Recommended Courses

*Attention: For those applying for Fall 2027 admissions, these courses are NOT prerequisites

We highly recommended you take these courses as the material is the foundation for first year counseling courses. If your undergrad degree did not cover the material listed; we urge you to take these courses before starting the program at any community college.

Note: Prerequisite requirements are subject to change for the future admissions

Recommended Undergraduate Courses at San Francisco State University

3 undergraduate psychology courses. We recommend that you complete the following undergraduate courses (or equivalent courses at any junior colleges): Lifespan Development, Theories of Personality, and Abnormal Psychology (a.k.a. Psychopathology).

Note: COUN 690 is no longer a prerequisite; applicants do not need to take COUN 690 for admission

PSYC 431

Lifespan Developmental Psychology. Fundamental principles of developmental psychology; origin and development of behavior. Must be a course that spans throughout the lifespan, i.e. from birth to death (you may take an equivalent course at any junior college).

PSYC 451

Theories of Personality. Survey of the major contemporary theories of personality. Theoretical positions are compared and critically examined along various significant dimensions, including their relationships to the total field of psychology. Methods of personality assessment as related in theory construction (you may take an equivalent course at any junior college).

PSYC 452

Abnormal Psychology, Minor Variants of Personality. The nature and development of emotional disturbances which result in a person's failure to adapt adequately in this society; contemporary theories of personality development as well as a clinical description of the neuroses. Note: Psychopathology, which is the science or study of mental disorders, is also known as Abnormal Psychology (you may take an equivalent course at any junior college).

Course Equivalents at junior colleges:

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*All courses listed must be completed to be considered equivalent to the one psychology course at SF State.

** “Not verified as a equivalent course at SF State"

Since these are undergraduate level courses, they are generally offered under similar titles across different Universities. If you are interested in taking the prerequisites at another school (not listed in the above list), please check your school’s Catalogue or Bulletin and match the appropriate courses to the psychology prerequisites at SFSU. The course title should be pretty clear as to whether or not the course would be equivalent.