Since
the beginning of history, humans have wondered why people and animals behave
as they do. Why do birds sing? Why do children think that the moon
follows them wherever they go? Why do ducks follow their mothers
all in a row? How do people fall in love?
Other courses focus on clinical, developmental, health, and social areas and some examine the psychology of industry and organizational behavior. As students progress through the major, they study advanced research designs and statistical methods and explore the different areas of psychology in increasing depth. Psychology majors, helped by department advisors, may choose between working toward a B.S. or an A.B. degree (see "courses" page for details). Many A.B. students choose to double major, combining psychology with economics and business, government and law, a foreign language, etc. Students majoring in another subject may also minor in psychology. The Psychology Department is also an active contributor to the neuroscience major, which includes many psychology courses. Lafayette College focuses exclusively on the education of undergraduates. As a result, students have opportunities to work closely with faculty on independent research, in laboratory courses and in classroom learning. The "courses" link describes our curriculum in more detail. |
||
|
||
| Junior and senior students who are interested in working in a variety of settings including social service, business, health, education, or legal organizations may spend 8 to 10 hours a week working at a local agency or industry as part of an individualized course supervised by faculty and on-site managers. | ||
| Students also have the chance to spend one or two semesters working with a professor on research. Each year, several students who excel in coursework have chosen to spend two semesters working on a senior honors thesis. There are many opportunities to work individually with faculty and students often present the results of their research at undergraduate or professional conferences and may even publish papers on the topic in scholarly journals. | ||
| Outside the classroom, many psychology students join the Psychology Club and the Lafayette chapter of Psi Chi, the national psychology honor society. These organizations sponsor evening speakers and brown bag lunches and organize trips to psychology conventions. |
 |
