Frequently Asked Questions
      About Psychology at YSU


        You may be wondering about psychology, and whether it is right for you as a major or career.
        Listed below are some common questions and answers.
         
      What is Psychology?
       
        Psychology is a relatively new science that deals with age-old questions: namely, the way human beings and other living creatures behave and the reasons for their behavior. Like other fields, psychology is organized into subject-matter areas, each with its own methods of study and focus of concern. Some areas include abnormal psychology, cognitive psychology, comparative psychology, developmental psychology, learning and behavior analysis, social psychology, personality, and physiological psychology.
         
      What courses must I take in the psychology major?
       
        Students majoring in psychology take courses in general psychology, research design and methodology, as well as such other specialized courses. These courses are selected in consultation with your advisor based upon your career goals and interests.

        In addition to psychology courses, students fulfill general requirements of the college and university. If you desire more specialization that the present major allows, students may investigate and apply for the Individualized Curriculum Program. This program enables interested students to design the course of study best suited to their particular background and career goals and thereby to create alternative pathways to currently offered degrees.
         

         
      What will I learn in psychology?
       
        Skills learned as a psychology major include oral and written communication, interpersonal interaction, problem solving, and critical thinking. All these abilities are also applicable to career opportunities in business and industry, government, law, and health-care fields.
         
      What are my career opportunities with a psychology major?
       
        Some of the job titles of graduates with a B. A. degree in psychology may include counselor, case worker, activity therapist, program coordinator, and personnel consultant. Job trends show that psychology will continue as a career growth area.   Students may also choose to apply to graduate school for advanced training in clinical or experimental fields. Technically, you may not be called a "psychologist" until you earn a Ph.D. in psychology and receive a licence from the state.
         
      Who will be my psychology professors?
       
        You will be taught by professors who are committed to teaching. At many universities, your teachers are graduate students; at YSU your teachers are professors. The 17 faculty members of the Psychology Department have diversified professional backgrounds and are well qualified to teach both general and specialized courses. The faculty is actively committed to excellence in teaching as well as producing high-quality research while contributing to community service organizations.
         
      Will I be able to use the latest technologies and facilities?
       
        Students taking classes in psychology are taught in modern classrooms and laboratories in DeBartolo Hall.  Our up-to-date facilities include an electromagnetically-isolated room for recording neural activity, a lab for investigating brain-behavior interactions, animal-housing areas, and a one-way mirrored child observation room including an infant development laboratory.  In addition, automated programming equipment monitors animal behavior, and a complete audio/visual system records different kinds of possible laboratory behavior in a controlled setting.
         
      Do I matter at YSU or am I "just a number"?
       
        YSU is committed to you, the student. You will be able to get to know your professors because class sizes are small. All of our activities at YSU are centered around student involvement.  Faculty members treat students as junior colleagues and work in close collaboration with them on research projects.  Students frequently present their work at conferences and in scholarly publications.  Further, each year the department honors the outstanding psychology student and undergraduate research project with awards.