Classification of undergraduate psychology programs as STEM

Despite psychology’s identity as a hub science (Cacioppo, 2007), undergraduate programs in psychology at colleges and universities across the U.S. are not uniformly classified as stem by upper administration. In this article, we describe how the federal government classifies educational programs, highlight some of the tangible benefits of STEM classification, and describe how department heads and program directors have changed the degree classification at their local institution.

The National Center for Educational Statistics has a system of six-digit Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) codes that are used to classify degree programs at colleges and universities in the United States. The first two digits refer to the overarching content of the program (e.g., 42 = Psychology), the next two digits refer to broad areas within the discipline (e.g., 42.27 = Research and Experimental Psychology, 42.28 = Clinical, Counseling, and Applied Psychology) and the six-digit codes capture areas of specialization (42.2707 = Social Psychology).

CIP is the accepted method of classifying instructional programs used by the U.S. federal government to analyze and report instructional program data. CIP codes are also used by several federal agencies to determine which instructional programs can be classified as stem degree programs. Most notably, the Department of Homeland Security uses CIP codes to determine whether international students on an F-1 visa are eligible to receive an extension to remain in the U.S. for continued work in their field of study (i.e., their optional practical training). Federal agencies, such as the National Science Foundation and the Department of Defense also use CIP codes to determine eligibility for scholarship and fellowship opportunities.

By default, many colleges and universities classify their undergraduate psychology programs as Psychology, General (42.0101), which does not currently have a stem designation. However, some psychology programs have actively worked with their university administration to reclassify their degree programs as Research and Experimental Psychology (42.2799), which is currently a stem designation.

Although this process varies across colleges and universities, the first step is to identify which code is currently used to classify the psychology program. This information can usually be provided by an institution’s Office of Institutional Research or the academic dean, registrar, or provost. A program’s curricular requirements (e.g., courses in research methods and statistics) and student learning objectives, including those that are consistent with APA Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major: Version 2.0 (American Psychological Association, 2013), have been successfully used by some department chairs to request a reclassification (e.g., Weir, 2015). Finally, you can also reach out to colleagues who have led this change at their institutions, including the contributors to this article.

• Erin Hennes, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri
• Layla Dang, PhD, student, Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University
• Cynthia Legin-Bucell, PhD, professor emeritus, Department of Psychology, Edinboro University