- The Learning Environment
The Learning Environment
- Introduction to Psychology (PSY 101) showcases the diversity of the science of psychology in a large lecture format (~400 students) and incorporates experience with research.
- 200-level courses (200-300 students) build skills in psychology.
- 300-level courses (100-300 students) increase knowledge in specific areas of psychology (e.g., abnormal, social, cognitive, biopsychology).
- Smaller 400-level courses (maximum 42 students) focus on specialty topics (e.g., mood disorders, adolescent development, biological clocks) and are reserved for majors.
- Students gain experience in writing skills through PSY 300, PSY 450, and 400-level courses.
- One-on-one instruction is available by participating in research or independent study.
- The Psychology Honors Program enables students to complete an independent research project, an experience that closely resembles graduate-level work in psychology.
- Cutting-edge research talks are available through departmental colloquia and the cognitive science speaker series.
About Our Facilities
- Fully equipped psychological research labs (most located in Park Hall and Hochstetter Hall) allow faculty and students to conduct a wide variety of experiments utilizing cognitive, affective, behavioral, neurological, and psychophysiological measurements.
- Shared research space is available for research using specialized measures such as electroencephalography (EEG), electromyography (EMG), and eye-movements.
- Research facilities downtown include the Clinical and Research for Institute on Addictions, and the Center for Translational Research, which has facilities for functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
- Conference rooms in Park Hall are used for small group meetings and seminars.
- A computer lab on the 4th floor of Park Hall offers specialized statistical software.
- The James R. Sawusch PhD Psychology Undergraduate Resource Center, in Park Hall 282, is a meeting place and general study area for all students in psychology.
About Our Faculty
- The department has 26 tenure-track/tenured and 6 full-time teaching faculty members, all of whom teach undergraduate psychology courses
- Faculty specializations include the study of:
- Clinical disorders (e.g., depression, addiction)
- Developmental challenges (e.g., bullying, social withdrawal)
- The self-concept and self-esteem
- The formation and maintenance of close relationships
- Responses to stressful situations and resilience
- Memory
- Language acquisition, comprehension, and production
- Auditory perception in humans and non-human animals
- Neural systems for learning and motivation
- Ingestive behaviors, taste, and feeding
- Faculty conduct research funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- Faculty members serve as editors for leading journals and as officers in professional organizations
- Core faculty teach the majority of undergraduate courses. Approximately one-third of undergraduate courses are taught by highly qualified adjunct faculty or graduate instructors
Faculty List Directory
Please visit the Psychology department website for additional information about our faculty.