Department of Psychology

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The Department of Psychology introduces students to the content and methods of the Science of Psychology. Students survey the foundations of the field, learn about statistics and experimental design, carry out original studies, and have an opportunity to pursue specific interests through upper level seminars, applied internships, and supervised and independent research. Students often present the results of their internship or independent research projects at regional or national conferences, as well as at the annual poster session sponsored by the Fairfield University Chapter of Sigma Xi (The Scientific Research Society).

Many of our dedicated faculty sponsor student research over the summer as well, either funded by their grants or on a voluntary basis. Furthermore, each summer, a number of our students receive grants sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the Hughes Foundation, and other national funding organizations, to conduct research at other universities around the country. All of this training makes our students excellent candidates for graduate work in psychology, and we have been enormously successful in placing students in many of the top graduate programs in psychology and neuroscience.

The analytic and communicative skills essential to the psychology major also prepare students for professional study in law, social work, medicine, nursing, physical and occupational therapy, education, and business. These possibilities are enhanced by internship opportunities, which include: working with autistic children; assisting probation officers; teaching reading skills to underprivileged children and their parents; working in human resources; assisting high school guidance counselors; and a range of other options. In addition, students with a degree in psychology are particularly well suited for any entry-level position that demands a solid liberal arts education.

The centerpiece of the Psychology Department is our new office/laboratory complex that occupies the fourth floor of the North Wing of the Bannow Science Center, as well as a couple rooms elsewhere in the center. The complex consists of office space for the nine full-time faculty members, four general-purpose resource rooms, each with computers and a video/audio observation system, state-of-the-art laboratories for the investigation of human behavior, cognition and thought, human neuropsychology, behavioral and computational neuroscience, and classical and operant conditioning. Additionally, there is a state-of-the-art, computerized EEG laboratory and a group dynamics lab, also equipped with a very flexible video/audio observation system. Another large computer laboratory as well as the Kirby Family Literacy Program offices round out the facilities.

The Psychology Department offers both Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees. Most earn B.A. degrees, but those who are more oriented toward the biological, experimental, or medical aspects of the field may earn a B.S. by taking additional science courses. The department currently offers four concentrations to help guide students to the course clusters best suited to their needs. They include Mental Health Research and Practice, Social/Developmental Research and Policy, Behavioral/Cognitive Neuroscience, and General Psychology.

For non-majors, the department offers introductory survey courses, such as General Psychology, along with specialized courses like Developmental Psychology, Psychology and the Law, and Industrial/Organizational Psychology, which may complement their majors.