Applied Psychology

专业介绍

The Bachelor of Science program in Applied Psychology is an interdisciplinary program designed to teach students to bridge psychological theory, research, and practice to solve everyday problems in a multicultural world. Applied psychologists focus on diverse issues such as learning development, and schooling, race, culture, and ethnicity, sexuality, religion, public health, and mental health and wellness. Applied psychologists work with diverse populations including children and youth, families and communities, educators, as well as practitioners and policymakers across various agencies and other organizations.

The program provides students with practical learning experiences that help them understand the range of work environments in the field of psychology and the many ways that psychology is applied in both research and real-world settings; invaluable knowledge that helps our students make informed career decisions.

The undergraduate major in Applied Psychology combines a broad-based liberal arts component with required courses in counseling/clinical work, developmental, social/community psychology, as well as statistics and research methodology. Specialization electives enable our students to deepen their knowledge on a specific subfield of their choice within psychology or to explore an area of interest in a related discipline.

A two-semester fieldwork sequence offers students the opportunity for professional development and career exploration in research and community-based settings, which helps each student build a portfolio of experience for seeking an entry-level position or pursuing graduate study.

Students who select a supervised field experience in a community-based setting gain essential professional skills as they perform intake interviews at community centers, mentor children or adolescents in schools or after-school programs, or volunteer in hospital settings. Students who select the research option gain essential research skills such as collecting, coding, and analyzing data. Applied psychology students have participated in a number of faculty research projects, including an intervention study bridging home and school practices for culturally and linguistically diverse children, an advocacy research project with young girls who are involved with the juvenile justice system, and an intervention study serving families of youth exhibiting behavioral disorders such as ADHD and ODD.

Students have the opportunity to combine the applied and research options. All Applied Psychology majors conclude their studies with a qualitative research project that integrates the knowledge they have gained through their fieldwork experience with the psychological theory and research learned in their coursework. Select seniors have an opportunity to present their work to fellow students and faculty in a professional forum, the Applied Psychology Undergraduate Research Conference.