A psychology major examines the science of human behavior and mental processes. This includes the study of the mind, the brain, and human and animal social interactions. The major touches on many different areas of psychology like social, cognitive, abnormal, personality and developmental. Psychology is a skills-based major that can prepare students for graduate-level programs in psychology, education, law, medicine and business. It is a widely customizable major and is applicable to many careers. Students learn basic methods to conduct psychological research, reasoning and problem solving. After research is completed, students are expected to write papers on findings from experiments in the American Psychological Association, or APA, writing style, which calls for specific citation methods. Students will also understand the history of psychology by studying past experiments to learn from the earliest breakthroughs in the young field. Psychology majors will become very familiar with the theories of famous psychologists like Sigmund Freud, Albert Bandura, Ivan Pavlov, Wilhelm Wundt and others who shaped the science.
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A psychology major is a good choice for students who want to work with people and are interested in understanding human behavior and mental processes. Helpful skills for psychology majors include open-mindedness, critical thinking, problem solving and effective communication abilities. By learning how humans tick, students can apply some of the lessons to their own lives and potentially learn about themselves, too. Therefore, this major is for people who can handle stress, social dilemmas and high-pressure situations. Those who don’t want to be psychologists can still major in psychology, as it applies to many career paths and provides a general understanding of people as well as transferable writing, research and analytical skills.
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Introductory courses for a psychology major include general psychology, research methods in psychology, statistical methods in psychology and a lab course like psychology as a natural science. A general psychology course covers the core types of psychology, the history of the young science, and the relations between the brain, behavior and experience. Psychology lab courses give students experience conducting research, designing experiments, learning observation and measurement techniques, and analyzing behavioral data. Students who have met prerequisite requirements can enroll in more specific courses like developmental psychology; learning and behavior; social psychology; theories of personality, drugs and behavior; affective neuroscience; child psychology; introduction to clinical psychology; and an independent study project. Most schools offer course credit for independent research projects, though they may require a certain GPA and approval of a student’s topic through the psychology department. To complete the major, schools usually require courses in math, social science and physical science.
Graduate school and licensing are necessary for those who want to practice psychology, therapy and most counseling. Undergraduate psychology students also seek higher degrees to study law, medicine, business and other applicable fields, as psychology is viewed as a solid educational base to build upon. Specializations in psychology are seemingly endless, as students can pick specific interests like the environment, crime, animals, children, social work, rehabilitation or military, and practice in that area of psychology. Possible careers for psychology majors that don't require a graduate degree or license include a school guidance counselor, law enforcement and corrections officer, human resources manager, marketing or advertising manager, research assistant and some nonprofit positions.