Majors & Minors
Psychology
Major, Minor
Degree: Bachelor of Science
What makes people behave as they do as individuals and in groups? How does the human mind work? And how can we use this knowledge in today's world?
As a Union College psychology major, you’ll explore such questions as you engage in the scientific study of behavior and mental processes through a broad range of courses. After introductory psychology, students choose from area courses such as clinical psychology, attention and memory, and developmental psychology; lab courses such as behavioral neuroscience and advanced personality and social psychology; and seminars such as love and death, the social psychology of sports, and brain and behavior.
Our classes are small and personal. There are no more than 45 students in the intro course and 20 to 25 students in basic courses. Seminars typically have between eight and 14 students.
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
Students have ample opportunity to learn outside of the classroom through internships, which provide practical experience in the field.
Research
Our faculty are active scholars, so students have every opportunity to get involved in cutting-edge research. Students can volunteer in research labs, enroll in practica or supervised-research courses that earn college and departmental credit, and serve as summer research fellows.
Speaker Series
About three times each term, distinguished faculty from around the world come to Union to share their scholarship as part of the Psychology Department Speaker Series.
After Union
Psychology majors go into a wide variety of fields. Many, either immediately after graduation or within a few years, enter graduate programs. Some of them enroll in professional schools for medicine, dentistry, law, education or nursing; others pursue programs for master’s degrees in business or healthcare administration.
Many majors seek advanced degrees in clinical or counseling psychology or related fields such as social work and speech pathology. Others enter graduate programs leading to the doctorate in various areas of academic psychology.
What some of our recent graduates are doing:
- Deputy director of training and development, Central Coast Children's Fund
- Master of Philosophy candidate in education, globalization and international development, University of Cambridge
- Program supervisor, C.O.C.O.A. House
- Project assistant, Brigham and Women's Hospital
- Public health associate, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Public relations associate, RF Binder
- Researcher, Mexican Institute for Competitiveness
- U.S. Fulbright Scholar, Athens, Greece
