Popular HBCUs in Texas With Psychology Programs [2026 Guide]

Texas is home to several historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) where you can study psychology, from four-year bachelor’s degrees to a two-year transfer pathway. If you want to learn how people think, feel, and behave, few schools stand out: Prairie View A&M University, Texas Southern University, Huston-Tillotson University, and St. Philip’s College.

Prairie View A&M and Texas Southern offer full bachelor’s degrees with graduate options on the same campus, Huston-Tillotson runs a flexible psychology program in Austin, and St. Philip’s College in San Antonio offers an associate degree built to transfer into any Texas public university.

HBCU in Texas With Psychology Programs

This guide breaks down each program’s courses, credit hours, hands-on training, admissions requirements, and career paths so you can decide which fits your goals.

HBCU in Texas With Psychology Programs

Listed below are some of the popular HBCUs in Texas that offer psychology programs:

  • Prairie View A&M University (Prairie View)
  • Texas Southern University (Houston)
  • Huston-Tillotson University (Austin)
  • St. Philip’s College (San Antonio)

Prairie View A&M University

Bachelor of Science in Psychology

Prairie View A&M University offers a Bachelor of Science in Psychology that totals 120 semester credit hours and is designed to be completed in four years of full-time study. The degree is offered by the Marvin D. and June Samuel Brailsford College of Arts & Sciences and focuses on the scientific side of the field, with required coursework in statistics, research methods, and the biological bases of behavior.

Founded in 1876 as the first state-supported college for African American students in Texas, Prairie View A&M is the second-oldest public institution in the state. The Department of Psychology carries that legacy forward by training students to study human behavior using evidence and data rather than guesswork.

Because this is a Bachelor of Science rather than a Bachelor of Arts, the curriculum builds in extra science. Students take Anatomy and Physiology as a support requirement and complete two semesters of statistics, which prepares them to read research studies critically and run their own analyses.

The program given special attention to culture and identity through courses such as Multicultural Psychology, African American Psychology, and Chicano/Latinx Psychology. Students examine how background, community, and experience influence the way people behave and how psychologists serve diverse populations.

One advantage of choosing Prairie View A&M is that the psychology department also houses a Master of Arts in Applied Psychology and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, along with an on-campus training clinic. Undergraduates can see firsthand what graduate study looks like and may have early access to faculty research.

Only courses passed with a grade of “C” or higher count toward the major and psychology electives, so students are expected to stay on top of their work throughout the four years. The structured course sequence helps students move steadily from introductory classes toward advanced research and a senior writing project.

Courses and Curriculum

The 120-credit degree is organized into a 42-hour university core, 18 hours of major requirements, 15 hours of content-area courses, and 24 hours of psychology electives, plus a science support requirement and free electives. This structure gives students a broad base while letting them choose courses that match their interests.

Content areas are arranged in blocks. Students pick from groups covering personality and social behavior, abnormal and clinical topics, learning and cognition, and culture and identity. This block system makes sure graduates touch every major branch of psychology rather than clustering in one area.

The major also requires a two-semester senior paper sequence, where students complete an extended writing and research project. Statistics and research methods come earlier in the sequence so students are ready for that independent work by their senior year.

Some of the core courses that you will take include:

  • Careers in Psychology
  • General Psychology
  • Statistical Methods in Psychology
  • Statistics for Psychology II
  • Research Methods
  • Senior Paper
  • Abnormal Psychology
  • Physiological Psychology
  • Multicultural Psychology
Practical Experience

Prairie View A&M offers a Psychology Internship (PSYC 4341) worth one to three credit hours, which can be repeated for up to six credit hours total. Students earn supervised field experience in settings such as mental health services, community organizations, criminal justice agencies, and businesses. The senior paper sequence adds a research component, giving graduates both applied and scholarly experience to point to on a résumé or graduate school application.

Learning Outcomes
  • Apply the scientific method to questions about human behavior.
  • Use statistics to analyze and interpret psychological data.
  • Design and carry out a research project from start to finish.
  • Explain how biological systems connect to thought, emotion, and behavior.
  • Recognize how culture and identity influence psychological experience.
  • Communicate findings clearly in writing and in speech.
  • Evaluate published studies for quality and limitations.
Career Preparation & Outcomes

The Bachelor of Science prepares students for entry-level roles in case management, research support, human services, and human resources, while the heavy science and statistics load makes graduates strong applicants for master’s and doctoral programs.

