Psychology is one of the most active areas of undergraduate study at Duke, graduating about 160 students each year. Introductory courses are taught in lecture classes of up to 100 students. Intermediate courses are taught in sections of up to 50 students. Some graduate-level courses are open to interested undergraduates after their sophomore year. In this emphasis on small courses, we encourage the students to initiate contact with individual professors in their areas of interest as early as possible.
Students seek out opportunities to participate in ongoing projects, including independent studies.
Although independent studies are usually carried out during the junior and senior years after the students have established contact with the professors, we encourage such contact even before the junior year. Independent studies may culminate in Graduation with Distinction in Psychology. As part of the independent contact characteristic of the department, instructors as well as the Directors of Undergraduate Studies are happy to be consulted about research interests and to advise students regarding their career plans. Special programs are available in Neurosciences in cooperation with the Department of Biology, in Animal Behavior and Primatology, and in Early Childhood Education Studies. The A.B. major requires a program of ten courses in Psychology.