Psychology majors, helped by department advisers, may choose between working toward a B.S. or an A.B. degree. Many A.B. students choose to double major, combining psychology with economics and business, government and law, or a foreign language, for example. Students majoring in another subject may also minor in psychology. The psychology department jointly oversees the neuroscience major, which includes many psychology courses, with the biology department. Special Opportunities 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. The psychology department is currently housed on two floors of Pardee Hall.