Because Prairie View A&M runs its own graduate psychology degrees and clinic, students interested in becoming a licensed psychologist or counselor can map out a long-term plan on a single campus. Prairie View A&M reports a graduation rate of about 43% within 150% of normal time.

Admissions Requirements
  • Apply through ApplyTexas or the Common Application.
  • Submit an official high school transcript showing your graduation date.
  • Meet the university’s class-rank and grade-point standards for automatic or review-based admission.
  • Test scores (SAT or ACT) may be optional depending on the current admission policy, so check the latest requirements.
  • Complete the FAFSA to be considered for financial aid and scholarships.
Application Deadlines

Prairie View A&M uses priority and rolling admission, which means applications are reviewed as they arrive until a term fills. Students aiming for fall entry should apply in the spring or early summer to get the best access to housing, financial aid, and orientation.

Texas Southern University

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology

Texas Southern University offers a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology that requires 120 semester credit hours and is designed for completion in four years. The program is housed in the College of Liberal Arts and Behavioral Sciences in Houston, one of the largest cities in the country, which gives students access to hospitals, clinics, schools, and community agencies nearby.

This degree takes a liberal arts approach, pairing psychology with broad study across the humanities and social sciences. Texas Southern requires every psychology major to declare a minor in another subject, so students graduate with knowledge in a second field such as sociology, biology, or business.

The major itself accounts for 39 hours, with a fixed set of required courses plus six hours of electives that students choose based on their interests. Required classes move from general psychology and human development through statistics, research methods, and a senior capstone.

A standout feature is the required course in African American Psychology, which examines behavior, identity, and mental health within the African American experience. This reflects the university’s mission and gives students a perspective that many other psychology programs do not require.

Texas Southern also offers a Master of Arts in Psychology with concentrations in Clinical-Community Psychology and School Psychology. Those graduate tracks can lead to state credentials such as Licensed Professional Counselor or Licensed Specialist in School Psychology, so undergraduates have a clear path forward without changing schools.

Before graduating, Bachelor of Arts candidates take a departmental exit examination during the capstone course. Students must earn a “C” or better in all psychology and minor courses and keep their grade-point average at or above 2.0, which keeps the academic standards steady from the first year to the last.

Courses and Curriculum

The 120-hour degree combines a 42-hour core curriculum, 39 hours of major requirements, 18 hours of other requirements including a foreign language and philosophy, and 21 hours in a required minor. This balance means a psychology major at Texas Southern leaves with a second area of academic strength.

The required major courses cover the main branches of the field: development across the lifespan, personality, abnormal behavior, biological psychology, cognition, and learning. Statistics and research methods sit in the middle of the sequence to prepare students for the senior capstone.

Electives let students add depth in areas such as social psychology, industrial and organizational psychology, psychological testing, or abnormal child psychology. At least one elective must be an upper-level course, pushing students toward more advanced material before they graduate.

Some of the core courses that you will take include:

  • PSYC 2301 General Psychology
  • PSYC 2314 Life Span Developmental Psychology
  • PSYC 2316 Psychology of Personality
  • PSYC 2317 Basic Statistics
  • PSYC 2320 Abnormal Psychology
  • PSYC 2330 Biological Psychology
  • PSYC 3334 Research Methods
  • PSYC 3335 African American Psychology
  • PSYC 4399 Psychology Capstone
Practical Experience

The Bachelor of Arts builds applied skills through its research methods and capstone courses, where students complete a culminating project and sit for a departmental exit exam that tests knowledge across the whole field.

Students who continue into Texas Southern’s master’s concentrations gain supervised field training, including practicum placements and internships that can reach hundreds of clock hours in approved agencies and public schools. Eligible undergraduates may also join Psi Chi, the international honor society in psychology.

Learning Outcomes
  • Explain the major theories and findings across psychology’s subfields.
  • Trace how people change physically, mentally, and socially across the lifespan.
  • Apply statistics and research methods to behavioral questions.
  • Analyze psychology through the African American experience.
  • Write and present a capstone project at a professional standard.
  • Demonstrate mastery on a department-wide exit examination.
  • Identify ethical responsibilities in research and practice.
Career Preparation & Outcomes

Graduates move into roles such as case manager, behavioral technician, social services assistant, and human resources coordinator, while the required minor widens the kinds of jobs they can apply for. The on-campus master’s concentrations give students who want to counsel or work in schools a direct route toward state licensure.

