College Life

Private Schools That Are Well Known for This Major

• Stanford University
• University of Pennsylvania
• Columbia University
• University of Chicago

State Schools That Are Well Known for This Major

• University of California—Los Angeles
• University of California—Berkeley
• University of Illinois—Urbana-Champaign
• University of Minnesota—Twin Cities

Classes in the Major

Clinical Psychology: Clinical psychology is a field of study that involves psychological assessments and psychotherapy. Clinical psychologists may be researchers, but they can also diagnose mental illness, provide psychological testing, and treat clients. How clinical psych classes are organized differs between colleges, but they are usually ordered based on types of mental health treatments. In one class, you might study how people emotionally, mentally, and socially develop. In another, you might go over geropsychology, or how to help older people overcome mental or physical problems.

Developmental Psychology: Ah, the classic nature vs. nurture discussion: Were you born awesome, or did your environment make you awesome? Well, we can't answer that question for you, but taking developmental psychology courses might help you figure it out. In these courses, you'll learn how people develop emotional and systematic psychological changes, as well as changes in perception.

Social Psychology: Social psychology is the study of people's thoughts, perceptions, and behaviors and how they are influenced by their social surroundings. We like to think that everyone is a special little snowflake, but personality trends do exist, and they can tell us why Susie likes to party and Sally likes to stay home and read. Whether you end up working as a psychiatrist or psychologist, you'll need to know how social factors play a role in your patients' lives.

Biology: Generally, psych majors are required to learn about how the human body works. You wouldn't trust your psychologist if he knew diddly squat about the immune system, would you? So if you're yearnin' for a learnin' about the digestive system or what happens to cells when you get sick, you're in for one heck of a treat. In these courses, you'll learn about reproduction, genes, and everything molecular. If biology interests you, then you might want to consider going into psychiatry, which is really just psychology plus drugs.

Statistics: Statistically speaking, about 15% of statistics are made up on the spot. Just kidding, Shmoopers, we actually have no idea, but taking a statistics course will train you to sift through all the baloney and find the truth. Yes, there is such a thing as bad stats that usually exist solely for the story. Experimental psychology relies a lot on statistics, and being able to differentiate between good and bad stats is an invaluable skill. Otherwise, you'd just be a poor sucker.