Getting that Psych Minor at TAMU
So, I decided pretty early on I wanted to tack on a Psychology minor while I was doing my main degree at Texas A&M. It wasn’t part of my original plan, honestly. My major was pretty demanding, but I kept finding myself really interested in why people do the stuff they do. Seemed like it could be useful, you know, just understanding people better, no matter what job I ended up in.
First thing I did was poke around the TAMU website. Found the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences section and looked for the minor requirements. It was kinda buried, took some clicking around. Then I figured I should probably talk to an actual human, so I scheduled a meeting with my main academic advisor. They were helpful, pointed me to the specific forms and told me who to contact in the Psych department.
Declaring the Minor
Actually declaring wasn’t too bad. There was a form, naturally. Had to fill that out. I think I needed to have a certain GPA and maybe have completed a specific intro course first, can’t remember exactly, but I met the requirements. Got the form signed by someone in the Psych advising office – they were located over in the Academic Building, if I recall correctly. Dropped it off, and boom, officially a Psych minor.
Picking the Classes
Okay, this part was fun but also a bit of a puzzle. You had your required intro course, PSYC 107, which everyone has to take. Then there was a list of other courses you had to pick from to reach the total credit hours needed for the minor. I think it was around 15-18 hours total?
- PSYC 107: Intro to Psychology – The mandatory starting point. Covered a bit of everything.
- Social Psychology: This one I really liked. All about group dynamics, conformity, why we like who we like. Super interesting stuff.
- Abnormal Psychology: Looked at different mental health conditions. Definitely eye-opening, sometimes a bit heavy.
- Cognitive Psychology: Focused on thinking, memory, problem-solving. This one felt more scienc-y, which was cool.
- Maybe one other elective? Can’t recall the exact name, might have been Developmental Psych.
Figuring out how to fit these into my schedule alongside my major courses was the tricky part. Sometimes the classes I wanted were offered at the same time as a required class for my major. Took some juggling each semester during registration. I basically lived on Howdy checking course availability.
The Experience
Overall, the classes were pretty engaging. Some professors were amazing, really passionate. Others were… well, professors. You get a mix everywhere. I remember one project in Social Psych where we had to observe people in a public place (like the MSC) and analyze their interactions based on theories we learned. Felt a bit like being a spy, but for academics.
Balancing the workload was real. My major was tough, so adding these extra courses meant less free time, more studying. But honestly, I found the Psych stuff a good break sometimes. It was different from my main field, used a different part of my brain.
Finishing Up
Eventually, I checked off all the required courses. I made sure to double-check with the Psych advising office near the end, just to confirm I had everything needed. They looked over my transcript, confirmed I met all the requirements, and that was pretty much it. Felt good to have it officially done.
Looking back, grabbing that minor was a good call. It didn’t drastically change my career path, which was already set by my major, but it definitely gave me a better toolkit for dealing with people, understanding different viewpoints, and just generally navigating life. It makes you think more critically about behavior, including your own. Totally worth the extra effort.