Texas Southern University reports a graduation rate of about 22% within 150% of normal time, so applicants should plan to use advising and tutoring services to stay on track.

Admissions Requirements
  • Submit the online application through ApplyTexas.
  • Provide an official high school transcript with your graduation date.
  • Send SAT or ACT scores if required under the current testing policy.
  • File the FAFSA to access grants, loans, and institutional scholarships.
Application Deadlines

Texas Southern reviews first-year applications on a rolling basis with priority consideration for students who apply early. For fall enrollment, submitting your application and supporting documents during the spring gives you the best position for scholarships and on-campus housing.

Huston-Tillotson University

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology

Huston-Tillotson University offers a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology that requires 120 credits to graduate and is offered through the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences. Located in Austin, the state capital, Huston-Tillotson is the oldest institution of higher learning in the city, having opened its doors in 1875.

Huston-Tillotson is a small, private university, which means smaller class sizes and more contact with professors than students typically find at large public schools. The psychology major is one of the most popular degrees on campus, alongside business and kinesiology.

The program is flexible and can be adjusted to match a student’s interests, whether that points toward counseling, social work, education, public health, business, or criminal justice. This adaptability makes it a practical choice for students who are still narrowing down their long-term direction.

Huston-Tillotson also runs an Adult Degree Program version of the psychology bachelor’s for working students. In that format, classes meet one night a week for four hours in short modules, with the psychology coursework arranged across roughly 80 weeks, plus general education and transfer credit to reach the full 120.

Faith, leadership, and community service are part of the campus culture at Huston-Tillotson, and the psychology department encourages students to connect their studies to real service. Students often describe the campus as close-knit and supportive, which can help first-generation and out-of-town students settle in.

Courses and Curriculum

The psychology curriculum moves through introductory, intermediate, and advanced material in a planned order. Students begin with a professional development course and Introduction to Psychology, then build toward statistics, research methods, and a capstone seminar in their final term.

Courses cover human growth across the lifespan, learning and memory, personality, perception and cognition, abnormal psychology, and counseling theory. Each three-credit class is taught in a focused format, which helps students concentrate on one subject at a time.

The capstone seminar asks students to complete a thesis project and pass a comprehensive examination covering the field of psychology, which makes up the majority of the final grade. Students must complete a set number of psychology hours before they can enroll in that final course.

Some of the core courses that you will take include:

  • PSYC 1301 Introduction to Psychology
  • PSYC 2302 Human Growth and Development
  • PSYC 3300 Learning and Memory
  • PSYC 3309 Personality
  • PSYC 3317 Perception and Cognition
  • PSYC 4316 Abnormal Psychology
  • PSYC 2313 Social Science Statistics I
  • PSYC 3329 Methods in Social Research
  • PSYC 4327 Seminar – Capstone
Practical Experience

The strongest applied piece of the Huston-Tillotson program is the capstone seminar, where students develop a thesis project and demonstrate what they have learned across the major.

Courses such as Counseling Theory and Application and Methods in Social Research connect classroom theory to the kind of work students would do in counseling, social services, or research settings. The Austin location puts students near state agencies, nonprofits, and health organizations that offer volunteer and internship opportunities.

Learning Outcomes
  • Explain the main theoretical perspectives that guide psychology.
  • Describe how learning, memory, and cognition operate.
  • Identify patterns of healthy and abnormal behavior.
  • Apply statistics and research methods to social science questions.
  • Relate counseling theory to helping people in practice.
  • Complete an original thesis project.
  • Pass a comprehensive exam covering the field.
Career Preparation & Outcomes

Huston-Tillotson graduates often move into entry-level roles in case management, community programs, education support, and human services, and many continue into graduate study in counseling, social work, or educational psychology. The small campus and one-on-one faculty attention help students build the references and writing skills that graduate programs look for.

Huston-Tillotson University reports a six-year graduation rate of about 33% to 36%, and the university’s advising and retention services are there to help students finish.

Admissions Requirements
  • Complete the Huston-Tillotson application, available through the Common Black College Application and other portals.
  • Submit an official high school transcript.
  • Provide SAT or ACT scores where requested under the current policy.
  • Submit the FAFSA, since the university participates in the United Negro College Fund and offers institutional aid.
Application Deadlines

Huston-Tillotson accepts applications on a rolling schedule and actively recruits for fall entry, with the message “Apply for Fall 2026” featured on its program pages. Early applicants get more time to arrange financial aid and housing. Adult Degree Program students follow a separate cohort start schedule, so prospective evening students should contact the enrollment office directly.

