With a bachelor's degree or minor in psychology from PSU, you'll discover the fundamental principles underlying the human mind, behavior, and social relationships, and gain new insights about how to enhance lives and create effective solutions to address societal problems.
PSU's program prepares you to use psychological theories and research to better understand current events, contribute to informed decision-making about societal and political matters, and help humanize societal institutions such as education, healthcare, criminal justice, and the workplace.
We remain the most popular major and minor at Portland State, and it's no surprise why. We offer:
- Flexibility to tailor the program to your interests and graduate in a timely fashion
- Coursework that is research-based, community-engaged, and personally relevant
- Engaging electives on topics such as counseling, child development, neuroscience, social relationships, health psychology and human diversity
- Opportunities to work with faculty on applied research projects
No matter what career you choose, psychology is relevant to anyone who intends to understand, relate to, live with, work with, or raise other people — that is, everyone.
In psychology, we pride ourselves on excellence in teaching, research, and outreach.
As PSU's largest major, we offer a broad nationally aligned curriculum. Our program has great flexibility, with only three required Psychology courses that are offered multiple times per quarter, and as many as 20 to 25 electives for you to choose from each term. This allows you to complete your degree on time, while also tailoring your coursework to fit your interests.
If you'd like to focus on specific areas and applications of psychology, we offer pathways and concentrations in education, community psychology, industrial and organizational psychology, research methods, neuroscience, and social psychology.
You'll also benefit from our two professional academic advisors, who will ensure you have the support you need to succeed.
Our award-winning faculty collaborate with community partners to conduct research that contributes to the development of cutting-edge theories, applied solutions and interventions, and evidence-based policies and practices in a variety of areas — and each brings their own research and practice to your classes. They favor student-centered teaching, active project-based learning, and making connections to current events and students’ lives.
You'll have opportunities to work closely with faculty and other students as teaching assistants or peer advisors, and in clubs, community outreach, or faculty research.
Our student clubs, including Portland State's chapter of Psi Chi, the nation's largest psychology honorary society, the Neuroscience Club, and the Future Leaders in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, are open to all students and provide you with great learning and networking opportunities.
Your background in psychology will show you how to understand how people function as individuals, in relationships, and in groups. A bachelor's degree in psychology from PSU provides you with the knowledge, skills, and experience necessary to work in a wide variety of fields, including:
- Counseling
- Advocacy
- Behavioral health services
- Program development in local, state, and federal government
- Human resources
- Public relations
- Advertising
An undergraduate degree in psychology also prepares you for graduate studies in the field where you will delve more into research, clinical practice, education, and health care. Our students have gone on to earn graduate degrees from:
- Stanford
- Notre Dame
- Michigan State
- UCLA
- Lewis & Clark