Psychology

Majors and Programs

Along with an undergraduate degree in Psychology, we offer a degree in Human Development -- an interdisciplinary program with internship and service-learning options -- and partner with other departments to offer degrees in Cognitive Science (BA or BS), Linguistics, Philosophy-Psychology, and a graduate program in Human-Computer Interaction. Most recently, we added a five-year joint undergraduate/graduate degree option, the Psychology bachelor's/HCI master's degree and a five-year joint undergraduate/graduate degree option combining an MBA with a Psychology bachelor of arts.

In addition to the Psychology minor, two popular interdisciplinary minors are Expressive Arts Therapy and Gerontology.

Student Opportunities

Students have a wide range of options including working on research using high-tech equipment, exploring cutting-edge topics across the life span in psychology and learning in developmental research labs with faculty and teams of other students. SCAC awards are available to help fund student research with faculty. Eligible students may be invited to join Psi Chi, the National Honor Society in Psychology, or become Peer Advisers. Everyone can participate in Psychology Club activities. Students have many options for internships (including our well-known Oswego Children's Project) and service-learning experiences, and can serve as research assistants or teaching assistants in their junior or senior years.

Faculty

Our faculty teach and conduct research in many areas of psychology: applied, clinical, cognitive, counseling, cross-cultural, developmental, educational, evolutionary, experimental, gerontology, human-computer interaction, industrial-organizational, multicultural, social, perception, neuroscience, quantitative research methods, teratology, trauma and more. Our faculty have excellent teacher ratings, and have graduated from strong doctoral programs in psychology and human development. Several faculty have postdoctoral research experience. All faculty have a strong commitment to undergraduate education. On the faculty web pages you will find information on their recent publications, recent grants and areas of research.

After Oswego

Some of the top 10 occupations that employ students with only a bachelor's in psychology are: top- or mid-level managers, executives and administrators, sales, social work (assistants), management-related occupations, personnel, training and human resources or labor-relations, administrative jobs, insurance, real estate and business services, marketing, auditor and other financial specialists.

Many students continue their education at the master's or doctoral level. One such psychology student graduate is Dennis E. McChargue, Ph.D., now an assistant professor and associate director of clinical training at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's psychology department. Human Development graduate Rob Knipe earned a master's in social work from Marywood and currently is in residency in a pediatric oncology medical school program.