Psychology
About Psychology
Our Program and Courses
Psychology is a major and minor at F&M. As part of your studies, you will explore and participate in hands-on research to better understand the mind and behavior of humans and animals alike. We consider observation and active participation to be particularly crucial in the field of psychology, meaning you will have ample opportunities to explore, research, and answer your questions about the mind and behavior with the help of your professors and peers. Our department recognizes that diversifying both who studies psychology and who participates in our research is critical to advancing the goals of psychology. We stand against racism and white supremacy and strive for equity in our classrooms and labs.
As psychology deals with a wide variety of topics, you will also be able to take a course in another field that will count toward your major. By pointing you towards additional courses in other departments, we make it possible for you to fine-tune your experience to your specific interests and develop your own unique perspective on psychology. Some of the most common cross-department studies are found in biology, philosophy, and linguistics. Students interested in Psychology can also study Neuroscience, Animal Behavior, and Scientific and Philosophical Studies of Mind.
By the time you graduate, you will:
- Be a mature consumer of scientific knowledge
- Be a proficient producer of scientific knowledge through collecting data and/or formulating evidence-based arguments
- Be able to apply psychological knowledge to real-world problems and phenomena
- Be able to approach scientific phenomena from an integrative and conceptual mindset, moving away from a unidimensional, fact-focused perspective
- Be a mature and active participant in your own education
Wondering what psychology courses are like? Explore our course catalog to see what classes are available to you.
Learning Outside the Classroom
In keeping with the philosophy of our department, you’ll have ample opportunities to learn outside the confines of the classroom. After all, psychology is about observing and understanding behavior, not just reading about it in a textbook. With F&M’s strong internship connections, community-based learning classes, summer and semester research fellowships, work opportunities, and study-abroad opportunities, you’ll have plenty of chances to take what you’ve learned and apply it to the world around you.
Summer Internships
Students often choose to take some of the 15 weeks before the start of their next
academic year to dive into the fields and industries they’re studying in the classroom.
From working in wildlife rehabilitation centers to assisting doctors at hospitals,
the opportunities for learning hands-on skills are numerous. Thanks to a generous
donor fund, many F&M students are able to obtain financial assistance to attend these programs.
Explore internships at F&M
Research Opportunities
The psychology department provides a diverse selection of research topics, including
personality, social and psychopathology; perception and physiology; development and
cognition; and evolution and adaptation. Your psychology major will cultivate your
research skills and create opportunities for you to make scientific discoveries with
faculty and answer your own questions about the mind and behavior. Many students present
their research findings in professional journals and at conferences of national associations!
Explore research at F&M
Off-Campus Study
When studying behavior, it’s crucial to look outside your own experiences and learn
from other people and cultures. Psychology students have studied abroad in Bolivia,
Denmark, Tanzania, Italy, Kenya, Australia, and Scandinavia.
Explore off-campus study at F&M
Our Facilities
The Barshinger Life Sciences & Philosophy Building
The Barshinger Life Sciences & Philosophy Building gives students access to state-of-the-art resources for studying the development of morality, animal welfare and problem-solving, social belonging, drug addiction, infant learning, non-verbal communication, healthy behaviors, responses to trauma, human rights, and more.
The Development and Experience Center
Housed in the Barshinger Life Sciences & Philosophy Building, the Development and Experience (DAX) Center is home to two innovative child development research labs. Students can apply to become research assistants in these labs at any point in their college careers. As a student researcher, you would learn how to recruit and schedule participants, serve as experimenters in running empirical studies, assist in data analysis and interpretation, and become familiar with relevant psychological literature.
Research questions the lab investigates include:
- What leads children and adults to acquire new moral beliefs or to change existing moral beliefs?
- How extensive and variable are the contours of the moral domain?
- How and why do disgust and dirtiness reduce the scope of moral treatment?
- How do people allocate moral value to outgroup members, animals, and ecosystems?
Success Beyond F&M
What happens after you graduate with a degree in psychology? Our graduates are prepared to pursue advanced degrees or begin their chosen careers from day one. The creative and intellectual activities that make up the work of psychology — including analyzing, writing, collaborating with others, and interpreting data — help you develop useful and productive skills, which are valuable for any post-college plan.
