The major and minor are structured so that each student samples from the widest possible array of courses prior to pursuing more specialized study. The department offers courses ranging from physiological psychology, which looks at the ways in which the nervous system contributes to normal and abnormal behavior, to clinical, social and applied courses, where the emphasis is on principles of individual and group behavior and applications to areas such as parenting, health, and drug use. Each psychology major or minor gets a firm grounding in scientific method and basic statistics, topics that also have practical applications outside of psychology.
Independent research is part of each student's major program.
The major and minor also include significant training in writing. In addition to writing a full length APA-style paper, students write several term papers and research proposals in various courses. In many cases, students are given the opportunity to submit drafts of papers in order to get feedback on how they might improve. It is expected that all students will own and use a copy of the APA Publication Manual, which most students will purchase as a required textbook in PS214 . All students get experience with oral presentation of material in one or more upper level seminars.