Psychology.

 

Psychology

The Psychology Department’s mission is to teach psychology as a research science in the context of a liberal arts education through a comprehensive curriculum and innovative pedagogy. Our curriculum provides a grounding in all the main core areas of the discipline, but also allows opportunities for students to do independent research and to study specialized, interdisciplinary and applied topics.

Because the total number of credits required to complete the major is limited, students are also able to take advantage of the full range of liberal arts courses offered at Drew. Our pedagogy promotes a high quality education by emphasizing excellence in teaching, research methodology, experiential learning, mentoring, independent study and utilization of technology.

Learning Goals

If you graduate as a successful psychology major from Drew University, you can expect the following:

  • You will be familiar with the major concepts, theoretical perspectives, empirical findings and historical trends in psychology.
  • You will understand and be able to apply basic research methods in psychology, including research design, data analysis, and interpretation.
  • You will learn to respect and use critical and creative thinking, skeptical inquiry, and, when possible, the scientific approach to solve problems related to behavior and mental processes.
  • You will be able to apply psychological principles to personal, social, and organizational issues. This includes the development of insight into your own and others’ behavior and mental processes and application of effective strategies for self-management and self-improvement.
  • You will be able to communicate effectively to a professional/scientific community.

A Note to Potential Majors or Minors

Psychology is an area of study to which most of us can relate. The discipline of Psychology, however, is complex and nuanced, and utilizes a biopsychosocial framework in understanding and predicting human behavior. Students can explore their interest in Psychology as a major by taking Introduction to Psychology early in their college careers, as well as courses on topics including, but not limited to: Infancy, Childhood, and Adolescence; Adulthood; Biological Psychology; Sensation and Perception; Cognition; and Stress and Coping. Upper-level courses and seminars allow students to delve more deeply into the field, with courses in areas such as Social Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Health Psychology, Learning and Behavior, and Organizational Psychology and Leadership.

Our major is deliberately flexible, and designed to introduce students to the important subfields of psychology, to offer students hands-on experience in empirical research, and to help students develop and expand expertise in particular areas of interest. As Psychology Department faculty, we pride ourselves on our commitment to our students, in engaging our majors in all aspects of psychological inquiry, and in helping students make connections between the academic material and concrete, real-world applications. Psychology majors graduate with a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the field, and with transferable skills that employers and graduate programs are seeking, including teamwork and organizational skills, proficiency in oral and written communication, quantitative reasoning and data fluency, and cultural awareness.

Cross-Discipline Programs

The Psychology Department recognizes the interrelated nature of knowledge about human nature and functioning. Students interested in human functioning should also consider the interdisciplinary programs of Neuroscience or Women’s and Gender Studies.

LEARN MORE ABOUT NEUROSCIENCE

LEARN MORE ABOUT WOMEN’S & GENDER STUDIES

This class led to my research on factors that contribute to erroneous eyewitness testimony. Professor Dolan made learning the material as fun as possible, calling exams ‘celebrations of learning.’ ”
Nicole Donohue C’12
on Cognition

Recent Outcomes

Psychology majors are already getting to work and to grad school. Here is a sampling of where some of our graduates are right now:

• Early Intervention Associate, Bancroft
• Project Coordinator at DDB Health
• Pursuing MS in Communication Sciences and Disorders at Columbia University