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Psychology

Degree

Bachelor of Science, Major, Minor

Two students talk to each other.

As a psychology major at Fairfield, you will gain exposure to different psychological perspectives by taking a wide range of courses that explore the study of neuro-chemical activity in the brain; developmental influences on thought, behavior, memory, attention, and learning; and social influences and group memberships that give rise to conformity with norms, prejudice, and prosocial behavior.

What You'll Learn and Do

Make important discoveries

In Fairfield’s Psychology program, students are offered a variety of undergraduate research opportunities in which students collaborate directly with faculty mentors. Fairfield’s well-equipped research facilities support the ingenuity of its students.

Learn from experts

Psychology students will benefit from a broad range of faculty expertise, from biological psychology to learning and cognition, to developmental psychology, to community psychology, to personality, to clinical disorders and treatment, to the psychology of prejudice and well-being.

Learn in an intimate environment

In Fairfield’s Psychology program, it is rare for even introductory psychology classes to have more than 25-30 students, while upper-level classes often have no more than 15 students. This intimate education environment promotes hands-on experiences and personalized learning.

Feel secure in your postgraduate plans

A survey of Fairfield alumni who majored in psychology indicates that most seek an advanced degree at institutions including Yale, New York University, UCLA, and Columbia. The largest number have sought graduate and doctoral degrees in psychology and allied fields, but many have gone to medical, law, education, and business schools.

Student Resources

  • The American Psychology Association (APA) is the leading scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. Its mission is to promote the advancement, communication, and application of psychological science and knowledge to benefit society and improve lives.

  • PsycPort is the leading source for news articles relating to psychology, mental health, behavior, stress management, Alzheimer's, bullying, depression, gender issues, parenting, sexuality, sleep, suicide, therapy, workplace issues, and more.

  • The Association for Psychological Science (APS) is the leading international organization dedicated to advancing scientific psychology across disciplinary and geographic borders. Members provide a richer understanding of the world through their research, teaching, and application of psychological science.

Find Out More

Course Requirements

38 credits

15 credits

Contact Us

Undergraduate Admission
admis@fairfield.edu
(203) 254-4100

Career Outlook

Fairfield’s Psychology program instills strong research and analytical skills in undergraduate students while providing them with invaluable hands-on experience in the field. Graduates are top candidates for professional roles both before and after graduation.

Internships

Each student spends at least ten hours per week on-site under qualified supervision enabling them to use the skills and knowledge acquired as students of psychology.

Sample Internship Sites

  • CRN International
  • People鈥檚 Bank
  • Superior Court
  • New England Center for Children
  • National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
  • Fairfield Preparatory School

Employers

  • Greenwich Country Day School
  • Make A Wish Connecticut
  • NewYork-Presbyterian
  • Songbird Creative Centers
  • 天美传媒视频无限制观看
  • Fairfield College Preparatory School
  • Helping Hands Family
  • Landmark Academy
  • Fidelity Investments
  • Clearweave Careers
  • Wayfair
  • YMCA

There are so many research, teaching assistantship, and internship opportunities that can help kickstart your future.

- Alexis O'Shall '24

Resources for Student Success

The University Career Center serves 天美传媒视频无限制观看 students with comprehensive career support services, programming, and resources.

Learn 天美传媒视频无限制观看 Career Preparation

Fairfield supports the scholarly success and intellectual growth of our students by providing various resources on campus including the Science Center, Writing Center, DiMenna-Nyselius Library, and more.

Academic Support at Fairfield

The Psychological and Brain Sciences Department recently developed the Alumni Mentor Database to allow undergraduates to correspond with psychology alumni who have similar professional interests. Each participating alumnus or alumna has submitted information concerning their advanced educational and employment experiences. Students may browse through all the records or search the database to locate the names and addresses of alumni with specific interests or experiences.

Undergraduate Research

A particular strength of the Psychological & Brain Sciences Department is the faculty, whose members are not only excellent teachers but also productive researchers. Many students– first-year through seniors– work with faculty members as research assistants and collaborators. Students may volunteer their time in a research lab, or they may work on faculty members’ research projects in the Supervised Research course. As a result of these collaborations, students often co-author papers that are presented at professional research conferences, and many students give presentations at the annual Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society research symposium on campus.

Undergraduate Research at Fairfield

Recent Research Projects

Those who work in “helping professions,” such as first responders, teachers, nurses, and mental health professionals, have an increased level and risk of burnout in comparison to other occupations. As such, it is critical to understand how to reduce the risk of burnout among these professionals.

In this research study, faculty mentor Michael Andreychik, PhD, and psychology students Courtney Hankins '19 and Katherine Mackenzie '21 tested the idea that one way of reducing the risk of burnout is to encourage helpers to empathize with the positive emotions (e.g., joy, pride, hopefulness) of those with whom they work.

To examine the potential burnout-reducing effects of empathizing with others’ positive emotions, they presented college students with a video of a fellow student describing the good and the bad parts of their adjustment to college. Before watching the video, participants were randomly assigned to adopt one of four perspectives as they watched: remain objective, focus on the student’s negative emotions, focus on the student’s positive emotions, or focus on all of the student’s emotions. Participants then indicated how much distress they experienced while watching and whether or not they would be willing to help the struggling student by giving or providing her with advice.

The researchers’ key prediction was that while all participants who connected with the struggling student's emotions would report a greater willingness to help her, participants who connected with the student’s negative emotions would report greater burnout-related emotions than those who connected with the student’s positive emotions.

Suicide is currently the third leading cause of death among African American young adults, but studies have suggested that ethnic identity, which is made up of aspects such as language, religious affiliation, and cultural traditions, may serve as a protective factor against feelings of defeat and suicide ideation in African Americans.

In this research study supported by the Vincent Rosivach Collaborative Research Fund, psychology major Chelsea Salvatore '19 and faculty mentor David Hollingsworth, PhD, set out to examine ethnic identity as a moderator of the relationship between defeat and suicide ideation in African Americans. 106 African American college students were asked to complete self-report measures that assessed variables of interest. The results indicated that in participants with low levels of ethnic identity, defeat had a significant effect on suicide ideation. Conversely, in participants with high levels of ethnic identity, the relationship between defeat and suicide ideation was no longer significant.

Dr Henkel’s research team has been running a series of studies examining the impact of taking photos on what people subsequently remember. When we outsource our memory to our cameras by expecting our cameras to record and, in essence, “remember” our experiences, we engage in different ways of thinking about those experiences than if we do not take photos. This research follows up on Dr. Henkel’s 2013 work which was featured on NPR, and dozens of other media sites, including the New York Times, BBC News, Wall Street Journal, and CNN.

Dr. McClure’s NARSAD Young Investigator Award (The Brain & Behavior Foundation) examines the impact of Cognitive Remediation Therapy (CRT) when paired with an agent that targets the norepinephrine system compared to CRT plus placebo.

Dr. McClure also collaborates on projects examining treatments for personality disorders, such as borderline personality disorder, including studies of medications such as oxytocin and psychological interventions such as dialectical behavior therapy. Students working in this lab have the opportunity to conduct telephone screens of potential participants, observe diagnostic interviews and neuropsychological assessments, and sit in on CRT computerized training sessions.

As part of the Interdisciplinary Health Studies Scholars grant awarded to Dr. Henkel (psychology) and Dr. Alison Kris (School of Nursing) for 2013-2015, a team of undergraduate researchers from both psychology and nursing completed a project examining how memory cues in the nursing home environment can boost not only the residents’ morale and wellbeing, while increasing the social interactions between health care providers and the residents and improving the quality of care received.

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