The educational mission of the Psychology Department at Union College is to promote the scientific study of the mind, brain, and behavior. We aim to help students develop intellectually, personally, and professionally within this mission by providing opportunities for students to:

● Develop the capacity to think deeply, logically, and ethically

● Learn to evaluate claims to truth and to make educated, defensible judgments

● Apply information from the classroom to new situations and learn independently

● Develop effective communication skills in both writing and speech

● Become creative, critical, and original thinkers

● Cultivate friendships, partnerships, and collaborations with faculty and students with diverse backgrounds and perspectives

We live in an increasingly complex and interconnected world. We want students to emerge from their undergraduate experience equipped not only with the knowledge to navigate this complexity, but also with thinking that is flexible, takes multiple perspectives, and can adapt to new challenges. As such, psychology is uniquely positioned as a human-centered science that facilitates cross-disciplinary connections across STEM, humanities, the arts, social sciences, and policy.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB)

Due to systematic conscious and unconscious bias, marginalized groups (based on factors such as socioeconomic class, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, ability status, neurodivergence, weight, etc.) are underrepresented and have faced inequities in higher education and in psychology both historically and currently. Creating and maintaining a welcoming and diverse environment is central to developing a rigorous and informed education in Psychology. We recognize that this is an aspirational goal and that improving the diversity, equity, inclusion, and sense of belonging within the department is an ongoing process of growth and learning. In service of this goal, department members attend DEIB workshops on and off campus, mentor first-generation and diverse students, and conduct research and teach courses related to DEIB.

After Union

Students often combine psychology with other majors or minors such as biology, economics, mathematics, sociology, or political science. As a result, our majors go into a wide variety of fields. Many, either immediately after graduation or within a few years, enter some type of graduate program. Some of these students enroll in professional schools for medicine, dentistry, law, education, or nursing; other students enroll in business-related graduate programs for master´s degrees in business or health care administration. Many of our majors seek advanced degrees in clinical or counseling psychology or related fields such as social work and speech pathology. Several majors each year enter graduate programs leading to the doctorate in various areas of academic psychology.