Areas of Study
A Look Inside the Psychology Bachelor’s Degree Program at Wells
Design a psychological study and use subjects to test your hypothesis. Choose from unique course offering such as Psychology of Art, Forensic Psychology, and Psychology of Environmental Sustainability. Join classmates in a lab for neuropsychology or linguistics or on a field trip to learn about the psychology of local Indigenous cultures. In the Psychology Bachelor of Arts program at Wells, you’ll find a variety of opportunities to pursue your learning inside and outside of the classroom.
Wells psychology professors bring expertise in a wide range of disciplines, including gender and sexuality studies; cognitive and brain science; health and sport psychology; indigenous studies; environmental sustainability; and child, adolescent, and adult development. The classroom experience is varied, bringing in different teaching styles, discussions, hands-on experiences or lab work, and a mixture of writing, presentations, collaborative projects, and firsthand research. Because we are a small, private liberal arts college, you’ll also get the advantage of interacting directly with your professors who are both accessible teachers and dedicated mentors, within the context of a highly collaborative and supportive learning environment at our scenic lakeside campus in Aurora, New York.
As a graduate of the Psychology bachelor’s degree program, you’ll enter the job market with the tools to be a global citizen, ready to lead in your career and make a positive change in the world.
What You’ll Learn as a Psychology Major
- An appreciation of the diversity of human experience
- How to make a positive impact on the world through an understanding of self and others
- Communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills
Beyond the Classroom: Experiential Learning in the Psychology Bachelor’s Degree Program
Internship and Study Abroad Opportunities
Internships are required for the psychology major and offer diverse opportunities to explore the realities of careers you may be considering. You can work with professionals in residential settings, drug or alcohol rehabilitation, counseling or school psychology, youth camps, or research. Wells students have recently held internships with:
- Hillside Children’s Center, Syracuse, New York
- Sexual Assault Victims Advocate Resource (SAVAR) of Cayuga Counseling Services, Auburn, New York
- Unity House of Cayuga County, Auburn, New York
- Direction Behavioral Health Associates, Nashua, New Hampshire
- Cayuga Home for Children, Auburn, New York
- Opportunities, Alternatives, Resources (OAR), Ithaca, New York
- Cayuga Counseling, Inc., Auburn, New York
Wells College also encourages off-campus study in fascinating programs across the country and around the world. Broaden your understanding of cultural differences in Scotland’s University of Stirling, Florence’s Italian International Institute Lorenzo de’ Medici, or New Zealand’s Victoria University of Wellington.
Psychology Clubs and Other Aurora Campus Programs
Develop your knowledge, make meaningful connections, and apply your learning in the field. We offer many different ways to get involved, including our student Psychology Club as well as trips to psychology conferences throughout the region where you can share your original research.
Ready to find out more?
Ready to learn more about Wells College and our Psychology program?
Ready to Apply?
Take the first step toward earning your bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Wells College.
Beyond the Classroom: Experiential Learning in the Psychology
Learn to apply your learning in practical ways outside the classroom in the undergraduate Psychology program at Wells. A recent psychology student established a community memorial garden on campus; another took his research on sustainable thinking to a regional conference. The psychology of environmental sustainability class conducts a group project with the goal of changing unsustainable behaviors on campus, and students in psychotherapy hold an event to reduce stigma related to mental illness with posters and announcements related to health psychology. These are just a few examples of where your journey as a psychology major can take you.
Career Options for Psychology Graduates
A bachelor’s degree in psychology opens doors to a wide variety of careers. You might learn to study culture as a social psychologist, or study the way that children learn to connect with the world in developmental psychology or the ways that people work with others in organizational psychology—not to mention mental health and therapy in clinical psychology, criminal justice and forensic psychology, counseling, cognitive psychology, and more.
Recent Wells graduates are now counseling, performing social work and services, assisting children with disabilities and their families, coordinating clinical work, directing creative arts therapy, teaching at nearly every level, managing and assisting with rehabilitation work, studying law and nursing, and working in many other roles. Psychology faculty are always glad to help with advising and counseling for graduate school and career preparation.
Current Research in Psychology
Professor of Psychology Deb Gagnon held a workshop with Nina Daniels ’16 titled “Writing to Heal,” and coordinated a campus residency with Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction teacher Jen Johnson. She also gave a talk titled “The Language of Waste, Consumption, & Sustainability” for the Wells Sustainability Perspectives Series.
Sarah Markowitz, Assistant Professor of Psychology, had her paper “Resilience During War: Better Unit Cohesion and Reductions in Avoidant Coping are Associated with Better Mental Health Function after Combat Deployment” accepted for publication in Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy.
Milene Morfei, Professor of Psychology, and Marian Brown, director of the Center for Sustainability and the Environment, were interviewed on The Forecast, a monthly radio program that focuses on climate change action efforts. She has also spoken on sustainability for the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, Association for Continuing Education, and others.
As a qualitative researcher, Professor of Psychology and Gender Studies Vic Muñoz relies on inductive methods (in-depth interviewing, narrative analysis, documentary photography, and video) and multimedia digital technologies to generate theory in support of support social justice and liberation.
Similar Programs
If you’re interested in studying Psychology, you might also consider programs such as: