Psych is one of those majors that applies to just about anything you want to do in life. As one of our students said, "It touches everything, from the sciences, to the law, to politics, to interpersonal relationships." This program is designed for people who are fascinated by human behavior and want to use science to understand how people form opinions and make decisions. If you think this area of study might be the right fit for you, then keep reading to learn more about psychology—and yourself.
As a psych major, you’ll study how we perceive information and learn new things. You’ll discover how the mind—and our personalities—develop over time. And you’ll explore psychology in different contexts, including behavioral disorders (clinical psychology), interacting with others (social psychology) and how to improve mental health. You can even choose electives in subjects like memory, addiction, development, and how psychology relates to music, food and other parts of your life.
“My first piece of advice for psychology majors is to get involved,” said one of our students. So, where do you start?
As a research assistant, you can work with faculty in research labs; our students have researched how the body responds to stress, how to prevent psychological disorders and other key topics.
Interested in traveling? You can study abroad and gain a whole new perspective on human behavior.
At UB, you’ll also find hundreds of student clubs, including groups specifically for psych students where you can make new friends, hear guest speakers and get leadership experience.
Because a psychology degree helps you better understand people and behavior, it’s a great foundation for many different careers, from working directly with patients in a hospital to studying human behavior for a marketing agency.
Career paths (some of which may require an advanced degree) may include:
Many psych students go on to medical school, law school or grad school in fields such as psychology, cognitive science, education, criminal justice, business, social work and neuroscience.
Ask our students, and they'll tell you how our professors make this program even better.
"…the level of enthusiasm the courses are taught with made me excited to come to lectures."
"They truly want to see their students succeed…"
"Having such great mentors during undergrad not only helped me get into grad school, they guided me in choosing the best graduate program for me."
Of course, our students aren’t the only ones who recognize how great our professors are. UB psychology faculty have conducted research funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH), have been published in "Journal of Comparative Psychology," "Journal of Personality and Social Psychology," "Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders," "Developmental Psychology" and other leading journals—and have also edited some of the top journals in the field.