Graduate School
With a breadth of study that is uncommon at other liberal arts colleges, our graduates are immediately prepared to pursue advanced degrees upon graduating from F&M. Past F&M psychology majors have entered graduate programs studying education, clinical psychology, speech and language pathology, social work, human development, quantitative psychology, social psychology, business, and public administration.
Career Paths
Psychology graduates enjoy a vast array of careers and have excelled in health care, social services, education, research, and more. They hold positions such as:
- Director of Human Resources
- Doctor
- General Counsel
- Lawyer
- Marriage and Family Therapist
- Pediatrician
- Professor
- Psychiatrist
- Psychologist
- Psychotherapist
- Registered Nurse
- Research Scientist
- School Psychologist
- Social Worker
- Therapist
One field of study engages in all sorts of questions about people, institutions, and
social structures: sociology. How does power operate in society? How do politics shape
our lives? How and why have family relationships changed over time? As a student of
sociology, you will explore these interactions to better understand how they shape
the world and cultures that we live in. Do you imagine yourself in management, marketing, accounting, or finance after graduating
from college? Study Business, Organizations & Society at F&M and learn to think critically
and lead effectively in a variety of environments, from small businesses to large
corporations and from for-profit to nonprofit. Do you want to explore the fascinating connections between science and government?
Study public health at F&M and challenge assumptions and structures as you develop
a deep moral intelligence surrounding public health around the globe.Alumni Spotlight
“The professors care about their students and genuinely want them to succeed.”
As a student at F&M, Skye Victor ’23 spent her summers working at a preschool for
children with autism. This experience helped her discover how to blend her psychology
degree with her dream of working with kids. “I connected with the kids immediately,
so I decided I wanted to go further and become a behavior therapist,” she said. Victor,
who is now pursuing a master’s degree in applied behavior analysis at Saint Joseph’s
University, said she’s thankful for how F&M prepared her for her future. “I am so
grateful for F&M’s tight-knit community and the amazing professors who helped me overcome
challenges and encouraged me,” she said. “I chose F&M for that very reason: The professors
care about their students and genuinely want them to succeed.”
Read More »Alumni Spotlight
An Interest in the Mind Leads to Studying Human-AI Interaction
When she arrived at F&M, Raluca Rilla ’23 was most interested in the mind. “I was
very eager to study language and cognition, but I wasn’t entirely sure how to approach
my questions,” she said. During her first semester, Rilla was inspired by connections
she uncovered across disciplines and decided to blend perspectives by double majoring
in cognitive science and psychology. “I was determined to maintain the same level
of creativity and openness that interdisciplinarity affords in all of my future academic
and professional pursuits,” she said. Today, Rilla is pursuing a master’s degree in
cognitive systems at the University of Potsdam in Germany. “Without the training and
mentorship that I received at F&M, I would not have been as well equipped to study
human-AI interaction,” she said. “I am certain that the critical thinking skills that
I developed at F&M will be indispensable for navigating artificial intelligence research.”
Read More »Related Fields of Study
Sociology
Business, Organizations & Society
Public Health
Psychology in the Spotlight
October 21, 2024
Success Beyond F&M: A Psychology Major’s Path to Behavioral Therapy
As a student at F&M, Skye Victor ’23 spent her summers working at a preschool for children with autism. This experience helped her discover how to blend her psychology degree with her dream of working with kids. “I connected with the kids immediately, so I decided I wanted to go further and become a behavior therapist,” she said.
August 1, 2024
Success Beyond F&M: An Interest in the Mind Leads to Studying Human-AI Interaction
Raluca Rilla ’23, a cognitive science and psychology double major at F&M, is pursuing a master’s degree in cognitive systems at the University of Potsdam in Germany. “Without the training and mentorship that I received at F&M, I would not have been as well equipped to study human-AI interaction," she said.
May 23, 2024
Ten Faculty Earn Tenure, Promotion
At its May meeting, the Board of Trustees unanimously endorsed the recommendations of the Professional Standards Committee and the Provost, granting four F&M faculty tenure and promotion to associate professor, while six others were promoted to full professor.