Psychology is the scientific study of the human mind and its functions. Psychology has many branches, most of which are explored at an undergraduate level, and some schools approach the study by dividing the curriculum into areas such as cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, social psychology, and biopsychology. Those who study psychology often work as psychologists, psychotherapists, social workers, counselors, teachers, and researchers.
There are many small liberal arts schools that offer psychology degrees, and most of them are quite similar. Our goal with this list is to highlight a few offerings that we think are important to look for when comparing programs: tracks and/or concentrations, research opportunities, breadth of the curriculum, and advising support.
Swarthmore:
Members of Swarthmore’s psychology program graduate with a strong foundation of research skills. The program requires a research practicum during senior year, a senior thesis, a field placement in clinical psychology, and a senior research project. There are two special majors under the umbrella of psychology: neuroscience; and psychology and education. The psychology and education program focuses on developmental psychology, learning, cognitive psychology, psychology and language, and child clinical psychology. Students can work as part-time research assistants during the year, and summer research opportunities are also available. There are a number of research labs on campus that study cognition and development; identity, culture, and immigration, and language emergence and development.
Pomona:
Pomona offers a major and minor in Psychological Science, and the program piqued our interest because the school makes it clear that students should be getting involved with research early, and they have the resources to help make that happen. There are ten professors running research labs, and students are encouraged to set up meetings with them when their interests align with the lab work. What’s even better is that you are not expected to have years of experience (they welcome freshman) and there are opportunities available during the year and over summer break. Pomona also has resources to help students to find internships.
Smith:
There are three tracks of study within the psychology major at Smith: mind and brain; health and illness; and person and society. In addition to the unique tracks (health and illness is an uncommon track to come across,) Smith puts an emphasis on the importance of “multicultural fluency.” This means that you’ll learn how to look at psychological issues from the viewpoints of a wide variety of cultures, and be trained to ask important questions about cultural influences. Smith also has student liaisons who speak on behalf of all women student body about the curriculum, research opportunities, and faculty appointments.
Williams:
Psychology is a study that is intertwined with many other areas of study including but not limited to biology, public health, and sociology. Because of that, many psychology faculty members at Williams also teach courses in the departments of cognitive science, leadership studies, justice and law, and neuroscience. So while you’ll be taking psychology courses, they will be taught by people who are familiar with disciplines that inform that study. It’s a good way to get a more well-rounded view of the field, which is inclusive of more than a purely scientific approach to learning. For example, Williams offers courses such as “Environmental Psychology” and “Success and Failure.”
Middlebury:
Middlebury does not have psychology tracks or concentrations, but they offer core courses in the areas of clinical, cognitive, developmental, physiological, and social/personality psychology. The outside of the classroom resources cover everything from academic advising, careers and internships, postgraduate jobs and opportunities, and help for psych students who want to study abroad. Middlebury also hosts guest lectures series (and tapes them for those who can’t attend) that bring professionals in the field to campus to discuss relevant research.
Carleton:
The psychology department at Carleton covers three areas: biological and behavioral processes; cognitive studies; and social behavior, development, personality, and clinical psychology. The biological and behavioral processes division dives into animal and human learning and looks at connections between animal work and human clinical, medical, and behavioral problems. The department also studies animals, specifically mice, pigeons, rats, and monkeys to answers questions such as “how do animals learn, remember, and think about events?” and “how is human thinking different from primate thinking?”.
Amherst:
When reading about the course offerings at Amherst, you’ll come across 490: Special Topics. Special topics is a course that is offered to juniors and seniors who want to do independent reading and/or research projects. It’s an interesting opportunity because you’re given course credit for the course, and the research is conducted on a topic of your choosing. The research projects are usually smaller in scope than a thesis project, but you’ll read about and research a topic, design an experiment, collect and analyze data, and then write a report. These courses require faculty approval and are usually done by high performing students, but it’s a rare opportunity to take charge of your own project while getting class credit.
Vassar:
Vassar stands out because of the areas of expertise of the faculty and content of the courses: social and personality theory, health psychology, sports psychology, genetic and comparative psychology, cognition and perception, and social and personality theory. Because not all small liberal arts schools offer tracks and concentrations, it’s important to look into the course offerings to ensure that you’ll be able to tailor your education to the areas within the field of psychology that you’re most interested in pursuing. At Vassar, there is also faculty research being conducted in the areas of psychology and the law, positive emotions and coping, and more.
Haverford:
The psychology major at Haverford consists of a breadth requirement (similar to core courses,) a general research requirement, a discipline-specific research requirement, and a senior project. For the research requirements, students take a lecture and lab course called Experimental Methods and Statistics: the lectures will introduce you to research principles and the lab work will test those skills. Then you’ll take two half-credit 300 level lab courses related to the specialization of your major. Research topics that are currently being explored include music and time perception, identity development, friendship across cultures, and romantic relationship maintenance.
Let us know if we can help you find the right school for you. We’re pros at finding programs that fit your interests.