Why Choose Purdue Psychology?

Experienced Guidance

With other students new to the psychology department, you can take a brief course that acquaints you with departmental opportunities, requirements, facilities, faculty, and advising and placement services. This course also helps you get to know other new students in psychology. To make you aware of events in the department and in the field of psychology, the blog will cover all you need to know. In addition, you can talk with professional staff in the academic advising office.  All the staff in the office can advise you on courses in psychology, and one staff member has special responsibility for assisting students in psychology.

Student Organizations

Active student organizations promote social interaction (fun!) as well as educational experiences such as field trips to institutions, guest lecturers, and panel discussions. The Psychology Club is open to all interested students. The Purdue chapter of Psi Chi, the national honorary society in Psychology, is open to students with records of superior academic achievement.

The Department of Psychological Sciences is affiliated with several programs that provide off-campus educational experiences. For example, many students volunteer for work experience at the local Crisis Center. At the nearby Wolf Park, students have a unique opportunity to observe and record the behavior of wolves in their natural habitat.

World-Class Faculty

Many professors in the Department of Psychological Sciences are nationally and internationally known scientists. In the most recent ranking by the National Research Council, the department was placed among the top 25 percent of psychology departments in the nation's major colleges and universities. First-rate teaching is also emphasized in the department. Several professors in psychology have won departmental, college, and university-wide teaching awards. The introductory courses in the department often have large enrollments, but courses beyond the introductory level are often small, with 20 to 50 students enrolled.

In summary, if you choose psychology as a field of study at Purdue, you will have opportunities to learn from outstanding faculty both in and out of the classroom. By the time you graduate, you will know more about why people behave as they do--and you will be prepared to use that knowledge in your career and in other arenas of your life.