St. Philip’s College

Associate of Arts in Psychology

St. Philip’s College in San Antonio offers an Associate of Arts in Psychology that totals 60 semester credit hours and is designed to be completed in about two years of full-time study. Founded in 1898, St. Philip’s is the westernmost HBCU in the country and is also a Hispanic-Serving Institution, giving it a dual designation that few colleges hold.

This program works differently from the four-year degrees above. Rather than a stand-alone bachelor’s, the associate degree covers the first half of a four-year psychology degree and is built to transfer into a Texas public university, where students finish the final two years.

Because St. Philip’s is part of the Alamo Colleges District, students benefit from low community-college tuition and programs such as Alamo Promise, which can cover tuition for eligible local high school graduates. For families watching cost, starting here can save a large amount of money before transferring.

The psychology associate degree pairs the full state core curriculum with a set of psychology and behavioral science courses. Students complete general education in communication, math, science, history, and government while taking introductory psychology classes that count toward a future major.

St. Philip’s has signed transfer agreements with universities such as the University of Texas at San Antonio, which map exactly how associate-degree courses apply to a bachelor’s in psychology. Following one of these plans helps students avoid losing credits when they move on.

With open admission and small class sizes, St. Philip’s is a welcoming starting point for students who want to ease into college, raise their grade-point average, or stay close to home for the first two years before transferring to a larger campus.

Courses and Curriculum

The 60-credit associate degree combines the Texas core curriculum with 18 hours of additional coursework focused on psychology and the behavioral sciences. The core builds skills in writing, math, science, and social studies that every bachelor’s degree requires.

Within the psychology portion, students take General Psychology and Lifespan Growth and Development as anchors, then choose three more courses from a list of behavioral science options. This gives students a taste of several subfields before they commit to a four-year major.

Because the goal is transfer, advisors stress careful course selection. Students are encouraged to check the requirements at the university they plan to attend, since those requirements can change from year to year and vary by school.

Some of the core courses that you will take include:

  • PSYC 2301 General Psychology
  • PSYC 2314 Lifespan Growth and Development
  • PSYC 2306 Human Sexuality
  • PSYC 2315 Psychology of Adjustment
  • PSYC 2308 Child Psychology
  • PSYC 2316 Psychology of Personality
  • PSYC 2317 Statistical Methods in Psychology
  • PSYC 2319 Social Psychology
  • PSYC 2302 Applied Psychology
Practical Experience

As a two-year transfer degree, the program centers on building a strong academic foundation rather than clinical placements. Even so, St. Philip’s offers an Academic Cooperative option in psychology that lets students apply classroom learning to a supervised setting, and graduating Associate of Arts students can complete a short capstone experience to earn a resiliency badge. The college’s location in San Antonio also connects students to volunteer and service opportunities across the city.

Learning Outcomes
  • Define the core theories and methods that make up psychology.
  • Describe human development from childhood through adulthood.
  • Explain how people adjust to stress and life changes.
  • Summarize how social settings influence behavior.
  • Apply basic statistical reasoning to behavioral data.
  • Demonstrate the study and time-management skills needed for university work.
Career Preparation & Outcomes

The associate degree is mainly a stepping stone toward a bachelor’s, but it also prepares students for entry-level support roles in community and human services while they continue their education. The biggest payoff is financial and academic: students finish two years of college affordably and arrive at a university ready to focus on upper-level psychology.

St. Philip’s College reports a graduation rate of about 28% within 150% of normal time, a figure shaped by the many part-time and working students community colleges serve.

Admissions Requirements
  • Apply online through the Alamo Colleges District application.
  • Provide proof of high school graduation or a GED, since the college has an open admission policy.
  • Submit official high school or any prior college transcripts.
  • Complete the Texas Success Initiative assessment or show an exemption to confirm college readiness in reading, writing, and math.
  • File the FAFSA and check eligibility for Alamo Promise and other local aid.
Application Deadlines

St. Philip’s College enrolls students every fall, spring, and summer, with open registration that closes shortly before each term begins. Because seats in popular courses fill quickly, students should apply and register several weeks ahead of the start date.

What Majors Go Well With Psychology?

Pairing psychology with another major depends on your career goals, but high-impact choices include Business/Marketing, Computer Science, Neuroscience, and Criminal Justice. These combinations build the quantitative and specialized skills that employers look for right out of college

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