The undergraduate program in psychology provides a broad general education in the tradition of the liberal arts. This tradition focuses on the development of wide-ranging interests in the arts, humanities, and social sciences, and on the development of critical and analytical thinking. A student who has earned a degree in one of the liberal arts, such as psychology, should be prepared to pursue lifelong learning and personal enrichment, as well as enter the work force or pursue advanced studies.

Graduates of the psychology program who have entered the work force immediately have found employment in a wide variety of settings, ranging from sales and personnel work in the business sector, to positions with the human service agencies of local, state, and federal governments. Graduates who have gone on to advanced study have successfully prepared themselves for professional careers in such fields as business, law, medicine, and psychology.

Students planning to apply to medical schools or law after completing a major in psychology should plan their programs of study in close consultation with the pre-medical or pre-law advisors on campus. Students planning to apply for admission to graduate study in psychology should plan their undergraduate program of study very carefully in consultation with advisors in the Department of Psychology. At least two years, and as many as six years, of graduate study are required for qualification as a professional psychologist.

Students who enter the University with a major in psychology should meet with the director of undergraduate studies in the Department of Psychology as soon as possible after arrival at the University in order to discuss their interests and plans of study. Students already at the University who wish to change to a major in psychology should contact the office of the director of undergraduate studies in the Department of Psychology in order to initiate the request for a change of major.