The Major

Psychology is one of the fastest-growing undergraduate majors in the country. If you choose to major in psychology, you’ll study with experts in behavioral neuroscience, cognitive psychology, clinical psychology, developmental psychology, the psychology of education and social psychology.

Psychology as a discipline exists within a web of related fields, including biology and neuroscience, women’s and gender studies, cognitive science, ethnic studies, economics, public health, sociology, and other related fields and programs. Many psychology majors choose to double major or concentrate in another program.

Why Study Psychology?

The skills and experiences of psychology majors can be applied in business professions such as advertising, marketing, and consulting; legal professions; mental health and social service professions; teaching; and a myriad of other professions from congressional aide to science journalism.

Current students can log in to learn more about job and career opportunities and hear from recent alumni about their career paths after majoring in psychology at Williams.

Major Requirements

A Williams psychology major comprises at least nine courses, most of your own choosing. Your path begins with a first-year survey of the field, team-taught by several members of our psychology faculty, which is followed by a course in experimentation and statistics. From there, through at least six courses, you explore specific avenues of inquiry: cognitive science, neuroscience, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, educational social psychology, clinical psychology, or psychology of education. As you progress, you’ll pursue your own research projects, apply your knowledge in practical settings, and engage in small group discussions. It all comes together in a senior seminar.  You can also choose an honors degree by writing a thesis based on your own original empirical work. 

If you’re considering a major in psychology, come talk to any member of our department: they’ll help you plan a program that best suits your interests and background.

Learning Objectives

As engaged professors, active researchers and dedicated mentors, our faculty seek to convey to students their own sense of excitement in psychology today. Our goal for you is to develop each of the following skills:

1. Data organization
   Ability to generate hypotheses, design a methodologically sound study, and to collect, analyze, and interpret data
2. Deep reading
   Critically read and interpret scientific articles
3. Critical review
   Think critically  about psychological theory, data, and ideas
4. Integrating knowledge
   Develop the ability to integrate scientific literature with observations and experiences in the real world
5. Theoretical grounding
   Acquire knowledge of major theories, concepts, and findings in multiple sub-disciplines of psychology
6. Writing skills
   Learn to write well, including but not limited to scientific writing
7. Communication skills
   Learn to talk about psychology with others in formal and informal settings—to give scientific presentations and engage in discussion and debate about ideas, research, and applications.

We seek to achieve these goals not only through coursework, but also by providing opportunities for students to think critically about, and actually become involved in, research — from the very first course in psychology through the senior year. In addition, students often join the research labs of faculty members, all of whom maintain active research programs.

Required Courses

To complete the psychology major, you’ll take one required 100-level course, four 200-level courses (one required and three electives), three 300-level electives and a senior seminar.

• PSYC 101: Introductory Psychology, a team-taught survey of the field.
• PSYC 201: Experimentation and Statistics
• Three additional 200-level courses from these selections:
  • COGS/PHIL/PSYC 222: Minds, Brains, and intelligent Behavior: An introduction to Cognitive Science*
  • NSCI 201/BIOL 212/PSYC 212: Neuroscience
  • PSYC 221: Cognitive Psychology*
  • PSYC 232: Developmental Psychology
  • PSYC 242: Social Psychology
  • PSYC 252: Clinical Psychology
  • PSYC 272: Psychology of Education
    *Either Psychology 221 or 222, but not both, can count towards the three required 200-level courses
• Three 300-level courses from at least two of the seven areas below, including at least one laboratory course.
  • Behavioral Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Social Psychology
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Other/Interdisciplinary Psychology
  • Educational Psychology
  • PSYC 397/398: Independent Study
• One 400-level senior seminar

Honors

You can pursue an honors degree in psychology by spending your senior year researching and writing an extensive thesis based on your original empirical work. Log in to learn more about the senior thesis and to browse a selection of past senior theses.

Interdisciplinary Programs

Psychology department faculty have been founders of, and are closely connected to, several interdisciplinary programs. Those most closely related to psychology are:

• Neuroscience Program – the integrated study of brain and behavior across the disciplines of psychology and biology
• Cognitive Science – the integrated study of the mind across the disciplines of psychology, philosophy, and computer science
• Leadership Studies – the integrated study of leadership across the disciplines of psychology, political science, and history
• Program in Teaching – provides courses, advising, colloquia and weekly lunch-discussion forums for students interested in teaching in primary and secondary schools (public, private and alternative) and in education more broadly.

Study Away & Graduate School

Students may receive major credit for courses taken at other institutions. It is critical that any student hoping to receive such credit receive pre-authorization from the psychology department’s course approver.

To submit courses for consideration, you must complete a form that asks for information about your study away program and up to 5 courses to consider for major credit.

Students are encouraged to discuss their plans with the office of Global Education and Study Away as they consider study-abroad options. Specific questions about individual courses should be directed to the department’s course approver using the form mentioned above. Current students can log in below to access the form.

Many psychology students go on to advanced study in a wide range of post-graduate programs. If graduate school appeals to you, our professors can help you make sound choices and guide you through the application process. Current students can log in below to view graduate school options and strategies.

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