Written and submitted by Sam Sturkey ('25)
Before entering college, I knew I wanted to become a psychology major. After I took a few psychology classes, I felt right at home and I knew I made the right choice by choosing the Psych department. The Psych professors care so much about the students, and they are interested in what’s going on with students' lives outside of being a student in their class. I love how the Psych department breaks up the courses into different clusters. You get to feel what it’s like within each career path of psychology, and the great thing is you are being taught by real psychologists in the profession.
The department has four different "clusters:" clinical and cognition, personality, developmental, and biological. You have to take at least one course in each of the four clusters, but if you like one more than another, you can focus on a specific cluster and take more of the courses in that area. When I came in as a freshman, I wanted to focus on the developmental side of psychology, but as I took more classes, I found that the clinical cluster was the right fit for me. I took Psych 304, which is "Brain and Behavior," during the fall semester of my sophomore year, and I loved every second of it. I loved learning about the brain and what parts of the brain work in the different areas of our body.
In the spring semester I took "Neuroanatomy of Illness Injury and Trauma" this was another amazing class that I loved. In the course, you get to dive deep into many different injuries and illnesses that people can develop. Dr.Clair likes to call the class a tour of bad things that can happen to the brain. You’ll examine things such as strokes, Alzheimer’s, Dementia, and even more complex illnesses, such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease also known as mad cow. If digging deep and learning about the brain isn’t your thing, you can focus on the developmental side or the way personality and cultural side in learning about the reason people may do what they do.
If you're looking for a minor, you can pair psychology with many different things, but if I had to suggest any minor, it would be the Neuroscience minor. Our professors will support you in any minor you choose. I added the Neuroscience minor by talking to one of our amazing Psychology professors about how I loved learning about the brain, and she suggested that I take up the minor.
Another great thing about the Psych department is that we are required to take two math courses, but those are taken within the Psychology department. The course is set up so that you can do classwork during the class period. I highly suggest using the class time to do the workday materials because you can get one-on-one help with the material if you need help.
You’ll find your home in the Psychology department like I did as soon as you step foot in your first Psychology class.