The Department of Psychology offers undergraduate programs leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree. The psychology curriculum is structured to meet the needs of four types of students interested in majoring in psychology: students who plan to find employment after obtaining the bachelor's degree, students who plan to go to graduate school in psychology or a related field, students who plan to enter a field other than psychology that requires further formal training and students who have a general interest in psychology.

The Department of Psychology anticipates beginning MS and Ph.D. programs in the Fall semester of 2012. These graduate programs are intended to provide students with the knowledge, skills, and experiences necessary to become successful consumers and producers of psychological science. Psychology is a broad discipline that interfaces with the biological and social sciences and our programs are organized around two concentrations that together encapsulate the breadth of psychological science: (1) Biological and Basic Processes and (2) Social and Behavioral Processes. These concentrations represent two broad areas that focus on phenomena from different orientations in moderately overlapping but distinguishable content areas. Students seeking the MS degree will be broadly exposed to the content and methods in both concentrations. Students seeking the Ph.D. degree will have similar broad exposure to both concentrations which will be extended by an intensive inquiry specialized in one concentration. As a result, students in the Ph.D. degree program will apply for admission in one concentration (either the Biological and Basic Processes concentration or the Social and Behavioral Processes concentration) whereas students in the MS degree program will be required to distribute their course work across these concentrations. For additional information concerning these programs, please see the link on the menu to the left of your screen titled "Graduate Programs."

Information for Majors
A pamphlet titled "Majoring in Psychology at Oakland University" is available in the department office and online by clicking on the link. An abbreviated form of this pamphlet can be found at the Advising Info pages of this website. Students planning to major in psychology should obtain a copy of this pamphlet, which offers suggested programs of study. Students are also encouraged to learn more about and become active participants in the OU chapter of the Psi Chi National Honor Society in Psychology .

Advising Forms
Most of the official forms needed by students majoring in psychology are available both in the distribution bins located near the front door of Pryale Hall and on the Advising Forms page found within the Advising section of this website. Detailed explanations of independent projects classes such as research apprenticeships, readings and research projects, and field experiences can also be found here.