Psychology

Psychology is the scientific study of human and animal behavior. Psychologists study behavior in systems ranging from single cells to the individual person, from small groups to communities. Psychologists strive to describe behavior and to understand its underlying biological and social mechanisms. This enterprise, designed to better understand human behavior, accumulates knowledge that can help solve problems faced by individuals and by communities. This major is sponsored by the Department of Psychology.

Some areas of interest in psychology

• Biological psychology is the study of the biological mechanisms underlying behavior. Biological psychologists generally are interested in the brain and the nervous system, in the endocrine system, and in other organismic processes.


• Clinical psychology is the study of problems encountered by individuals, groups, and families — especially problems involving psychopathology. Clinical psychologists are interested in the application of psychological knowledge and techniques for the alleviation of these problems.


• Cognitive neuroscience is concerned with understanding the neuroscientific bases of cognition. Various methods are employed to assess the roles of different brain systems in psychological functions such as memory, attention, language, executive control, decision making, response processing, and emotion.


• Cognitive and neurobiological aging examine how the aging process affects memory, thought, and brain function, as well as how life experiences affect cognitive function.


• Developmental psychology is the study of intellectual development, emerging personality, and the acquisition of language, as well as psychophysiological and social development processes as individuals develop from birth through old age.


• Community psychology is the study of social processes and problems of groups, organizations, and neighborhoods, and the development and evaluation of progress for social change and social policy based on psychological understanding.


• Engineering psychology is the study of human behavior in the context of interactions between humans and machines.


• Cognitive psychology is the study of basic behavioral and cognitive processes, including learning, memory, problem-solving, motivation, and language.


• Language processing and psycholinguistics focus on how humans acquire and use language and how these processes are related to neural organization.


• Measurement and mathematical psychology specialists develop mathematical models of psychological processes and devise methods for quantitative representation and analysis of data about behavior. These are used in the study of differences between individuals in ability, personality, preferences, and other psychological phenomena.


• Personality psychology focuses on individual behavior. It is the study of ways to understand and describe an individual's behavior and to predict an individual's future behavior.


• Personnel psychology is the application of techniques of assessment, prediction, and intervention to areas of human resources in organizations, including, but not limited to, standard personnel selection and training, attitude assessments and interventions, and program evaluations.


• Social psychology is the study of attitudes, social perception and cognition, interpersonal relations, interpersonal interactions, and social and cultural factors affecting human behavior.


• Visual cognition is the study of attention, visual perception, visual memory, and human performance. Visual cognition research uses tools drawn from cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience to better understand how visual information is perceived and remembered.

An interdisciplinary minor in gerontology is available for LAS majors in psychology and sociology. See the Gerontology heading.

Undergraduate Areas of Emphasis

A number of emphases within the major in psychology are designed for students who are seeking general liberal arts degrees, applied degrees, or degrees that will provide a solid academic background in preparation for graduate education in psychology and related fields. Lists of the required and suggested courses are available from the psychology undergraduate advising office.

General psychology is designed for students interested in a broad liberal arts education with psychology as a focal area and for students who plan to attend graduate or professional school in fields other than psychology. Examples of these specializations include premedicine, prelaw, and preparation for graduate work in fields such as social work, business administration, and labor relations.

Graduate preparatory in psychology is designed mainly to provide students with a solid academic background that will prepare them for graduate education in a number of psychology specializations. Career opportunities in these specializations vary, as does the required level of graduate school training. While a doctorate is needed for most areas of academic psychology, a master's degree is sufficient for careers in many applied psychology fields such as personnel psychology, measurement psychology, and engineering psychology.

A combined engineering-liberal arts and sciences five-year program leading to bachelor's degrees from both colleges (see the Combined Degree Programs section) is available with a psychology major. Psychology and supporting courses are combined with the student's engineering curriculum to provide a specialization in engineering psychology. Tailored to complement the engineering curriculum, this program can be of potential benefit to the student's engineering career or used as the foundation for graduate training in engineering psychology. An engineering psychology program might include PSYC 103, 224, 230, 235, 245, 248, 358, 429, 431, 456, 497 and relevant seminars.

Academic Advising

The psychology undergraduate advising office is open to help students choose patterns of courses relevant to the various areas of study and specializations, as well as to help students explore graduate school, professional school, and career options. Advising is done by the faculty and a staff of academic counselors.

A Psychology Student Information Center (PSI center), staffed by student volunteers, provides student-to-student information about various department and community educational opportunities, career and graduate school planning, and related topics.

Major in Sciences and Letters Curriculum

E-mail: psychology@psych.uiuc.edu

Degree title: Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts and Sciences

Minimum required major and supporting course work equates to 48-49 hours including 32 hours of Psychology courses.

General education: The LAS General Education requirements are set up so students automatically complete the Campus General Education requirements.

Minimum hours required for graduation: 120 hours

Departmental distinction: Graduation with departmental distinction requires successful completion of either the department's undergraduate honors program or senior thesis after a minimum of three semester of research experience under faculty supervision. The honors program is a three-semester pattern of courses designed to offer the promising undergraduate an opportunity to do sustained scholarly work in a specific research project, culminating in the preparation of a bachelor's thesis. Senior theses completed outside the honors program will be evaluated for distinction by the department's Undergraduate Studies Committee. Consult the undergraduate advisory office for details.

Twelve hours of 300- and 400-level courses in the major must be taken on this campus.

All foreign language requirements must be satisfied.

A Major Plan of Study Form must be completed and submitted to the LAS Student Affairs Office before the end of the fifth semester (60-75 hours). Please see your adviser.

Teacher Education Minor in Psychology

Teacher education minors are available only to students seeking to add additional teaching fields to their teaching majors.

E-mail: psychology@psych.uiuc.edu

Web address for department: www.psych.uiuc.edu

Students are advised that additional course work is necessary to teach middle grades six through eight. Consult the certification officer at 505 East Green Suite 203 for additional information.