The Department of Psychology provides its undergraduate students with both a well-rounded education and the opportunity to explore specific areas of psychology in which they have special interests. Graduate education is a process of further refinement during which students become increasingly more proficient and knowledgeable of an area of psychological specialization. The following description of 15 of these areas will serve as an introduction for students who are pursuing careers that require graduate education in a specialized area of psychology.
Clinical psychologists assess and treat people with psychological problems.
They may be found in hospitals, community health centers, or private practice. However, counseling psychologists tend to focus more on persons with adjustment problems, rather than on persons suffering from severe psychological disorders. Counseling psychologists are employed in academic settings, community mental health centers, and private practice. Recent research tends to indicate training in counseling and clinical psychology are very similar. Developmental psychologists usually do research and teach in academic settings, but many act as consultants to day-care centers, schools, or social service agencies.