Psychology faces the questions that are of most immediate concern to the individual: issues such as personal identity, the social context, normalcy versus deviance, and behavior change. As a science, psychology is devoted to the understanding, prediction, and control of behavior.

Our dedication to these goals requires that we study behavior from a number of viewpoints—developmental, social, physiological, and abnormal—each fascinating in its own right. The student’s attention is drawn also to the many settings in which behavior occurs, from the family to the laboratory, from the clinic to the marketplace. This great diversity ensures that the study of psychology will interrelate well with other courses in the humanities and sciences.

The undergraduate program in the Department of Psychology combines basic science and applications to prepare students for further professional training in psychology or for careers in human services delivery, law, education, business, and industry.

The program features a specialty concentration in community/clinical psychology for those students who have well-defined professional goals. The general psychology concentration permits students to tailor their preparation toward other specialty areas. Psychology majors are encouraged to broaden their preparation by taking courses or minors in sociology, political science, social welfare, management, computer science, criminal justice, mathematics, and biology.

The psychology major develops skills in design and analysis of research and effective communication through the study of statistics, experimental methods, psychological measurement, and psychological theory. Through involvement with behavior therapy and community psychology fieldwork, the student can confront behavior problems in a more direct, practical fashion. The Department feels that it is only through a thorough grounding in basic skills and principles that students can effectively realize their goals.

The psychology program benefits from a psychology laboratory building on the Main Campus. The laboratory contains facilities for student and faculty research with human subjects. Specialized apparatus permits the study of human and animal learning, sensory capacities, social processes, and biofeedback control.

The University of New Haven also offers a master of arts degree in community psychology and industrial/organizational psychology, as well as a graduate certificate in applications of psychology. For descriptions of these programs, see the Graduate School catalog.

Sociology is the study of social life and the social causes and consequences of human behavior. Sociology’s subject matter ranges from analysis of families, corporations, cities, and sports to that of sexuality, death, race, gender, and ethnicity, as well as the impact of demographic and environmental policies and other social phenomena. The sociological perspective is empirically grounded and sufficiently broad to be relevant to those considering careers in related fields such as research, governmental service, social work, personnel management, advertising, law, medicine, journalism, social gerontology, and hospitality and tourism.

Contact Us

Psi Chi Application

Psychology and Sociology minor forms

IO Infoline Fall 2017 Newsletter

Coming soon. 

Sona