Academics

The value of an education in a liberal arts college is not learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think something that cannot be learned from textbooks.
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Behavioral Neuroscience Concentration in Psychological Sciences

As a major within the psychology department, behavioral neuroscience offers a broad-based overview of many sub-fields. Behavioral Neuroscience dedicates some of the student’s free electives to additional science-related courses. Courses focus on: clinical psychology (mental illness and behavioral problems); cognitive psychology (thinking and reasoning); developmental psychology (human growth and aging); industrial/organizational psychology (how people work together); learning, memory, and motivation; psychobiology (biological bases of behavior); statistics and mathematical models of behavior; thoughts and behavior in social situations.

Students begin in pre-psychology and after successfully completing three required pre-psychology courses, with a GPA of 2.5 or higher, may proceed to the upper-level psychology/behavioral neuroscience courses.

Points of Pride

  • The Purdue Department of Psychological Sciences was placed among the top 25 percent of psychology departments in the nation’s major colleges and universities by the National Research Council.
  • Students can take advantage of an undergraduate internship program.
  • Students can enroll in a course enabling them to become involved in psychological research on a wide range of topics.
  • The Honors Program in Psychology, developed by Professor James Nairne, emphasizes independent study research opportunities for the department’s strongest students.
  • Purdue has a Psychology Club and Psi Chi (the National Honor Society in Psychology).
  • Psychology hosts an Annual Undergraduate Research Conference.

*Select psychology on the undergraduate admission application.

Careers

  • Advertising, marketing, and public relations
  • Child care and gerontology
  • College administration
  • Criminal justice
  • Graduate or professional school
  • Human resources
  • Human services and health care
  • Management and sales
  • Medical school
  • Psychological counseling
  • Recreation
  • Research
  • Government

Plan of Study

Department of Psychological Sciences



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