A high school diploma or a General Equivalency Diploma (GED) is required in order to matriculate at a college or university offering an undergraduate major program in psychology. In order to be considered for acceptance as a psychology major upon college admission, a psychology department may look for a high school background in math and science coursework and consider the rigorousness of the student's college preparatory curriculum in high school.
An undergraduate psychology program may additionally require that students complete college liberal arts, general education or core curriculum prerequisites prior to declaring a major. These curricula generally include courses in history, literature, natural science and social science, in addition to other courses covering a broad spectrum of liberal arts academia.
A satisfactory grade in a college general psychology course may also be a prerequisite for an undergraduate psychology major. A general psychology course may satisfy core curriculum social science requirements established for all baccalaureate degree candidates at a college or university. General psychology offers students an introductory look at cognitive, behavioral and humanistic psychology, as well as other major perspectives of the field.