Introduction

Welcome both to the field of psychology in general and to the psychology program at Nazareth College! The psychology major is a popular one at Nazareth, with approximately 170 students. Their experiences include extensive interaction with the eight full-time and one half-time psychology faculty members and other students, both inside and outside the classroom. Students take courses covering all the major areas of psychology, engage in research with the faculty, and participate in many related activities.

Psychology majors and minors can become members of the Psychology Club and the Nazareth Chapter of the American Psychological Society Student Caucus, a student organization with ties to a national scientific body. Eligible students can also join Psi Chi, the National Honor Society in Psychology, an organization whose purpose is to encourage, stimulate, and maintain scholarship of the individual members as well as to advance the science of psychology.

The student organizations sponsor many activities including Brown Bag Seminars, trips to community agencies, volunteer programs to assist institutionalized individuals, and trips to local, regional, and national conferences.

 

Mission and Goals

The mission of Nazareth College is "to educate its students in the liberal arts and sciences and in professional fields so as to foster commitment to a life informed by intellectual, ethical, and aesthetic values; to develop skills necessary for the pursuit of a meaningful vocation; and to inspire dedication to the ideal of service in their communities."

The overall goal of the psychology program is to reinforce the college's goals as stated in the preceding excerpt from the College's Mission Statement. In particular, the study of psychology gives students a solid grounding in the discipline's diverse theoretical perspectives, research methods, and empirical findings, and invites students to explore the relevance of psychology to their lives and to the improvement of society. A psychology graduate should be well prepared to undertake graduate study in psychology, but that is by no means the only objective of the program.

The prominent place given to research and experiential learning is intended to foster critical and precise thinking and clear communication in the use of evidence to support one's conclusions, as well as in making connections between one's intellectual life and life within the community. These are intellectual skills that stand one in good stead in daily life and in any number of career choices.

An appreciation of the diversity of coherent points of view from which to understand human behavior is preparation not only for specialized graduate study but also for a more sensitive and open-minded relationship with one's community and a more enlightened sense of one's own being.