Program Overview

The foundation of psychology is the idea that behavior and mental processes can only be understood by appreciating the complex ways in which they are shaped by biological, psychological, and socio-cultural forces. As a Fairfield psychology major, you will gain exposure to these different perspectives by taking a wide range of courses that explore the study of neuro-chemical activity in the brain; developmental influences on thought and behavior, memory, attention, and learning; and social influences and group memberships that give rise to conformity with norms, prejudice, and prosocial behavior.

You will also learn the scientific principles that underlie psychology’s accumulation of knowledge across these domains. You will learn to think and problem-solve like a psychological scientist, developing skills in scientific reasoning and research methodology that will help you appreciate the importance and efficacy of taking an evidence-based approach to understanding and addressing social, cognitive, and behavioral issues across the lifespan and across various applied settings.

Psychology is often referred to as a “hub” discipline because of its many interdisciplinary links with other fields such as the natural sciences, the social sciences, the humanities, education, and public policy. Scientific contributions from psychology often inform the work being done in these fields, and psychologists regularly incorporate insights generated in other disciplines into their own work. Psychology thus stands well placed to facilitate the kinds of interdisciplinary conversations necessary to provide answers to the most pressing social and behavior issues facing modern society.

What Makes Our Program Special

• A broad range of faculty expertise, from biological psychology, to learning and cognition, to developmental psychology, to community psychology, to personality, to clinical disorders and treatment, to the psychology of prejudice and well-being
• A wide range of applied internship opportunities
• A variety of undergraduate research opportunities in which students work directly with faculty mentors
• Opportunities for advanced undergraduates to serve as teaching interns
• Well-equipped research facilities
• Strong record of placement of psychology majors in advanced graduate programs
• Small class sizes - It is rare for even introductory classes to have more than 25-30 students and upper-level classes often have no more than 15 students