The Program

The Department of Psychology provides a strong curriculum that teaches students the most current and empirically sound principles of behavior; equips them for success in a variety of graduate programs; offers opportunities for experience in human service, research, and other psychology-related internships; and helps students realize the many ways psychology addresses human social and ethical concerns. The department is grounded in the Jesuit tradition of the pursuit of excellence in the context of service among others. Psychology is one of the strongest and most popular majors on campus with 90 current majors, and the department is ranked at the 96th percentile nationally on the Educational Testing Service Major Field Test in Psychology.

Opportunities

The Psychology major allows students to pursue a career immediately after graduation or to continue studies. About 80 percent of our students enroll in graduate school for clinical, neuroscience, counseling, rehabilitation, sports, educational, experimental, forensics, human factors, physical therapy, law, medicine, architecture, criminal justice, social work, teaching, or business. Students gain experience in the human service field through internships in the community. Many of our students have been offered jobs at the agencies where they completed their internships. These experiences also enhance graduate school applications. Information about salaries in psychology can be found at the American Psychological Assocation.

Facilities and Faculty

Students complete research projects as part of each laboratory-based course, in the directed research program, and through senior thesis. Our well-equipped laboratories teaches students to use equipment and software such as the driving simulator, sensory deprivation chamber, IMPACT cognitive system (for concussions), odor delivery system, sleep monitoring, and physiological measurement (EEG, EKG, EMG). We involve students in projects that are socially meaningful as well as scientifically rigorous. Last year alone, 26 presentations and 5 publications with student co-authors originated in our department; students attended 8 different conferences (including one international conference). All students learn to use SPSS, PowerPoint, and Blackboard.

The faculty and areas of study include: Dr. Debra Hull: Clinical Psychology, Teaching and Learning, Gender Roles, Human Sexuality; Dr. Bryan Raudenbush: Psychophysiology, Psychopharmacology, Statistics, Sensation and Perception, Motivation; Dr. Julie Osland: Social Psychology, Lifespan Development, Child and Adolescent Psychology; Dr. Michael Kirkpatrick: Behavior Analysis, Health and Sport Psychology, History and Philosophy of Psychology.

Dr. Bryan Raudenbush, Chair of the Department of Psychology, is at raudenbc@wju.edu.  For more information on how Wheeling Jesuit can help you realize your potential and own your future, call 1-800-624-6992 or visit Wheeling Jesuit online at www.wju.edu