1. How many psychology faculty are there? What percentage have a doctorate?

2. How likely is it that my psychology course will be taught by teaching assistants or part-time adjunct faculty?

3. If I pursue a psychology major, what courses will I need to take?

4. What courses does the department offer?

5. Are there opportunities for internships and other experiential learning?

6. Are professors doing research? Do students have opportunity to become involved in those projects? What about facilities and equipment?

7. Are Calvin students admitted to good graduate programs?

8. If psychology majors do not go to graduate school, where do they find employment? I’ve heard people say, “There’s nothing you can do with a psychology major.” Is that true?

9. Are there web sites that address careers in psychology?

10. At Calvin are there student organizations for psychology majors? Are there opportunities for faculty and students to interact informally?

1. How many psychology faculty are there? What percentage have a doctorate?

There are twelve full-time faculty, all with earned doctorates. That seems like a very good size--large enough to offer over thirty psychology courses but small enough that we know our students by name.

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2. How likely is it that my psychology course will be taught by teaching assistants or part-time adjunct faculty?

Very unlikely. At universities many undergraduate courses are taught by graduate students but that does not happen at Calvin. Increasingly, colleges attempt to reduce costs by hiring part-time adjuncts since they do not have to pay them expensive benefits, e.g. health insurance. In general this trend is not good for students because adjuncts tend to teach their class and leave; usually they do not even have an office on campus.

At Calvin approximately 95% of your psychology courses will be taught by full-time, on-campus professors. However, we do seek the benefits of adjuncts (e.g. practicing professionals) without the downside (e.g. unavailability). The adjuncts we use tend to be clinicians from Calvin’s Counseling Center or the community; they have offices on campus and are available to students.

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3. If I pursue a psychology major, what courses will I need to take?

Think 4-3-3. There are four required courses: Introduction to Psychology, Statistics and Research Design, Fundamentals of Research, and the capstone course, Psychology and Religion. You will also need to select three 300-level courses (one of which has a lab) and then any three additional electives. We’ve made it a flexible major because students have different interests and career aspirations.

For more details, please visit Advising notes.

4. What courses does the department offer?

In Calvin’s Catalog you will find approximately thirty psychology courses listed, each with a brief description. In addition, during Interim (January) there is an ever-changing roster of more innovative courses, e.g. Psychopathology in Film, Children and Stress, Helping Skills, and the Psychology of Interpersonal Relationships. Interim also offers a good opportunity to address important emerging areas, e.g. Health Psychology.

Click here to read more course discription from the Psychology department.

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5. Are there opportunities for internships and other experiential learning?

In recent years the department has put considerable effort into developing internships and we now place more than 20 students per year. We benefit from the size of Grand Rapids and the high regard the community generally has for Calvin and our students. In recent years students have had internships in (among others) neuropsychology at Mary Free Bed Hospital, rehabilitation at Hope Network, ADD testing at Pine Rest, health psychology at Butterworth Hospital, mediation skills at The Dispute Resolution Center, industrial/organizational at Steelcase Corporation, family treatment at Wedgewood Family Services, and school psychology in several school systems. These internships are competitive and reserved for qualified students. In addition, many other courses offer an optional “service learning” component where the student applies course learning in “real world” settings.

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6. Are professors doing research? Do students have opportunity to become involved in those projects? What about facilities and equipment?

Let’s go in reverse. The Psychology Department has its own Computer Lab (Mac and PC). We have a fully equipped electroencephalograph (EEG) lab for measuring brain functions. We share the West Michigan Regional Lab, a state-of-the-art animal research facility. We have ten research rooms with nine more in the WMRL. Few schools of Calvin’s size have comparable facilities.

Current faculty research programs are addressing topics like Alzheimer’s disease, addictions, virtues (e.g. compassion), EEG studies, religious beliefs and child reading, adolescent alcohol use, and the interaction of visual and auditory information, especially in older adults. Wherever possible, faculty look for opportunities to involve students in their scholarship. In recent summers, six majors were awarded McGregor Fellowships ($3200.) which paid them to be involved in faculty-student collaborative scholarship.

You may recall that all psychology majors are required to take the basic statistics and research courses; that is fundamental to appreciating the scientific nature of psychology. Majors are encouraged to take more advanced research courses which usually culminates in their own research project. Students often present that work at regional and national conferences, efforts which tend to impress graduate schools and prospective employers.

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7. Are Calvin students admitted to good graduate programs?

Outside people increasingly describe Calvin as the academically strongest Christian college. Secular observers also respect Calvin’s academic excellence; our graduates have been admitted to many of the top graduate, medical or law schools. Psychology majors have earned advanced degrees at universities like Cornell, Northwestern, Fuller, Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, and Purdue.

We have tracked our majors. Typically about 10-15% go to graduate school immediately but we were surprised to learn that eventually nearly 65% earn advanced degrees.

8. If psychology majors do not go to graduate school, where do they find employment? I’ve heard people say, “There’s nothing you can do with a psychology major.” Is that true?

That last assertion is a bit misleading. It is true that to be a psychologist (like you read about in psychology texts) one needs a graduate degree. Indeed, by law you can not call yourself a psychologist unless you have certain professional credentials. But that’s true for most professions. With a bachelor’s degree, you can not be a veterinarian, dentist, or (in most denominations) a minister.

However, in the job market, psychology majors compete very well against other majors. Employers know that the ability to work effectively with others is crucial in most jobs and believe psychology majors will have stronger skills. The leading employers of our graduates are various human/social service agencies and residential care institutions, e.g. working with developmentally disabled persons, substance abusers, troubled youth. Many others find positions in the business world (e.g. human resources) and increasingly, government/ civil service positions.

Here’s an important irony. Psychology majors, here and elsewhere, often resist research requirements because they don’t see a connection to their interest in “what makes people tick.” But we live in an age of accountability. It is no longer enough for any organization to merely assert that they are accomplishing certain goals; today one needs (and should want) to document such claims. Consequently, basic research skills—how to ask empirical questions, gather appropriate data, analyze it and write it up—appear to be perhaps the most valuable and marketable abilities psychology majors have to offer. Like many other students, you might be surprised to discover how rewarding research can be.

Click here to read more about job opportunities for B.A. graudates.

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9. Are there web sites that address careers in psychology?

Two of the best are Marky Lloyd’s Careers in Psychology page at http://www.psywww.com/careers/ or the American Psychological Association’s Careers in Psychology page at http://www.apa.org/students/brochure/

10. At Calvin are there student organizations for psychology majors? Are there opportunities for faculty and students to interact informally?

We believe that kind of community is important. There is a Psychology Department lounge where such interaction can occur. There is a Psychology Club which sponsors both professional presentations (e.g. the Director of the Christian Counseling Center) and social events like progressive dinners or pizza parties. We also have a chapter of Psi Chi, the national honor society in psychology.

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