About Us

The Hofstra University Department of Psychology offers a comprehensive undergraduate program in the scientific study of the mind and behavior. Students learn the methods, theories and research pertaining to diverse areas of psychology such as cognitive science (including perception, cognitive psychology and behavioral neuroscience), child development, human and animal learning, abnormal psychology, and social psychology. Along with a grounding in core areas, students can take classes in specific applied areas such as health psychology, industrial-organizational psychology, and psychology and the law. Undergraduate psychology students acquire a strong liberal arts education and a deep understanding of human behavior, preparing them to pursue successful careers in many fields including counseling and other social services, marketing, human resources, management, education, public relations, basic and applied research, as well as advanced graduate work in psychology, health professions, law, education, business, and many other fields.

Highlights of the undergraduate program in Psychology include:

• Two baccalaureate degrees: Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and PreHealth/PreMedical Studies. There are numerous options for dual majors or minors, including those in other Hofstra colleges, such as the Zarb School of Business and the School of Health Professions and Human Services.
• A dedicated faculty of more than 30 full-time psychologists, all of whom have doctoral degrees as well as research interests covering more than 20 specializations.
• Interdisciplinary minors in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science.
• An annual colloquium series that features lectures, discussions and research presentations from guest speakers and experts in the field.
• Co-curricular activities include the Psychology Club and Neuroscience Club, as well as a campus chapter of Psi Chi, the national psychology honor society.
• Opportunity to earn academic credit for internship experiences.
• Opportunities to become involved in faculty research projects and/or conduct one's own research through an honors thesis.

Mission Statement for the B.A. Program in Psychology - Department of Psychology

Psychology is the science of behavior and the physiological and cognitive processes associated with behavior. Psychology is also the profession that applies the science of behavior to practical problems. Human behavior can be understood from each of four broad theoretical perspectives. The biological perspective considers the evolutionary, neuroscientific, and biological process that determine and shape our behavior. The cognitive perspective considers the role of the mind in behavior, including how we perceive and represent the world, learn and remember information, and solve problems. The developmental perspective considers how behavior and mental process change across the lifespan. The social perspective considers the dynamic relationship between the individual and the social context in which behavior occurs. Psychology is an interdisciplinary scientific field that draws on theories, concepts, and methods of inquiry from neighboring natural science and social science disciplines. All inquiry in psychology is guided by the scientific method, a process of answering questions about behavior that involves forming theoretical explanations and testing those theories against real-world observations.

Mission Statement for the PhD program in Clinical Psychology - Department of Psychology

The overall mission of the PhD program in Clinical Psychology is to graduate “scientist-practitioner” clinical psychologists who will obtain professional employment in a variety of appropriate institutional, academic and clinical settings. As professional psychologists we expect our alumni to be both generators and users of current knowledge and to practice in clinical psychology. That is, the program aims to produce clinical psychologists who use scientific knowledge in the delivery of professional services to the general public, and who generate scientific research based on professional practice issues.

Mission Statement for the PsyD program in School-Community Psychology - Department of Psychology

The Psy.D. Program in School-Community Psychology has the explicit goal of training highly skilled school psychology practitioners who provide services to children and their families. In pursuing this goal we adhere to a scholar practitioner model. Included in our definition of scholarship is the ability to independently design, conduct, and evaluate scientifically based studies that are relevant to school psychology. Thus, we expect our students to be familiar with and able to conduct scientific investigations in addition to being skilled in areas of school psychology. School psychology is the focus of our training as is the interplay between psychological services within the schools and in community facilities that are external to the school. We achieve our goals by providing a model of training that focuses upon the traditional methods of school psychology intervention, assessment, consultation; by providing external supervised training in schools and in health centers that interact with schools; and by providing a thorough grounding in the science of psychological practice through course work and through supervised research projects and doctoral dissertations.

Mission Statement for the PhD program in Applied Organizational Psychology - Department of Psychology

The Ph.D. Program in Applied Organizational Psychology trains doctoral-level psychologists for careers in business, industry, government, and other private and public organizations. Graduates of the Program are capable of applying scientific methods to the solutions of problems related to individual and group behavior in organizations. They are also capable of teaching and researching these topics in higher education.

Mission Statement for the M.A. program in Industrial/Organizational Psychology - Department of Psychology

The mission of the M.A. program in Industrial/Organizational Psychology is to graduate students with a broad knowledge of I/O psychology and the skills neede dto apply that knowledge in diverse organizational settings. Our program follows a scientist-practitioner model of training which emphasizes the application of research based knowledge to solve practical problems in the workplace.