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Why Study Psychology

Promotes workforce skill development

  • Creative thinking and problem-solving
  • Project management
  • Interpersonal and teamwork skills
  • Writing and presentation skills
  • Flexibility
  • Managing difficult situations and high stress environments
  • Start and carry out projects with limited information or experience
  • Ability to adapt to change

Intellectually challenging

  • Understand how to use and interpret data through statistics
  • Biologically oriented courses
  • Tolerance of ambiguity

Enhances individual and societal quality of life

  • Knowing psychological principles to help people raise healthier children and create more functional families
  • Understanding the roots of prejudice to make us more effective navigators of human differences
  • Exploring behavioral and psychological interventions to improve health
  • Knowing organizational theory to help businesses improve efficiencies and effectiveness

Gain a better understanding of yourself, others, and the world around you

  • Predict and understand the behavior of individuals and groups
  • Have insight into problematic behaviors
  • Promote values that build trust and enhance interpersonal relationships

Study a hub science

  • Psychology is one of the seven disciplines in which scientific research is most often cited by other fields
  • Scientific contributions in psychology advance not only the discipline but many other scientific fields

STEM major with a liberal arts perspective

  • Interdisciplinary across natural and social sciences
  • Covers both scientific methods and human differences
  • Provides access to a broad range of career fields

Strong preparation for those seeking graduate or professional school


*Information taken from:

American Psychological Association. (2016). Guidelines for the undergraduate psychology major: Version 2.0. American Psychologist, 71(2), 102-111.

Halonen, J. S. (2011). Are there too many psychology majors? [White paper]. 

Cacioppo, J. (2007). Psychology is a hub science.