As a psychology major, you can learn how to better understand human behavior. Employing the scientific method and statistical inference and analysis, you can develop techniques for gathering and accessing data to gain psychological insight. The flexibility of this major lets you build a learning experience tailored to your needs and interests. Faculty specializations in the Psychology Department include:

  • Depression
  • Biofeedback
  • Memory
  • Perception
  • Personality
  • Neuroscience
  • Well-being

Career Paths

The psychology major prepares you for graduate programs in areas of psychology including clinical, cognitive, developmental, educational, experimental, industrial/organizational, and social and personality. It also prepares you for related career fields of counseling, social work, education, neuroscience, public health, and urban/regional planning.

Notable graduate schools include:

  • University of Missouri - Columbia
  • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • University of Iowa
  • University of Missouri - Kansas City
  • University of Missouri - St. Louis
  • Truman State University
  • Washington University

Explore Career Options

Featured Courses

Survey behavioral principles and study topics that include human development, personality, learning and thinking, psychological testing, mental health, therapy, and social behavior.
Explore the philosophy of science and the application of the scientific method in psychology, research ethics, nonexperimental and experimental designs, hypothesis development, between-subjects and within-subjects designs, small-sample studies, statistical analysis of research data, and drawing conclusions from research data.
Examine relations among hypotheses, research design, and statistical analyses in psychological research.
Study major theoretical systems of psychology and methodological problems of theory construction and system-making.
Examine human behavior and life-cycle changes from conception through adolescence.
Learn about the philosophy of science and the application of the scientific method in physiological psychology, functional neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, the chemical bases of behavior, hormones and the brain, life-span development of the brain and behavior, regulation and behavior, emotions and psychological disorders, and cognitive neuroscience.

Opportunities and Experiences

Research Opportunities

As a psychology major, you can explore research topics such as the effectiveness of study techniques, information storing habits of bilingual people, the effectiveness of antidepressants, social media happiness, and more.

Internships

Psychology interns often assist professionals in mental health, social service, business, research, government, and medical settings. Notable internship opportunities include:

  • American Red Cross
  • A.T. Still University
  • Department of Children & Family Services
  • Missouri Institute of Mental Health
  • Preferred Family Healthcare
  • Great Circle Behavioral Health Services

Student Organizations

At Truman, you can join organizations such as Psi Chi, a national honor organization, and Psych Club which provides an opportunity for students to exchange ideas in the field of psychology.