The Psychology Department and the Graduate Group in Psychology offer instruction on both the undergraduate (B.A.) and graduate (Ph.D.) levels. Resources and expertise are available for the study of a wide range of topics. Among them are cognitive psychology, sensation and perception, biological psychology, learning, motivation, emotion, personality, experimental psychopathology, social psychology, individual differences, and developmental psychology. The department boasts the world's first psychological clinic founded in 1896 and the development of clinical psychology as a specialization. At present there is an APA-accredited clinical psychology program. The graduate program prepares students for scientific and scholarly research and teaching. Students are expected to develop scholarly breadth in psychology as well as a specific area of research competence.
There are currently 25 faculty members with primary appointments in the department, 8 emeritus professors, and 22 associated faculty with secondary appointments in psychology. In addition to a fairly broad undergraduate enrollment, the department granted an average of 130 B.A. degrees per year over the last five years (1985-1990). In 1990-1991 approximately 45 graduate students were enrolled in the department with 8-12 entering each year. An average of 7 Ph.D.s has been granted per year over the last five years (1985- 1990). Graduates have found employment in teaching and research in both the public and private sectors.
The broad nature of the discipline is evident in the department's various collaborations. It plays a pivotal role in two important interdisciplinary efforts on campus -- cognitive science and neuroscience. It has active ties to the Schools of Medicine (especially anatomy and psychiatry) and Engineering (especially computer and information sciences), the Wharton School (especially decision sciences, marketing, and statistics), the Graduate School of Education (especially the Language in Education and Psychology in Education Divisions), and to numerous Arts and Sciences Departments, most notably Anthropology, Biology, Linguistics, Music, and Philosophy. Research centers such as the Institute for Cognitive Science Research, the Mahoney Institute for Neurological Sciences, the Center for Cognitive Therapy, and the Center for Risk and Decision Processes promote interdisciplinary research and graduate training.