, Research Methods and Lab, Psychological Tests and Measures, Biopsychology, Lifespan Development, Learning and Behavior, Cognitive Processes, Social Psychology and Psychological Disorders, plus five psychology electives. The BA adds six credits of a foreign language or three credits in an approved study-abroad program. The BS goes more quantitative, with one or two courses from a list that includes Advanced Research Methods in Psychology, Elementary Programming, Introduction to Databases and Introduction to Machine Learning, plus laboratory courses such as Biopsychology Laboratory or Cognitive Processes Laboratory. Juniors with a 3.25 GPA can take graduate industrial-organizational seminars early through a bridge program.

Shared Core

46 credits, including Research Methods and Lab and Statistical Methods.

BA Add-On

Six credits of a foreign language or three credits of approved study abroad.

BS Add-On

Quantitative or computing courses plus one or two 2-credit laboratory courses.

Minimum Grade

C- or better in all courses applied to the major.

Program Sources: Program: Psychological Science, B.A. - Northern Kentucky UniversityPsychological Science, BA and BS - Northern Kentucky University

Undergraduates at WKU can join faculty research labs starting in the first year, and the BA in psychology comes in three versions: general, forensic and sport. The core is Introduction to Psychology, Orientation to the Field of Psychology, Research Methods with a lab, Statistics in Psychology and a history or critical-thinking course, plus a math requirement. The general major takes 35 hours and needs a minor or second major, as does forensic, which adds Psychology and Law, Advanced Forensic Psychology and electives drawn from criminology, philosophy and political science. The sport concentration adds Human Anatomy and Physiology, nutrition and sport communication courses and needs no minor. Supervised fieldwork in agencies, businesses and clinical settings earns credit.

Concentrations

General Psychology, Forensic Psychology and Sport Psychology.

Research Labs

Eleven faculty labs, open to undergraduates from the first year.

Research Core

Research Methods in Psychology with a lab and Statistics in Psychology.

Fieldwork

Credit for supervised work in agency, business, clinical or industry settings.

Program Sources: Bachelor of Arts in Psychology | Western Kentucky UniversityPsychology, Bachelor of Arts (760) < Western Kentucky University

EKU's psychology BS runs 120 hours and lets you add one of five concentrations: Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Child and Family Psychology, Mental Health, General Psychology or Work and Organizational Psychology. Core courses include Introduction to Psychology, Career Development in Psychology and a research literacy course, and you choose at least three hours from each of six areas, from biological bases of behavior to skills courses such as Intro to Interviewing/Therapy. Mental Health students add Abnormal Psychology, Interviewing/Therapy and Behavior Therapy, and Child and Family students take Infant and Child Development and Child Psychopathology. Brain and Cognitive Sciences adds Sensation and Perception, Cognitive Psychology and Mind and Brain. Every course counted toward the major needs a grade of C or better.

Concentrations

Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Child and Family, Mental Health, General Psychology, and Work and Organizational Psychology.

Concentration Size

9 to 16 credit hours, depending on the concentration.

Applied Learning

PSY 349 Applied Learning in Psychology is encouraged in the concentration area.

Minimum Grade

C or higher in all major courses.

Program Sources: Psychology, Bachelor of Science (B.S.) - EKU Academic CatalogBachelor of Science in Psychology - Eastern Kentucky University

Choose among a general track, a Clinical and Counseling concentration or a Human Resources concentration, all leading to a Bachelor of Arts in psychology. Each version requires Introductory Psychology, Foundations of Psychology, Research Methods, a Capstone and MATH 205, plus six credits of a foreign language or the College of Arts and Sciences language proficiency. The general track adds five core courses with at least two from each group, such as Learning and Behavior and Biological Psychology in one and Personality, Life-Span Development and Social Psychology in the other. The two concentrations are training oriented and require a three-credit internship, in a clinical or counseling setting for Clinical and Counseling and in a human resource setting for Human Resources. Clinical and Counseling adds Counseling and Psychotherapy, and Human Resources adds Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior and Leadership.

Tracks

General, Clinical and Counseling, and Human Resources.

Research Course

Research Methods, plus MATH 205.

Internship

Required for both concentrations (PSYC 444, taken for 3 credits).

Language

Six credits of a foreign language or the Arts and Sciences BA proficiency requirement.

Program Sources: Psychology Department - Bellarmine University Catalog

Two statistics courses, a history of psychology course and a senior seminar form the base of Cumberlands' 40-hour major. Research Design and Statistics I and II come first, and you finish with History and Systems of Psychology, Senior Seminar and a department exit exam. The other 24 hours are electives, and the catalog marks the ones suited to graduate school (Physiological Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Learning and Memory, Directed Study in research) and the ones suited to clinical work (Introduction to Counseling, Psychological Testing, Counseling Psychology, Psychopathology). Sport Psychology, Forensic Psychology and Behavior Change for Lifestyle Wellness are also on the list. The BA adds a world language sequence through the intermediate level.

Major Hours

40 credit hours: 16 required and 24 elective.

Research Sequence

Research Design and Statistics I (3 hours) and II (4 hours).

Capstone

Senior Seminar plus a department exit exam in the final semester.

BA Language Requirement

World language courses in one language through the intermediate level.

Program Sources: Program: Psychology, B.S. - University of the CumberlandsProgram: Psychology, B.A. - University of the Cumberlands

Morehead offers psychology as a BA major, a BS major and a BS psychology area, and each one shares a 27-hour core. That core has Psychological Research Methods, Psychological Statistics, Behavioral Neuroscience, Psychology of Learning and Systems and Theories of Psychology, and it ends in a senior capstone, an exit exam and an exit survey. The BA requires a non-STEM minor or second major and suits students interested in law school, while the BS major pairs with a STEM minor or second major. The psychology area is built for graduate school plans: 24 elective hours that can include Practicum, Research Problems and Cooperative Education, in place of a minor.

Research Courses

Psychological Research Methods and Psychological Statistics.

BA Minor

A non-STEM minor or additional major is required.

BS Minor

A STEM minor or additional major is required for the BS major.

Psychology Area Electives

24 hours, including Practicum, Research Problems and Cooperative Education options.

Program Sources: Morehead State University - Psychology ProgramsMorehead State University - Psychology Area - Bachelor of Science

Statistics, a biology course and two research methods courses come before the upper-level work in Centre's psychology major. The foundation is Introduction to Psychological Science, Survey of Psychological Science, Evolution, Biodiversity, Ecology, Introduction to Statistics, Introduction to Research Methods and Experimental Psychology. Then you pick two courses in social, developmental and mental health topics, two in cognitive and biological topics with at least one lab, and one on cultural and social diversity such as Cultural Psychology or Psychology of Race and Ethnicity. Two more courses numbered 300 or higher and a capstone, either Advanced Research Topics or Senior Seminar, finish the requirements. Research settings range from the laboratory to independent field projects, and internships cover applied psychology.

Research Sequence

Introduction to Statistics, Introduction to Research Methods and Experimental Psychology.

Biology Requirement

Evolution, Biodiversity, Ecology.

Capstone

Advanced Research Topics or Senior Seminar, plus senior tests set by the program.

Diversity Requirement

One course from Cultural Psychology, Psychology of Race and Ethnicity or Psychology of Women.

Program Sources: Psychology Major - Centre College CatalogPsychology - Centre College Catalog

Six courses make up the psychology A.S. at Cumberlands, and the catalog lists both the Main Campus and online as places to take it. You complete Basic Psychology, Child and Adolescent Development, Research Design and Statistics I, Introduction to Counseling, Psychology of Personality and Social Psychology, which adds up to 18 hours of major requirements. The statistics course is your first exposure to research methods, while the counseling and personality courses lean toward helping professions. Cumberlands requires at least 60 total hours for an associate's degree, so the rest of the degree comes from general education and electives, and transfer or prior learning credit can count toward that total.

Major Requirements

Six courses totaling 18 credit hours.

Research Course

Research Design and Statistics I.

Counseling Courses

Introduction to Counseling and Psychology of Personality.

Locations

Main Campus and online.

Program Sources: Program: Psychology A.S. - University of the CumberlandsPsychology - University of the Cumberlands